SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Gov. Rod Blagojevich apparently wants to repair half a bridge.

Blagojevich’s cuts to the state budget include at least two cases where he rejected a request for half the money for a bridge-repair project but approved another request for the other half of the money.

That wasn’t the only odd result of his budget decisions.

The Democratic governor also cut the money to add 80 beds at a veterans retirement home in LaSalle. Last year, he praised that same project and said “we owe it” to Illinois veterans.

The budget cuts he announced this week also spared most of the spending requested by members of a legislative committee with the power to block the health care programs he hopes to launch soon.

And, despite his emphasis on creating new health programs, Blagojevich cut tens of millions of dollars from a long list of current health services.

Legislators said Friday that Blagojevich is obviously punishing his enemies and rewarding his friends, or potential friends.

“It’s so transparent what the governor’s doing, what his motives are. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite so political,” said Sen. Bradley Burzynski, a Clare Republican whose spending requests were approved by the governor.

Burzynski sits on the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, an obscure legislative panel that will review a series of rules the governor wants to change so that he can expand health care programs. If JCAR rejects the changes, his health programs will be blocked.

But several legislators said JCAR might be less inclined to support the governor’s changes if he’s using their spending requests as leverage.

“That, to me, is so insulting. I don’t think I have ever, ever felt so embarrassed,” said Sen. Maggie Crotty, D-Oak Forest.

Crotty criticized the governor for reducing Medicaid payments to hospitals and nursing homes, as well as trimming a cost-of-living increase for workers who care for developmentally disabled people. Rather than a 2.5 percent increase to cover the last three years, they’ll get just 1.6 percent.

Blagojevich did not explain specific cuts when he announced them Thursday after signing the $60 billion state budget into law. He would not answer questions on the issue Friday during a public appearance.

But aides deny that politics or retribution played any part in his cuts, which the Legislature could vote to restore.

“We cut projects we didn’t think were essential or couldn’t afford,” said Deputy Chief of Staff Becky Carroll.