August 17, 2018

To the Honorable Members of

The Illinois House of Representatives,

100th General Assembly:

Today, I veto House Bill 4657, which would statutorily mandate the creation of an Emotional Intelligence and Social and Emotional Learning Task Force.

My administration believes deeply in the importance of supporting both the intellectual and emotional development of Illinois’ children. However, by creating a Task Force without any substantive directives to address this issue, we will only add to government waste without any assurance of healthier outcomes for students.

It has been a priority of my administration to end the unfettered government waste that has plagued Illinois state politics for too long. To that end, I have eliminated 19 boards and commissions this year alone that were defunct, existing on paper, but in reality not serving Illinois in any meaningful way. Taxpayers deserve to know that when we create new governmental bodies, commissions, and task forces, we are equipping those entities with the support and guidance they need to investigate and address the most pressing issues facing Illinois. It is disingenuous to continue the cycle of establishing new groups on paper without the direction necessary to drive results from them.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 4657, entitled “AN ACT concerning education”, with the forgoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner

GOVERNOR