40 Comments - PublicServant - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:08 am: He’s missing out on the Ebola outbreak under Pat Quinn’s failed administration. - À guy - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:08 am: Desperate times call for desperate approaches. This dog don’t hunt. - wordslinger - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:13 am: – More than 63,000 people have given up hope on finding a job since April and Pat Quinn is out celebrating – Yeah, right. Because that’s how the world works. That simple. Couldn’t possibly be any more complex or nuanced than that. - Ron Burgundy - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:14 am: Um, Governor? People care about their own finances more than they do Bruce Rauner’s finances. You’re supposed to be the incumbent Governor here. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:15 am: ===…will be available to the media to discuss what we do and don’t know about Bruce Rauner’s finances and what disclosure of his full tax records could reveal.=== Thank goodness those Cayman Islands accounts are behind Bruce. - OneMan - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:15 am: We have a guy who can talk about all sorts of hypothetical stuff…. Sounds like sports talk radio to me… Well it could be or it might be…. - OneMan - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:17 am: Also I am guessing the tax stuff most poll well since the Quinn team keeps on it… - Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:19 am: what is bruce`s plan for the 63,000 ? (vote for him) - Geronimo - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:22 am: I’m sure that all 63,000 would find jobs under Rauner’s leadership……….wait, what about firing all public employees to save cash? How many unemployed would that be? - PublicServant - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:27 am: I’d say most of the 63,000, now that they don’t have to work in order to have health insurance, would be kind of hard to pull out of retirement…but Bruce can try, I suppose, if he’s elected. The key to people being more free to retire is that those jobs are now available to be filled by college students who have been having problems finding work lately, thanks to the Great Recession’s lingering effects…err, I mean, Pat Quinn’s failed policies. - Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:28 am: It seems like Rauner is the one popping the champagne at bad news, probably like he did when he laid off 30% of the workforce at DB Aviation or busted out some of those nursing homes. - Wally - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:31 am: But, but, but the economy is improving and there are jobs out there. Just ask anyone on the left. Just no answers when you go an inch below the surface and break down the true reason for UE drops. The Rauner team needs to pound on this in a way Joe and Mary Bungalow can easily understand. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:35 am: the contest has become a punch and judy show - Demoralized - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:37 am: @Wally: Actually, the economic indicators do say the economy is improving - slowly, but improving. For somebody who thinks they are so smart on the economy, you aren’t very informed. And you only betray your partisan hack tendencies when you use “Just ask anyone on the left.” Your credibility goes right out the window. - Knome Sane - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:42 am: I think it’s interesting to note that one candidate is talking about J.O.B.S. for Illinoisans. And the other candidate is talking about only his opponent’s wealth. Class warfare might work on a national scale but Illinois is so dysfunctional, I don’t think it’s a winning strategy. Illinois voters should ask tough questions like: “that was yesterday, what are you going to do for me today?” It appears as though Rauner gets it. Quinn, eh, not so much. I am not advocating for one candidate or another, by the way, just handicapping how I see this race developing. - Anon. - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:42 am: ==Thank goodness those Cayman Islands accounts are behind Bruce.== Thank goodness Rauner disclosed the existence of those accounts, or the governor wouldn’t be able to accuse Rauner of hiding anything. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:44 am: ===Thank goodness Rauner disclosed the existence of those accounts, or the governor wouldn’t be able to accuse Rauner of hiding anything.=== You MAY want to check out the papers today on that… You’re welcome. - VM - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:54 am: From the Perioa WMBD-TV story: “According to the non partisan research and education organization, Illinois Policy Institute. . .” Excuse me while I got out to buy a new keyboard. And get another Coke. - VM - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:57 am: Dammit, I’ll have to get yet another keyboard: “The institute also says Illinois has 170,000 fewer jobs than before the recession in 2008 and Illinois lost 5900 private sector jobs in the first seven months of this year.” The proper measure is to include the worst year for job loss, even if Quinn was not Governor then. You know, conservatives groups did the same thing in the 2012 Presidential elections — they also included 2008, before Obama was President and during the worst part of the recession, in every economic statistic. Either IPI is just being silly and partisan, or someone has a time machine. - Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:58 am: I saw a chilling segment on Chicago Tonight, that featured meteorologist Tom Skilling. Skilling