(WJBC file photo)
By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – While Illinois schools are likely to get IOUs instead of state budget payments this week, the state legislative leaders are still bargaining over a possible school funding compromise after Gov. Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1.
Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady of Bloomington told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin and Patti Penn he doesn’t believe the Democrats have enough votes for a veto override.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Patti’s interview with Brady on WJBC.
“I have asked our negotiators to continue to talk about other things that can be done that weren’t in Senate Bill 1 as well as anything that can be done that would bring a reasonable and fair, bipartisan compromise to this what I’m calling a manufactured crisis,” Brady said.
Rauner attempted to rewrite the bill to remove funding for Chicago public schools.
“All they have to do is accept it, they can’t override it override I don’t believe,” Brady said. “They have to come to the reality that they are not going to get 150 percent this way.”
The Senate has another nine days to take action on the bill, while the state’s first payment to schools is due Thursday.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
