Budget Update

One of the biggest issues in Illinois government today is the budget. Governor Rauner has written a budget that suggests slashing funding for higher education by 31.5%. Although his budget does support higher funding for K-12 education, he also seeks to reduce funding for Special Education. This along with many other issues has caused much unrest in Springfield as our legislators try to work with our governor to compromise. On June 25th, Governor Rauner vetoed the state budget. The following is the official statement by the IEA concerning this veto:

"Today’s veto announcement places the state budget debate in a new light.

By vetoing the budget, the governor is making it clear that Illinois must have additional revenue as part of any final budget “fix.” The veto proves that we cannot cut our way to a budget that meets the needs of Illinois citizens.

This is a serious moment for Illinois requiring the full attention of the governor and the members of the General Assembly.

Issues unrelated to the budget should be pushed to the side until a spending plan is signed that adequately funds higher education and countless other important state programs that Illinoisans count on."

Retrieved from: http://www.ieanea.org/2015/06/25/iea-statement-on-governors-budget-veto/


Although the Governor has finalized and signed the pre-K through 12 part of the budget, there is still more to work out even now that the deadline of August 1st has passed. If the governor and the Illinois congress do not come to an agreement on the budget soon, government workers and the people they serve especially in healthcare and transportation will suffer.

For more information about how the lack of budget affects our state, see this article from the Chicago Sun Times: http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/738489/illinois-shutdown-looms-means