East Central Reporter

Amidst taxpayer funding worries at Eastern Illinois University, Charleston’s State Representative Reggie Phillips said concerned students and faculty should place blame with House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago).

“Here is a novel thought. Why aren’t people going to Mike Madigan to demand answers on why he refuses to work with Republicans for the good of the State?,” wrote Phillips, an EIU graduate, on his Facebook page. “Madigan refuses to budge on some simple, basic reforms Illinois needs. Yet, no one is camped outside his office demanding answers.”

For example, Madigan found $35 million to fund a 1,500 student public school in his district on Chicago’s Southwest Side. According to Chicago Tribune report, he hid the money in the budget of Secretary of State Jesse White (D-Chicago) to prevent Governor Bruce Rauner from directing it to other priorities, like state colleges and universities.

State Sen. Scott Bennett (D-Cham- paign), a staunch ally of Madigan’s Chicago Machine partner, Sen. President John Cullerton, wants the debt-laden state to borrow another $4 billion make ends meet. Phillips and Republicans say the state needs to prioritize its spending, not go deeper into debt.

“We can and will turn Illinois around but we need business reforms to get our state working again,” Phillips wrote in a letter to the editor in the Journal Gazette & Times-Courier. “For me, my road to success was made possible by the opportunities afforded to me with my EIU degree. I believe everyone should have this opportunity if they so desire regardless of income.”