SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Dan Beiser, D-Alton, is calling on Gov. Rauner to introduce a balanced and full budget proposal to the General Assembly after his budget address earlier today.
“Each year Governor Rauner has come before the General Assembly to share his budget proposal and for the third year in a row, he has failed. Instead of hearing details of how the governor plans to work with the legislature on getting a budget that doesn’t put our most vulnerable citizens at risk, we again heard empty platitudes about reforming Illinois. At this point, what would truly be reforming Illinois would be to have an actual budget in place.
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“I hear from my constituents every day about how the governor has cut funding for home health care for seniors, about veterans who can’t get services that they depend on and how people with developmental disabilities no longer have access to the assistance they need. These are heart-wrenching stories that could easily be solved if the governor put his agenda to the side and actually worked with legislators to develop a budget solution.
“At the same time, I understand his desire to pass reforms that will help grow Illinois, but we have to make sure that these reforms do more than cut wages and strip away protections for workers. I am committed to supporting reforms that will lift up the middle class, like increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit and raising the minimum wage. I want to help small and medium-sized businesses that create the most jobs by cutting their taxes and leveling the playing field. I also think we have to make companies that take Illinois tax dollars to create jobs, but then ship them overseas to pay us back.
“All of these reforms though, won’t do nearly as much good if there is not a budget in state to support our social services, police and fire departments, schools, colleges and universities. I call on the governor, once again, to come back to the negotiating table with legislators from both sides of the aisle and get a budget in place.”
