By Greg Bishop/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Bruce Rauner said he’s saved taxpayers hundreds of million in various state agency operations and he’s resolving to find more savings.
Last week when reviewing his past year in office, Rauner talked about the year ahead saying he will continue to push for economic and political reforms as part of his agenda. However, another change he said he is going to pursue is new ways for government to buy things.
“Actually, I think we can save half a billion, a billion (or more) in procurement if we rethought how we buy things within state government,” Rauner said.
Rauner also said he’s saved taxpayers $700 million in various state agencies through streamlining operations, but the state is on course to spend more than $4 billion than it’s expected to bring in because of court orders and consent decrees after lawmakers failed to pass a balanced budget. While the leading House Democrat said solving the budget deficit is the No. 1 issue, Rauner said the only way to fix the budget shortfall is through economic growth.
