By Mark Brown Chicago Sun-Times
If I were amember of a public employee union in Illinois, particularly a teacher, I’d be getting pretty nervous right about now. On Monday, Gov. Bruce Rauner described himself as “cautiously optimistic” about a proposed Chicago Public Schools budget that relies on a $ 500 million bailout from the state to get through the school year.
During a news conference in Chicago, Rauner actually came across as even more enthusiastic than his “cautiously optimistic” assessment would indicate.
And by going the legislative route, Democrats could open the door to the same limits on collective bargaining rights of public employees that Rauner believes should be available to all local governments and school districts across the state.