40 Comments - Keyrock - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:01 pm: Yup. My money is still on 2019. - AlfondoGonz - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:01 pm: I don’t see any reason to doubt this assertion. - Skeptic - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:05 pm: …but Madigan! /snark - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:13 pm: This. All day. Every Day. Twice on Sunday, “this”. I’m waiting, patiently, for Pritzker to go after Rauner, like Rauner went after Quinn early, and take the fight, finally, TO the Rauner failures. This is great campaign stuff. - Anonymous - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:15 pm: Rauner has set himself up for nothing but vicious attacks. He has accomplished nothing and driven the state into biggest hole in history. He is target rich. - Chucktownian - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:20 pm: Yeah it will take getting Rauner out for there to be a budget. Of course I will have been gone from Illinois for almost a year and a half by the time that happens. I’m heading elsewhere in just a few weeks. Great state and great people here but an utterly dysfunctional government. Like literally thousands of university employees statewide, I’m leaving to work for a state university system that is actually funded by its state and pays its bills on time. I sure hope it improves here of course but I don’t see any reason that it will in the short term. Rauner wants to destroy the village in order to save it. - Real - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:23 pm: It seems Pritzker has been on the forefront of attacking Rauner more than other candidates. OW. What is your take on this insight? https://www.google.com/amp/nadignewspapers.com/2017/05/25/j-b-pritzkers-campaign-on-verge-of-implosion/amp/ - CrazyHorse - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:29 pm: In the words of some old legendary coach: “The best defense is a great offense.” Pritzker (or any candidate for that matter) continually pounding away at Rauner, staying on offense, is the blueprint to victory. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:35 pm: - Real - First, it’s Russ Stewart. He’s the “Mush” to campaign analysis. To your cite… ===The 2017 top Illinois candidate for “Imploder of the Year” is unquestionably J.B. Pritzker, the billionaire who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor. === I think it’s unquestionably, the top candidate for a Cub MVP this year is Anthony Rizzo. We both have pretty good outside looks as to the why it MAY be true, but it doesn’t mean Rizzo will be the MVP… or… Now, I’m gonna stop MYSELF right here… I’ve said that Pritzker’s Crew is exceptional with strategically planned and orchestrated message and messaging, including their ads. Great stuff. The rapid response and this lacking of understanding their own oppo, and being agile enough, and talented enough on the fly, boy, there is a big lacking there. Huge hole. Glaring even. That said… “back to th original comment, already in progress”… … that Pritzker IS going to implode. It’s up to that Comm Crew, Research Crew, Pritzker himself, to get things up and rolling to counter and understand their own oppo and get to the point Rauner was where Rauner’s attacks on others made allowed a Teflon resistance to his (Rauner’s) own oppo. Russ Stewart ain’t gonna make me do a “re-think” on that or think at all it’s better or worse than I’m seeing now. - Ginhouse Tommy - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:38 pm: As long as Pritzker doesn’t make it personal and just tells the truth, as long as he calls Rauner on the hollow content of his TV ads the Governor is sunk. It’s obvious that thru his actions the Gov. has shown that he really doesn’t want a budget and wants the chaos to continue. To the Gov., go ahead and help get the budget done and make a liar out of me. I’ll own it. - Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:39 pm: JB Pritzker blames Chicago violence on Governor Rauner, not the politicians who have been running Chicago and representing it’s interests in Springfield for decades. There are no jobs or economic development in large parts of Chicago because of Governor Rauner who has been in office a little over two years? Yeah that will fly - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:47 pm: Seems kind of obvious. Remember the governor’s House floor leader, Rep. Andersson’s momentary spasm of candor the other day? –“I think we all recognize that we are letting the state burn. We’ve destroyed our social-service safety net. In my opinion, at this point, there’s not enough reform to counter the damage we’ve done to the state in the past two years.