A sampling of more HB40 react
Thursday, Sep 28, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Rauner’s decision to sign HB40 kinda put GOP attorney general candidate Erika Harold in a box. She will depend heavily on him for campaign funds, but she’s also strongly pro-life. Here’s her react…
Attorney General candidate Erika Harold released the following statement after Governor Rauner announced he would sign HB 40:
“The Governor personally reached out to me about his decision, and I know he did not reach it easily. While we disagree on this issue, there remains much on which we agree - and that is what unites us as Republicans. We both agree on the need to make Illinois more competitive, we agree on the need to lift up the less fortunate and we agree on the need to crack down on corruption and wrongdoing. As I have stated several times in the past, as Attorney General, I will enforce all of the laws of the state.”
* Senate GOP Leader Bill Brady was also diplomatic…
“I voted against House Bill 40 and do not support the legislation,” said Brady. “While we disagree on this issue, and while I am disappointed, I stand ready to work with the Governor on the key economic issues and other challenges facing Illinois.”
* Strongly pro-life Rep. Tom Morrisson was not so polite and claimed Rauner broke his word…
Governor Bruce Rauner today signed legislation (HB 40) allowing for state funding of all abortions regardless of the reason, a move State Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) calls unconscionable and the ultimate betrayal of trust of the majority of Illinois citizens who oppose the destruction of unborn children at taxpayers’ expense.
“Governor Bruce Rauner gave us his word in the Spring that he would veto this legislation if it were sent to him,” Morrison said. “In the last several weeks, as he indicated a reconsideration of that position, Republican legislators and allies offered to accept an Amendatory Veto, but he rejected those ideas. If this legislation is really about the right to choose – then what about my constituents who deserve to have the right to choose not to have their tax dollars used to fund the killing of unborn children? This is a tragic day for Illinois.”
Federal Law as written in the Hyde Amendment clearly prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortions. Illinois law only allows taxpayer funding for abortions in the event the life or the health of the mother is threatened or the mother is raped. House Bill 40 changes all of this and allows taxpayer funding of abortion services for ANY reason.
“There is no reason for taxpayers to have to pay for abortions regardless of the reasons the abortion is being performed,” Morrison said. “I condemn the Governor’s actions today in the strongest possible terms.”
* Neither was Rep. Dave McSweeney…
Bruce Rauner is a failed Governor who lied to the people of Illinois. On April 14th, he announced that he would veto HB 40. Rauner looked the other way on the 32% increase in the income tax rate , made Illinois a sanctuary state and is primarily responsible for Illinois’ $16 billion backlog of unpaid bills.
* And check out this one from Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton)…
“The Governor’s decision to break his promise and sign taxpayer funded abortion on-demand is a profound and unprecedented betrayal beyond words. This is a tragic day for everyone who values the sanctity of life. The Governor’s action today makes Illinois the first state in country to mandate taxpayer funding of abortion under Medicaid at any time, for any reason as a result of signing legislation into law. This is a total failure of leadership.”
…Adding… Another very angry House Republican…
And…
Paul Caprio, Director of Family-Pac, today stated: “Bruce Rauner today declared war on the pro-family movement, Illinois taxpayers, and the most basic values of the Republican party.”
Caprio concluded, “No serious conservative of any type can consider ever voting for Bruce Rauner again.”
Whew.
And…
Could she be leaving soon? We’ll see.
* From the other side, here’s the DGA…
“Simply put, Bruce Rauner was caught trying to play both sides of the abortion debate for political gain,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner put his own political gain over the health and welfare of Illinois women and families—again. Rauner’s public waffling throughout this episode shows that Illinois voters cannot trust Rauner to look out for their best interests.”
* JB Pritzker…
“Since the beginning of this campaign, I have demanded that Bruce Rauner sign HB 40,” said JB Pritzker. “My campaign delivered thousands of postcards encouraging the governor to sign HB 40, held a phone bank in support of the bill, and stood with HB 40’s co-sponsors at several events calling on this failed governor to do his job for Illinois women.
“Let’s be clear: Bruce Rauner threatened to veto HB 40 and only got around to doing the right thing after an organized advertising and grassroots campaign. Today’s announcement does not change the fact that Bruce Rauner’s only sense of morality is whatever panders best to voters. Illinois women deserve a relentless advocate in the fight to protect their rights – and that’s exactly what I’ll be as governor.”
- Fax Machine - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:18 pm:
Pritzker’s not going to win on a campaign of Rauner was responsible for a budget crisis last year and he should have signed HB40 faster.
- Lamont - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:20 pm:
Darned if he do, darned if he don’t. 🤔
- Fax Machine - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:23 pm:
I’m waiting on Terry Cosgrove’s reaction.
There is genuine enmity between Cosgrove & Diana Rauner.
- Ghost - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:24 pm:
Harold had an excellent response. Points to her.
- Lamont - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:24 pm:
I know the dude waffled and pandered while promising his base a different result, but—come on—he did eventually make the decision he promised when he first ran for governor. I’m no supporter, but I will give credit where credit is due.
