SPRINGFIELD (July 26, 2017) – Today, Gov. Bruce Rauner expressed outrage with Democratic leadership in the General Assembly for continuing to play political games with children’s education. Senate Bill 1, the education funding bill, was passed May 31, but Senate Democrats have refused to send it to the governor’s desk, putting at risk the start of the school year.
“No child in Illinois should lose a single minute of their education for political gain,” Gov. Rauner said. “Why wait until Monday to send me the bill? It’s unconscionable. It’s wrong. Our children deserve so much better than this. It’s wrong to take money from school kids and send it to CPS pension payments.”
The current version of SB 1 includes a massive pension payment for Chicago Public Schools. Gov. Rauner plans to issue an amendatory veto that will eliminate the CPS pension bailout and send more money to school districts across the state. He has been unable to do so because Senate Democrats have refused to send the bill to Gov. Rauner, hoping to force a crisis before the start of the school year.
###
