Gov. Rauner Addresses SIU Graduation

WSIU Public Broadcasting | By Kevin Boucher,

Published May 16, 2015 at 4:11 PM CDT

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner told graduates to work hard, keep learning, and give back during his speech in Carbondale Saturday.

Rauner's speech was given without incident, despite calls to protest from some students and other members of the SIU community.

The governor didn't mention the state's current budget crisis during his address, but rather focused on the students and their futures. “Stay lifelong learners. Always learn. Look to learn every day. And then, in every way that you can, find ways to give back to your community and help. Help out,” he said.

Meanwhile, outside SIU's Arena, a small group of protesters gathered to send Gov. Rauner and Illinois lawmakers a message: save programs and stop the cuts.

Carol Mods' son has autism, and receives services from SIU's Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders. She wants Gov. Rauner to know the cuts are hurting real people, with real needs.

"And if you cut these services now, they're never going to get back up to the levels that they should be, to help out this future generation that is being born."

Carbondale attorney Rich Whitney, who has run for governor in the past, says there are other options to fix the budget, rather than cutting.

"Working people pay sales taxes between seven and eight percent, depending on where you live. Why not have a miniscule tax, which is actually a fraction of one percent, on speculative trading on these exchanges?"

Speaking to the media after the graduation ceremony, Rauner said he doesn't relish the cuts he's proposed. He says negotiations are ongoing.

“While we restructure, it’s going to be painful. I apologize for that, I don’t like that. But we’ve got to do it. When we restructure the government, shrink the bureaucracy and wasteful spending that’s pretty rampant in our government, then we’ll have the resources to put back into our education, and education will be the top priority.”

Rauner and state lawmakers have two weeks left until the scheduled end of the Spring Session. The governor says he thinks things are moving along, and hopes to have a compromise soon on the budget and several other policy issues.