- don the legend - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:27 pm:
Governor is probably a bit confused as to why the pro life group is upset. Didn’t they just praise him for the $70 million dollar scholarship tax credit?
- Precinct Captain - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:28 pm:
==- Lamont - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:24 pm:==
Yes, let’s credit a craven disaster of a governor, a snake who tried to slime his way out of the contradictory promises he made to everybody. The guy flipped more than a pancake at IHOP.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:28 pm:
Dear Reps. Morrison, Ives, and Skillicorn… and Paul Caprio too…
Bruce Rauner … he is who he said he was… and you didn’t believe him.
In the end, Rauner kept the promise that he… and Diana Rauner made… to Illinois.
That’s probably as good as Rauner, and Diana too, can get it.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:28 pm:
Ghost,
We have different ideas of what constitutes an excellent response. Seemed more like a hostage video.
- walker - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:30 pm:
For once, can’t we just say the Governor was faced with a very difficult decision, with heartfelt arguments and political risk on all sides, and chose to follow his own values?
He said he was personally pro-Choice and he is pro-Choice. I give him credit for personal character.
Politicians aren’t all about political calculations.
- DarkHorse - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:31 pm:
Ghost,
I admire Harold, and think her response was well-written and diplomatic. She’s a pro. I’ll support her. As for “excellent”…if she really is as pro-life as expressed in her ‘14 campaign, you’d think the disappointment would come through more clearly in her statement. A little too clinical in her tone for me. I’ve always wondered if her embrace of Rauner, while it helps financially, would tarnish her brand.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:32 pm:
Smell that stench in the air? ‘Eau de Raunier’
- Demoralized - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:32 pm:
I wonder if Erika Harold would defend this law in court?
- We'll See - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:35 pm:
Much like the National GOP, Bruce and the State GOP put themselves in this box - enjoy the show.
- Dance Band on the Titanic - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:36 pm:
Very bad form at this point for Democrats to bash Rauner for this decision, especially as extremist Republicans are doing just fine bashing him on their own.
- downstate commissioner - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:36 pm:
Rauner has done a lot of what he said he was going to do in the campaign; what he hasn’t got done as promised in his campaign is not for lack of trying. I voted against him because of what he said he wanted to do; a lot of people didn’t believe him then… Why are they surprised now, based on the last two years?
p.s. This is about the only thing I agreed with him on, but then, so did Pat Quinn…
- Fax Machine - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:37 pm:
What does the Democratic nominee run against him on?
He didnt sign HB40 soon enough? No.
We were in a budget crisis for 2 years? Old news.
Rauner = Trump? There’s no “money quotes” to attack him with.
Any other attack can be thrown in the Dem nominee’s face as being pro-Madigan & his tax hike or pro-public sector unions neither of which will be popular positions.
The Dem game plan just has to be turn out your voters & hope the GOP turnout is depressed after this & the Trust Act.
- Lester Holt's Mustache - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:37 pm:
I’m not buying any of this phony outrage. Ives, Breen and the rest will howl about this bill for a few weeks, harrumph-ing about being principled conservatives but will magically forget when they need campaign funds next year.
Next fall it’ll change to statements like Harold’s; oh, we disagree on some issues but we’re both republicans and we just can’t take the chance that Hillary um, er, I mean JB Pritzker will be elected.
- Pot calling kettle - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:40 pm:
Generic Republican: “While we disagree on this issue, there remains much on which we agree - especially that I need the Governor’s campaign fund to support my election/reelection.”
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:40 pm:
–”I’d describe (Mr. Rauner) as a guy who is a morally right-to-life guy, but not on the hustings,” Mr.(Jack) Roeser explained.–
If there’s anyone at this point who doesn’t understand what an unprincipled, self-absorbed dilettante-liar Rauner is, that’s your problem.
For those who feel betrayed by him today — you didn’t see it coming? Did you hit your head on something hard?
This “fiscal conservative” ran up $10-$12B in unpaid bills, signing contracts for goods and services delivered in the full knowledge that he would veto the appropriations to pay for them.
Try that at home — they’ll throw you in prison for fraud.
With this issue as just one of many examples, check out Miller’s column from 2/28/14 at the link below.
Rauner is who he is, in plain sight. If you don’t get it by now, you just don’t want to know.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140228/NEWS02/140229779/what-does-the-far-right-wing-see-in-rauner
- Norseman - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:41 pm:
Minions can be an angry bunch.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:41 pm:
===I’m not buying any of this phony outrage. Ives, Breen and the rest will howl about this bill for a few weeks, harrumph-ing about being principled conservatives but will magically forget when they need campaign funds next year.===
I buy that some are upset, some are very upset.
The rest? I agree.
In the end, they need Rauner. They know it. Rauner knows it too.
- Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:42 pm:
Rauner looked like a man guilted into scooping the cat’s pan.
- old time golfer - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:42 pm:
Any word from Proft yet?
- Demoralized - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:45 pm:
==Any word from Proft yet?==
Give him time. He’s probably broken half a dozen keyboards typing a response.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:46 pm:
RE: “Rauner just lost his base . . .”
