Rauner: Illinois takes step back if it allows school choice scholarships to expire

[June 13, 2023]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner said he faced a lot of headwinds during his time in office, but didn’t want to talk about politics after his official portrait was unveiled Monday.

The former one-term Republican governor had a tumultuous time in office with a more than two-year long budget impasse. Democrats who controlled both chambers still blame Rauner for the impasse.

Monday, Rauner, who now lives in Florida with his wife Dianna, was at the state capitol in Springfield to unveil his official portrait. Rauner’s portrait will hang with the portraits of other former governors in a wing of the second floor of the capitol.

He told members of the media after the event he’d talk politics later this year when he comes back for a dove hunting expedition.

“I am very proud of what we did while we led the state and I’m very proud of what we tried to do while we were in the state. A lot of headwinds,” Rauner said. “But I’ll leave it there today. We can go deeper into that in September.”

He was asked about the Democrats heralding eight credit rating upgrades since Rauner left office.

Laughing, Rauner said ”credit agencies love tax hikes and they love federal bailouts.” Rauner's successor, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, enacted dozens of tax and fee hikes after taking office and the federal government provided Illinois with more than $160 billion in federal tax dollars for the public and private sector.

Former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner takes questions at the Illinois State Capitol - Greg Bishop / The Center Square

Rauner did talk about the school choice tax credit scholarship program he enacted in his last year of office.

“In too many communities, the parents do not have an adequate school and they should be empowered to choose a school that fits their child,” Rauner said. “I believe that very passionately and I’ve devoted a lot of my life to that.”

The Invest In Kids program is set to expire at the end of the year. It provides a 75% state income tax credit for private donations to a fund that grants scholarship money to eligible families to send their children to a private school. Legislators could modify and extend the program when they return this fall.

If Invest In Kids is allowed to expire, Rauner said that would be a detriment.

“It’s a huge step back for empowering parents in the state of Illinois to lose that program,” Rauner said.

Rauner served as governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. He lost reelection to Pritzker in 2018.

Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning Newsfeed out of Springfield.