Governor’s first year filled with controversy

When Gov. Bruce Rauner took office on Jan. 12, 2015, he pledged to “make Illinois the most competitive and compassionate state in America.” The governor also pledged to “let the people control their own economic destinies.”

That economic destiny is uncertain, with Illinois in its seventh month without a state budget. Rauner has made several claims about his accomplishments in his first year, some of which others question.

Rauner was not available for comment for this article. Earlier this month, the governor’s office allotted 15-minute slots for one-onone questions with other media outlets in the Illinois Statehouse. Illinois Times asked for a similar interview but was turned down, with Catharine Kelly, Rauner’s spokeswoman, saying, “We are going to decline.” A call to Lance Trover, a Rauner spokesman, was not returned by publication.

Earlier this month, the governor’s office released a list of 14 accomplishments, which he said were done “despite intransigence from legislative Democrats who continue to block structural reforms that would grow jobs and deliver better value for taxpayers.”

One of Rauner’s listed accomplishments was signing “the K-12 education budget bill to ensure that our future generations would not be held hostage by the legislature’s inability to pass a balanced budget.” In June, funding for kindergarten through 12 th grade was signed into law, allowing primary and secondary school teachers and students to start on time.

Although a victory for the Illinois governor and primary education, institutions of higher education weren’t spared the governor’s pain, and many public universities and community colleges are unsure how long they can continue operating.

“This is creating a hardship on public universities and an unsustainable predicament,” said Tom Hardy, executive director for university relations for the University of Illinois campuses. “We have been forced to draw down on cash reserves, reduce employment and curtail programs.”

The elimination of the $1.6 billion deficit at the beginning of the state’s 2016 fiscal year was another accomplishment on the governor’s list.

“Rauner inherited this financial crisis,” said Dr. Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political studies and public affairs at University of Illinois Springfield. “In a narrow sense, the governor did eliminate the deficit. He used cuts and fund sweeps – a one-time solution – to fix an ongoing problem in Illinois.”

Collective bargaining agreements with labor unions were next on Rauner’s list, where he cited successful negotiations with 17 bargaining units, representing more than 5,000 state employees.

“This may be true,” said Charlie Wheeler, director of the Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois Springfield, “but he has not been able to achieve this with the system that covers the most state employees.”

According the state comptroller’s office, as of November 2015, there were 63, 578 state employees. The 5,000 employees covered under Rauner’s claim represent just seven percent of the state employee workforce. By comparison, AFSCME Council 31 represents 35,000 employees whose contract is under contentious negotiation with the governor’s office.

Roberta Lynch, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, released a statement Jan. 15 calling the governor out on negotiation terms with the labor union.

“Just as Rauner is holding the state budget hostage, his ‘my way or no way’ demands of state employees are the obstacle to a fair agreement,” Lynch said.

She explains that state health care plans, getting no wage increase for four years, basing bonuses on unknown criteria open to political favoritism and the privatization of public services are just some of 200 “extreme” demands made by the Rauner administration.

Unemployment insurance and EDGE credit reforms were also on Rauner’s list of accomplishments for 2015. In the case of unemployment insurance, “this was mutually beneficial for two private parties – big labor and businesses,” said Redfield.

Rauner’s campaign was based on the need for “structural reform” in Illinois. The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association says that reform is key to creating a sustainable workforce.

“Over 900,000 jobs were reinstated into the manufacturing industry, but a loss of 15,000 jobs in Illinois reflects the need for reform,” stated Mark Denzler, vice president and COO of the IMA. “We are pleased with the governor’s laser focus on reform in order to make Illinois more business friendly and more attractive to families across the state.”

State Rep. Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, would disagree that the governor’s tactics are making the state more attractive to families.

“As I walk door-to-door in my district,” Harper said, “I hear the same thing at every door: ‘He has put us through hell.’ ” To Harper’s constituents, programs like child care, preventive care, education and gang intervention are key to survival.

“A little ‘pain’ doesn’t cause him any trouble, but it sure hurts for my constituents,” Harper said.

Child care providers like Pamela Franks of Springfield have experienced that pain since July 2015, when the governor unilaterally lowered the maximum income level for day care assistance to $664 for twoperson families.

“I got behind on my mortgage, acquired late fees, along with other bills that couldn’t be paid on time,” Franks said.

Franks says she lost existing clients and couldn’t get new clients enrolled because it was hard to get the families approved.

“I can’t depend on the state for my business’ income, there’s no stability,” Franks said. “How can I run a quality day care and small business without stable income?” Added Harper: “A good number of Illinoisans voted for Rauner thinking he would ‘shake up Springfield’ and confront hard structural challenges. He’s done none of those things.”

In addition to Rauner’s contested accomplishments, the lack of a state budget seven months into the current fiscal year has prompted criticism of how Rauner has handled his most immediate responsibility.

“If you look at the traditional view of the responsibilities of the governor, you will see their number one responsibility is to pass a budget,” said Charlie Wheeler. “In that sense, this is the biggest failure in the modern era, since the beginning of annual budgets back in 1970.”

“Despite no budget being in place, the governor has done a good job with working with a tough legislature,” said Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman. “Gov. Rauner is working to establish a balanced budget, and we should live up to that.”

Rauner has openly stated that without support on his Turnaround Agenda from the legislature, budgetary discussions will be pushed to the back burner. Rauner’s agenda is composed of structural and economic changes that include workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, pension cuts, freezing property taxes, tort reform, term limits and redistricting. Out of that list, unemployment insurance is the only accomplishment that critics agree is truly a completed task.

With no budget in place, the state makes payments at the permission of court orders, consent decrees and constitutional amendments.

“If we don’t get through this, then there’s no reason to expect this year to be any happier,” Redfield said.

Contact Brittany Hilderbrand at [email protected].