* From the governor’s media availability today during his tour of Lake County flooding…
REPORTER: Have you been too preoccupied with reorganizing your staff and not focusing on this?
RAUNER: Not whatsoever. We have been monitoring this situation very closely, if I was needed here or requested here I would be here. I’m here today to say thank you ’cause we got awesome first responders.
1) His office didn’t even reach out to the county board chairman until almost 6 o’clock last night.
2) Rep. Yingling received this phone message from a Rauner staffer at 10:50 this morning telling him that the governor was on his way in a few minutes…
I apologize for the last-minute notice. I’m sure you saw we had some staff changes, so things are fluid right now
* Later, he was asked another question about what the new staff would bring to the administration…
That’s interesting. Folks focused on, um, administration personnel issues.
But we’re always building and enhancing, uh, the best team we can possibly have. I’m incredibly proud we’ve got an outstanding team. I think we’ve got the best team to lead uh, the, um turnaround and restoration and transformation of the state of Illinois.
And then he went on another one of his patented long soliloquies about the problems in Illinois, including saying property taxes “are too dang high and we’re gonna work to bring ‘em down,” before reporters got him back on topic…
We are always trying to recruit and retain the best people in America to serve the people of Illinois. That’s all that matters.
* Related…
* Mark Brown: Rauner won’t talk about Trump but borrows from his playbook
- Old timer - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:02 pm:
I thought he recruited the best first time around
- Anonymous - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:07 pm:
He’s not distracted, just like Trump’s not distracted.
- LizPhairTax - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:09 pm:
“Things are fluid right now”
At least the new superstars understand the concept of flooding
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:10 pm:
Whet you tout your “Superstars”, then summarily dismiss them, with escorts out the building no less, you can’t tell me things are great, you have a “great staff”, or that looking for other great staffers is, and has been the plan all along.
Governor,
You literally purged your superstars with such distain and disrespect, who sees your changes other than an angry man taking out his failures on others… “because he can”
Pathetic, small actions, Governor… pathetic… small… actions.
- Anon221 - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:10 pm:
I think he brought a “white squirrel” back from Olney with him (exclamation point). “We’re weren’t asked” does not really trend well in this situation.
- AC - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:16 pm:
I was incredibly proud of my old Mazda when I sold it. I suspect that I felt worse about letting that car go than Rauner felt when he fired his staff.
- Anonymous - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:17 pm:
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a politician fumble a natural disaster… Chicago blizzard … Bilandic
- cdog - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:18 pm:
Not a fan of Rauner but at least it appears he realizes he’s made some mistakes.
A clean sweep, fore and aft, was in order.
They obviously dropped the ball on the flooding but would it have really mattered? Just more words from a guy whose actions already show he doesn’t care much about thoughtful execution.
If I had millions of cubic yards of water headed to my house, the last thing I’d be thinking is what the government/Governor was going to do to save me and my things. (huge eye roll)
- Wet Stone - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:31 pm:
“Rep. Yingling received this phone message from a Rauner staffer at 10:50 this morning”
Problem solved, he Yingling a Ring-Ring.
- Anonymous - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:31 pm:
==Not a fan of Rauner but at least it appears he realizes he’s made some mistakes.==
Problem is, if he honestly believes “mistakes were made” he’s going off the deep end by replacing them with exponentially greater mistakes. Unless he just doesn’t want to be re-elected.
- RNUG - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:35 pm:
Man, I got to figure out how to get some of those $1,000 bottles of wine so I can see the same thing he is seeing. /s
- Sir Reel - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:35 pm:
“The best people in America.” Really? In all of America?
Try again.
- Anonymous - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:41 pm:
I hope that message to Republicans Tingling doesn’t get the staffer escorted out. Sounds like they were just trying to be courteous. But it would be like the new regime to do just that.
- Anonymous - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:42 pm:
Rep Tingling. Sorry for the ty5
- cdog - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:42 pm:
Annon, time will tell if he’s made a productive move. He doesn’t have the best track record, though, so his patterns of decision-making speak for themselves.
yep.
- Anonymous - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:42 pm:
Top. Geez typing on a phone is horrible.
