* Rauner one-upped Quinn on the Ebola scare today. From the twitters…
Rauner also said that the governor’s plan to require a 21-day home quarantine should’ve been done sooner.
The governor’s office says Gov. Quinn does not favor a travel ban.
* Meanwhile…
Illinois Department of Public Health Director LaMar Hasbrouck said Monday the state’s approach strikes the “right balance” by enforcing a home quarantine only for the highest-risk cases.
The Illinois 21-day mandatory home quarantine won’t be used for medical workers if they wore personal protective equipment correctly while treating Ebola patients in West Africa.
Hasbrouck says Illinois wasn’t directly influenced by a New York doctor who went bowling before testing positive for Ebola. But he says that New York case “played into the urgency” for a public announcement.
Illinois has no confirmed Ebola cases and nobody is in quarantine.
*** UPDATE *** Rauner campaign statement…
Gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner today expressed serious concerns over Governor Quinn’s refusal to support a travel ban applied to countries affected by Ebola.
“I support Senator Kirk’s call on the State Department to issue a visa and travel ban on those attempting to travel from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone,” Rauner said. “It is troubling that Governor Quinn would not support a travel ban particularly given that O’Hare is one of the world’s busiest airports. Pat Quinn has failed Illinois on jobs, on education, on taxes, and on crime; we can’t afford another failure on a potentially very serious public health hazard.”
Senator Kirk’s proposal is common sense and supported by the vast majority of people in Illinois and America. It has won bi-partisan support.
- circularfiringsquad - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:19 pm:
Perhaps PQ would have been quicker if Mitt had mentioned it — ever. Hard to take Mitt seriously when he starts to sound like a skinny Yankee Huckabee “President Obama is awful. He sould have done _________________________ (pick any news item) sooner.”
- Federalist - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:24 pm:
Must be election coming up soon or something.
But nice to see there is at least some bipartisanship on this issue and I am certain that political expediency has nothing to do with it.
- How Ironic - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:26 pm:
Can Michelle please ask Dr. Rauner if we should implement a travel ban to Texas? If no, why not? Is Ebola in Africa more deadly, than in Texas? How about New York, should we implement a travel ban to New York?
Could Dr. Rauner please be specific in his answer.
- Wordslinger - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:29 pm:
So Rauner out panders Quinn to the scaredy cats. Yeah, buddy.
See you all in church.
- John A. Logan - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:31 pm:
The Texas inferiority complex is on full display today.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:34 pm:
Tomorrow’s headline today:
“Rauner to west Africa: Drop Dead”
- Ron Burgundy - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:37 pm:
Bad move Bruce. If Quinn gets one mostly right, which is rare, it is OK to agree with him. Makes you appear “statesmanlike,” which you could use.
- Just Observing - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:37 pm:
=== Rauner also said that the governor’s plan to require a 21-day home quarantine should’ve been done sooner. ===
Of course Rauner “thinks” that.
- hisgirlfriday - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:40 pm:
By what legal authority and in what practical way is Rauner going to impose a travel ban to West Africa?
Is he going to ban all non-existent direct commercial flights from Illinois to West Africa?
- 618662dem - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:40 pm:
Rauner wants quarantine patients to go to one of his nursing homes where he assures the public they will NEVER get out.
- Say It Ain't So!! - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:41 pm:
=== Rauner also said that the governor’s plan to require a 21-day home quarantine should’ve been done sooner. ===
Sooner? As in how fast Rauner let out his complete economic plan for Illinois?
- D.P.Gumby - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:42 pm:
Another example of the stellar leadership we might expect from a Gov. Brucie…
- JS Mill - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:44 pm:
The Zombie Apocalypse is upon us only we didn’t realize it would be an army of mutant politicians destroying our brains (rather than eating them) with mindless pandering.
- Demoralized - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:46 pm:
“Anything you can do I can do better,
I can do anything better than you.”
- Wensicia - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:50 pm:
=== Rauner also said that the governor’s plan to require a 21-day home quarantine should’ve been done sooner.===
Then why did he wait until after Quinn’s statement before mentioning this? Couldn’t he have promoted the idea of a quarantine first? Oh, wait, that would mean he’d have to take a position before his campaign staff reacted to Quinn’s.
- Soccermom - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:58 pm:
Dear heaven —
Does Rauner wake up every morning and ask himself, “What ELSE can I do to keep Soccermom from voting for me?”
Dude — you can relax. That ship has sailed…
- bored now - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:58 pm:
this is an intellectually bankrupt attempt to discard the science and impose ideology upon the race. it shows that rauner is in lockstep with the conservative anti-intellectualism. his stance infers that he might attempt to impose the texas standards on state education, including the teaching of creationism as science, etc. illinois can then join indiana in the race to the dark ages…
- A guy... - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 2:59 pm:
Kudos to the Public Health Director for a decent and appropriate statement. It’s not a masterpiece, but these days it passes for one.
- Gooner - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 3:03 pm:
Rauner is at the point in his campaign where there are no longer any lower limits to how much he will pander.
Quinn wants a 21 day quarantine?
