Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Rauner: Voters were Misled on Sorry State Finances

Brian Mackey

Illinois Governor-elect Bruce Rauner told reporters the state's finances are in terrible shape.

Last spring, Democrats acknowledged they passed a budget that’s badly out of balance. It spends much more money than the state will collect from taxes and amounts to a multi-billion-dollar shortfall.

Rauner, who was back in Springfield Tuesday, said the problem is even worse than it seemed.

“This is about good communication with the voters and the taxpayers," Rauner said.

"Right now we are discussing the challenges that we face in some more detail so the voters really understand, because the voters have been misled intentionally by the politicians."

What Rauner did not say is that he too told voters what they wanted to hear throughout his campaign — saying he would raise state spending in areas such as education while at the same time lowering taxes.

He said he’s not yet ready to reveal just how he plans to square that circle.