Local HIV organizations oppose Rauner’s 2017 budget
By Ruojing Liu Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget for the 2017 fiscal year cuts $7.4 million from the Illinois state general HIV/AIDS fund compared to about $25.4 million last year. The approximate 30 percent cut raised some eyebrows among local organizations that serve the HIV/AIDS community. On February 17, Gov. Rauner proposed a budget for […]
Anti-testing movement plans 2016 strategy as education cuts take center stage
By Morgan Gilbard Anti-testing advocates worry that the opt-out movement will take a backseat this year as Chicago Public Schools and the state drown in a sea of other problems. Concern over budget cuts and teacher union negotiations threaten to overshadow a movement that led to 20,000 Chicago students opting out of standardized tests last […]
Rauner pleads to Assembly on budget, gets booed by hundreds of protesters
By Morgan Gilbard Gov. Bruce Rauner’s annual budget address to the Legislature was upstaged by approximately 400 protesters who stormed the State Capitol on Wednesday afternoon and booed the governor upon his departure. The protesters’ chants condemning higher education cuts were audible from inside the General Assembly chamber, where Rauner tried to placate Democrats with […]
State budget cuts leave college students in limbo, some tweet Kanye West for help
By Branden Hampton Students and faculty at public colleges are furious about being left without state funding as a result of an eight-month state budget standoff that could force layoffs and program cuts. “[Legislators] can’t continue to use the taxpayers’ money and then look at the taxpayer and say, ‘Well, we don’t have any money.’ […]