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Cullerton ADMITS Chicago Machine Holding School Funding Hostage

“We slowed down the process”

Senate President John Cullerton admitted yesterday for the first time that Democratic politicians in Springfield are intentionally holding SB1 from reaching Governor Rauner’s desk.

Cullerton told the Chicago Tribune that “We slowed down the process in the Senate in order to let everyone blow off some steam, politically speaking.”

This is a direct admission that the Chicago Machine is holding school funding hostage.

John Cullerton has no right to pervert the legislative process in this way. It’s an affront to democracy.

John Cullerton and Mike Madigan should stop helping try to get their friends in Chicago a $500 million bailout and allow SB1 to reach Governor Rauner’s desk for an amendatory veto.

Anything less is a slap in the face to the voters of Illinois and their confidence in our democratic system.

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ILGOP Supports Rauner Decision to Call Special Session

Mike Madigan’s Attempt to Hold Schoolchildren Hostage Needs to Stop

“It is beyond inexcusable that Mike Madigan and his allies refuse to release education funding for all Illinois schools unless they get their $500 million Chicago bailout. It’s just another attempt by Madigan to hold our state hostage for his disastrous Chicago agenda.”

“Governor Rauner’s decision to call lawmakers back to Springfield is necessary to protect students across Illinois from Mike Madigan’s hostage-taking.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe

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ILGOP Releases Digital Ads

Ads Highlight Mike Madigan’s Chicago Bailout, Attempt to Hold Schoolchildren Hostage

Mike Madigan’s attempt to hold schoolchildren hostage for a $500 million Chicago bailout is everything wrong with Illinois politics.

Madigan is willing to put politics ahead of the interests of Illinois children. He’s willing to take money from children across the state to bailout his friends in Chicago with no promise of reform. It’s just plain wrong.

That’s why today, the Illinois Republican Party is releasing digital ads calling out Mike Madigan for his scheme to force through a taxpayer funded Chicago bailout.

The ads:

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Pritzker Defends Madigan AGAIN

Just more evidence J.B. Pritzker is Mike Madigan’s handpicked candidate

This weekend, we got even more evidence that J.B. Pritzker is Mike Madigan’s pick.

Asked at a Democratic forum how he would handle Illinois’ corrupt Speaker, Pritzker defended Madigan.

Capitol Fax reports that Pritzker responded by saying that “we gotta stop throwing the leadership of the Democratic Party at each other.”

It’s been widely reported that J.B. Pritzker is Mike Madigan’s handpicked candidate for Governor.

Just last month, Crain’s Chicago Business reported that Madigan was “breaking legs behind the scenes to help Pritzker”.

J.B. Pritzker has now made his position clear – he is unwilling to criticize Mike Madigan for anything. 

He is unwilling to criticize Madigan for forcing through his 32% tax hike without reform. For refusing to bring term limits up for a vote. For using his personal attorney to kill the fair maps ballot initiative. For his decades of patronage hiring. For rigging the property tax system against hardworking taxpayers.

Nope, Pritzker is fine with all of it.

It’s easy to see why Madigan likes Pritzker so much.

Watch Pritzker defend Madigan here.

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Editorial Boards Call on Democrats to Release SB1

Madigan Democrats Should Stop Holding Schoolchildren Hostage

Mike Madigan and his allies in Springfield are holding schoolchildren hostage for a $500 billion Chicago bailout. They’re refusing to release SB1, the education funding bill, to Governor Rauner’s desk for an amendatory veto to release school funding and remove the bailout.

They are trying to use our children’s education as a leverage for Madigan’s Chicago bailout.

It’s wrong, and editorial boards across Illinois are calling them out for it.

The Belleville News-Democrat editorial board is calling it “legislative extortion”.

“Send the bill to the governor now. Let him use his amendatory veto, and put it to a vote now.”

The Southern Illinoisan editorial board wrote this weekend that, “Some things need to be above politics. Educating our children should be at the top of the list.”