talked about weather extremes and how he believes human-made climate change is real. I don’t know much about fracking, so I have a poorly-formed opinion. I do favor the job creation that natural resource extraction brings. What about hemp farming? Is that an option for job creation in an agricultural state such as Illinois? Why aren’t we considering this option? We can also legalize marijuana, but we don’t seem to be that bold. One thing I fear is that we sell out our decent median incomes to gain jobs. That would go against our history as one of the higher-income states. I believe that we should look as private individuals and political entities to grow jobs without lessening salaries and worker protections. There is no need to implement policies like right to work. Indiana, though it is gaining jobs, is ranked something like 37th in median income. Michigan currently has a 7.7% unemployment rate, so it’s not all rosy there either. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:59 am: Wally - You’ve got more broken records than Steve Dahl’s disco demolition night. High unemployment rates are bad, and it is all Pat Quinn’s fault! Low unemployment rates are bad, and it is all Pat Quinn’s fault! A vote for Bruce Rauner is a vote for medium unemployment! In the 12 years of Edgar-Ryan, Illinois created fewer than 2,000 jobs a month net. That is all we have to show for the booming Clinton years thanks to Republicans like Rauner. - Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:00 am: ==- Knome Sane - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 9:42 am:== The way you are handicapping seems to miss a lot. https://www.quinnforillinois.com/blueprint-illinois-future http://www3.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=2&RecNum=12388 - Wally - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:04 am: @demoralized, now that is pretty funny. Tell us, did you choose your “handle” because of the Quinn economy? - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:05 am: As long as we are on the topic: Decades in business, how many jobs has Bruce Rauner created in Illinois, other than for himself and bankruptcy lawyers? - Wally - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:07 am: YDD, welcome to the 21st century. So, dems want to blame George Bush, who was prez 5 1/2 years ago, despite the abysmal performance of Obama. Yet, that’s not enough. Let’s go back 12-24 years to the Edgar/Ryan days here in IL. Are you kidding me???? - Knome Sane - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:08 am: @Precinct Captain, you’ll have to excuse me for missing these headline grabbing plans put forth by the Quinn campaign. While it’s true I did take a couple of trips and missed some news cycles this summer, I failed to pick up on the “game-changing” press releases. What I can do, in the meantime, is to follow the news on this race and analyze how the messages are getting across and handicap how I see the race developing. And today, as I see it, I don’t think Quinn has hit on a winning strategy - Skirmisher - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:08 am: Pa, is it November yet??? - Demoralized - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:08 am: @Wally: I’m not sure what is funny, but whatever. I stated facts, that’s all. I’m sorry that they don’t fit your narrative. All I ask for in these discussions is honesty and you lack that, my friend. And you can bite me over my handle. I’ve explained the reason on here before. - Demoralized - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:10 am: @Wally: You certainly are a good little soldier for your cause. - Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:27 am: When there are more people giving up looking for a job than finding a job, there is cause for caution and scrutiny. That does not mean we should ignore any positive news of job creation. We should welcome it. That also means we should exercise caution when there are suddenly record-breaking numbers of people leaving the labor force in Illinois. Yesterday’s release from Rauner said June and July were the worst and third-worst months in a decade for people leaving our labor force. - Soccermom - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:32 am: Look — I want to know why people have decided to opt out of the workforce. I am sure that some of them are moms who have decided to leave paid employment. I am sure that some of them are retirees. I am sure that some of them are people who decided to return to school full-time. Heck, some of them may even be hedge fund managers who realized they already have more money than they will ever need. And yes, some of them are longterm unemployed who have simply given up. At this point, we don’t know what these numbers mean. Does anybody have any, you know, facts? - VM - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:34 am: FKA . . . Look at the data. They show that there were more jobs in July than in June and more jobs in June than in April. The Rauner campaign is blatantly cherry picking which month it will use. They use April 2014 as the starting point because it will create the biggest reduction in labor force. But here’s what I don’t get: IPI and Rauner’s constant refrain is that Illinois is bleeding people. Well, if so many people are leaving Illinois, would it not make sense that the labor force is going down? So which is it, people are fleeing from Illinois or people are staying in Illinois and not looking for jobs? - JS Mill - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:38 am: What continues to be clear in all of the partisan, and supposedly non-partisan (IPI really???), bickering is that we have two lousy choices