ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) – Gov. Bruce Rauner says Democrats removed overdue money for a project at Chicago Rockford International Airport from last week’s short-term state spending bill but they say that’s not the case.
The Republican governor said in an interview Tuesday with the Rockford Register Star that he included money for maintenance and repair work at the airport. But Rauner said Democrat House Speaker Mike Madigan’s “majority” removed it.
State Rep. Litesa Wallace, a Rockford Democrat, said she knew nothing about the money. Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said no projects of that type were part of the bill. The state in 2014 promised $16.5 million to the project but has delivered only $1.5 million.
The six-month spending bill is intended to fund state government until a full budget can be worked out.