Bruce Rauner

Union Calls on Rauner to Personally Pay Back Cuts to Childcare Services

After Gov. Bruce Rauner implied he personally supported state childcare services in Illinois on Monday, a local union fired back and demanded that the governor personally refund the cuts that have been made to those services amid the ongoing budget stalemate.

"The fact that Bruce Rauner believes his personal philanthropy somehow absolves him of his brick-by-brick destruction of the Child Care Assistance Program and for earning our newly-minted 'Worst State in America for Child Care' label shows how wildly out-of-touch he is with the problems of everyday people," James Muhammad, Illinois vice president of SEIU Healthcare, said in a statement.

"If Bruce Rauner is truly serious about his personal commitment to childcare as a private citizen, he should put his money where his mouth is and write a check to cover his cuts," Muhammad continued. "We all know he can afford it."

The statement was prompted by a remark the governor made during a speaking event in Bloomington on Monday. While discussing the impact of the budget impasse, Rauner said little more than he was sorry, but he later added that he is "one of the biggest donors to childcare in Illinois." 

According to SEIU, tens of thousands of families are being denied childcare services as a result of "rules changes (Rauner has) promulgated." 

At the Bloomington event, Rauner further placed much of the blame for the stalemate on Chicago, specifically calling out the Chicago Public Schools' district and its financial mess.

"Chicago makes Illinois look well run, and that's pretty scary," Rauner concluded.

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