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*** UPDATED x - Pritzker responds - DGA pounces *** Not a great moment for the governor

Tuesday, Aug 1, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Gov. Rauner told reporters today: “Upholding my amendatory veto requires a simple majority.” Rauner then repeated himself.

The Democrats insist that’s not true. After May 31st, upholding an amendatory veto on a bill that has an immediate effective date requires a three-fifths super-majority, just like any other piece of legislation with immediate effective dates. Click here and scroll to page 9.

So, where did he get that info? It’s a common mistake. Heck, I’ve made it, too. But the governor’s legal counsel certainly knew that answer. Maybe the governor was listening to someone else?

Perhaps he should’ve checked in with the Illinois Policy Institute?…

The General Assembly can agree with the recommendations made by the governor by a simple majority vote in each of the chambers. The bill then becomes law, as amended by the governor. However, should the governor issue the amendatory veto after May 31 and the changes have an immediate effective date, the recommendations require a three-fifths majority vote in both chambers in order to pass. If the effective date is the next fiscal year, the changes only require a simple majority to pass.

They linked to this court case.

* Regardless, check out the video exchange with reporters, particularly during the follow-up questions. Not good…

Here is @GovRauner seemingly unaware of an IL Supreme Court decision requiring a 3/5 majority to uphold his own amendatory veto#twill pic.twitter.com/YzrsR64CV1

— IL Working Together (@IllinoisWorking) August 1, 2017

* So, now what happens? Well, the Senate has to return to session and then enter the veto into its journal. The Senate will likely hold a perfunctory session this afternoon at 2 o’clock to get that done, I’m told. Once the bill is “journalized,” the chamber has 15 calendar days to act or the bill dies.

…Adding… The governor’s office is now admitting that accepting the AV requires a three-fifths vote.

*** UPDATE 1 *** DGA…

“Today Bruce Rauner soared to new heights of irresponsibility,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner vetoed a school funding bill for political reasons without even fully understanding the repercussions of his actions. Illinois families were just dragged through a two-year budget crisis exacerbated by Rauner’s veto of the state’s first budget in two years - a crisis was only resolved when Republicans and Democrats joined together to override his veto. Now Bruce Rauner’s failed leadership is putting Illinois schools at risk.”

*** UPDATE 2 *** Pritzker campaign…

“Bruce Rauner doesn’t understand his own school funding plan, can’t say where his numbers come from, and now doesn’t even know how many votes he needs to pass it,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “This is what happens when a failed governor clings to crisis and surrounds himself with a team of radicals. Illinois schoolchildren should not have to pay the price for this embarrassment in Springfield.”

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New Do Your Job, Inc. digital ad: “Serious people are questioning whether Governor Rauner has lost it”

Tuesday, Aug 1, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

[This post has been bumped up for visibility.]

* Press release…

As Senate Bill 1 heads to Governor Rauner’s desk, Do Your Job, Inc. is asking him to get a grip, do his job and sign the bill.

After decades of talks around reforming the state’s education formula, Senate Bill 1 is the only bill to have passed the legislature. The bill is endorsed by editorial boards, community partners, school districts and school superintendents across the state. By vetoing the bill, Governor Rauner will put the funding of our schools in jeopardy.

In the past, Governor Rauner has recognized the need for a more equitable education funding formula.

According the Illinois Policy Institute, Governor Rauner said the following in his 2017 State of the State Address:

For years, Illinois has provided the lowest percentage of education financial support from any state in the country. And we have the largest gap between funding for high income schools and low income schools in the country, both across the state and within the city of Chicago.

This June, the SJ-R ran a piece entitled “Purvis: Rauner likes 90% of school funding reform bill but will veto” where the lede was:

Gov. Bruce Rauner’s education adviser, Beth Purvis, said the governor supports 90 percent of the education funding reform bill that was passed by the legislature this spring, but would still veto it because it is too generous to Chicago Public Schools.

On July 17th, Governor Rauner reiterated the value of SB 1 on his twitter page:

Lawmakers should send education funding bill SB1 to my desk immediately. This helps public schools in IL get equitable and adequate funding.

But Governor Rauner’s actions have gotten even more bizarre during the Governor’s not-so-special session.

He hasn’t disclosed legislative language for the Illinois General Assembly to act on.

He’s refused to meet with Senate President Cullerton or Senate Bill 1’s sponsors in the House and Senate. In fact, he’s called the Senate President’s desire to negotiate an “outrageous” demand. (After all, Governor Rauner is on the record saying: Nobody tells me what my policies are, nobody.)

And a day later, in a move which we can only assume can be attributed to Rauner’s “unhealthy obsession with media and messaging” as a Sun-Times source called it, Rauner created a working group which has yet to produce a legislative alternative which can pass the General Assembly.

The ad, entitled “Lost It” will run on digital platforms and can be viewed here and contains the following narration:

Serious people are questioning whether Governor Rauner has lost it.
After a three-year budget crisis, Rauner alone wanted to take the state over the cliff.
Republicans and Democrats worked together to solve the problem without him.
Then, Rauner fired his professional staff and replaced them with some questionable characters.
And now he’s stoking a school crisis, threatening to veto a new funding formula educators support, and his own education secretary said has 90 percent of what Rauner likes.
Governor Rauner, get a grip. Do your job.

Do Your Job, Inc. is led by IL Sen. Mike E. Hastings of South Suburban Cook County, IL Rep. Lou Lang of Skokie and Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael T. Carrigan.

* The spot…

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