Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) has a message for voters she hopes they'll carry with them when the 2018 election cycle begins.
“You can’t believe the Democrats and what they’re telling you," she said on the "Chicago's Morning Answer" radio show after the spring legislative session ended. "You can’t believe a single one of them. You have to vote them all out of office."
The radio program is co-hosted by Dan Proft, who is also a principal of Local Government Information Services, which owns this publication.
Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton)
Ives argued that Illinois is no closer to balancing its budget, and its debt continues to rise. She said the state now owes $14.5 billion in back bills, and all that debt is costly in more ways than one.
“We’re going to be a junk-rated state," Ives said. "We deserve to be a junk-rated state; there’s no doubt about that."
Ives is particularly miffed about Senate Bill 1, an education finance reform measure that passed the General Assembly.
“Terrible bill,” Ives said. “It massively bails out Chicago and gives other people just peanuts on any new revenue.”
On her website, Ives cites a 2013 report by Senate Democrats that suggests Chicago Public Schools should receive less money despite their constant requests for more. Under the current system, hundreds of millions of dollars are redistributed to benefit the rich, she says, and SB1 doesn’t change that.
“Ninety percent of the money for next year will be spent in the old way," Ives said. "It keeps Chicago at an advantage; in fact, it gives them an even bigger advantage."
According to the Illinois Policy Institute, SB1 allows CPS to keep elements of its special block grant, giving it $250 million more from the state. It also gives the school system a pension bailout of $215 million annually and ensures the district will receive the same amount of state funding regardless of demographic changes.
Ives said she knows where the state is heading if voters don’t step in.
“More people leaving the state, and businesses leaving the state, and the only solution really is a political solution,” Ives said.
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