With child care costs spiraling out of control, Katie Stuart and Mike Mathis call on State Representatives Dwight Kay and Avery Bourne to stand with working families and override SB 730 veto

Edwardsville – On Friday, Governor 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.

SB 730, which passed with large majorities in the General Assembly, would have started to repair the Child Care Assistance Program after Bruce Rauner unilaterally cut thousands of working parents out of the program 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.

SB 730 would have immediately restored child care to parents who are in school or experiencing homelessness while boosting 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.

Yet State Representatives Dwight Kay and Avery Bourne sided with Bruce Rauner’s failed leadership and disordered priorities by voting no on SB 730. Democratic challengers Katie Stuart and Mike Mathis today called on the Rauner-backed incumbents to stand with working families and override the veto in the fall.

“The Child Care Assistance Program, like so many other decimated social services in Bruce Rauner’s Illinois, primarily serves and employs women. Child Care cuts disproportionately force women out of school, out of work, and off the path to greater earnings and advancement. Bruce Rauner’s veto of Child Care expansion and Representative Dwight Kay’s vote against it are a direct attack on women’s work and well being. Representative Kay should publicly commit to stand with working families and vote to override this wrongheaded veto,” said Stuart.

“Too many working families are struggling to make ends meet, facing the costs of housing, child care and transportation. Senate Bill 730 would have made child care affordable to help tens of thousands of additional families who want to work and improve their circumstances. Rep. Avery Bourne turned her back on area families, job creation and our local economy when she voted against child care assistance for families working their way out of poverty. She has a chance to make this right by voting to override the governor’s veto,” said Mathis.

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