Childcare Providers and their allies denounce Governor Rauner’s allegiance to billionaires while Illinois kids and working parents struggle with cuts to child care assistance

 Chicago- After years of cuts to the Child Care Assistance Program and regressive tax policy, frontline child care providers and children in their care delivered a letter to Governor Bruce Rauner’s hedge fund demanding that the governor invest in families instead of billionaires.

Since Rauner entered office, his administration has waged war against child care assistance in Illinois. In 2015, his drastic income requirements on the Child Care Assistance Program forced 40,000 children off of the program, leaving low-income working parents scrambling to find ways to keep their children safe and cared for while they work.

Then earlier this year, Rauner’s administration instituted drastic mandatory training requirements, which go far beyond federal requirements, which would exempt close to 70% of child care providers. The extreme Rauner training requirements could cut thousands of children off of the program, in a backdoor scheme to further weaken the program.

Home Childcare Provider, Sharon Norwood, said “Governor Rauner and his billionaire friends are gambling with the futures of our children. Childcare providers like me work hard, we care about our children. I go the extra mile for the children I take care of, but Rauner refuses to go that far for people like me.”

Sharon Norwood, Childcare Provider- Chicago, IL

All of these cuts, both direct and backdoor, are justified under the guise of ‘cost-savings’ by the Administration. However, elimination of the carried interest loophole could generate up to $1.7 billion for Illinois in the first year alone, sparing some of Illinois’ most vulnerable from further cuts to care.

Members of the  Chicago Teachers Union joined SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana members in their frustration at Governor Rauner’s cuts to early childhood education and Head Start.

Since Governor Rauner is occupying the futures of Illinois’ children with austerity measures and poverty, they occupied his private equity firm with a pop-up preschool to demand the 1% stop profiting from tax loopholes on the backs of children.