- Gordon Willis - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:43 pm:
Did we get a sandbagging photo op?
- Ginhouse Tommy - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:44 pm:
Rauner replaced the mistakes with what are essentially arm chair QBs. Think tanks either from the right or the left are good at talking and that’s it. They tend not to get their hands dirty. This staff has no office cred. No degrees in economics, business, no record of having run a successful business or having worked with a budget, or worked in public service. The learning curve is extreme that is if they even try to learn. Talk is cheap. You gotta learn to walk it. And for the excuse they could make more money in the private sector, go for it.
- 360 Degree Turnaround - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:47 pm:
Mary Ann Ahern tweeted that gov is wearing make up. Is he shooting commercial? I hope not
- Streator Curmudgeon - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:53 pm:
It’s been said Trump wears some sort of orange gunk on his face. Maybe it’s a Republican billionaire thing.
- Ahoy! - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 1:58 pm:
–We are always trying to recruit and retain the best people in America to serve the people of Illinois. –
Do or do not, there is not try.
- Anonish - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 2:11 pm:
Now I feel like I can’t use the phrase “its a fluid situation” ever again
- Politically Incorrect - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 2:18 pm:
Can you be “Distracted” if you were never paying attention in the first place?
- Aldyth - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 2:24 pm:
Governor, whether or not I like your management style or lack of response to a region of Illinois in crisis isn’t anything that seems of concern to you. I am very concerned, and intend to be quite vocal at every opportunity, that you have decided to stock up on right wing extremists from some highly questionable backgrounds.
Now that I think of it, concerned isn’t the correct word. Appalled is the correct word. You keep confirming that your election to office is one of the worst mistakes ever made by Illinois voters, including electing people who wound up in jail.
- LouLecture - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 2:27 pm:
“RAUNER: Not whatsoever. We have been monitoring this situation very closely, if I was needed here or requested here I would be here. I’m here today to say thank you ’cause we got awesome first responders.”
So, you needed to wear makeup to tell the first responders thank you? Oh, and those awesome first responders..um..I will agree with you for once. They are awesome and they deserve their pensions as a result of their service.
Indeed, Governor, folks have been focused on administrative personnel issues. You made Pat Quinn’s hires a campaign issue. You called them political hacks. Of course people are going to be interested when your loyal soldiers are told they are no longer needed.
Stop deflecting. Stop blaming people that do not agree with you. You spent millions to get the job. This is not a game. People’s lives are impacted by your actions or lack thereof.
- Loop Lady - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 2:28 pm:
This man has no business in politics…he just doesn’t get it or is being led around by his ego in total…narcissism in politics is normal…he goes way beyond the definition…makes Blago look passable…
- Henry Francis - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 2:29 pm:
==Later, he was asked another question about what the new staff would bring to the administration…
That’s interesting. Folks focused on, um, administration personnel issues.==
What kind of response was that?
I think the guy has just checked out. He doesn’t have the fire in the belly anymore. He brought in the IPI folks and is handing them the keys.
Love him or hate him, he did seem to enjoy being governor - running around the state, talkin up his phoney baloney whatever, having people make him feel like the governor. But ever since the overrides of his vetoes, he hasn’t been doing anything other than hangin with school kids, sick kids, and IPIers.
- blue dog dem - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 2:36 pm:
RNUG. Will a bottle of BoonesFarm do?
- Morty - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 3:15 pm:
https://youtu.be/Y21VecIIdBI
A dirge to all the Superstars as they exit the stage
- don the legend - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 3:22 pm:
The recently fired staffers seem to get high marks from those on this site who know what they are talking about. And yet they did not fare well when dealing with the legislature.
Scary how poorly this new group of ideologues will fare when they get their turn in the tank.
- Back to the Mountains - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 3:32 pm:
==if I was needed here or requested here I would be here.==
Is it reading too far into the statement to take away that no-one needed or wanted him there?
- Huh? - Friday, Jul 14, 17 @ 4:07 pm:
The phrase “its a fluid situation” is code switch for “I don’t know what is going on, don’t know what to do, and I can’t wrap my brain around what is happening.”