Merry Marwig calls on state Rep. Michael McAuliffe to stand with working families by voting to override Senate Bill 730 veto

CHICAGO—On Friday, Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed Senate Bill 730, which would have made child care affordable for tens of thousands of additional families and created thousands of jobs. State representative candidate Merry Marwig today called on state Rep. Michael McAuliffe, who opposed the legislation, to stand with working families and vote to override the veto of this bill.

“Michael McAuliffe’s vote against protecting child care services is yet another example of the many promises that he has broken over his 20 years as a career politician,” Marwig said. “He publicly signed a pledge card just last year committing to protect access to affordable child care services, and then voted against legislation that would have done exactly that. McAuliffe has shown that he simply can’t be trusted to do what he says he will do, and he can’t be trusted to stand up for working families. I am asking him to publicly commit to override this wrongheaded veto.”

Senate Bill 730, which passed with large majorities in the General Assembly, would have started to repair the Child Care Assistance Program after Rauner unilaterally cut thousands of working parents out of the program last year and eliminated child care entirely for parents who are in school or training. Recent figures from the state show that the parents of over 55,000 children lost child care as a result of these draconian cuts.

Senate Bill 730 would have immediately restored child care to parents who are in school or experiencing homelessness and would have helped boost the local economy through a gradual expansion of affordable child care to tens of thousands of additional families.

Child care costs in Illinois consume a huge share of family income: a year of infant care in Illinois costs more than a year of in-state tuition or a year of rent. The child care expansion legislation would have put an estimated $150 million back into the hands of working families who are currently paying out of pocket or have left the workforce in order to cover the cost of private care.

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