Democrats' Questions About Unbalanced Budget Are 'Side Issues,' Rauner Says

Republican Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner says Democrats’ questions about running an unbalanced budget are “side issues.”

Credit Brian Mackey/Illinois Public Radio

There have been several lawsuits against state government because there’s no budget. Those lawsuits prompted Rauner’s administration to spend a set amount of money for core services.

Democrats like State Representative John Bradley want to know if the state’s spending more than it’s taking in.

"I think it’s a very, very bad calculation," he said.

But no one from Rauner’s administration showed up to a hearing to answer Bradley’s questions."Rather than actually debating our reform agenda, we’ve had a lot of hearings into side issues, that’s what’s going on here," the governor said.

Rauner says Bradley’s budget hearings are a distraction from voting on a budget. He vetoed an unbalanced budget earlier this year.

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