* My Crain’s Chicago Business column…
There’s plenty of talk in Democratic circles that Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s first truly big legislative “win” was his last.
Rauner signed a major education funding reform bill into law on Aug. 31. It contained almost nothing he demanded in his initial amendatory veto, and even though it gave Chicago Public Schools more money than the vetoed bill he deemed a “Chicago bailout,” he has his signature on a law that will positively transform education funding for decades to come and he also got a $75 million pilot project to provide income tax credits for private school tuition programs. So, it’s a “win.”
But that’s it. No more. The Democrats want him gone, and they don’t need his help on anything else, so it appears they plan to tread water until after the 2018 election, when strong national headwinds will, they believe, push the incumbent Republican out of office.
And there’s no doubt that the constant warring of the past 21/2 years has ruined the governor’s ability to work with legislative Democrats and even with a significant number of Republicans. They just don’t want to deal with him any longer. It’s no accident that the education funding reform bill was negotiated among the four legislative leaders while Rauner was kept at a safe distance from the talks.
But, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 530 more Illinoisans were employed in June of this year compared to January. The politicians of this state simply have to put their parties and their personal animus aside to deal with this sickening lack of growth.
I’d repeat my request for some workers’ compensation insurance reform, but the two parties don’t seem to be interested in compromise. The Democrats, particularly in the House, say their 2011 reforms need more time to work, and the Republicans are demanding that the Democrats alienate their allies in organized labor.
So, how about something that just about everyone in Springfield loves?
Go read the rest before commenting, please. Thanks.
- Lucky Pierre - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 1:37 pm:
The Democrats want him gone, and they don’t need his help on anything else, so it appears they plan to tread water until after the 2018 election, when strong national headwinds will, they believe, push the incumbent Republican out of office.
No economic development plans from the Democrats for the private sector proposed or compromised on for the past two and half years.
How do Illinois businesses feel about state government treading water because there is an election in 15 months?
It is sad Democrats just talk about needed reforms now that the budget is passed but don’t vote on any refornms that will benefit private sector job creation and raise more revenue for the state through growth.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 1:48 pm:
Why is it that anything that benefits people requires some give away to the republicans in order to get their vote? What am I missing?
- Anonymous - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 1:50 pm:
Why do democrats have to give away things that help voters in order to get the votes of right wing whack-a-doodles?
- Anonymous - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 1:50 pm:
Who are the people that keep voting for these people that make life more difficult for all of us?
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 1:55 pm:
===No economic development plans from the Democrats for the private sector proposed or compromised on for the past two and half years.
How do Illinois businesses feel about state government treading water because there is an election in 15 months===
Both Thompson and GHR, GOP governors, had capital projects.
Are you saying Rauner is so grossly inept that he can’t get a capital bill through?
Otherwise, your comment is the comical and sad retort to Bret Baier’s question, to paraphrase, “What will be different in a Rauner second term”
Rauner can’t get anything done. Can’t convince others to get anything done. Rauner fails, you said it yourself.
Rauner should propose a capital plan. That’s a start.
Govern.
- Steve - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 2:19 pm:
Lucky Pierre, what has Rauners DCEO done to come up with economic development plans? They are the agency to do that.
Where is PDPR? What you didn’t know that that department was eliminated?
Intersect Illinois is not even legally able to do what it is doing. It never achieved 501c3 status. It is a for profit , non. FOIA entity. Their crony capitalist deals are secret
Sounds like their is a plan. But we’ll never know it
- Arock - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 2:20 pm:
The problem is you can’t raise taxes or fees again for a major capitol project until you address the elephant in the room which is the $250 billion pension debt. You say other governors were able to do it but at what cost, the cost of a pension debt that is now stifling funding for the entire state.A new education plan that will have increased cost each year which will require additional revenue. An AFSCME contract that if found to go theirs ways will increase the budget dramatically and require more revenue. If we had made some reforms 2 1/2 years ago we might be reaping some of the rewards from it by now. Instead the politicians way is business as usual and staying on the same track to failure.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 2:25 pm:
===If we had made some reforms 2 1/2 years ago we might be reaping some of the rewards from it by now.===
No. Good try.
Rauner himself said crisis created leverage or something to that effect to keep Illinois from a budget for 2 1/2 years.
Rauner still has no full year budget signed, and up to today… Rauner vetoed everything in the last budget, less the K-12 compromise bill others call a “Chicago bailout” too
Rauner could bond out a capital improvement plan, but Rauner decided that credit editing don’t matter. I show you where Rauner said it.
Governors own.
- the Patriot - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 2:27 pm:
Why would you go and suggest something that makes sense? The easy one is a capital plan for school consolidation. I love our small school, but no school should be built in small counties without looking into consolidation. This is typically feasible only with a new county wide school.
Infrastructure, education, government consolidation. Trifecta.
- Liberty - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 2:39 pm:
500 million dollars in skipped pension payments this year for 1.5 billion additional future debt while giving more money to schools and more tax breaks for well off people to send their kids to private schools doesn’t seem to indicate either party is on track.
