When Illinois House Democrats say they want to meet with Gov. Rauner, the governor apparently hears something else.
Rauner’s staff had him at a job-training event across town at the same time those Democrats were holding a statehouse news conference at which they professed a desire to negotiate with the governor, as the spring 2017 legislative session has only two weeks to go.
After a laugh at a question about it, Rauner quickly developed a theme.
“House Democrats under Speaker (Mike) Madigan (D-Chicago) have been sending over special interest groups to attack senators in the Democratic caucus to try to kill the Grand Bargain,” he told reporters at an unrelated event in Springfield Tuesday. “House Democrats under Speaker Madigan have shown, really, no good faith willingness to engage in negotiations for true change, true reforms to our system.”
Asked for a response, Madigan spokesman Steve Brown e-mailed: “Pretty sure the only factual basis for who is killing the GB is the governor……perhaps the governor is operating in another dimension”
The Senate’s president last week said Rauner’s the one pushing the Grand Bargain off the tracks. John Cullerton (D-Chicago) said Rauner and his team are inexperienced at governing.
After Tuesday’s events, Cullerton spokesman John Patterson e-mailed: “We’ve been working with Republicans in the Senate to try to find agreement on structural reforms and a balanced budget. Republicans say they are close. With only two weeks left in the legislative session, the Senate President wants to see action because Illinois deserves action.”
