Despite Budget Impasse, Rauner To Continue Push For Government Transformation
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Gov. Bruce Rauner will focus on reshaping the way the state of Illinois works when he delivers his second State of the State address on Wednesday in Springfield.
The speech at the Illinois State Capitol was expected to be much different from his first State of the State address to the Illinois General Assembly.
Rauner's aides said the speech will focus not only on his plans to turn around the economy in Illinois, but completely transforming state government.
The governor is expected to push for making Illinois more efficient, in hopes of saving taxpayer dollars.
Rauner will call for a 25 percent reduction in the state's prison population, getting rid of what he calls "wasteful bureaucracy" at public schools, and updating the state's outdated computer systems.
Critics said it's a lot to tackle.
"The state of the state is poor for poor people," state Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago) said. "My concern is that we won't hear the truth about the realities of the state for social services and for people that need the services that the state is obligated to provide."
State Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago), who chairs one of two Senate appropriations committees, said she hopes Rauner strikes a cooperative tone, after the governor spent much of the last week attacking his rivals, particularly House Speaker Michael Madigan.
"I sure hope the tone is much more towards one of we are all one state, and we need to actually focus together on getting some solutions, and not this politicking," she said.
The governor's speech comes just three weeks before he is scheduled to present his budget plan for the state's next fiscal year, even though the state is still without a budget for this year.