When reporters in Springfield Tuesday asked State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) about voting against budgets – including those which fund the Department of Children and Family Services – he had an answer ready.
“They asked for $142 million more to do their job adequately, and i asked (DCFS) director (Marc) Smith, if I am reading this right, at the end of FY 22,” with the fiscal year ending June 30 of this year, “there’s going to be $12 million sitting on the table unspent.”
Bailey spoke across the street from DCFS’ Springfield office just as the Legislative Audit Commission wrapped up a hearing into such missteps as shoddy record-keeping and not even taking kids to the dentist.
Noting Gov. JB Pritzker’s travels to New Hampshire, Maine, and Florida, Bailey – the Republican running against Pritzker in November – said Pritzker seems to be prioritizing campaigning for president over needy kids.
Bailey did not offer his own DCFS plan, nor did he say whom he would name director.