I didn’t realize Ken Griffin was pro-life.
- Norseman - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:53 pm:
GOP heads explode in reaction to Rauner.
- Ghost - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 4:57 pm:
CC she was in a trick bag, I thought she did well with a balanced and reasonable response. Supportive but not agreeing
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 5:05 pm:
Fax Machine,
What will we run on? Geez, how about Rauner’s pointless destruction of our state? His failure of leadership? His inability to do his job? His extremist pursuits that turn into chaos? Geez, I could go on and on but trust me, there’s no shortage of things to run against this governor.
- Fax Machine - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 5:07 pm:
Budget crisis is old news. Without the pain being raw, most voters will agree with Rauner that we should have had “reforms” along with the tax hike.
- Fax Machine - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 5:08 pm:
I should say it will be old news by November 2018
- SuburbanRepublican - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 5:09 pm:
JB’s response is typical.
- SuburbanRepublican - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 5:10 pm:
Terrific response by Erika Harold.
- Just Me - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 5:18 pm:
If a Chief of Staff is visibly upset over a decision made by their principle, then they are unable to separate their personal views from their work, and shouldn’t be a Chief of Staff at all.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 5:24 pm:
–COS Kristina Rasmussen visibly upset as @GovRauner announces he will sign #HB40″–
Crying all the way to the bank, I’m sure.
C’mon. If you feel abortion is murder, you don’t stand as a prop at an announcement like this. That makes you complicit.
If Rasmussen has the courage of her convictions, she’ll resign and give back every dime she made at the public trough.
Don’t count on it.
- Lester Holt's Mustache - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 5:49 pm:
==Budget crisis is old news==
You keep posting this statement, at least four different times that I have seen today. I’m glad that you are obviously wealthy enough to have not been affected by Rauner’s hostage taking, and heartless enough that you view what the rest of us went through as apparently no big deal. I doubt those of us who lost our jobs or those whose businesses went under waiting for payment from the State that never arrived will agree.
- CICOM - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 6:29 pm:
where is wehrli??
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 6:32 pm:
===where is wehrli??===
Oh, he’s trying to figure out how to blame either Madigan or Mautino…
His Twitter is fun.
- anon2 - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 7:09 pm:
=== For once, can’t we just say the Governor was faced with a very difficult decision… ]and chose to follow his own values? ===
Suppose a Democratic governor had vetoed this bill. Imagine the hue and cry from pro-choice legislators. Not many would “just say he chose to follow his own values.”
- anon2 - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 7:11 pm:
I give credit to GOP Reps. Morrison, McSweeney and Skilicorn for standing up for their principles against a GOP governor.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 7:14 pm:
===I give credit to GOP Reps. Morrison, McSweeney and Skilicorn for standing up for their principles against a GOP governor.===
Where were Morrison and Skillicorn when Rauner was destroying Illinois?
I’m not at all impressed with the standing up here when Illinois needed someone to stand up to the governor and they didn’t.
- anon2 - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 7:42 pm:
=== Where were Morrison and Skillicorn when Rauner was destroying Illinois? ===
Don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good. It’s good to see some independence, even if it’s not as much as we’d like.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 7:45 pm:
===Don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good. It’s good to see some independence, even if it’s not as much as we’d like.===
Tell that to the already closed social services. Things aren’t perfect there, or for their clients.
Also, in the end, like K-12, these members will fall back into line, just like the last 2 1/2 years.
Them choosing this issue to seek engaged, yeah, I’ll call them on it now, before they revert back to before today.
With respect.
- blue dog dem - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 8:11 pm:
Illinois was just destroyed? Maybe the final nail in the coffin, but me thinks we been on life support for two decades.
- Nick Name - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 8:35 pm:
“This “fiscal conservative” ran up $10-$12B in unpaid bills, signing contracts for goods and services delivered in the full knowledge that he would veto the appropriations to pay for them.”
And for those who care about social issues, there’s SB 1564, which Rauner signed in 2016, amending the Health Care Right of Conscience Act in ways pro-lifer’s opposed. Get a clue, people.
- Amalia - Thursday, Sep 28, 17 @ 10:56 pm:
I’m sure many will regard this as inside baseball, but the JB ad on HB40, that he will “sign it as governor, ” that ad ran at about 8:40 on ABC and an hour later on NBC in Chicago tonight. technically out of date even if the pro choice sentiment still applies.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Sep 29, 17 @ 8:29 am:
So some of the people who took Rauner’s political money are outraged, as are some of his supporters who feel betrayed and angry when they’re affected but not when others are. It’s okay. The Grandson of Man does not come with condemnation but with the hope of empathy and tender mercy. Consider that Rauner is trying to break the economic backs of millions of Americans who are government employees after he and his firm profited massively off of their pensions, as well as Medicaid and Medicare.
- Downstate43 - Friday, Sep 29, 17 @ 9:34 am:
You can take a man’s political money, but you then have political obligations to him (or at least be half-hearted with your newfound opprobrium).