Statement from Rep. Scherer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, issued the following statement Thursday:

“When the budget package went to Governor Rauner’s desk, I sincerely hoped and believed that he would finally see the need to come back to the table, and negotiate an end to the crisis he created. I hoped he would see an opportunity to build off of the $3 billion in spending cuts we identified in our budget. But the governor’s total veto and his refusal to negotiate left me with an unfortunate choice: override his veto and support a deal I didn’t fully agree with, or follow the governor over a cliff, bringing millions of Illinois families down with us.

“Let me be clear: This budget was not everything I wanted it to be. It’s not the deal I think we could have reached if the governor had been willing to work in good faith. But the bipartisan, balanced budget deal is hands down better than the governor’s counteroffer of nothing. A third year of this crisis could have put taxpayers on the hook for a $26 billion tax hike as the governor would continue to rack up billions of dollars in debt with no way to pay for it. Our schools would have closed. The elderly would have lost critical medical care.

“None of the Republicans or Democrats who voted for this bill wanted to come to this point. We stood together because Illinois needs a budget. It became clear this week that the governor would not make the tough decisions needed to end his crisis, so I did.”