Gov. Rod Blagojevich is rejecting warnings that Illinois must have a budget in place by Wednesday to avoid financial harm to state employees and schools waiting for government checks.

The Democratic governor said Monday that Aug. 8 is ''an arbitrary date. ... It's no different from today, it's no different from yesterday and it's no different from August the 9th.''

Comptroller Dan Hynes, however, says his office can't begin processing checks for employees if a budget isn't in place on Wednesday. That means 4,900 employees might not get paid on time, and more would be affected if the budget stalemate drags on.

''Each and every day it gets worse and worse,'' said Hynes, a Chicago Democrat.

The same applies to $170 million in school aid that is supposed to go out on Friday, although Blagojevich announced Monday that the state will help schools by offering interest-free loans.

Blagojevich is sticking by his threat to reject a budget unless it meets his standards on education, health care and construction spending.

Blagojevich was obviously relieved to be surrounded by a friendly crowd. The governor said he was jogging in Springfield recently and passed a man who shouted, '''Hey, governor, you ... ' and I better not say the next word but it rhymes with luck. So it's nice to be here with all of you.''