Rauner calls for end to ‘ heated rhetoric,’ ‘ finger- pointing’
‘ Heated rhetoric doesn’t help,’ Rauner says ahead of weekend meetings, but Madigan wants answers on tense topics
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday urged a calming of political rhetoric ahead of more tough budget talks, hours before House Speaker Michael Madigan released a wish list of topics he wants discussed during the weekend meetings.
Some of the Southwest Side Democrat’s topics aren’t likely to have much of a calming effect.
They include an explanation of the governor’s “punitive” veto of the Chicago Public Schools teacher pension bill and “a full recounting of all taxpayer- funded corporate giveaways handed out” since the governor took office “and how many new jobs have been created in Illinois by those corporations.”
Rauner, Madigan and the other three legislative leaders plan to meet both Saturday and Sunday morning in Chicago.
Those meetings come after frustrated lawmakers left Springfield without a budget following a fall veto session — despite a loud clock ticking toward the end of state appropriations ensured by a stopgap budget.
“Heated rhetoric doesn’t help,” Rauner cautioned Friday. “Getting emotional doesn’t help. Pointing fingers doesn’t help. Let’s stay mature.”
Rauner and Madigan continue to be at odds over the governor’s preferred reforms, which the governor argues are essential to getting a balanced budget. The speaker believes those shouldn’t be tied to a budget.
“I am requesting from the governor’s office by Sunday a list of topics, so experts from our caucus can attend to facilitate a real conversation on these issues, unlike the superficial discussions held by the governor this week that did not help us get any closer to a full- year budget,” Madigan said in a statement.
Madigan already ruffled feathers when he requested that Rep. Greg Harris, D- Chicago, come with him to leaders meeting as his “chief negotiator.” Now, it seems the speaker wants to bring along a bevy of experts to the Sunday meeting. And he’s encouraging the governor to do the same.
Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin on Friday said he asked Rauner to limit meetings to “the actual decision- makers — the leaders and their key staff” while trying to keep a positive note about the discussions.
“I am pleased to see the speaker engaged in the process and committed to attending meetings. Traditionally, we have been able to reach agreement on tough issues among the four leaders and the governor,” Durkin said in a statement.
In addition to the recounting of all taxpayer- funded corporate giveaways “handed out to business” since Rauner took office and the jobs created, Madigan requested a list of “state tax incentives given to corporations in instances when those corporations had any interaction with the Public Private Partnership introduced by the governor.”
Among Madigan’s other requests: memorandums of understanding for future and past funding agreed to by the governor. He said House Democrats are worried about cuts, even after reaching an agreement, referencing $ 26 million in grant cuts ranging from autism care to burial services for the poor that Rauner made in April 2015. Those cuts were restored by his administration weeks later.
“These cuts betrayed the agreement our caucus made with the governor. This behavior has continued with the most recent stopgap budget, in which line items have not been spent per the agreement made by the governor to the leaders,” Madigan said in the statement. “House Democrats want to be assured the governor will spend appropriations based on his agreements when a full budget is passed.”
The speaker also requested discussion of the governor’s controversial veto of a Senate bill that would have ensured CPS got $ 215 million for its teacher pensions. That fell apart after Illinois Senate President John Cullerton told reporters the bill wasn’t tied to comprehensive pension reform — which was agreed upon in June.
Madigan called the veto “simply a punitive move meant to harm the schoolchildren of CPS.”
Earlier Friday, Rauner talked for the first time publicly this week about the status of budget talks, vowing to “keep negotiating” and urged an end to the “finger- pointing.”
“My strong recommendation is that we tone down the rhetoric, that we stay calm, that we stay focused and that we come to bipartisan agreement on a balanced budget with reforms,” Rauner told reporters at the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association annual conference in Chicago.
But Democrats questioned Rauner’s sincerity about avoiding emotions and “heated rhetoric,” considering a Rauner veto came after he became upset over comments Cullerton made to reporters about the CPS pension bill and the perceived pension agreement.
Rauner was also referring to remarks Mayor Rahm Emanuel made Thursday after the veto. The mayor had called Rauner’s actions “reckless and irresponsible.”
Rauner defended his veto, saying any help for CPS pensions was always tied to a broader pension agreement with Democratic leaders.
Despite the governor’s call for both sides to tone down the rhetoric, Emanuel remained on the warpath.
“The governor said he was gonna sign a bill to bail out the utilities, then vetoed a bill that bailed on the children of Chicago. That’s the way I look at it,” Emanuel said Friday.
“It’s the wrong choice,” Emanuel said. “Rather than have pension equity — angry at something the Senate president said at a press conference, he vetoes a bill that would have created pension equity. … That is fundamentally wrong and, by any stretch of the imagination, is not a turnaround.”
“GETTING EMOTIONAL DOESN’T HELP. POINTING FINGERS DOESN’T HELP. LET’S STAY MATURE.” GOV. BRUCE RAUNER “I AM REQUESTING FROM THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE BY SUNDAY A LIST OF TOPICS, SO EXPERTS FROM OUR CAUCUS CAN ATTEND TO FACILITATE A REAL CONVERSATION ON THESE ISSUES, UNLIKE THE SUPERFICIAL DISCUSSIONS HELD BY THE GOVERNOR THIS WEEK THAT DID NOT HELP US GET ANY CLOSER TO A FULL- YEAR BUDGET.” HOUSE SPEAKER MICHAEL MADIGAN