SPRINGFIELD — Just weeks before a budget slashing move now called the “Good Friday Massacre, Gov. Bruce Rauner appointed an a $250,000 a year education czar, he was willing to take the arrows to lure good people to government.
But new records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times show that Beth Purvis’ salary, one of the highest-paid state employees hired under Rauner, isn’t making a dent in the governor’s office budget, or the education budget.
Purvis is instead being paid from the Department of Human Services budget, a budget that just weeks later Rauner slashed in a move later known as “the Good Friday Massacre,” causing some agency programs to completely shut down.
The cuts caused a furor, prompting House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, to call a public hearing on why it happened after Democrats said they believed a budget deal with the governor protected such services.
In April, the governor’s budget director apologized to lawmakers for a miscommunication and Rauner’s office later restored the cuts, saying it found additional revenue.
But Rauner’s proposed budget for FY16 has called for more deep cuts within the agency.