State Senate President John Cullerton says Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposed budget hurts working families and Illinois' most vulnerable residents.
The Republican governor outlined a spending plan Wednesday that tackles a multi-billion deficit with cuts to Medicaid, pension costs and other programs while increasing funding for schools and hiring more prison guards.
Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, said that the cuts will hurt working families and others by cutting access to health services.
"There's a good number of human service providers who are providing basic services for disabled kids and seniors and people with alcoholic problems. All of those things are proposed to be... apparently massive cuts... as well. So that doesn't sound very compassionate."
He says the $2.2 billion Rauner expects to save from pension changes isn't realistic. The Supreme Court is reviewing one pension overhaul to determine whether it's constitutional. He says Rauner's plan banks on "phantom savings" from a plan that might be approved.
