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Rauner blasts Dems

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Illinois

* Statement by Gov. Rauner…

Democrat leaders who control the General Assembly made it clear they will not take any major action on balancing our budget or passing real reforms until after the General Election in November. That is wrong and that is why, despite their refusal, I am advocating for two bills: a stopgap funding measure to ensure our most critical government services continue being funded and a school funding bill that puts more money into education, holds all schools harmless and ensures they open on time in the fall.

This morning Republicans will introduce an updated stopgap measure to add funding for higher education, MAP grants, and human services.

We are three days away from the end of the fiscal year. While we have essentially reached agreement on a six-month stopgap budget, the super majority is focused on passing a school funding bill that forces suburban and downstate taxpayers to pay for a massive bailout of the severely mismanaged Chicago Public Schools system.

I have said it before, and I say it again today: we must not bail out a broken system that refuses to change the way it does business. Forcing Illinois to raise its income tax to bail out CPS is fundamentally unfair to our school children, parents, homeowners, and small business owners across the state.

The real tragedy is that we have proposed legislation which would let Chicago fix every one of CPS’ problems, allowing city leaders to protect their students and taxpayers while eliminating the need for any bailout – but Speaker Madigan has refused to call the bills for a vote.

· Granting local control of collective bargaining would allow CPS to remove teachers’ pensions pickup from contract negotiations, saving taxpayers from the single biggest threat to CPS’ financial health. The Mayor requested the state do this last year.

· Applying President Cullerton’s pension reform proposal to CPS teachers’ pensions would save Chicago taxpayers billions in the long run and give them the resources to hire more teachers.

· Allowing CPS to declare bankruptcy if the Mayor or city council deemed it necessary to reorganize school contracts and debts could protect teachers’ jobs and prevent the need for massive tax hikes on homeowners in Chicago. And even if the Mayor chose never to exercise the option, it would fundamentally alter the balance in teacher union contract negotiations, making tax hikes no longer the only inevitable option.

If Mayor Emanuel would join with his friend, President Cullerton, and lead in the effort for reforms along with Republican legislators, then together we could protect students, teachers, and taxpayers in the city and the state, creating a better future for everyone.

The reason for this statement is contained in another post. The House Democrats are so far refusing to vote on a stopgap bill other than for transportation, so Rauner is introducing a stopgap bill that was negotiated by the budgeteers.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 9:58 am

Comments

===Democrat leaders who control the General Assembly…===

And I just stopped listening right there. Sigh.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:01 am
Dylan has his Neverending Tour. Rauner has his Neverending Campaign.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:04 am
Did anyone not expect this?

Governor, you’re not helping.

Comment by Me too Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:08 am
is there any actual emperocal data that downstate tax payers would be paying for Chicago? last i checked inc tax, sales tax, gas tax, corp tax etc money flowed out from chicago to downstate. i.e technically it is downstate taking money from chicago to pay for its roads and other items.
see http://www.rebootillinois.com/2014/05/11/editors-picks/mattdietrich/illinois-tax-money-comes/8145/

Its this myth that tax money is flowing from downstate to chicago. maybe lettng the economic engiene KEEP some of its money is actually fair… I mean hasnt Rauner been pushing the collectivist notion of keeping the money you make. Chicago would be surplus funded if the rest of the state stipped taking their money.

Some media outlet really should call the gov on his false claim that money is being taken from downstate….. Bueller? Bueller?

Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:10 am
That was a very good, thoughtful statement.

Comment by Birdseed Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:11 am
===Some media outlet really should call the gov on his false claim that money is being taken from downstate….. Bueller?===

I have. Including in my latest Crain’s column.

Try to keep up.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:13 am
“Forcing Illinois to raise its income tax”

But it’s okay for Chicago taxpayers to foot part of the pension bill for every other school district?

I say no to CPS bankruptcy–not when Rauner and other top earners pay a pittance in state income tax.

Comment by Grandson of Man Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:14 am
The best thing to do when the house is on fire is throw gasoline at it, punch a fireman, and then hope that people believe you that you haven’t contributed to the resulting damage.

Comment by Boooooooo Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:14 am
“…so Rauner is introducing a stopgap bill that was negotiated by the budgeteers.”

*****
Based on this thread and the other on the stopgap today, the bills have not been filed yet. If these are truly bipartisan by the budgeteers, then it will be interesting to see who the co-sponsors are. Otherwise I remain skeptical and fear the “Rauner” in the details.

Comment by Anon221 Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:16 am
@Boooooooo, you forgot cut the fireman’s pension, wipe out his union, declare bankruptcy and outsource the fire department to a private equity firm.

Comment by Reality Check Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:19 am
Meanwhile, the Social Services lifesaver sits on his desk, ignored. Just like the people it would help.

