Knock it off, already
Friday, Feb 19, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The anti-Chicago stuff never ends with this governor…
“President Cullerton and some others have made a threat,” said Governor Rauner. “They’ve basically said, publicly, ‘We won’t support funding schools, unless we come up with a plan to bailout Chicago.’ This is a big deal – big deal. That is not fair to the students and the families of Illinois, that we hold up school funding for a Chicago restructuring and a bailout. Chicago Public Schools has been mismanaged for decades,” said the Governor.
Um, no.
What Cullerton and others want is a much more fair, just and equitable school funding formula that would de-emphasize sending money to wealthy school districts (like the one the governor lives in) and instead refocus the General State Aid formula to benefit poorer districts.
* I know the governor understands this because of his remarks to the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Wednesday night…
“We do not have a fair way to pay for our schools in Illinois. We overly rely on local property taxes, which means low income kids have to have lower income schools. That is not fair. That is not what America is about. That is not equal opportunity.
“We’re gonna change the way we pay for our schools. We’re gonna rely less on local property taxes and rely much more on state General Aid for schools. And increase that state aid so it goes disproportionately to low income schools. We’re going to get that done. Working together, we’ll get that done.”
He says one thing to reporters and the complete opposite to black legislators.
Enough.
If you want to work together to get something done, then start doing it.
- illini97 - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:21 am:
Reason #882 no legislator should trust his words.
- Macbeth - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:22 am:
Has it occurred to no one in the media that Rauner is a habitual dissembler?
It’s not something that he does — a switch he flips — it’s something he is.
- Lucky Pierre - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:22 am:
Chicago has plenty of influence in Springfield with Madigan and Cullerton giving extra state aid for decades. now they want more money with no reforms
Not going to happen
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:23 am:
If you trust Bruce Rauner at his word…
That’s on you.
You’ve been warned.
- Dee Lay - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:25 am:
“If you want to work together to get something done, then start doing it.”
If his anti-worker measures are not included in the legislation, the Governor doesn’t care. Full stop.
- Anonymous - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:27 am:
Meanwhile Cullerton continues to sandbag his own pension bill. Trust is a two-way street and neither Democratic leader has given Republicans many reasons to think they are acting in good faith.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:29 am:
===‘We won’t support funding schools, unless we come up with a plan to bailout Chicago.’ This is a big deal – big deal.===
Yes, it would be like someone saying, “we won’t support funding higher education or human services unless we come up with a plan to decimate organized labor.” That is a big deal.
The Governor is once again displaying an alarming lack of self-awareness.
- Independent retired lawyer, journalist - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:30 am:
Confabulation. I’m not an expert, but I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt…
- Streator Curmudgeon - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:30 am:
Intransigence and dishonesty.
Disastrous qualities in a leader.
- Anon - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:33 am:
Wait - does anyone NOT think Cullerton is intent on holding up school funding until CPS is bailed out?
- Austin Blvd - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:33 am:
Rauner is acting like a political klutz. He loves his adoration when giving speeches and thus, frequently shots himself in the foot.
He wants more money for K-12. Cullerton, et al, want reform. More money makes the reform possible.
Rauner needs to quit beatin’ on the other leaders.
- Demoralized - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:37 am:
The Governor is castigating Cullerton for threatening to hold up school funding while at the same time holding up the entire state budget until he get’s his “Turnaround Agenda.” This would be funny if the situation weren’t so serious. I honestly think the Governor doesn’t think it’s the same thing.
- Mama - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:38 am:
Rauner remarks to the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, “That is not fair. That is not what America is about. That is not equal opportunity.”
Oh… I bet that went over well.
- Norseman - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:42 am:
=== Trust is a two-way street and neither Democratic leader has given Republicans many reasons to think they are acting in good faith. ===
Typical Raunerbot rhetoric. Let’s see when trust should start. How about election night when a gov-elect dissembles about calling the Dem leaders. The Dem leaders show trust by working on a FY 15 compromise with the dissembler and then are hit with a Friday surprise series of unexpected budget cuts, notably one dealing with autism funding. From day one, Rauner has attacked the character and ethics of Dem leaders. Dem leaders work with Rauner on a public-private initiative to lure businesses. They agree to a bill and when news reports of problems with similar initiatives in other states, the Dems rightly request a sunset. Rauner blows up the whole thing and goes on the attack.
Yea, trust is the problem. The problem for Rauner is that he’s done everything he can to prove he’s untrustworthy.
- Politix - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:43 am:
“does anyone NOT think Cullerton is intent on holding up school funding until CPS is bailed out?”
Purposefully holding back school funding until he gets reforms - irony much?
Hostage holding isn’t Cullerton’s style. I hope he gets a chance to negotiate.