– If the “reforms” don’t even come close to covering the nut of all the damage being done in their name, why would a smart guy like Rauner continue this way? Because the objective is squeeze the beast and to run up so much debt that you can’t ever build it back to pre-Rauner levels. If you like that sort of thing, Rauner is your guy. - A guy - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:48 pm: Tough talk. Hard to tell if people are accepting him as genuine right now. Let’s see if he removes any toilets in the Governor’s Mansion…If not, he’s turned a new leaf. - Mouthy - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:49 pm: Id take some pictures of damaged facilities, etc. that have fallen by the wayside in the budget stalemate. Then I’d have a Rauner doll, complete with Carhartt jacket, and tape it to these pictures using the handyman’s best friend, duck tape of course. Yeah, I know, kinda simple… I don’t the Governor has any intention of signing a budget period. Sad.. - Mouthy - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:50 pm: Sorry. My idea of an ad.. - Huh? - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:51 pm: Pritzker needs to recycle the campaign slogan “Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?” The question should be directed to the vendors - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:58 pm: Stating the obvious. Remember the momentary spasm of candor the governor’s House floor leader had the other day? –“I think we all recognize that we are letting the state burn. We’ve destroyed our social-service safety net. In my opinion, at this point, there’s not enough reform to counter the damage we’ve done to the state in the past two years.– Rauner’s own peeps see that. Are we to believe that Rauner is stupid, doesn’t know what he’s doing? Of course not. He’s achieving what he can, and that’s practicing vivisection on the portions of higher ed and social services not covered by court orders. If you’re into that sort of thing, he’s your guy. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 4:59 pm: ===ritzker blames Chicago violence on Governor Rauner, not the politicians who have been running Chicago and representing it’s interests in Springfield for decades=== So, you’re admitting Rauner can’t stop Chicago violence? What can Rauner actually “do”? - Lucky Pierre - Never mistake activity for achievement. According to Crain’s, by nearly every measure, Illinois is worse since Rauner became governor. If this is another way you wavy to show Rauner’s lacking, again, I won’t stop you, lol - Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 5:14 pm: How exactly would a Governor stop Chicago violence? What laws can he pass on his own to lower crime in Chicago? Can he hire extra local police? Can he deport undocumented violent criminals? Are you suggesting he call in the national guard? Please give us specifics where Governor Rauner went wrong and everyone else who has been in were for decades is blameless. Stop the gag, you are losing credibility. It is up to local officials to solve Chicago’s crime problem and legislators in Springfield listened to what the Mayor and Police Chief were asking for and passed a bill which the Governor will certainly sign. - Freo - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 5:16 pm: Sorry, but what “right wing agenda” is Rauner using to hold up the budget? I’m talking about now, not 2015. Property tax freeze, term limits, pension reform, workers comp reform? Don’t think that sounds at all like a “right wing agenda”. In fact, it sounds like an agenda a large majority of Illinoisans agree with. So, if JB is opposed to the Gov’s stand on those issues, he does so at his own political peril. - City Zen - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 5:24 pm: ==“People who lose hope are people who become desperate, and it’s desperate people who become violent so we need to help people,”== Is this the origin story for the Chicago Outfit? - Arsenal - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 5:32 pm: ==not the politicians who have been running Chicago and representing it’s interests in Springfield for decades.== You mean politicians like the Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner? ==There are no jobs or economic development in large parts of Chicago because of Governor Rauner who has been in office a little over two years?== When does Rauner start actually doing the job, then? - Arsenal - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 5:35 pm: @ Real: If nothing else, the columnist didn’t actually quote Webster’s definition of “Visionary”. Goodness, if you gotta do the “Webster’s defines…” trope, you should at least use Webster’s definition. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 5:39 pm: ===How exactly would a Governor stop Chicago violence? What laws can he pass on his own to lower crime in Chicago? Can he hire extra local police? Can he deport undocumented violent criminals?=== If you want to say Rauner is inpotent to stopping violence in Chicago, then just say so. I get it. Rauner just can’t do anything. Like Crain’s says, Illinois is worse off, by nearly every measure since Bruce Rauner became governor. I agree with you and Crain’s. ===Please give us specifics where Governor Rauner went wrong and everyone else who has been in were for decades is blameless=== You just said Rauner can’t do anything. If your defense is Rauner is inept, I’m fine with that argument too. Rauner is exactly the same as what been going on for decades. lol ===It is up to local officials to solve Chicago’s crime problem and legislators in Springfield listened to what the Mayor and Police Chief were asking for and passed a bill which the Governor will certainly sign.=== If you’re for local control, why is it different for property taxes that the state needs to force on locals state control? Hmm. lol - Arsenal - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 5:43 pm: ==Please give us specifics where Governor Rauner went wrong and everyone else who has been in were for decades is blameless.