Jerry Long, a Republican candidate running for the District 76 state House seat, recently said his opponent, state Rep. Andy Skoog (D-Dist. 76), walks in lockstep with the “Madigan Machine.”
Overspending, diverting funds and denial of accountability by Chicago Public Schools (CPS) irked Long, who criticized Skoog’s apparent backpedaling after having won his seat on the premise of opposing the “Chicago bailout.”
“One of the issues I raised with Frank Mautino in 2014 was that he kept voting with Michael Madigan to send our local education funding to Chicago,” Long said. “When Andy Skoog was chosen by Madigan to be Mautino’s replacement, he pandered for votes by saying that he was against … a 'Chicago bailout,' even asking all of us to sign a petition not to bail out the Chicago schools. But what happened on Tuesday? Speaker Michael Madigan yanked back on his leash, and Rep. Skoog fell in line, voting for a huge Chicago bailout.”
Long is not alone in his position. Earlier this spring, Illinois Policy reported that CPS CEO Forrest Claypool was attempting to “guilt” Illinois into a bailout using “divisive rhetoric,” despite his reported data not matching records and possible mismanagement of pension funds, salaries and benefits.
“Not once, but twice, Rep. Skoog voted for Madigan’s $40 billion budget, which spends $7 billion we don’t have, and adds an extra $300 million for Chicago schools, while continuing to short-change education funding in our district,” Long said. “As I have always said, we must fully fund education, but the Madigan Machine has repeatedly funneled more of our money to Chicago. Rep. Skoog is now clearly a part of the Madigan Machine.”
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