Governor In LeRoy To Push Agenda

Republican Governor Bruce Rauner is keeping the pressure on Democrats with a series of stops through the state. One was at the LeRoy High School, still flush from winning the state 1-A boys basketball championship. Rauner stopped to chat with students and answer question in the library after a tour of the facility. When asked how the Illinois Supreme Court ruling on back-pay will affect negotiations with unions, Rauner said he'd like to do away with raises based on seniority, and replace it with a merit-based model. The Governor also said workers should make their own pension decisions, not the union. He said money saved through those measures would save the state's schools. "We could use that pension reform savings to fund our universities, to fund our MAPP grants, to fund our human services. But so far all that's bein held hostage by the super majority, who doesn't want reform, they're trying to force a tax hike, which they know it's a mistake, but they're trying to force it on the people of Illinois." Governor Rauner said he and Democratic Senate President John Cullerton have agreed on a framework to allow employee pension choices. He also said it's wrong to try to reduce anybody's pension that they've paid into. Rauner was accompanied by Bloomington Republican State Representatives Dan Brady, and Bill Mitchell of Forsythe. The Governor's next stop, in Danville at an auto part distribution center, gives him a chance to talk about what he calls the poor business climate of Illinois.