Gov. Bruce Rauner says the state of Illinois can't afford to bail Chicago out of its financial problems.
The Republican governor delivered a rare speech to the Chicago City Council on Wednesday. He said the city's agenda for fixing its fiscal issues cannot be separate from the state's own reform efforts. He says it will require shared sacrifice and asked council members to work with him. He did not offer specific details.
Rauner has been traveling statewide promoting an agenda that includes program funding cuts, reducing business regulations and restricting union influence.
But the ideas have been unpopular in Democratic-leaning, labor-friendly Chicago. Council members spoke in opposition to some of the reforms before Rauner's speech, and workers in the audience applauded.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel calls Rauner's program the "wrong strategy."
