Mussman Asks Governor to Put Middle Class Above Politics

Schaumburg, Ill. – State Rep. Michelle Mussman, D-Schaumburg, issued the following statement on Gov. Rauner’s State of the State address:

“Since day one of the Rauner administration, I’ve been ready, willing and able to negotiate with the governor on behalf of the people of the 56th District. The governor should now resume negotiations with our working groups so we can finally have a balanced budget here in Illinois. Over the past 24 months, the governor likes to talk a lot without doing much. He thinks that multibillion dollar corporations shouldn’t pay a small surcharge to help fund education and that families who are barely making ends meet on minimum wage are making enough money. The degree to which the governor is out of touch is alarming, and I encourage him to go door-to-door like I do to hear exactly what is going on in this state.

“When I go door-to-door in my district, my neighbors tell me time and time again how passing a budget is the most important issue facing our state. We aren’t going to balance the budget by gutting funding for higher education, or going after the rights and benefits of the working class. The governor thinks that prioritizing multinational corporations over medium and small businesses is the way to go and I couldn’t disagree more.

“The governor is hoping that legislators will give into his political agenda by selling out their constituents. The people of the 56th District need to know that I will never dismantle workers’ rights, services for the disabled, and homecare for veterans in order to balance our budget. Illinois can become a competitive place for business if we can strengthen the middle class. The governor would rather focus on non-budgetary items while I am focused on investing more to expand access to good-paying jobs for the people of my district.”

Mussman serves the 56th District, which includes portions of Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove Village, Hanover Park, Roselle, Rolling Meadows, and Palatine.