SPRINGFIELD – Today, Governor Rauner addressed the General Assembly to explain his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2019. State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) released the following response:

“The governor isn’t budgeting for results,” said Castro. “What Governor Rauner presents on paper is never the true reality of our situation: that we have over $9 billion in unpaid bills and no real plan for paying it off. He says he wants to roll back taxes, increase education funding and invest in human services, but his budget does the opposite.

SPRINGFIELD – Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) this morning reacted to news that two more cases of Legionnaires’ disease were found among residents at the Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy.

“The governor has dragged his feet long enough on this issue,” said Castro. “While he waits for someone else to take charge our veterans suffer. How many people need to die on his watch for him to take charge and do something?”

SPRINGFIELD – Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) continues to look for answers from state officials regarding a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that caused 13 deaths in the last three years at the Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy.

“I want to be part of a solution,” Castro said. “But that requires the Rauner administration – the people who are supposed to run state government – to come clean, be honest and actually put forth a plan to solve the problem.”

SPRINGFIELD – Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) issued the following response to Governor Rauner’s State of the State address today.

“Governor Rauner spoke over and over again about working and coming together,” said Castro. “But where was he when legislators on both sides of the aisle were coming together this past year? There was no substance in what he said.”

Senator Castro was upset that the governor did not mention the task force he planned on putting together to solve the problem at the Veterans Home in Quincy regarding the Legionnaires’ disease epidemic.

“Two weeks ago Governor Rauner said that he planned on putting together a task force to investigate this issue immediately,” said Castro. “I am angry and upset that it has been two weeks and still nothing has been done. He has had three years. This problem could have been solved by now.”