Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday vetoed a union-backed bill that sought to go around him in their ongoing contract dispute, saying it was an attempt to tie his hands and usurp his authority as the taxpayers’ representative in negotiations.

It was the second time that Rauner has vetoed the legislation, which Democrats keep sending him at the behest of their union allies.

Rauner and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 are deadlocked over a contract to replace the one that expired in July. Rauner has asked the Illinois Labor Relations Board to determine whether negotiations have reached a stage that would allow him to stop the contract talks and impose his own terms on the state’s largest employee union.

My commute to work takes me down Milwaukee Avenue through Logan Square and Wicker Park. If you haven’t been there recently, that stretch is practically one long construction zone, in part due to new apartment-building construction. There’s L, for instance, a mixed-use development with a 200-space bike room, a bike-maintenance station, and 120 units that start at $1,575 for a junior one-bedroom and go up to $3,900 for a three-bed. (When the transit-oriented development at 1611 West Division went up in 2013, its 99 apartments went for $1,495 to $3,295.) The Aldi at Milwaukee and Leavitt, next door to the 606, just came down for a 95-unit building due later this year. Logan Square’s “twin towers” will add 213 units.

The first police department in Lake County to use body cams is now suspending the program.

The cameras were inadvertently still rolling while officers used the bathroom and in other private moments, and those officers are now considering a lawsuit.

As of this writing, the state is beginning its 11th month without a complete budget for the 2016 Fiscal Year, and we are days away from the deadline for passing a budget for the next fiscal year. Though House Democrats continue fighting to fund critical state services, including breast cancer screenings, in-home medical care for the elderly, meals for homebound seniors, and higher education, as well as funding for victims of child abuse and sexual assault, legislative Republicans and Gov. Bruce Rauner block our efforts.

While House Democrats’ priority has been to pass a comprehensive, full-fiscal year budget using a balanced approach that includes spending cuts but does not decimate needed services, Gov. Rauner’s priority puts his personal agenda first and attacks the wages and standard of living of the middle class. His insistence on passing his personal agenda has been the single roadblock to finding a true bipartisan budget solution.

However, since March 26, 2015, Gov. Rauner has approved six budget proposals that did not include any part of his personal agenda. This reaffirms my previous statements that when the governor sets aside his personal agenda that hurts middle-class families, we can make progress on the state’s most important issue. The people of Illinois want to see progress. They want to see a comprehensive full-year budget. I, too, am committed to passing comprehensive budgets for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017. I also hope the governor will look at his recent budgetary actions and see that we can come together to find reasonable solutions when he sets aside his personal agenda that will hurt middle-class families and has nothing to do with the state budget.

Rahm Emanuel speaks about the Chicago Public School system and the state government of Illinois in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.

Across Illinois, there are plenty of examples of how our state’s school funding formula is broken. While our state ranks 15th for highest average spending per student at $10,343, these funds are allocated very differently among wealthy and poor districts. Based on poverty data from the U.S. Census Bureau, poor students in Illinois receive $0.81 for every dollar spent on their wealthier counterparts. The data make clear what Illinois advocates have known for decades — the current method of funding schools isn’t working.

Students living in poverty, students with special education needs and English language learners need more resources to ensure success in preparing for college and career. Because of the lack of state support throughout the years, local municipalities have taken the burden of school funding upon themselves by increasing tax rates and imposing taxes to pay for specific projects, such as capital improvements or investment in technology.

For some districts, this has resulted in schools that are well funded and ensure great academic outcomes. Other districts find themselves with high tax rates, underresourced schools and financial distress.