Now that the primaries are over, Gov. Bruce Rauner says lawmakers need to get back to work. However, the governor says politics may still be getting in the way.

During a news conference in Chicago Monday, Rauner said the characterization that he’s frustrated at the nearly 9-month-old budget impasse is putting it mildly.

Responding to the governor’s comments, Senate President John Cullerton’s spokesman John Patterson said, “The governor created this impasse back in June.” That’s when the governor vetoed most of the spending bills Democrats sent, saying they were unbalanced.

Patterson said Cullerton continues to hope that both sides can work toward productive solutions that, quote, “give the governor the ability to honor his administration's commitments and turn our state around with a common-sense budget agreement."