Following is the response from Faith Arnold, SEIU Healthcare Illinois executive board member, vice chair, child care division on Governor Bruce Rauner’s comments on child care in Illinois:

“Bruce Rauner’s insensitive characterization of the state of child care in Illinois shows his gross disregard for providers and the children and working parents we serve. Our choice of profession reflects our commitment to children and families and is NOT a reflection of our education. And it certainly is not a reflection of our character. However, the governor’s insulting choice of words serves as a poor reflection on HIS.

Rauner knows better than anyone that HIS cuts to service have caused incredible damage to the Child Care Assistance Program, which at one point was among the most successful in the nation. No more. As a result of his arbitrary administrative maneuvering, and his failure to reach a fair contract with the state’s child care providers, he has engaged in a full-scale dismantling of the program which has cost jobs, slowed economic growth and harmed Illinois families.

“But more than that, his regrettable use of language to insult people like me shows someone entirely disconnected from the working families he claims to serve. It’s no wonder we enter a new year without a budget and with little hope for true leadership or compromise from Bruce Rauner, who is resorting to bully language once again.”