Ex-Gov. Edgar: Rauner shouldn't 'hold the budget hostage'
Former Gov. Jim Edgar says Gov. Bruce Rauner shouldn't “hold the budget hostage” while calling for other state government reforms.
Edgar was governor in the 1990s. The Republican was also an adviser on Rauner's transition team.
He spoke about Rauner's first term in a University of Illinois at Chicago lecture and an interview with The (Springfield) State Journal Register, both last week.
Edgar says state government looks like it's in the worst shape it's been in the 47 years he's been around it.
Rauner and legislative Democrats are at an impasse over the July 1 fiscal year budget. Rauner wants pro-business reforms before a spending plan.
A Rauner spokeswoman says Edgar is entitled to his opinions, but structural and fiscal challenges facing Illinois have been decades in the making.