Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has been accused of “doubling down and holding Illinois citizens hostage with his austerity agenda” following his backing of Republican plan for a state takeover of the Chicago Public Schools.

With the move, unveiled on Wednesday, Rauner “launched a years-in-the-making all-out assault on the Chicago Teachers Union,” the Chicago Tribune reports, while Politico describes the school system as “the latest laboratory for an ambitious Midwestern governor trying push his anti-union agenda.”

Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno defended the measure as a “lifeline” for a school system with an “abysmal” track record.

As WTTW reports, the proposal would allow for CPS, which faces a $500 million cash shortage, to declare bankruptcy. It would also allow, the Tribune adds, “the governor’s hand-picked State Board of Education chief to replace the mayor’s appointed school board until the district’s finances were deemed fixed. The state panel would have the power to negotiate a new teachers’ contract if none is reached in current talks, or oversee a union contract that could be broken if the district filed for bankruptcy.”

WBEZ adds:

Among the proposal’s critics—who also include embattled Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the CTU—is House Speaker Michael Madigan, who pointed to failures in another city which stripped local control away with the appointment of an emergency manager. “The disaster in Flint, Michigan, is a very timely example of how reckless decisions just to save a buck can have devastating consequences on children and families.”

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