- Published: 09 March 2017
Northern Public Radio - March 8, 2017 | original article
By Brian Mackey
lllinois senators are putting Governor Bruce Rauner’s agency directors under the magnifying glass. It’s part of the ongoing fallout from Rauner’s move to block the bipartisan "grand bargain," which is meant to end Illinois’ 20-month budget stalemate.
The governor’s budget relies on the proposal, or it will be short by $4.6 billion. State Senator Patricia Van Pelt grilled Public Health director Nirav Shah.
"Can you tell me how you would reduce your budget by $22 million? If you can’t you just can’t," she said.
“Our proposed budget does not contain $22 million of cuts, so...," Shah responded.
Shah went on out outline about $3.8 million dollars in cuts — a tiny fraction of the deficit.
Rauner says he could support the grand bargain if it was a “good deal for taxpayers.” But Democrats say they’ve already negotiated away as much as they can.
