Demonstrators Call On Gov. Rauner To Restore Funding For Social Programs
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Advocates for the poor are blasting Governor Bruce Rauner for ending contracts for social services programs that they say were just getting started, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
With temperatures in the 20s, a crowd of nearly a hundred people marched and chanted outside the Thompson Center demanding that funding be restored for programs to bring jobs and services to areas in needs.
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"We understand that nobody wants to do prevention because jails and prisons are being privatized, but we will not allow you to make money locking our young people up," said St. Sabina Pastor Fr. Michael Pfleger. "We want programs that will give them futures and give them purpose."
Pfleger also criticized Rauner for hiring a chief of staff for his wife.
Henry English, president of the Black United Fund, angrily said these programs are needed.
"Governor Rauner, you're not going to balance your books on the backs of poor people," he said.
A spokeswoman for Governor Rauner says,"Father Pfleger's position that state prisons are being privatized is categorically false. Governor Quinn signed a budget that is unbalanced by $1.5 billion. The administration is taking action to manage the inherited budget hole and is working with the legislature to find responsible solutions."
