Illinois' 11 Democratic congressmen have signed a letter to Gov. Bruce Rauner demanding that he restore funding to domestic violence shelters. Rep. Cheri Bustos initiated the letter. Domestic-violence program funding was omitted from a temporary budget last summer. The Department of Human Services waited nearly six months to alert providers.
Human Services spokeswoman Meredith Krantz called the letter hyper-partisan and unhelpful. She says the authors should urge Democrats and Republicans in Springfield to agree on a budget solution. The state has had been without a budget for nearly two years.
The fiscal 2018 budget Rauner proposed this week includes full program funding at $18.6 million. Bustos is serving her third term and is considering opposing Rauner for governor in 2018.