“Take out the Chicago pension funding provision and get the bill to the governor’s desk.”

Mike Madigan – it’s time to release education funding and drop your Chicago bailout.

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Rauner Slams Madigan’s Chicago Bailout in Downstate Tour

Madigan’s Democrats Holding SB1, Children Hostage

Governor Bruce Rauner slammed Mike Madigan’s Democrats in a downstate tour this week, highlighting how Madigan’s Chicago pension bailout will take state education dollars away from downstate schools.

Mike Madigan is holding schoolchildren hostage – he’s having his allies in the Senate hold SB1 from reaching the Governor’s desk in a ploy to force a $500 million taxpayer funded bailout of Chicago schools with no promise of financial reform.

But Governor Rauner is bringing Madigan’s scheme to light.

Check out these headlines from Rauner’s tour:

The Southern: Rauner: Amendatory veto of K-12 funding bill would help Southern Illinois schools
Gov. Bruce Rauner said Thursday that his plan to change the language of a key K-12 funding bill would funnel more money into downstate schools and avoid an unfair “bailout” of Chicago Public Schools.
During an interview with The Southern’s editorial board, Rauner called for the General Assembly to send him the Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act, also known as SB1, which passed both chambers of the legislature on May 31 and has been held from the governor’s desk ever since.

Fox St. Louis: Gov. Rauner threatens to veto Illinois school funding bill over Chicago pensions
“What’s happening is our school funding for this year, August and September, that bill to fund that is being held up Speaker Madigan,” Rauner said.
…“They’re sitting on it, holding it until August to force a crisis to force taxpayers of Illinois to fund a bailout of Chicago pensions,” he said.

KFVS: IL Gov. Rauner sits down one-on-one to discuss school funding bill
“Release the bill, don’t sit on it, don’t wait until August to create a crisis,” Gov. Rauner said. “Send it to my desk and I will amendatory veto it and take out the bad pension payment part that’s going to cost tax payers money, and schools will open on time with more money.”

KSDK: GOV. RAUNER STOPS IN METRO EAST TO PUSH FOR VETO
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner stopped in the Metro East Thursday to talk about schools possibly shutting down because they can’t get state funding. The Governor was in Edwardsville trying to garner support for his plan.
Here’s the issue: Funding has been approved by the Democratic-led Legislature to fund public schools, but the Republican Governor said it unfairly gives millions of dollars to Chicago Schools.

SJ-R: Rauner sets deadline for SB1, says he’ll call special session
“This is the cynical manipulation of this process,” Rauner said. ”(Cullerton) has told my Senate colleagues that Speaker Madigan has ordered him to sit on the bill. .. He takes his orders from Speaker Madigan.”

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Editorial Boards Slam Democrats for “Deliberately Refusing” to Release Education Funding

Madigan Democrats Trying to Force $500 Million Chicago Bailout

“Mike Madigan is trying to hold schoolchildren hostage to get a $500 million bailout for Chicago, just like he held the budget hostage for years to pass his 32% tax hike. It’s a desperate ploy to direct more taxpayer dollars to Chicago by using children as pawns. It’s sick, but that’s the Madigan way.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe

Democrats in the General Assembly are holding the future of Illinois schoolchildren hostage by “deliberately refusing” to send Governor Rauner any bill to fund education and ensure that schools open.

The News-Gazette editorial board blasted Madigan’s Democrats earlier this week, writing that, “They’ve been holding the school funding formula legislation in the Senate since May 31 — more than six weeks — deliberately refusing to send Senate Bill 1 for action to Gov. Rauner.”

“Democrats need to get the bill to Rauner’s desk as soon as possible.”

The Dispatch Argus editorial board highlighted how Madigan booby trapped his 32% tax hike budget in order to force a bailout.

