In Veto of Senate Bill 730, Rauner Creates Dimmer Future for Children of Illinois
In Veto of Senate Bill 730, Rauner Creates Dimmer Future for Children of Illinois
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, August 26, 2016
CHICAGO-Following is the statement of SEIU Healthcare Illinois Vice President Brynn Seibert in response to the breaking news that Bruce Rauner has vetoed Senate Bill 730:
“Bruce Rauner has done so much to endanger quality child care in Illinois and today is no different. Our hope was that he would take a chance to fix what he has broken. But his veto today of Senate Bill 730 shows that he is determined to create a dimmer and dimmer future for the children of Illinois and kill jobs in the process.”
“When Rauner unilaterally enacted his cuts to child care last summer, several experts, including his top administrator for the program, predicted the results would be “devastating.” And they were right. The program to help working families enter the workforce with quality child care had 55,000 fewer children participating than a year before, according to recent figures.
“Senate Bill 730 was an attempt to fix what Rauner broke and would have added an estimated 52,000 children to the program at a time when parents increasingly can’t afford child care and caregivers are being paid poverty wages. The vetoed legislation also would have provided a path out of homelessness or the child welfare system for many children.
“In recent days, we’ve seen Bruce Rauner pour his millions into the campaign coffers of candidates who vow to stand up for his special interest agenda that does nothing to fix our ongoing budget crisis, much less find solutions for the child care crisis facing Illinois. If only he found time to consider the future of Illinois children, instead of focusing on the future of a political agenda that has done us such harm.”
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Related: State Rep. Candidates React to Rauner’s Job-Killing Veto of Child Care Expansion