Democrats are accusing Gov. Bruce Rauner of overstepping his authority on cuts to child care, supplemental Medicaid payments, and ambulance services.
The cuts come in the form of emergency rules at state agencies, such as raising eligibility requirements for the child care assistance program. The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules didn’t have the three-fifths vote needed to suspend their implementation, with Democrats like State Sen. Don Harmon arguing managing state funds in the absence of a budget doesn’t qualify as an emergency.
Several Democrats on the panel said at the Chicago hearing that the move is an “overreach” by Rauner, but State Rep. Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) says the rules are necessary as the budget battle shows no signs of ending.
The Senate has already passed legislation to repeal the child care eligibility changes, which the Department of Human Services estimates will kick all but 10 percent of previously qualified applicants out of the program.
In other state news, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration is urging University of Illinois officials to reject a proposed $400,000 bonus for outgoing chancellor Phyllis Wise.
From the start of his tenure, Rauner has reflected a disdain for what he has called a bloated higher education bureaucracy in the state.
Former U. of I. board Chairman Christopher Kennedy, who approved Wise’s initial employment agreement, has said that Wise should not get the bonus payment.
The bonus payment to Wise would be the latest in a string of additional compensation given to public university officials in Illinois.
