Gov. Bruce Rauner: Can't balance a budget without stealing money to give to the rich.
Illinois' budget, like many states in our union, is a
real problem. A major part of the problem is that after years of representation (on both sides) giving tax breaks to the wealthy and big businesses, the bill has come to their table and it turns out the rich
still don't want to pay their fair share. That and Republican Governor Bruce Rauner is a tall glass of moron.
The Illinois budget standoff between the Democratically-controlled legislature and Republican governor Bruce Rauner is nowhere near a resolution, and it’s clear both time and money are running out.
The comptroller says the state will pay bills incurred in fiscal year 2015, but there's a bill backlog of $5 billion. The state will also pay its debt, pension funds and retiree benefits. Local governments will receive most of their state funding, and because Rauner signed the school funding bill, schools will not be affected.
One of the things that isn't getting paid out is the state's lottery winnings. Don't worry, they're still taking people's
money to play the lottery.
The Bourbonnais couple played Illinois Lottery's Lucky Day Lotto for 30 years hoping for their ‘lucky day’ and on July 20 it finally came in the form of a $400,000 winning ticket.
Helen and Lance are 73 and 74 respectively. They have seven children, four of whom are adopted and the youngest son, Dalton, has Down syndrome and needs specialized care.
“I’m 74, she’s 73 and [Dalton] is going to need care for probably a long time,” Whitfield said. “Every winter he goes to school, he comes back and he goes to the hospital for five days at a time.”
The family soon after sealed plans to move to the warmer state of Florida with several of their children.
They still haven't received their payout.
Illinois Lottery’s spokesman Stephen Rossi pointed to the problems in Springfield for the delayed payments to winners.
"All winners will be paid in full as soon as the Lottery and the Illinois Comptroller have the legislative authority to do so,” Rossi said in a Friday statement. “Currently, winners may claim prizes under $600 at any of our 8,000 retail locations, and prizes under $25,000 may be claimed at any Lottery claims center, found at illinoislottery.com.”
Don't get it twisted. Illinois can get this done. Gov. Rauner has been finding
boatloads of money for the rich. He's also pretty good at cutting much-needed social services in order to make almost
no dent in the state's actual deficit:
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner suspended $26 million in social services and public health grants as part of his push to whittle away at a $1.6 billion shortfall in the current state budget.
The Republican's office released a list of targeted programs late Friday that included funding to pay for the funerals and burials of public-assistance recipients, smoking cessation, teen programs, autism, and HIV and AIDS programs, among other things.
The lottery delay is a perfect example of what Republicans offer you. You have virtually no chance at winning the lottery. It's a regressive tax on the lower incomes sections of our society. The overwhelming majority of lottery purchasers are lower income. But, for the Grace of God, you somehow win some money from the lottery, you still get the runaround.
Republicans can't run a country? They can't even run a fixed game with any competence.