Governor Bruce Rauner visited a handful of schools in central Illinois today to talk to students.
At Lanphier High School in Springfield, the governor spent about 15 minutes talking to a library full of kids. His message: Education is the key to success, and he’s going to improve education in Illinois.
“It’s the number one priority,” Rauner said. “To me, for my wife and me, there’s nothing more important than education. And we’re dedicated to your education, to make sure it’s as best as it can possibly be.”
He promised to increase education funding and school choice, but offered no details on how he plans to do that.
“Even though we’ve got a financial crisis, and some departments and some services are going to have to be cut, because we don’t have the money, today, for them, I’m going to increase education funding," Rauner said. "Just move it up and make it a priority.”
Rauner traced the birth of his political career back to efforts to promote school choice, in the form of charter schools. He says Illinois ranks last in education funding, and hinted that details on how he will correct this situation will be revealed in his budget address next week. Illinois faces multi-billion-dollar budget deficits.
The biggest round of applause came when the governor was inducted into Lanphier High School’s John Marshall Club, which is open to anyone. Membership requirements involved signing a register and eating an Oreo cookie.