Rauner demands a travel ban!
I get the impression that, at this point, if Quinn said “puppies are nice” Rauner would go the next step and promise one to each and every Illinois resident.
- Soccermom - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 3:08 pm:
Gooner — I so hope that Quinn puts out a statement on puppy niceness. And Raunerbots, we would like a golden retriever puppy — or maybe a golden doodle???
- Jorge - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 3:13 pm:
The race to the bottom continues. I wonder who will drag their knuckles when they walk first. My money is on Bruce.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 3:15 pm:
===Senator Kirk’s proposal is common sense and supported by the vast majority of people in Illinois and America. It has won bi-partisan support.===
Perhaps, but most experts agree that a travel ban will make it harder to stop the spread of ebola. The borders in Africa are porous, to say the least, and paying a bribe to enter a country illegally isn’t unheard of. If the U.S. puts a visa ban in place, then the most motivated people in the effected countries will simply make their way to Nairobi or somewhere else, hop on a plane and lie about where they’ve really been.
That’s what public health experts are saying. Granted, they aren’t politicians who play on people’s fear, but sometimes they do know what they are talking about.
Mark Kirk. Like I want his opinion on how to halt the spread of ebola.
- Bluefish - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 3:17 pm:
Maybe we should start an updated version of Godwin’s Law…whoever mentions ebola first loses.
- King Louis XVI - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 3:18 pm:
Another Rauner “panel of experts” speaks.
- Judgment Day (on the road) - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 3:23 pm:
If you really want to get the background on Ebola from somebody who is what would be called a “Been There Done That” person,m it’s Dr. Steven Hatfill.
The article is in The Atlantic. It’s long, but tells the story. It’s not pretty. The link is:
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/10/21-days/381901/
Here’s a real short snippit from the article:
“His (Steven Hatfill) 11,000-word textbook-like research review made several points that are contrary to the mainstream public messaging about Ebola transmission. As he wrote in an accompanying lay explanation: “The initial response to the outbreak of Ebola in the United States has been badly designed, and poorly and incompetently implemented. In their effort to minimize public concern or even panic, the leading health authorities of the United States have made far over-reaching statements and assumptions that are not fully supported by the existing scientific literature.””
Draw your own conclusions.
Note: Hatfill has kind of a problematic past, but he does know his stuff on Ebola.
- bored now - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 3:26 pm:
i should add that rauner just proved that he does not have the leadership necessary to solve illinois’ problems. leadership would have adviced calm, not giving into the hysteria that has enveloped texas and parts of new york. if rauner can’t show the necessary leadership for a potential problem that isn’t even in illinois, he certainly doesn’t have the leadership to address illinois’ budget and pension problems — which are real, structural and require thoughtful, considerate and patient governance…
- Nonplussed - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 3:27 pm:
You can’t travel directly from any of the affected countries to the United States. A travel ban is a joke and so is Rauner. Why is he pandering to the lowest common denominator. Is this an audition for FOXNews
- Frenchie Mendoza - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 3:31 pm:
Rauner — no social agenda? A travel ban sounds pretty darn “social” to me.
Come on, Bruce — you’re fear mongering and just poking the voters. You already assume most of us are dumb. Don’t make it so you look dumb, too.
Dumber than last week, at least.
BTW — when I worry about ebola — if I worry — I’m certainly not going to look to — of all people — Mark Kirk for guidance.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 3:40 pm:
Serving up a healthy helping of Xenophobia Pie.
Once again, Rauner’s ultra-conservative views slip through.
“this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”
- Sir Reel - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 3:54 pm:
I wanna quarantine all candidates. Preferably in Indiana.
- Demoralized - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 4:31 pm:
I can just see the campaign commercial now:
“Quinn trying to kill you with Ebola.”
- Norseman - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 4:44 pm:
=== The Illinois 21-day mandatory home quarantine won’t be used for medical workers if they wore personal protective equipment correctly while treating Ebola patients in West Africa. ===
Translation: we’ll let Quinn call it what he wants for political purposes, plus he signs the checks, but this really means that we won’t follow the idiotic policy dictated by Christie. Why do I say that? No healthcare worker will care for Ebola patients without protection. If one says they did, then I want the dope to be ban from any health job, let alone be quarantined.
As for Ruanervich, he’s doing what he does best pander.
- Loop Lady - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 4:45 pm:
Sir Reel: touche
- DuPage Grandma - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 6:25 pm:
Does a governor even have the authority to ban foreign flights? They are connecting flghts..
What sort of power structure does he think he is buying into?
- WootBaseball - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 6:29 pm:
More Brucie-poo.
- MrJM (@MisterJayEm) - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 6:44 pm:
The Commerce Clause of the US Constitution prohibits the Governor of Illinois from imposing a travel ban on anyone from anywhere.
But none of us really expect Bruce to know what the job of governor entails, now do we?
– MrJM
- DuPage Grandma - Monday, Oct 27, 14 @ 8:21 pm:
MrJM
Thank you…For that information.
He doesn’t seem to have a clue…Or he is just lying..