Illinois GOP governor vows to block Chicago school funding because he is ‘very disappointed’ in city

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Illinois GOP governor vows to block Chicago school funding because he is ‘very disappointed’ in city’s mayor
Reuters
05 Jan 2016 at 10:12 ET

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner expressed disappointment Monday in Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County’s top prosecutor for their handling of police-involved shootings and embraced pending state legislation to allow Chicago residents to recall future mayors.

Rauner also vowed to block funding for Chicago’s severely cash-strapped public schools, which have warned of massive layoffs in the months ahead without a state rescue, unless Emanuel’s administration backs the Republican governor’s efforts to pass business-friendly legislation making it harder for injured workers to collect damages and to weaken public-sector labor unions.

Rauner’s aggressive stance toward Emanuel added to the mounting public criticism against the mayor and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez for their response to the 2014 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, an African-American, by white Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, who has been charged with murder.

While immersed in a tight re-election battle earlier this year, Emanuel fought unsuccessfully to block the release of a police dash-cam video that showed Van Dyke as he fired his weapon at McDonald 16 times while the teen, armed with a pocket knife, walked away from police. Alvarez waited nearly 400 days to charge Van Dyke with murder.


Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/illinois-gop-governor-vows-to-block-chicago-school-funding-because-he-is-very-disappointed-in-citys-mayor/