SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - We in Illinois are now about 36 hours out from a fiscal brick wall. As of July 1 (Wednesday), if the state still has no formal annual budget in place, it could, in theory, mean mass layoffs, shutdown of services — state police, prison guards, drivers’ license facilities, the works — and a general grinding to a halt of all things related to state government.

In recognition of the crisis, the Illinois House plans to convene at, oh, about 3 p.m. today.

That late a start means there won’t be much legislative work done today, but at least lawmakers will get their $132 per diem pocket money before they head out to their restaurants and hotels for the evening. (Thank you, taxpayers!). The Senate will mosey in tomorrow - less than 24 hours from a fiscal deadline that thousands of state-affiliated workers believe could mean the ends of their jobs.

In fact, an actual doomsday scenario is looking less likely at this writing. If lawmakers can’t agree in the next day and a half on how to fill a budget hole that is estimated at as much as $9 billion, they have the option of simply voting to extend the current budget for another month, thus punting the problem until then.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has said emphatically that he wants a full year’s budget in place and that he won’t accept any more “half measures,” as he calls them. But the administration has been notorious this year for boldly laying down such gauntlets and then strolling away from them the next day. Many here suspect that, his warnings of “doomsday” notwithstanding, Quinn will ultimately agree to anything that prevents the shutdown of his government.

There are myriad competing plans for how to deal with the crisis. Quinn, of course, wants a temporary two-year state income tax hike (from the current 3 percent to 4.5 percent) but his own fellow Democrats in the House have put a brick on that so far.

Those who bravely oppose the tax hike — including virtually every Republican lawmaker in Springfield — have usually been somewhat less brave in stating exactly how they would go about closing the budget gap, though some have offered plans. They include shorting the state’s scheduled payments to its pension funds, short-term borrowing, postponing corporate tax refunds, and (in a nod to the preferred method of ousted ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich) simply pretending that the state has more money than it actually does.

(There are also some, primarily the more excitable Republicans, who will earnestly insist that any even this historic shortfall can be made up with “belt tightening” in the budget, but most officials here say they’re simply wrong. Required spending on education, Medicaid, pensions and other obligations completely skews that notion of math, as the more serious GOP leaders will acknowledge when pinned down on the question.)

We’ll be covering the action today, such as it is, from here.