* Bernie…
Pritzker said Monday that while he would “focus on getting a fair tax system that’s progressive” as governor, as for this year, “We’re left with this stopgap, lifeline proposal” and “I don’t know what social services (agencies) and universities are going to do if we don’t get that in place, because it doesn’t appear to me like we’re gonna get a full-on budget.”
Pritzker said Rauner is holding up the budget for “an agenda that has nothing to do with a budget,” and telling lawmakers, “If you give me this agenda, I’ll let you figure out how to get a budget. That’s not leadership.”
Pritzker was at the church because it is where the Illinois Coalition for Community Services has a summer lunch program for children. While the food is federally funded, a reduction in the coalition’s staff during the state budget impasse has dropped locations for that program from 70 across the state to seven, said Jason Gyure, executive director.
Rauner has lamented pain caused by the budget impasse as he seeks structural change. But, said Pritzker, “When you’re a child who’s not able to get that meal … that short-term pain is more painful than the governor is describing. So if you ask me, there’s a kind of a focus on spreadsheets and not people by this governor.”
* But the governor remains optimistic…
Gov. Bruce Rauner said during a visit to Peoria on Monday that he was “cautiously optimistic” that “in the next few weeks we might get a deal” that leads to a spending agreement.
But he offered no detail on what might be in that pact, and when asked to quantify the reasons behind his expectations, Rauner offered tantalizingly little in corroboration.
Emphasizing that he didn’t want to “overpromise” a result after having suggested the potential deal to employees of Getz Fire Equipment during a question-and-answer session at the South Peoria business, Rauner said that he had been “hearing chatter and feedback from some of the senators and some of our administration staff that the negotiations are proceeding and they’re starting to develop some consensus on certain things that have been difficult so far.”
When asked, he didn’t provide any specific examples, but said he’d heard that “some of the senators are making progress with each other, feeling good about where some Democrats have moved on a couple things, some Republicans have moved on a couple things.”
- Anon221 - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 10:20 am:
Wonder what role Rauner played in study groups at Dartmouth. Was he the leader or the “team” member who took all the credit behind everyone else’s back?
- Rocky Rosi - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 10:28 am:
In my humble opinion not having a budget is an advantage for the Gov.
- illinoised - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 10:29 am:
=offered no detail=
=offered tantalizingly little in corroboration=
=didn’t provide any specific examples=
Santa Claus does not exist, and neither does a budget during Rauner’s first (and last) term.
- Wizzard of Ozzie - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 10:32 am:
I understand that Pritzker needs to address his wealth head on, but every time he talks about it he’s less and less appealing. I just don’t see what his message is at this point.
He’s not inherently appealing to Dem primary voters. So he can spend all the money he wants, but if he doesn’t have an appealing message it won’t help him get votes.
- Honeybear - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 10:33 am:
As we’ve said A MILLION times Rauner doesn’t want a budget. He wants the purging effect of collapse. He’s not going to have a single achievement to run on. He’s a failure.
No wait, he’s not a failure. Being a failure implies that you tried.
Rauner is a Saboteur
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 10:34 am:
===Pritzker said Rauner is holding up the budget for “an agenda that has nothing to do with a budget,” and telling lawmakers, “If you give me this agenda, I’ll let you figure out how to get a budget. That’s not leadership.”===
This…
This is restaurant-quality.
More like this please. This is the ball game, this is Rauner… this… is taking it to Raunerism…
- Archiesmom - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 10:34 am:
JB is hitting the right notes. He needs to keep humanizing and giving faces to the lack of a budget and keep laying the blame on the intransigence of the governor in insisting on linking the Turnaround Agenda to passing a budget. So far, JB seems pretty focused and on message. Posts like this show how little substance the governor’s words have.
- Chicago Cynic - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 10:40 am:
“- Rocky Rosi - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 10:28 am:
In my humble opinion not having a budget is an advantage for the Gov.”
How do you figure?
- Boat captain - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 10:46 am:
Agree with OW 100%.
- Langhorne - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 11:09 am:
Rauner is vulnerable.
Juxtapose specific examples of damage w his words.
Ex—never been happier
Ex—energized by the struggle
Ex—trench warfare
Ex—persistent
Ex—take a shutdown
Repeat
- A guy - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 11:20 am:
Maybe the first Uber Tycoon to give each of the State Universities a couple Million now, out of their big campaign funds, would reap the most benefit.
I’m serious. If JB wants to really turn the cart over, drop $2 Million on each of them. Naturally it doesn’t solve their bigger problems, but none of them will turn it down. It’s a game changer on earned media if he does a tour and drops checks off one at a time. I think the MAP grant kids would show up for a rally to receive the “gift”. The Earned media would be far more valuable than the paid media.
- Wolfy - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 11:40 am:
Interesting, Rauner seems to think not having a budget over his four year term is OK? Having next to nothing to show during your four year term except a bunch of upset TAX PAYERS is not really something I can support. It appears no one is working in Springfield? Why do we pay taxes if you fail to properly manage our tax dollars? Bond ratings? Interest in billions of unpaid bills? My 10 yr old is better equipped to govern. How about a grass roots effort to clear the decks starting with Rauner, Madigan, Cullerton, etc.
- Pundent - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 12:13 pm:
In my humble opinion not having a budget is an advantage for the Gov.”
How do you figure?
Not to speak for Rocky but I tend to agree. A budget at this point has to, at a minimum, include a huge tax increase just to address the backlog of bills we’ve accumulated in the last 2+ years. None of the reforms that Rauner is demanding will be significant enough to overcome the consequences of being tagged with that tax increase. Rauner’s best hope at this point is to continue to run the clock up until election day and hope that he can convince enough people that these problems would have been solved but for Madigan.
- Rocky Rosi - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 12:18 pm:
@ Chicago Cynic - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 10:40 am
-How do you figure?-
Without a budget there will be two choices. status quo or reform. In 2018 there will be low voter turn out which gives the Gov a little edge. The key for Dems is for high minority voter come out. Dems will need more than cook county to win.
- Chicago Cynic - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 1:19 pm:
Yea, but you say “status quo or reform” as if there’s only one kind of reform. What if the Democrat offers his own reforms? Then your choice is D reform or R reform.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 1:43 pm:
== Dems will need more than cook county to win. ==
I expect they will have a lot of disenchanted downstate GOP voters show up to vote “not Rauner”.
- South Illinoisan - Tuesday, Apr 18, 17 @ 5:21 pm:
=RNUG @1:43PM=
You got that right!