45 Comments - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 12:51 pm: Rauner never should’ve went after the Trades… In the short term of November, Rauner solidified all of Labor, instead of going after public workers first, then move on after some victories. … throw in the imploding of social services, due to vetoes only a Governor can do (Veto)… … allow Democrats to unite these two groups to rally… against Rauner… and the model of McCann out there… Madigan got his answer … “No”… and with a a wry smile, looking at the crowd thinks… “Yes!” It’s now up to these groups to make activity… achievement… in November. - Me too - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 12:52 pm: Da Speaker has spoken - Norseman - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 12:54 pm: Willy +1 - Mouthy - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 12:55 pm: The Speaker sure doesn’t sound like a ransom payer… - Anon221 - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 12:56 pm: Rauner may be seeing that Bangladesh T-Shirt in his dreams;) - Anonymous - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 12:57 pm: A softball, right in the wheelhouse. - Joe M - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:01 pm: Ask an honest question - get an honest answer - OBEY - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:06 pm: Mike Madigan, creator of Chinese jobs since 1971. OBEY! - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:12 pm: - OBEY - Yesterday? Half dozens and half dozens… Versus… Today… Thousands. Maybe you should sit out a few plays… - Biker - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:15 pm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haThIxPnYro - walker - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:20 pm: OBEY: There are plenty of blog sites for unsubstantiated, unconnected, partisan political shouting. Not here. Find one and have your fun there. - TominChicago - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:24 pm: I have finally found a crack in the Speaker’s armor. He doesn’t know how to you the reflexive pronoun. - Skeptic - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:26 pm: I was at the rally, Rauner has accomplished the previously unthinkable, AFSCME cheering “pension reform” Madigan. - TominChicago - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:27 pm: Dang it, should be “He doesn’t know how to USE…” One really looks stupid using a post with a typo to be a grammar Nazi. - LINK - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:34 pm: And somewhere in the throng of humanity gathered for the rally is Country Joe and ALL the surviving members of the Fish starting their own chant… - Reme - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:35 pm: At least it is clear which of the sides is willing to actually negotiate and find a compromise. Don’t think anything will happen anytime soon. Sorry service providers. - Not It - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:42 pm: Here is one observation: Before Rauner how often did you see Speaker Madigan speak at a rally? That is at least shaking up Springfield a little bit. - Anonymous - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:43 pm: ==I was at the rally, Rauner has accomplished the previously unthinkable, AFSCME cheering “pension reform” Madigan.== Simply explained by, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” Rauner’s only hope is to spend all of his bottle-deposit money between now and November laying his case out to the voters in Illinois. He’d be wise to frame it as, “R=reforms and higher taxes, and D=no reforms and much higher taxes”. No matter how it turns out, though, the 800 pound gorilla in the room, and the real reason IL is in the shape it’s in, is the tens of thousands of people who are fleeing the state annually, many of whom are doing so for economic reasons. With that in mind, should one look into their crystal ball and ask the question, “What does the future hold - is Illinois a good place to purchase a home or start/expand a business?” If the answer is no, the inevitable result is not going to be pretty for anyone. Have we already reached the tipping point? - Tom K. - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:45 pm: Sorry, anonymous at 1:43 was me. - 47th Ward - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:47 pm: One last question, I forgot where I parked. Has anyone seen my car? NO! - Earnest - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:51 pm: Can you assure less than 25% of your members will vote for Raunerites in November? - Honeybear - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:55 pm: Madigan got me jacked up. Nooooo! - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:56 pm: ===”…D=no reforms and much higher taxes”.=== Ugh. Hows ya going to flip that one when a majority of GOP GA members are “Green” for raised revenue and Rauner signs it? Seriously, revenue is going to happen. Math is math is math… Rauner will need a budget he can sign. Can’t continually point to Dems and higher taxes and expect help. - wordslinger - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 1:56 pm: –At least it is clear which of the sides is willing to actually negotiate and find a compromise. Don’t think anything will happen anytime soon. Sorry service providers.– What do any of the things Madigan mentioned have to do with negotiating a state budget or paying service providers? Is it just me, or do they appear unrelated? I mean, would it have been kosher for Quinn to refuse to negotiate on a state budget unless he got a $15 minimum wage hike? I don’t think so. Because it’s unrelated to the budget. - EconLady - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 2:05 pm: Just what is Madigan supposed to do, concretely, that would move the ball? Is he supposed to pay ransom in the form of hanging workers out to dry to advance the ALEC agenda, an agenda for which the majority in this state has never expressed support? There has already been some worker’s comp reform that appears to be effective. We have a lousy Tier II pension plan for new workers. The pension reality of the Supreme Court decisions cannot be legislated away–it needs a constitutional change. The Republicans’ perennial “waste, fraud, and abuse” savings are just as imaginary as Rauner’s magic “growth” beans. Once conceded, can items like prevailing wage just be snatched back in another session? The experience of other states says mostly ‘no.’ - Annonin' - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 2:22 pm: It is amazin’ to think some believe folks should roll the workers’ rights back to about 1981 for no good reason. Calling BigBrain wish list “reforms” is nonsense. If BigBrain really had a clue he would have found a way to persuade folks….hasn’t happen….just has not happened - pool boy - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 2:23 pm: One more question. Do I have the best interests of the state? - Ahoy! - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 2:36 pm: I don’t think no is a feeling. Maybe they should have chanted angry, sad or menaced. But either way, they should just feel honored that Madigan would even ask how they felt. - Triple fat - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 3:25 pm: Setting preconditions that give you everything you want before starting negotiations doesn’t seem like a side being willing to comprimise. Just sayin… - 47th Ward - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 3:37 pm: It was hard to hear over the noise of the crowd, but is it true Madigan’s last line was: “Now go do…that voodoo…that you do…so well!” - steve schnorf - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 3:40 pm: I don’t think it mattered much what answer he wanted to those questions from that audience - JustRight - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 3:55 pm: AFSCME Counsel 31 = 30+ raises (across the board) since 2003. Enough said. - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 3:58 pm: - JustRight -, They make too much money? You do realize social services and trades were there today too… “Right”? lol - Tom K. - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 4:28 pm: OW, I understand that one needs to speed-read to get through all the comments here. Please re-read my post, I said “R=reforms and higher taxes”. Again, the voters can decide for themselves when faced with that simple choice. Personally, I’d choose to make a change to WC that takes “causation” into account, so that the state does not fully own the hearing loss of the guy who spends his weekends at the shooting range, rock concerts, and on his Harley - from what I understand, that is currently the case. Does that seem unreasonable to you? - Norseman - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 4:35 pm: Well said 47. For you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS_Shu8y0sI - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 5:20 pm: - Tom K - What is reasonable to me is the Post Rich had, including some that Democrats would loathe and Republicans would loathe too. Use the search key. What I do know is the ridiculous “Dems want higher taxes” Rauner mantra is the reason why conpromise on his end is precarious. - Anonymous - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 6:24 pm: @ 1:43pm “and the real reason IL is in the shape it’s in, is the tens of thousands of people who are fleeing the state annually, many of whom are doing so for economic reasons.” Says who? Last I checked IL was still 5/50 in GDP. You make IL sound like Mississippi. Hardly the case. - Anonymous - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 7:13 pm: wordslinger @ 1:56 pm == would it have been kosher for Quinn to refuse to negotiate on a state budget unless he got a $15 minimum wage hike?== Great point, Wordslinger. I think there is a bias toward money & power in too many average people even those who think they are pretty enlightened. I don’t know why. Anyone? - James Knell - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 7:19 pm: Sorry, @ 7:13 pm is mine. - Illinoian - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 8:18 pm: Anom/James. Freedom of the press has been bought.. Too much is owned by ideologues expressing L/R opinion with very little fact being presented and/or listened to. Time for the public to step up and listen, think and act. Not holding my breath for that to happen. Hope I am wrong. - PENSIONS ARE OFF LIMITS - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 10:15 pm: Just right 0 plus raises since 2014. You sound jealous. I bet you weren’t smart enough to get a job with a defined benefit plan. - Norseman - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 10:24 pm: What folks don’t mention, especially the haters, MC employees haven’t had a raise since 2006 - yes, that’s 10 years without a raise. Plus, they had to take furloughs during that time. - justacitizen - Wednesday, May 18, 16 @ 11:33 pm: ===What folks don’t mention, especially the haters, MC employees haven’t had a raise since 2006 - yes, that’s 10 years without a raise. Plus, they had to take furloughs during that time.=== I’ve heard that many times. I hear AFSCME runs many state agencies and is out of control. That’s why I believe Rauner isn’t trying to bust the unions but just trying to get them to negotiate on the same level as other unions and non-union employees, - Grandson of Man - Thursday, May 19, 16 @ 8:56 am: “I was at the rally, Rauner has accomplished the previously unthinkable, AFSCME cheering “pension reform” Madigan.” That’s right. Some or many loathed and feared Madigan. Now they are cheering him. So much for divide and conquer. - Just Me - Thursday, May 19, 16 @ 3:35 pm: Really? We’ve gone through two years of hell so that the Governor could claim credit for how work-related hearing loss is calculated? Huh? Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.