Governor-elect Bruce Rauner was back in Springfield Tuesday. He spoke with reporters and, not surprisingly, says Illinois’ finances are in terrible shape.
Last spring, Democrats acknowledged they passed a budget that’s badly out of balance. It spends way more money than the state will collect from taxes, a multi-billion-dollar shortfall. Now Rauner says the problem is even worse than it seemed.
“This is about good communication with the voters and the taxpayers. Right now we are discussing the challenges that we face in some more detail so the voters really understand, because the voters have been misled intentionally by the politicians."
What Rauner did not say is that he too told voters what they wanted to hear throughout his campaign, saying he would raise state spending in areas like education, while at the same time lowering taxes. He says he’s not yet ready to say just how he plans to square that circle.