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Sun-Times: Dems want Rauner to testify over why money for ‘frailest, most vulnerable’ went to $250k appointee

from Chicago Sun-Times

by Natasha Korecki

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois House Democrats are asking Gov. Bruce Rauner to appear before a House committee to explain why the governor’s office arranged to have his $250,000-a-year education czar paid out of money meant for “the frailest and most vulnerable populations in the state.”

The move follows a Chicago Sun-Times story, which revealed that Rauner’s office penned a $250,000 annual contract with the governor’s hand-picked education czar, Beth Purvis, to be paid out of the Department of Human Services budget. The contract was signed three weeks before the governor’s office authorized $26 million in cuts to that same agency.

In a letter to Rauner, obtained by the Sun-Times, state Rep. Greg Harris, D-Ill., questions testimony by then-Acting DHS Secretary Gregory Bassi and then-interim secretary James Dimas “that the lack of available funding was responsible for the decision to eliminate or reduce funding for these vitally needed programs. These programs serve many of the frailest and most vulnerable populations in the state.”

Read the full article from Chicago Sun-Times