Illinois Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) offered a two-fold message at a press conference this afternoon, telling reporters in Springfield the Senate needs to shave at least $1.2 billion off the governor's 2012 budget proposal and that GOP members of the upper chamber should put their own budget-cutting plans into bill form. That idea was quickly rejected by Senate Minority Leader Radogno. Video of Cullerton after the jump:

The General Assembly is off (PDF) next week for a spring break. For details about the contours of the budget debate -- the assumptions and alliances -- in Springfield, check back with our update about the process from a couple of weeks ago.