It may be hard to tell, but one member of the budget conference committee says progress is being made. Lawmakers on the conference committee have reached little consensus yet on the state budget, although Assembly Minority Leader Jim Kreuser (D-Kenosha) says they are getting somewhere. "It's starting to pick up a little bit more speed," insists Kreuser. "There's been positive discourse between both sides." Kreuser says Republicans and Democrats clearly have different ideas for the budget. However, he says both sides are showing a willingness to work on the process: "anybody who wants to slow that process down, or make it not happen, will become evident in the next 30-40 days." If that sounds like a prediction on when the process may be completed Kreuser says he isn't willing to name a date: "if I could tell you the future of that, and give you the date and the hour, I'd be doing something else for a living." The conference committee is set to hold its 9th meeting this week (on Thursday).