CHICAGO (AP) — Gov. Bruce Rauner has reignited an age-old but divisive political strategy on a new front in Illinois: Schools.
The Republican used his veto powers to extra money for Chicago Public Schools from a proposal needed for all Illinois public schools to get funding this fall.
Pitting Chicago against the rest of Illinois has been a popular tool for the first-term governor. He drummed up enough support outside of the Democratic stronghold in 2014 to become the state’s first GOP governor in over a decade.
But this time it’s a particularly risky move ahead of Rauner’s 2018 re-election bid, with schools statewide potentially paying the price.
Educators are on edge, especially in rural areas and small towns which helped Rauner get elected but where budgets are tight.