- Trapped in the 'burbs - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 3:39 pm:
George Ryan sat down with the four tops and and laid out his “Build Illinois” plan. He got what he wanted and the other four got things they wanted. It was an example of governing. Rauner just refuses to propose any concrete plans to achieve any objective. Blaming Madigan isn’t the same thing as leadership. LP, please point out any specific plans your hero has proposed. Being against everything isn’t the same as accomplishing something.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 3:44 pm:
Rauner blew up his own administration within 90 days after inauguration and never tried to repair the damage. No one, regardless of party, wants to be on board with that self-inflicted disaster. Rauner’s only friends with people who take his money. His poor fit as governor was so obvious that Rauner supporters can only entice support for Rauner by pity and fear.
He’s a nice guy, but a very bad governor. He doesn’t listen well, his political instincts only work south of I-80, and his staffers have given up.
He never lost that “deer in the headlights” look. He never figured out a constitution. He never figured out that as governor, he was supposed to govern.
You just don’t expect other state leaders to be led by a cursed governor. Instead of proving the critics wrong, Rauner whined about being ignored.
I can’t see the Democrats making things better, but I do know that after a term in office, Rauner has made nearly everything worse. He’s a bad governor during hard times.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 5:09 pm:
–The Democrats want him gone, and they don’t need his help on anything else, so it appears they plan to tread water until after the 2018 election,–
Yeah, that’s why they pushed through that wildly popular tax increase to keep the backlog of bills from hitting $25B by July 1, universities from shutting down, and even more people getting thrown out of work or going out of business due to Chronic Rauner Deadbeatism.
Because tax increases are such good politics.
Dude, Rauner’s the governor. It’s the Big Chair. That’s where statewide capital plans are supposed to come from.
Are you guys really going to run on a Gov. Impotent platform, and spend tens of millions just whining?
You know, back in the day. a guy literally named Dick Phelan ran for governor. The mental image was not good and he got clobbered.
He should have gone by Richard.
- Arock - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 6:44 pm:
OW patent response “Governors own” is really no argument for how can you continue to ignore the problem that takes up 25% of the budget now and will continue to grow in the future. An issue that takes away funding for everything in the budget. $7-9 billion a year funding for infrastructure repair helps to provide far more jobs than paying interest on past pension debt that Michael Madigan brokered with Jim Edgar. So Michael Madigan brokered it, failed to fix it, failed to pay it, so Michael Maigan must Own It. The major drain on Illinois finance goes back to the most constant thing in Illinois politics and that is Speaker Michael Madigan.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 6:48 pm:
–OW patent response “Governors own” is really no argument for how can you continue to ignore the problem that takes up 25% of the budget now and will continue to grow in the future.–
LOL, pension liability has been “ignored,” has it. Well aren’t you the clever one for discovering it.
Given unanimous Supreme Court decisions and both the state and federal Constitutions, what do you propose to do about it, other than pay it?
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 6:49 pm:
===“Governors own” is really no argument for how can you continue to ignore the problem that takes up 25% of the budget now and will continue to grow in the future===
Oh, I’m not ignoring it. Rauner owns the responsibility as the governor to guide this state as the ILSC made clear the pension obligation is guaranteed.
Rauner wanted to be the governor. Be the governor.
Today.
Now.
If your continued ignorance is about trying to rehash or point to “Madigan”, go read McKinney, who doesn’t let Madigan off the hook, but includes many, including Republican governors, Speaker Daniels, President Phillip.
If you want to admit Rauner so grossly inept he can’t handle budgetary challenges, save yourself all that typing and say “Rauner can’t handle the job”, LOL
- Arock - Friday, Sep 8, 17 @ 9:36 am:
Obviously all the past governors and legislators have been inept at handling the budgetary issues of the state as we have a $250 billion pension debt and $60-$80 billion unfunded retiree health care debt that is one of the largest drains on current budgets and even more so in future budgets. No the ignorant ones are the ones that want to stay the course and continue to follow the Madigoons that have sat idly by and watch this problem grow into a catastrophe. Madigan’s budget that was passed continues to kick the can down the road and will do nothing to improve Illinois in the long run. Just because the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled doesn’t mean you bury your head in the sand and ignore the problem which seems to be the current approach. The State hasn’t really passed a truly balanced budget without using gimmicks in 20 years so yes everyone that voted for these budgets are grossly inept at handling budgetary challenges. And yes I hold all from both parties responsible for this failure that has led many of the brightest and the best young people for the last couple decades to leave this inept state. I am not a Rauner fan and never have been but the Democrats way of leading the State in the past is the main culprit in this dilemma and it will not be remedied by following the same course.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Sep 8, 17 @ 9:39 am:
Oh - Arock -, lol
Rauner has yet to sign ANY full year budget in three fiscal years, and you’re worried about Democrats?
You keep typing, you may get this right the more you type, lol