- not so simple - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:46 am:
The gov wants CPS to fail so he can break the union and bring in more charter schools. The gov doesn’t care about a budget, he wants to break the union and outsource state government. He will not agree to revenue increases, period. He will not sign a contract with AFSCME, period. He believes this is the only path to redemption and will not waver. He is dangerous and not like any politician anyone here has ever seen.
- Mama - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:46 am:
“We’re gonna change the way we pay for our schools. We’re gonna rely less on local property taxes and rely much more on state General Aid for schools.”
Governor, General State Aid is not self funded. If you don’t use property taxes, where will the money come from to pay for General State Aid? If you take away property taxes you will have to raise income taxes.
- Vladivostok - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:47 am:
Reagan was the Great Communicator.
Rauner is the Great Deceiver
- Mama - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:55 am:
“Hostage holding isn’t Cullerton’s style. I hope he gets a chance to negotiate.”
One can not negotiate without a willing participant. The problem is Rauner does not negotiate, he only dictates. May the luck be with Cullerton in finding a way to break the impasse.
- Former Hoosier - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:57 am:
===He says one thing to reporters and the complete opposite to black legislators.===
Rich-Thank you for, once again, pointing out the Governor’s duplicitous behavior. As you have said- Enough!
- Crispy - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 10:58 am:
Macbeth @ 10:22 is right. It’s astonishing. Doesn’t the governor realize he lives in a day and age when almost everything is recorded and can be transmitted instantly?
Also, was he always like this? I can’t imagine him generating the trust required for long-term business success if this has been his M.O. all along. I’m beginning to think Independent retired lawyer @10:30 may be onto something, and I mean that without snark. It’s very worrying.
- Mama - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 11:05 am:
I think Rauner wants the local governments to take over funding for their schools & everything else. The only way I can see the locals being half way able to do that is by raising property taxes. Towns do not have any or very few businesses to tax, and they have no control over income taxes. Therefore, there is no way the locals can financially take over for what the state funds.
- Soccermom - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 11:06 am:
“that is not fair to the students and the families of Illinois, that we hold up school funding for a Chicago restructuring and a bailout.”
Wait — did Chicago secede from Illinois and nobody told me?
- Just The Facts - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 11:08 am:
“He says one thing to reporters and the complete opposite to black legislators.” - sounds like Bruce may be becoming a politician after all…
- JS Mill - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 11:08 am:
= where will the money come from to pay for General State Aid?=
GSA is not funded by property tax, GSA money is from state taxes and revenue not local sources.
- Huh? - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 11:08 am:
So let me get something straight - 1.4% wants to give local agencies more control over their finances through his TA. But with schools he wants less reliance on property taxes and more state funding.
So if the school districts must rely on funding from the state, how is that local control?
- Honeybear - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 11:20 am:
Okay Rich, now can I call him perfidious without it being deleted? Saying one thing to one group and the opposite to another is perfidious.
- jim - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 11:44 am:
I realize emotion and political animus rule and facts drool here,, but Cullerton threatened to block school funding until a formula rewrite is complete. Here are quotes from his City Club speech.
“The governor has linked things together. We don’t have a budget because he’s got his ‘turnaround agenda.’ So I can link things together too,” Cullerton said during remarks Monday at the City Club of Chicago. “This is a turnaround agenda. We gotta change the school funding formula.”
“Before we appropriate money for education for next year, (which) starts July 1, we have to fix this formula.”
- Rod - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 12:00 pm:
Rich lets be fair here, President Cullerton has sent out at least two messages. One that on a statewide level school funding is inequitable and until that is done he might lock up the entire k-12 budget. The other message is that unless CPS is treated fairly on the pension issue he will lock up the k-12 budget. In all fairness he has said both things.
The Manar/Cullerton proposal has very little support in the House as was evident from the House Education Task Force hearings held this week. Between suburban Democrats and Republicans whose districts lose funding there simply are not the votes necessary for it to pass.
For districts to be held harmless it will cost probably close to one billion. Maybe we need a series of small solutions that are more affordable when hold harmless is taken into consideration.
The only members of the Task Force that I heard who appeared to support the take from the rich and give to the poor approach were Rep Will Davis and Rep Elgie Sims. Even Rep Bradley whose districts are as poor as can be did not aggressively appear to support the take from the rich theory. Needless to say no Republican supported the concept.
- Anonymous - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 12:12 pm:
ENOUGH!
- Anonymous - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 12:38 pm:
It is not a contradiction to support changing the school funding formula while opposing the idea that all schools schools be held captive until those school funding formula changes are completed.
Regardless, they should all be working together on school funding and making sure schools open on time.
- thechampaignlife - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 1:44 pm:
===”If” you want to work together to get something done===
Emphasis added for obvious reasons.
- Langhorne - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 4:35 pm:
Gee, rauner doesnt like it, when someone lays an ultimatum on him.