State Rep. Ford Calls On Gov. Rauner To Fund Child Care Assistance Program
(CBS) -- State Representative La Shawn Ford joined preschoolers and their teachers, demanding immediate funding of early child care throughout the Illinois, reports WBBM's John Cody.
Representative Ford said preschools across the state are closing doors and laying off staff because the Illinois is $300 million short of funding the authorized budget for child care assistance.
"Funds could come from rainy day funds," Ford said. "There are about 700 to 800 revenue streams that the governor could agree with the legislature to fund child care today."
Ford asserts Governor Bruce Rauner is waiting to use the 300 million child care dollars as leverage for the coming budget battle and says that means the children of Illinois are not being well served.
Governor Rauner's office released a statement saying, "The Child Care Assistance Program is out of money because legislators, including Representative La Shawn Ford, knowingly voted for a budget that intentionally underfunded Child Care and left our state with a $1.6 billion hole. Governor Rauner didn't create this crisis, but he is committed to solving it without raising taxes on hard-working families and without irresponsible borrowing. We urge all members of the General Assembly to support a bipartisan solution to this crisis and refrain from playing politics with critical state services."