Rauner: State Takeover Of CPS "Very Likely"
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A day after the Illinois State Board of Education launched a financial probe of the Chicago Public Schools, Gov. Bruce Rauner said he believes state lawmakers eventually will give him power to take control of the Chicago school system.
On Thursday, ISBE asked CPS to turn over a massive amount of monetary data by the first week of March – including information about bonds, cash flow, payroll and contracts.
On Friday, Rauner said the state investigation of CPS finances will highlight "financial mismanagement, patronage, too much bureaucracy, misappropriation of funds, not paying into the pensions; just mismanagement, and we've got to fix that."
The governor said the way to fix the district's budget woes it is a state takeover of the school system, something the Illinois General Assembly has not authorized.
"If Chicago Public Schools continues just to say 'Send cash, we're out of money, we're going to have to fire thousands of teachers,' I think the legislature will say, 'No, that's not a good scenario. We should have the state Board of Education take over.' I believe that's very likely," he said.
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However, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton have shot down the governor's proposal to allow him the power to have the Illinois State Board of Education take control of CPS.
Rauner said he's confident lawmakers will okay a state takeover of CPS eventually.
"I personally believe once the legislature really understands what's going on, they will give us that authority. I believe that that is coming and that will happen. Once the facts are known, I believe that they'll give us that authority. There are some lawyers who believe that the state board does have the authority themselves unilaterally to take over. I'm not sure I agree with them. There may be a legal fight about that. I don't know, I'm not an attorney," he said.
The governor also said bankruptcy is still a good option for CPS.
CPS officials have blamed the governor for the extremely high interest rates the district was forced to pay earlier this month when it borrowed $725 million to keep the system afloat through the end of the school year.
"The last time Governor Rauner offered his financial advice for Chicago Public Schools, Chicago taxpayers were forced to pay even more for our bonds, and we cringe at what his latest venture could cost our children," district spokeswoman Emily Bittner said Thursday in response to the ISBE financial investigation.
