As Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Mike Madigan continued to urge Governor Bruce Rauner to meet for negotiations and sign SB1, Republican legislators reacted to the bill’s delay on the first day of special session.

Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington)

“(Cullerton) has made a political observation that by holding that bill, he can put on pressure to do one of two things: one is to change the governor’s mind into signing a bill which he has called a Chicago Bailout and promised to veto, or two, that the pressure will build in a manner that convinces enough Republicans to override the governor. I see both of those options as being unbelievably impossible… I do not believe that the votes exist to override a veto by the governor. ”

Rep. Sheri Jesiel (R-Antioch)

“It’s kind of ironic that this bill when it was drafted was drafted to help those school districts with a concentration of poverty and yet this crisis that’s being manufactured and created by Pres. Cullerton and Speaker Madigan by not sending the bill to Gov. Rauner? Those are the same school districts immediately affected because they do not have savings in order to open up school in the fall.”

Rep. Peter Breen (R-Lombard)

“(Democrats) are desperately trying to get the Governor’s amendatory veto language out so they can start attacking it. To say this is going to take two weeks to negotiate is silly. We were almost to an agreement when we left last special session. It wouldn’t take more than a few days. There are several versions of Republican proposals...The issue is: Are you going to take the back debt of the Chicago Public School pension system and put it on the back of state taxpayers? It’s not just next year. Putting in a new funding formula locks you in place for 10 years or more.”

Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Mount Vernon)

“I’m from the deep south where categorical payments are very important and are very late getting there... For a lot of the rural areas where you don’t have the opportunity to take a cab or get on the L, and whatever transportation you have is not really an option in my part of the state. You have to have money to pay for those buses. And even if you do have the money for them, there are still students who are on those buses an hour and a half, all one way, all driving. In the city, maybe you drive an hour and a half you go six or seven miles. Where I live, if you drive an hour and a half, you go 60 to 80 miles. So it’s really important to get (funding) moving.”