CHICAGO – State Sen. Linda Holmes, a member of the Lt. Governor's Task Force on Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates, issued the following statement regarding Gov. Bruce Rauner's Monday unveiling of the task force's findings.

"It is unfortunate Gov. Rauner has chosen to inject highly politicized items like repealing prevailing wage and making collective bargaining optional for local governments into the discussion of these other common sense approaches to spending reductions," Holmes said. "I worked with Lt. Governor Sanguinetti to put forth a number of other proposals that could benefit taxpayers, such as granting the power to consolidate units of government with careful local input and examining the unfunded mandates state government imposes on local government. These other items reflect the governor's continued insistence on an anti-union and anti-middle class agenda."

Holmes was one of several members of the task force. She has repeatedly voiced her support for more government consolidation powers to be given over to local governments with proper oversight and taxpayer input. She voted against the task force’s recommendations on the prevailing wage repeal and collective bargaining changes. Unfunded mandates are laws or rules that require local units of government to perform services or meet regulatory standards, but do not provide the funding to do so. Holmes, D-Aurora, will file legislation that would review such mandates on local government.

The commission's full report can be read here.