== Bruce Rauner: Just the same as all the Illinois politicians before him. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 5:43 pm: Bruce Rauner knows what he is doing. How do we know? He told us so. Ivy League, magna cum laude degree. He’s always been successful at everything he has done. So, you either have to think that Rauner made himself rich beyond imagination while others did the actual work while being a total incompetent idiot…. …or you have to believe the outcome in Springfield is exactly what Rauner imagined when he said he was gonna pit poor, sick people against the middle class and see what kinda juice he could squeeze out of all those lemons. I agree with Governor Edgar that even a mildly competent governor is more powerful than the Speaker and the Senate President combined. Edgar’s mistake was thinking the trainwreck was some sort of accident, rather than sabotage. Now, you can argue that Rauner never expected the body count to get this high. I think that is true. But it’s not like Team Rauner ever set some limit for re-evaluating, like I dunno, $14 billion in unpaid bills or 700 days without a budget or 10 successive credit downgrades or the closure of two public universities. Rauner is pot-committed now…he has so many. Chips on the table already that his only conceivable strategy is to keep re-raising. He cannot fold, ha cannot call, he cannot allow Democrats to call him. He needs to keep raising. The stakes and hope Democrats simply fold. It should be obvious now that is not happening. And Pierre: governor’s own. Quinn’s efforts at reducing violence in Chicago might have been poorly managed, even abused. But what has Rauner done to try to reduce gun violence? I mean, besides guy funding for violence prevention programs, and help elect Donald Trump, who wants to completely end after school programs? - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 5:47 pm: –How exactly would a Governor stop Chicago violence?– This guy seems to know. –”Pat Quinn has failed on violent crime,” Rauner said. “He’s created an environment where it can thrive.”– –”Pat Quinn has been a massive failure on crime in Illinois,” he (Rauner) went on. “Crime under Pat Quinn’s administration has skyrocketed throughout Illinois — not just Chicago, but in Rockford and many other communities.”– Wasn’t true, but you get the idea. Citizen Rauner thought governors had a yugggeee role in stemming violent crime. You really couldn’t see that comin’? No juice box and pat on the head for you today, I bet. https://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2014/09/24/with-chris-christie-at-his-side-bruce-rauner-blames-governor-quinn-for-corruption-and-crime http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-03-05/opinion/ct-rauner-quinn-crime-chicago-primaryoped-0305-zor-20140305_1_crime-rate-bruce-rauner-gun-ownership - blue dog dem - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 6:00 pm: ….new protections and penalties. Just what us gun loving union members wanna hear. Heck Pritzker may only get 1 out of 5. Dems, you better do better than this,or its 4 more years - Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 6:13 pm: Glad you agree with me Wordslinger that OW is wrong again and Governors don’t control local crime fighting, in Illinois or anywhere. OW do you understand that property taxes can be unfrozen via referendum? Does that sound like a local decision to you? Governor Rauner supports consolidation of local governments? Sound like another local decision. Please tell us more about the how the “right wing agenda” that freezes property taxes, lowers workers comp premiums (so businesses can expand here), term limits (to get rid of career politicians), and redistricting (so voters choose their representatives not the other way around) is sooo unpopular. All this malarkey how you support 80% of the Republican ideas is just that - JS Mill - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 6:20 pm: =Property tax freeze, term limits, pension reform, workers comp reform?= What you listed are the ILGOP/Raunerite talking points. The first two have absolutely ZERO impact on state finances. Just so you know- the governor is a state office, not “mayor of Illinois”. Rauner does not talk much about it anymore, but when he wants someone else to do his dirty work (like cutting the pay and benefits of local workers) he is a big fan of local control. Big, Fan. Pension reform in the form of a 401k system actually costs more. And changes to Tier 1 are not going to happen. A buddy in the ISC gave me a tip on that. That leaves Workers Comp. He has it. He could get that, but doesn’t want it. Next? - Real - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 6:23 pm: Thanks for the response OW. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 6:27 pm: - Real - No worries, hope that helped. Crazy stuff afoot. OW - Rich Miller - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 7:03 pm: ===So, you either have to think that Rauner made himself rich beyond imagination while others did the actual work=== Well, his annual income did more than triple after he took office and turned his finances over to a trust. Just sayin… - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 7:08 pm: –Glad you agree with me Wordslinger that OW is wrong again and Governors don’t control local crime fighting, in Illinois or anywhere.