Aug. 07--Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Thursday called out Mayor Rahm Emanuel as "unwilling" to help him pass his pro-business, anti-union agenda at the Capitol, suggesting Chicago get on board in return for financial help for Chicago Public Schools.
"We're eager to help the city of Chicago," said Rauner, who wants a "two-way partnership." "But at this point, the city of Chicago and the mayor have been unwilling to help us in our reform agenda to help the state."
Emanuel's office did not respond to a request for comment on Rauner's remarks.
At issue is Rauner's proposal to freeze property taxes while allowing local governments, including school boards, to decide what benefits are collectively bargained with teachers and other public workers. It's one of the five items on Rauner's legislative wish list that have stalled budget negotiations at the Capitol.
Meanwhile, Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool are in the midst of contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union as the district faces a $1 billion shortfall driven by ballooning pension obligations. As part of those negotiations, Emanuel wants teachers to cover the full cost of their pension contributions, instead of the small portion paid by teachers currently.
Rauner charged Thursday that the city is seeking the state's permission to take pension contributions out of the collective bargaining process, which would allow the school board to unilaterally force a higher contribution from teachers.
"That's a special deal for Chicago," Rauner said at a news conference at the Thompson Center in Chicago. "Why does Chicago ask the state to take things out of collective bargaining to benefit Chicago, but it doesn't allow the state to authorize all communities, all school districts, to manage collective bargaining as they see fit?"
CPS spokeswoman Emily Bittner said the district did not ask the governor's office for pension legislation.
The back-and-forth illustrates the nature of the impasse that's enveloped the Capitol and City Hall: politicians meet privately and then publicly posture as they seek leverage to break the stalemate.
Rauner's remarks came as he tries to bat back an alternative bill moving through the General Assembly that would freeze property taxes statewide and pick up roughly $200 million in CPS pension costs. Emanuel has argued that the current system is unfair to Chicago because CPS pension costs are paid by the city while the state picks up the employer cost of pensions for the other systems in the state.
The bill, crafted by Democratic Senate President John Cullerton, aims to fix that disparity and would also change the way state dollars are doled out to schools. Cullerton, however, left out Rauner's provisions on local collective bargaining, saying the bill would not have had enough votes to pass if they were included.
The Senate approved the measure Tuesday, and it now heads to the House, where its future is uncertain. House Speaker Michael Madigan historically has opposed the state taking on additional pension costs but said Wednesday that Chicago should get "special consideration" because of the high number of poor students it serves.
In the meantime, Illinois is functioning for a second month without a budget because of disagreements between Rauner and Democrats over the property tax legislation, as well as changes Rauner wants to workers' compensation, the civil lawsuit system, term limits for elected officials and the way political maps are drawn.
Rauner also has proposed legislation to address pension costs statewide, but it, too, contains a poison pill on collective bargaining. Rauner has said he won't hold up the budget for the pension bill, but wants the other legislation passed before he'll negotiate on ways to fix the state's massive budget hole.
"We're willing to be in a place where we don't get all six," Rauner said. "We need to negotiate that in good faith. Right now it's happening with certain folks but not with the speaker. And we need to get with the speaker on that."
Rauner contended that Madigan is to blame for the state's budget holdup because his allies control a large number of seats in Springfield and have refused to budge on the governor's agenda. Emanuel, Rauner said, could help sway his fellow Democrats.
"The city needs to help the state," Rauner said. "The mayor is very powerful in the legislature, more than folks like to talk about. And Speaker Madigan is right out of the Chicago machine. ... Chicago's running the state. They're controlling our budget. Chicago is powerful."
kgeiger@tribpub.com
jjperez@tribpub.com
