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Like it or not, the governor may get elected school board bill on his desk

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* Gov. Rauner on a bill for an elected Chicago school board while speaking last week to WBEZ

Despite veto-proof majorities in both the House and the Senate, Rauner said Friday on WBEZ’s “Morning Shift” that he doesn’t believe HB 1774 will reach his desk. This comes a day after he told Chicago Tonight that even if the bill does make it out of the General Assembly, he would likely be unwilling to sign it as is.

“My sense is that’s more for political spin. I don’t think that’s coming to my desk,” Rauner told “Moring Shift” host Tony Sarabia. “We’ll see what passes the General Assembly and deal with it at the time.”

When asked by Sarabia if that means he is opposed, in general, to an elected school board in Chicago, Rauner answered: “I wouldn’t say that. I think the devil is in the details.” […]

[Rep. Rob Martwick, who authored the initial bill] said he’s worked to include legislators from both sides of the aisle in discussions while drafting the bill, and included about half of the six suggestions House Republicans offered to help tighten up the legislation.

“So for (Rauner) to say that sort of stuff, he’s either playing politics himself or he’s just never followed the bill or the bill process,” he said. “I think it’s a good bill, it’s going to wind up on his desk. Political spin is ridiculous.”

* Rauner was more specific during a WTTW interview

The governor also says he would veto a plan approved on Wednesday that would take away the mayor’s authority to appoint the CPS board, and instead letting voters choose leaders for the state’s largest school district, as it’s done everywhere else in the state.

Rauner, a frequent advocate of “local control” and just as frequent critic of unions, says he can’t sign the legislation because it doesn’t have “safeguards to make sure that special interest groups who make their money from the schools don’t control the elections and control the board.”

Observers predict that if CPS were to have an elected board, the powerful Chicago Teachers Union would make a strong play for seats.

“Well I’d like to see that restriction about special interest groups everywhere. But that already exists. Chicago, Chicago needs to have a truly … freedom away from the special interest groups.”

* The Senate once again revised the House bill, but this time Speaker Madigan’s spokesman says those were agreed changes

Steve Brown, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s spokesman, said Friday that leaders in both chambers had discussed them and appear to be on the same page.

“I expect it to be supported when we reconvene,” Brown said of the elected school board legislation. […]

[Sen. Kwame Raoul], who sponsored the bill in the Senate, noted the bipartisan support in both chambers as a sign the governor will actually support it.

“I think if the governor wasn’t going to support it, it probably wouldn’t have happened, “Raoul said. “The things he’s not going to support don’t get that much support from the Republicans.”

The Senate’s version passed 53-2, with Republican Sens. McConnaughay and Rezin opposed.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jun 5, 17 @ 9:54 am

Comments

  1. Special interests will control? Guv, you drop tens of millions of dollars to control a political party and tell them how to vote under the capitol dome. Seriously, who is the special interest?

    Comment by One of Three Puppets Monday, Jun 5, 17 @ 10:07 am

  2. “special interest groups who make their money from the schools”

    Said the guy who has personally mailed checks to GA members to “remind” them how to vote.

    The audacity of his lies and gaslighting never fails to stagger.

    Comment by Nick Name Monday, Jun 5, 17 @ 10:20 am

  3. “Well I’d like to see that restriction about special interest groups everywhere.” Like his buddies, the cabal of multi-billionaires

    Comment by Huh? Monday, Jun 5, 17 @ 10:21 am

  4. More like he doesn’t want the voters to have control BECAUSE they are quite likely to vote for CTU members, and he hates all unions. Now I might agree that having CTU on both sides of the bargaining table is problematic, but he’s just an elitist that is saying he knows what’s good for people, better even than they themselves do.

    Comment by Perrid Monday, Jun 5, 17 @ 10:24 am

  5. The problem isn’t the special interest groups, it’s the number of board members: 21. LA Unified has twice as many students but only 7 elected board members.

    Comment by City Zen Monday, Jun 5, 17 @ 10:25 am

  6. Daily Herald Editorial:

    School funding equity loses out to Chicago greed

    Comment by winners and losers Monday, Jun 5, 17 @ 10:28 am

  7. Rauner helping his buddy Rahm at the sake of Illinois taxpayers, interesting?

    Comment by DuPage Bard Monday, Jun 5, 17 @ 10:53 am

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