– Whoever is reading to you isn’t doing so good with the comprehension skills. What I posted “wasn’t true” was that crime had skyrocketed during Quinn’s term. That information was in the links provided. Anyway, I hope you think that Rauner can handle being held to the same standards he applied to Quinn. Candidate Rauner would certainly think Gov. Rauner is a complete failure on so many fronts. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 7:19 pm: ===Glad you agree with me Wordslinger that OW is wrong again and Governors don’t control local crime fighting, in Illinois or anywhere.=== Oh - Lucky Pierre -… lol - Wordslinger - beat me to it. Read. I’m setting you up for Rauner’s famous “Pat Quinn failed”. Kinda leading ya there… just to bait you enough… then finally remind you of the Candidate Rauner thoughts on… crime. ===OW do you understand that property taxes can be unfrozen via referendum? Does that sound like a local decision to you?=== Stopping, by a state, local control and forcing upon them a hurdle, set up by the state… that’s not local control at all. So you’re for state controlling the idea of local control? That makes no sense. ===Governor Rauner supports consolidation of local governments? Sound like another local decision=== Really? Sounds like the state saying “we think your local control needs to be with ‘their’ local control” If Rauner wants to close the small town high schools, he should go visit these towns and tell them “close your high school”… why hasn’t Rauner been quoted in front of those high schools in a town of 1,500 or so, tweet a picture and have the tweet say “I feel ‘Blank’ High School should close”… Hmm. ===Please tell us more about the how the “right wing agenda” that freezes property taxes, lowers workers comp premiums (so businesses can expand here), term limits (to get rid of career politicians), and redistricting (so voters choose their representatives not the other way around) is sooo unpopular=== Popular policy does not make it good, sound policy, Term limits and redistricting aren’t Republican platforms, they are Raunerite Populist platforms that poll great, but have no effect, mathematically and budgetarily, on Rauner’s “no cuts” budget. Workers’ Comp has been discussed and Rauner can decide if he wants wins there and agree to the bill(s) trying to help Rauner. Property Tax freezes, if they are coupled with ending prevailing wage and collective bargaining… if they are included… it’s about the Labor wants, not freezing property taxes. We both know how we both know why Rauner rejects property tax freezes in the past, less the Labor adds ===malarkey how you support 80% of the Republican ideas is just that=== Rauner is not a Republican. Otherwise Diana Rauner put her name to $9 million last October to destroy Democrats and the Demcrat ideals she (Diana) claims to believe. Diana, a Raunerite, must think Raunerism is worth her name attached to $9 million… I’m an Edgar/Thompson Republican. Get over it, lol - Say What? - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 8:11 pm: Huge difference — Quinn was in office (as governor) for almost six years with a Democratic legislature when Rauner criticized him for not doing enough to combat crime. Of course, Quinn had his celebrated “outreach” program to reduce crime in 2010, which, seemed to be used as “walking around money” for precinct workers. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 8:14 pm: - Say What? - Candidate Rauner made clear… “Pat Quinn failed”… be it crime, bond ratings, unemployment, taxes, school funding, the list was infinite, as the last debate proved out with every answer Candidate Rauner had… had “Pat Quinn failed”… somewhere in the answer. What? Rauner doesn’t want to be held to the same ideal? lol - Stand Tall - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 8:27 pm: The answer to what the Senate passed is either yes, no or I would seek these changes. Gun violence in Chicago is mainly gang related and they didn’t spring up in the last two years they have been an ongoing problem for years. These guys aren’t out looking for jobs so that is not the issue. They are out looking to do harm to their rivals and do not really care who gets in their way. - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 30, 17 @ 10:50 pm: SW, not a dime of NRI money was released until 2011, months after the election. But your story is more exciting. - Arsenal - Wednesday, May 31, 17 @ 8:40 am: ==Huge difference — Quinn was in office (as governor) for almost six years== So when does a Governor’s action (or, in this case, INaction) count? Two years isn’t enough time because *reasons*, six years is enough, when does it switch over? And if that’s not ridiculous enough… Rauner knew he was going to have a Democratic General Assembly if he got elected. So did everyone else. He promised us he could work with them. Turns out that that was a lie, just like what he told Planned Parenthood. He doesn’t get any credit for not doing something everyone knew he was going to have to do, something that he lied about being able to do. Besides, it’s not like he’s introduced some major innovative crime-fighting policies that have been shut down by the GA. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.