JB Pritzker and Juliana Stratton Statements on Bruce Rauner Failing to Stand Up for the Black Community

Statement

After Bruce Rauner claimed he's "done more for Black business, for Black economic opportunity and Black education opportunity than anybody," JB Pritzker and Juliana Stratton released the following statements:

"Bruce Rauner fabricated a track record of standing up for the black community when he's been nothing short of a failure," said JB Pritzker. "While Rauner pays lip service, Illinois' black unemployment rate is the highest in the nation. That's after Rauner's budget crisis crushed small businesses, decimated social services, reduced access to child care assistance for working families, and forced anti-violence programs to freeze operations. Rauner tried to exploit divisions between Chicago and downstate with racially charged language and even refused to call KKK leader David Duke a racist. There's nothing more shameful than a failed governor using a day that commemorates freedom and the fight for justice to grandstand and spread lies."

"Juneteenth is about freedom and our fight for economic justice," said State Representative Juliana Stratton. "For Bruce Rauner to take this day and pretend to be a champion for the black community, when he has done nothing but turn the clock back for our communities, is appalling and deeply insulting. This is the same Bruce Rauner who vetoed a $15 minimum wage, disinvested in our small businesses, and drove our state to the highest black unemployment rate in the nation. Illinois deserves a leader who ensures no community is left behind and that is not and never will be Bruce Rauner."

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