for executive office. The concept that Rauner is fighting for the little guy and is a beacon of truth and transparency is not supported by evidence or his own story telling. Likewise, Quinn has fumbled and bumbled a golden opportunity. His own party has failed to coalesce their dominant position and bring tangible solutions to serious problems. This is the Illinois version of Race To The Bottom. - Demoralized - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:40 am: @Soccermom: I read an article in the Washington Post (thanks to the Google) that had a few interesting points in it. One thing the article noted was that the Chicago Fed predicts that the labor participation rate is steadily declining and will be lower still by 2020 regardless of how well the economy does. They have noted the increasing retirements taking place because of the Baby Boomers. They also noted the increase in people staying in school because there aren’t as many jobs to be had, and they discuss the fact that some people simply stop looking because they can’t find a job. Contrary to what some on here believe, the situation is very complex. There isn’t one reason why the labor participation rate is falling. But just remember, it’s all Quinn’s fault no matter what. - Mason born - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:50 am: Can we stop with the challenger is rooting for bad news thing? Every time a challenger is trying to take a seat or title from another party they blame any and all economic bad news on the incumbent. It doesn’t matter the party or the pol. Obama in ‘08, Romney in ‘12, and Rauner in ‘14. Shoot some of you seem giddy about bad news in Kansas. I refuse to believe those gentlemen or those commenters here actually are rooting for bad news for the U.S. or the state or even Kansas. I get it when it is your party on the giving end it seems like it is all justified when they are on the receiving end suddenly the other guy is evil wanring bad news. It’s silly. Now the folks leaving the workforce is a troubling sign especially since it is.unlikely that they are all early retirees or new stay at home moms. Meanwhile more jobs created.is good news and IL can certainly use it. I do think Rauner’s criticism has longer legs becaus it feeds inro perceptions. As long as the perception persists quinn has an uphill fight. - Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 11:11 am: @JS Mill - nails it. @VM - I appreciate the reply, but when it comes to cherry-picking data in this case they are both guilty. A clear example of this is the opening sentence of the IDES report itself. The report shows that total nonfarm payroll increased 10,300. This is the standard measure of “job creation” for purposes such as these. But Mr. Quinn’s crew “cherry-picks” the data in the very first sentence. They attempt to inflate the numbers by omitting government job losses, so the very first sentence focuses on == 11,200 private-sector jobs == instead of 10,300 jobs. I do not recall ever seeing anything other than the Unemployment Rate and NFP jobs number to lead off an IDES report before. - Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 11:26 am: @Soccermom - asks some important questions. There has clearly been a sudden and statistically significant decrease in our labor force taking place during recent months. This decrease also appears to be historically large for our state. Data and reports on this exist from the BLS, Census and many others, but a fair bit of it conflicts with each other and very little appears to be Illinois-specific. Every time one report chalks it up to retirements and aging, another report attributes the most likely cause to economic factors and discouraged workers. For example, the Chicago Fed estimated that retirements account for only about 25% of the drop in labor force participation while the rest are mostly discouraged workers. But a Barclays economist estimated that discouraged workers account for only about 35% of the drop in labor force participation while the rest are mostly retirees, the majority of whom are baby boomers. I wish we knew, but it appears too early to know with certainty since there is so much conflicting data. - Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 12:46 pm: ==- Knome Sane - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 10:08 am:== If you see some literature, these are the same points being hit. - Just The Way It Is One - Tuesday, Aug 19, 14 @ 7:58 pm: And the beat goes on (or perhaps, more accurately, the mutual beat-DOWN)! The only thing I would give Pat Quinn a definite edge on here, however, is the reality that the average Voter really will likely only look at the Number, the Unemployment Rate, as the BOTTOM LINE here, and since that Rate has been going DOWN so steeply as it has now, will probably think that’s a GOOD, positive Thing, that things in general economically, therefore, must be lookin’ up now in Illinois under Quinn, so that they’ll think, “Well, we’re at least making progress, have turned the corner and getting there, that as such we’re ‘on the Road to Recovery’ ,so to speak, in helping People in Illinois find Jobs, even though there’s obviously still more work to do,” and, so as such, many of those same Folks will find the Governor’s pitch to “stay the Course” and think POSitive so as to “give me one more Term to finish the JOB” we ARE now making progress on believable and will therefore, also just based on his overall Likeability, vote for him one last time… - VanillaMan - Wednesday, Aug 20, 14 @ 8:13 am: WHICH one do voters care about? Someone else’s job prospects, or some rich guy’s tax filings? Jobs. Quinn loses. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.