There’s bigger fish to fry
Monday, Jun 20, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. John Bradley’s Republican opponent David Severin…
Severin supports Gov. Bruce Rauner’s reform agenda, including term limits for politicians. But Democrats argue making them part of budget talks has caused Illinois’ unprecedented stalemate to drag on. It’s a battle Severin describes as “worth it.”
“If we don’t fight, pretty soon we’re going to have nothing to fight for,” Severin said. […]
Severin remains critical of working groups, which Bradley is part of. Republicans and Democrats have held meetings via video conference in an effort to agree on a short-term budget deal. Severin argues they should be in person instead.
“So if you’re working together that means you’re going to sit down and look at each other face to face across the table, maybe even next to each other,” Severin said.
Severin said, if elected, he’d bring that negotiation style to Springfield.
Illinois is a very big state, and the governor shut down the air shuttle service last year, which doesn’t make it easier to attend face-to-face meetings. Plus, it’s 2016. Video conferencing is pretty widely used tool in business and governing.
I just don’t see that as a big dealio.
* Plus, with stark differences like these, does it really matter if they meet in person or via video?…
Legislative working groups have been trying to reach compromises, and [Sen. Don Harmon] said he participated in “procurement reforms which are largely buttoned up but waiting for whatever agreements have to be reached on other topics.”
But he said compromise comes when “nobody gets everything they wanted,” and he hasn’t seen “any real evidence of that” from the governor.
“I know that the governor likes to point to the things he is no longer pursuing, but he hasn’t compromised on the core issues before us,” including weakening prevailing wage and collective bargaining laws, Harmon said.
“These are just things a Democratic legislature is not going to approve in the form he would like them approved,” Harmon said.
Harmon told me today that while Republican legislators seem to agree that procurement reform is a mostly done deal, “The governor might not think they’re done.”
* Meanwhile…
The House Republican Organization is continuing its cable TV ad buy for another week with a $95,389 purchase of time in several areas where the Rauner-funded GOP is going after House Democrats.
Based on the location of the buys, 3,197 spots appear once again to be aiming at such Democrats as Reps. Michelle Mussman of Schaumburg, Sam Yingling of Grayslake, Kate Cloonen of Kankakee and Andy Skoog of LaSalle. Skoog was appointed to fill the spot of Frank Mautino when he became auditor general.
The ads started Saturday and are to run through Friday. The continued ad barrage comes as Rauner’s Republicans are locked in a yearlong stalemate with Madigan’s Democrats over a state budget and the governor’s economic agenda.
- wordslinger - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 10:43 am:
–Severin supports Gov. Bruce Rauner’s reform agenda, including term limits for politicians. But Democrats argue making them part of budget talks has caused Illinois’ unprecedented stalemate to drag on. It’s a battle Severin describes as “worth it.”
Could you explain that real-world dollars-and-cents terms, like the big kids in the private sector do every day?
No one has yet.
Aren’t the Raunerbots the least bit embarrassed by now that they can’t articulate a defense for this damage beyond the cult-like chanting of buzzwords?
- Federalist - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 10:44 am:
One of the few things Rauner gets right is term limits.
Twelve years in the GA is enough. Move on after that to your own business or I guess one could run for other political offices if that is their DNA.
- Delimma - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 10:49 am:
Maybe one party should voluntarily agree to term limits for a while, and then when they can show how much that has benefited the state, they can then push for it as a matter of law. It always seem term limits are brought up by the minority party, but that same party never insists that its long term members step down.
Seems disingenuous.
- Reality Check - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 10:50 am:
he hasn’t compromised on the core issues before us,” including weakening prevailing wage and collective bargaining laws, Harmon said.
This. This. Until and unless Rauner drops demands that would strip the rights of workers and drive down their wages, the budget standoff is totally on him.
- illini97 - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 10:50 am:
Video conferencing seems like a cost effective, efficient way to get business done. Is that frowned upon?
