McHenry Times

Rep. Allen Skillicorn ( R-East Dundee) is calling upon Gov. Bruce Rauner to live up to his re-election campaign promises for reforms and support those reforms now.

"Governor, please get on board with real pension reform, repealing the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, and other cost cutting items instead of just talking about it," Skillicorn told the McHenry Times.

The way forward for Rauner is to abandon budgetary "gimmicks." Skillicorn said. "Gimmicks like a $1.3 billion property tax pension shift are a non-starter," he said. "Both parties are complicit in the misspending and over-taxation of families across the state.

Rep. Allen Skillicorn

Rauner's budget proposal for fiscal 2019, released in February, seeks to shift $1.3 billion in pension costs to the state's school districts and universities while cutting $470 million from employee health care costs.

Skillicorn has represented the 66th House District since in 2016; he was unopposed in the GOP primary and is unopposed in November's general election.

A few weeks after issuing his proposed budget, Rauner kicked off his run for November's general election last month by saying he was "honored and humbled" by his narrow victory over Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton), who had  Skillcorn's backing, and promised reforms in a second term as Illinois' Republican governor. "To those around the state of Illinois who wanted to send me a message, let me be clear," Rauner was quoted in the Chicago Tribune shortly after his primary win over Ives.

"I have heard you. I have traveled the state and I have listened to you. While we disagree on some things, let's commit to working together on what unites us – the reforms we need to save our state," he said.

Ives and Skillicorn have both criticized Rauner's proposed budget, saying it relies too heavily on money coming in from last year's tax hike. 

Last summer Skillicorn proposed his own balanced budget that included no tax hikes. That proposal hearkened back to his earliest days in the state House when he pushed for “no budget, no pay” legislation and last June urged fellow legislators to stand with him in opposing "the massive tax hikes and the shameful $169 million in pork projects" that were contained in last year's so-called "compromise budget".

For this year, Skillicorn said during his McHenry Times interview that he'd rather the governor not wait for a second term to deliver on reform promises. "Illinois desperately needs a real 12 month balanced budget," Skillicorn said. "No more gimmicks. I put my neck on the line and submitted a balanced budget with no tax hikes. Residents of Illinois deserve an honest conversation about what cuts need to made to balance the budget."