Katherine Ruocco, the Republican candidate in House District 113, has fired back at her opponent, state Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea), for accusations and comments he made regarding the closure of the Center for Autism in Maryville, which shuttered its doors on June 30.
Ruocco calls Hoffman's comments inaccurate and that the state does not benefit from the blame game he plays.
“Illinois will never recover until my opponent, Rep. Jay Hoffman, and his fellow career politicians stop playing the blame game and accept responsibility,” Ruocco said in a Facebook post. “My opponent continues to blame others for the failure to pass a budget and fund the Maryville Center for Autism, which recently shuttered its doors for lack of funding. Twisting the truth and shirking responsibility will not move Illinois forward.”
Ruocco's post, titled "Placing Politics Over People Is Wrong and Must Stop," addressed three statements allegedly made by Hoffman. The first statement made by Hoffman was that Gov. Bruce Rauner is indirectly responsible for center's closure due to cuts in social services allegedly approved by Rauner.
”This is false,” Ruocco said. “The center announced that it would be closing permanently at the end of the state’s fiscal year without a budget plan and a 'lack of progress in locating ongoing funding.’”
The center, a program of the nonprofit organization UCP Heartland, closed to its inability to locate funding, according to Richard Forkosh, president and CEO of UCP Heartland, and Amanda Marti, formerly the autism center’s director.
The center offered a variety of services, such as screenings for signs of developmental delays in children, and offered groups to assist in adaptive social skills for children with autism. It was heavily affected by the budget impasse like many other social service programs.
Hoffman allegedly said that his efforts to try to raise funding for programs like Maryville’s Center for Autism were cut short due to lack of support by his party and Rauner’s veto power.
Ruocco calls this allegation untrue because the Democrats have a supermajority in the House, thereby nullifying any veto from the governor.
“The Democrats have a veto-proof supermajority in the state House,” Ruocco said. “Any bill the governor vetoes could be passed and the Democrats have absolute power. They can pass a budget at any time and fund whatever they like at any time, but have chosen not to do so. Each and every Republican legislator could vote against such bill, and the governor could veto it and it could still be passed.”
Hoffman has also asserted that Rauner is one of Ruocco's heroes, which she has denied. She, in turn, pointed out that Hoffman has voted in step with House Speaker Madigan (D-Chicago).
“I have no political heroes, unlike my opponent who clearly idolizes House Leader and demigod Mike Madigan, who has sent Illinois reeling into a state of catastrophic dysfunction,” Ruocco said. “Rep. Hoffman votes in-sync with Madigan on almost every issue that has driven Illinois into the devastating place it is today.”
Ruocco said that the game of politics played in Springfield and by Hoffman has its consequences.
”The bottom line is that the most vulnerable people who rely on state-funded programs are getting crushed by this dysfunction,” Ruocco said. “Rep. Hoffman, simply put, is placing politics over people. This is wrong and must stop.”
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