- Norseman - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 10:59 am:
=== “I know that the governor likes to point to the things he is no longer pursuing, but he hasn’t compromised on the core issues before us,” including weakening prevailing wage and collective bargaining laws … ===
And the war continues.
- BluegrassBoy - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 11:01 am:
Looks like Rauners found another politically naive candidate to run against an incumbent Dem.
FOR Rauners TA.
AGAINST working groups talking unless they spend State $ to come to Springfield to do it.
At least voters in the 117th district should know where the candidates stand so they should be able to make an informed choice.
- illini - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 11:04 am:
Yet another attempt by Severin, and other like minded bought and paid for surrogates, to change the focus of the issues being discussed. Does not help!
- Graduated College Student - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 11:09 am:
===One of the few things Rauner gets right is term limits.
Twelve years in the GA is enough. Move on after that to your own business or I guess one could run for other political offices if that is their DNA. ===
And I assume you get all professional advice and services (including financial and medical) from those with less than 12 years experience in those fields. I mean, the principle’s the same.
- Annonin' - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 11:17 am:
Sverin probably thinks he will be able to drive 110 mph like BigBrain, but he does not get the trooper escort. So he will only get to 85 mph unless he rides with Forby
- Huh? - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 11:25 am:
Norseman +1
Video conferencing is a well developed technology that is cost effective aND easyto use. There are many times that I wish I had used video conferencing to the 20 minute meeting that took a 4 hour round trip to attend.
- southottawa - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 11:27 am:
The opponent, facing Andy Skoog, Jerry Long was thrown out of the U.S. Air Force.
- NoGifts - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 11:28 am:
In the private sector we call staying a long time in your job “experience.”
- NoGifts - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 11:29 am:
And by the way, I think we can all see now how well lack of political experience works in running the government.
- Facts aren't fun - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 11:55 am:
How ironic. Video conferencing isn’t a good strategy adults from around the state to communicate or problem solve? Maybe someone should tell him that it’s his party who fights every year to bring video conferencing to juvenile court! That’s when a human being’s liberty is at stake - a child’s liberty no less. Who cares if you’re logistically inconsistent.
- train111 - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 11:57 am:
I see from the Board of Elections website that Brucie sunk another 2.5 mil into the Liberty Principles PAC this past Friday.
Sure must be nice to have that much cash around to just burn.
- Federalist - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 12:01 pm:
And I assume you get all professional advice and services (including financial and medical) from those with less than 12 years experience in those fields. I mean, the principle’s the same.
If you do not understand the difference between a career and a career as a politician there is no help for you.
- HistoryProf - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 12:33 pm:
Federalist, your comments run directly counter to your namesake, who designed a system EXPLICITLY to insulate an experienced elite of statesmen from volatile and short sighted democratically elected majorities!
Don’t take the name if you don’t have a clue what it stands for!
- Demoralized - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 1:25 pm:
Federalist:
We already have term limits. They are called elections.
- Juvenal - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 1:42 pm:
Rich, keeping with the theme of the post, I thought this was the Catch of the Day in the Schoenberg column:
“Representative, I apologize if you feel any disrespect,” Goldberg said. “I simply do believe this is a sham hearing. I am not going to back down from that statement.”
Great non-apology from the former Mark Kirk staffer that evidences so much of what is wrong with the Rauner administration. Disrupters instead of builders. Combative instead of collaborative. Disingenuous instead of honest. Evasive instead of accountable.
- Anonymous - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 4:43 pm:
Was it a sham hearing, actually. If so, you go,go, go Goldberg
- Mama - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 11:11 pm:
What is wrong with the Rauner & his administration? “Disrupters instead of builders. Combative instead of collaborative. Disingenuous instead of honest. Evasive instead of accountable.”
Juvenal, you hit the nail on the head.
- Mama - Monday, Jun 20, 16 @ 11:14 pm:
Rich, are there any details the ‘procurement reform’?