“Among the devilish details in the 583-page Illinois budget we outlined Wednesday lurks a potentially dangerous phrase requiring school funding to be given out via an evidence-based system…. Senate Bill 1, which creates a needs-based funding method, was approved by the Illinois General Assembly in May. But it has never been sent to Gov. Bruce Rauner. Leaders reportedly are holding it while they seek ways to avoid a veto of the bill over what the GOP leader called a pension bailout for Chicago schools.”

“Critics believe Democratic leaders’ real motivation is to tar Gov. Rauner with slamming closed the schoolhouse doors.”

It’s time for Mike Madigan and his fellow politicians to stop holding children hostage and agree to bipartisan education funding that does not take money from students across the state to bailout Chicago.

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Chicago Machine EXPOSED – Admits SB1 Is Just About a Bailout

CPS Claims School Funding Reform Bill is Really Just About a Chicago Pension Bailout

On Monday, the Chicago Machine tipped its hand on SB1.

After months claiming that SB1 was about fixing the school funding formula, Chicago Public Schools started making the unsubstantiated argument that an amendatory veto of the bill to remove the Chicago bailout would change the “fundamental purpose” of the legislation.

It’s a clear admission by the Chicago Machine that the “fundamental purpose” of SB1 is a Chicago pension bailout, and not school funding reform.

It’s time Madigan Democrats in the General Assembly either send SB1 to Governor Rauner for an amendatory veto to remove the Chicago bailout, or pass true bipartisan school funding reform that excludes a multi-hundred million dollar bailout of Chicago at the expense of schools across the state.

Otherwise, this is just another case of Mike Madigan and his machine holding Illinois hostage for his Chicago agenda.

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ICYMI – BND: “say hello to your new Illinois tax increase”

“Take a close look at your next paycheck”

Mike Madigan’s 32% tax hike is now law. The Belleville News-Democrat editorial board explains this morning how Madigan’s lawmakers failed Illinois by refusing to pass any meaningful reforms.

From the BND:
Take a close look at your next paycheck.

…It took our lawmakers two years to come up with this tax and budget package, but they’re wasting no time getting into our wallets.

If you weren’t paying attention to how Illinois got into its mess, maybe the change in your paycheck will make you take notice. And we need to pay attention, because even though this tax will give the state another $5 billion annually, big problems remain.

For one thing, there’s still that $130 billion debt to state employees’ pension funds. For another, there’s that $15 billion bill backlog.

And House Speaker Michael Madigan pushed through this Democrat tax-and-spend plan without having to accept any of the pro-business reforms that Gov. Bruce Rauner hoped would stop job-creators and residents from fleeing to more business-friendly states. What will happen when there are no paychecks left to tax?

Madigan’s scheme has no change to Illinois’ costly workers’ compensation laws, no freezing of property taxes, nothing to rein in the out-of-control government spending.

Even with this new tax windfall, our state’s credit rating remains dangerously close to junk status. Moody’s Investors Service, citing the pension debt and bill backlog and other structural problems, said Friday that Illinois has “lingering credit challenges,” like collecting $5 billion to pay off $145 billion in debt.

In other words, Illinois’ politicians might be lingering around your paycheck and your wallet for a long time.

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ICYMI: All Dem Gov Candidates Back the Madigan Tax

Support for Madigan’s 32% Permanent Tax Hike is Universal 
In case you missed it last week, all major Democratic candidates for Governor threw their unequivocal support behind Mike Madigan’s 32% permanent income tax hike.

J.B. Pritzker supported the Madigan tax before it was fashionable for Democrats. Back in April, the News-Gazette noted that Pritzker “recently told a group of party members that the state income tax should be increased to at least 5 percent, perhaps higher.”

Then, Pritzker released a statement praising the Madigan 32% tax hike budget after it became law.

Chris Kennedy said that Illinois “needed” the Madigan 32% tax hike budget.

Ameya Pawar said that a 32% tax hike on middle class families somehow “protects” them.

And Daniel Biss actually voted for the Madigan tax.

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