Comment by northsider (the original) Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:20 am
The best way to tell if Rauner is lying: his mouth is moving. He will fail all of us again I’m sure. He apparently just wants to destroy the state in order to save it.

Comment by Chucktownian Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:26 am
===Granting local control of collective bargaining ===

This is the only line in the statement that matters.

Comment by Just a Guy Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:26 am
All three of Rauners asks are direct assaults on CTU. If I were Pentecostal I’d probably wonder if Rauner hadn’t been possessed by an anti-union demon. Seriously, he’s possessed.

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:27 am
If he is screaming that loud perhaps he has to give something up and knows it.

Comment by Chuckvegas Alum Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:27 am
northsider- And he will ignore it because it is moot at this point. GA leaders needed to get that to his desk so that the 60 days expired before June 30th. But they didn’t, so he’ll veto it in his own good time with the reasoning (not unwarranted) that it should be in the stopgap(s) instead. The GA handed him that on a silver platter. And, in my county, we are losing services, most likely permanently, as a result.

Comment by Anon221 Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:27 am
Blah blah blah. Rehash. Blame Madigan. Not my fault. Blame Madigan. Rehash. Blah blah blah.

Will someone please bump the record player and get the needle out of the scratch.

Comment by Huh? Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:29 am
Lede is kinda buried here in that, once again, Dems negotiating field has been shortened by Rs filing yet another version of an “agreed” stopgap.

Comment by Conn Smythe Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:29 am
Governor. When you run around with your hair on fire screaming that the other side is being evil - you’re losing the argument. Calm down because I suspect the next couple of days will be quite a learning experience for you.

Comment by Triple fat Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:46 am
When i saw the poll results, i sadly knew this screed was coming. It will never be enough for rauner to make progress on a goal, the other side has to be crushed.

Comment by Langhorne Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 10:56 am
Looks like there will be a lot of rhetoric and posturing today before the leaders meeting this afternoon. Likely no bills will be filed until after that meeting in order for the multiple sides to hold onto whatever worth of bargaining chips they may have.

Comment by Anon221 Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 11:00 am
Seems I have read about huge management overhauls at CPS and belt-tightening recently, thus efforts to correct the past.

But Rauner says, “I have said it before, and I say it again today: we must not bail out a broken system that refuses to change the way it does business.”

He makes some good points above about options for CPS, but he has no political capital with which to work. Zero.

He has been backing into this dark alley for 18 months. And besides all the hot air rhetoric, he has not been able to run his agencies and the state in a safe and proper manner. Duh, what a surprise.

Now he is starting the same loop with CPS; mess and mess and mess with them until they are so broken, they become like his prisons in need of emergency repairs etc.

Why would we allow him to do this when there are much smarter ways to affect change?

This week, in Springfield, he has to take what he gets, because that’s the way he wants it.

Comment by cdog Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 11:07 am
“Democratic” party leaders. . . He should make an attempt to get their name right. He can save the “democrat” and the “collectivist” for the Fountainhead reading group. Know your audience.

Comment by JPC Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 11:18 am
And so, all other issues aside, for there to be an agreement before Friday, it boils down to CPS…and it looks to me like Rauner’s painted himself into a corner. If he doesn’t blink, year two starts Fri. It will be worse than year one…

Comment by IRLJ Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 11:19 am
“..taxpayers to pay for a massive bailout of the severely mismanaged”

bailout?
severely mismanaged?

Who’s he talking about?

Comment by cdog Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 11:41 am
Rauner need a to sign SB10 and chill out.

Comment by Jorge Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 12:35 pm
Y’know, if I stopped reading every “Rauner blasts Dems” or “Madigan blasts Republicans” story, I’d probably have the time to (finally) finish “Ulysses”.

Comment by JoanP Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 1:06 pm
My own opinion is it is grievously unjust to stopgap only parts of the entire state budget or put it off past July 1. Pick your favorite part of the state budget? I even think it creates huge human rights issues, because various categories of Illinois citizens (age, gender, disabled, in need of medical services, in need of other health services,; in business financial need of bills being paid,;etc.); are negatively affected by certain parts of the state budget nnit being funded. If they are going to “stopgap”, it should be across the board for however many months they need to decide everything.
They should “stop the gap” in leadership IMO.

Comment by Team Warwick Tuesday, Jun 28, 16 @ 2:46 pm
SO here is what we spend money on.
Let’s just consider WHO is paying for these costs?
stimated difference between FY16 and FY17 rates:

HMO IL - $26,633,000
Blue Advantage - $4,965,000
Total increase of FY17 over FY16 = $31,597,000

http://www.purchase.state.il.us/ipb/IllinoisBID.nsf/frmBidDocFrameset?ReadForm&RefNum=22038547&DocID=17086FA7A9A126EF86257FDF0055C670&view=viewNoticesOpenByDate

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jun 29, 16 @ 1:38 am