State Rep. Peter Breen Responds to Gov.

Rauner Signing Abortion Expansion Bill

Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312.422.1333, tc@tcpr.net

(September 28, 2017 Springfield, IL) Today Illinois Republican Governor Bruce Rauner
signed House Bill 40, which provides taxpayer funding for abortions.

In response, House Republican Floor Leader, Rep. Peter Breen, issued the following statement:

Ive had a front row seat to watch the performance and ability of Bruce Rauner over these past
three years.

Ive seen him rapidly hire and terminate numerous staff members, highly competent
professionals who were proven successful in their prior roles. Inexplicably, they appeared
incompetent while working for Rauner.

I personally observed him badly botch negotiations with the General Assembly on a variety of
subjects, finally getting to the point where Governor Rauner couldnt even be in the same room
as House Speaker Mike Madigan. Madigan is the one guy who Rauner promised to stand up to,
but he cant or wont even enter the arena for that fight.

Ive heard Rauner promise the people of Illinois that he had no social agenda and as such
firmly commit to legislators, the public, and even to Chicagos Cardinal, Blaise Cupich, that he
would veto taxpayer funding of abortions. But he has now broken that commitment, signing a
bill that puts taxpayers on the hook to pay for an expected 20,000-30,000 aborted lives per year.
And without any source of funding, in the throes of an unbalanced budget. Now, Ive come to
expect politicians to shade the truth, but whats clear today is that Rauners promises were just
flat out lies.

As the lead advocate for the Republicans on the floor of the Illinois House, I have given Bruce
Rauner every benefit of the doubt. I supported his vetoes on a number of bills that would have
made it more difficult to do business in Illinois. Any elected Republican in this state would have
vetoed those same bills. Hardly exceptional.

The only unique feature left in Rauners favor is that he writes big campaign checks. For
Republicans whose elections require those contributions, I understand their reluctance to be
critical of Rauner. They may even still give him the benefit of the doubt, as I did until today.

In the face of overwhelming evidence of Rauners inability to competently administer the Illinois
government, inability to stand up to Mike Madigan effectively, and inability to keep his word
and his commitments, I can no longer support him. And whether or not they are able to agree
publicly, I know hundreds of elected Republicans, along with hundreds of thousands of
Republican voters, who feel the same way I do.

For further inquiries, please contact Rep. Breen at 630.403.5963.