Springfield, IL – State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) issued the following statement in response to the budget compromise plan unveiled June 14 and Gov. Bruce Rauner calling for a Special Session:
“Yesterday, a package of legislation was filed that includes cuts, reforms, starts to pay off our billion plus-dollar backlog of bills, actually balances the state budget, and fundamentally reforms our inequitable K-12 system – and is great for downstate schools because it combines the best parts of the two competing funding reform proposals into a single reform. It is also a package that Governor Rauner says he will sign into law. The package contains many compromises made by the Governor, Senate and House Republicans, and the Senate Democrats.
“Clearly, sitting at home is doing nobody any good as our state hurtles towards junk bond status on July 1st. Senate Republicans have compromised. House Republicans have compromised. The Senate Democrats have compromised. Governor Rauner has compromised. All eyes are now on House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago). Will he engage before the end of June? Or will he, and his Democrat majority, push us to into junk bond status and, in the process, destroy the taxpayers of Illinois and what is left of higher education, K-12, social services, and anything else that our once proud state cares about? I completely support the decision to go back to Springfield and when we do the House Democrats need to step up to the plate – everyone else has!”