With three versions of a state budget in play, Illinois' political leaders may find it challenging to reach a deal as the legislative session enters its final full week.

The Illinois Legislature enters the last full week of its spring session with a daunting list of issues still unresolved, which is not unusual. But in one respect, this session is remarkable — both the House and Senate passed versions of a budget with a full two weeks left before the scheduled end of the term.

In recent years, a budget has not emerged until the session is about to end, and then only after the governor and legislative leaders have worked it out behind closed doors. Lawmakers are given a "take it or leave it" choice with little or no time to study the details.

While the House emerged with a bipartisan budget agreement after much deliberation and expressions of genuine regret over painful cuts to education and human services, the Senate's version was a demonstration of politics as usual in Springfield as the two parties traded accusations and were never able to cooperate. Senate Republicans never even saw a version of the budget until the last minute.

The effort in the House was an all-too-rare instance in the Legislature of how to approach a major issue. The work the House put in makes its version of the budget document the more credible of the plans.

This spring, of course, legislators and the governor continue to wrestle with a fiscal crisis worse than any in the state's history.

Even with the new revenue generated by the January 66.7 percent personal income-tax increase and 48 percent state corporate income-tax increase, big problems remain. The money generated by the income-tax increases won't be nearly enough to balance the budget and pay the state's old bills.

State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka reported that Illinois had $4.515 billion in unpaid bills at the end of March 2011, compared with $4.496 billion in unpaid bills in March 2010, and officials estimate the deficit could top $9 billion in coming years.

The urgency of the crisis caused legislative leaders to approach the budget differently than in the past, but still there are two budgets with vastly different spending levels and revenue assumptions that will have to be reconciled in coming days — throw in Gov. Pat Quinn's budget proposal and there are three. Chances are slim that any of the three will emerge as the state's operating budget and that the leaders will have to work out a compromise.

All include cuts to some programs, but Quinn's proposal would produce the least pain by spending more money on some key programs, borrowing to pay off debts and taking other measures such as "decoupling" from the federal tax change to save Illinois $600 million.

The version backed by Senate Democrats would cut about $1 billion more than Quinn's, while the House plan would cut $2 billion beyond Quinn's through cuts to education and human services. Neither proposal provides for paying off old bills.

A key difference between the House and Senate plans is in revenue projections. Senate Democrats are counting on state government taking in about $1 billion more than the House estimates it will. That additional money allows the Senate to avoid deep human service cuts. But the House plan envisions using any revenue that exceeds projections to pay off bills.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, has said that he wants to work with the governor on a final budget, but legislators have shown no interest in Quinn's proposals, particularly his call to borrow money to pay off debts. Nor should they. Illinois already faces crushing debt from previous borrowing and a lousy credit rating.

"I don't expect that this budget will be the final spending plan. This is a budget that has been adopted by one chamber. This is a two-chamber legislature with the governor," Madigan said.

Reaching a deal that can pass both legislative chambers and get the governor's signature could still prove challenging. Whatever emerges likely will be painful and will make life tougher for people who rely on state money for services.

"These are real lives. These are people that are mentally ill. These are people that are disabled, blind, aged," Rep. Patricia Bellock, R-Hinsdale, said after the House passed its budget.

But this is what it has come to after years of profligate spending and a crippling recession. Getting the state's financial house in order is the only responsible thing to do for the good of all in the long run.