Governor Bruce Rauner said he’s supporting legislation to make money available for higher education and scholarships for students, but he insists his nemesis, House Speaker Michael Madigan, is standing in the way, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
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Universities will need both Rauner and Madigan’s support if they’re to get funding after an eight-month wait. The governor claims Madigan is holding up a compromise in order to score points with voters ahead of the March 15th primary election.
“You know what the Speaker has told them?” Eastern Illinois University President David Glassman said in a statement he appreciate all efforts to resolve the funding crisis. The powerful speaker is running “a dictatorship of one individual who cares about politics over people”, said the governor, who called Madigan’s veto override attempt “a sham vote”.
Steve Brown, a Madigan spokesman, said “Nothing like that happened”.
The governor proposed cutting the higher education budget 30 percent and vetoed money for grants to help students pay tuition. He said the governor has been trying to cut money for higher education for a year-and-a-half.
“I haven’t verified this directly, but I have good sources”, Rauner said.
Brown said the speaker’s office is reviewing the bill to funnel money to colleges and universities, but raised concerns that the legislation does not spell out which universities would receive the money.
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Chicago State issued a statement saying its Board of Trustees’ official position is not to participate in news conferences in the midst of an election. A CSU spokesperson denied that their president was told to not support any particular funding bill.
