61 Comments - 360 Degree TurnAround - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:37 am: What if they sell their soul to the abortion signing governor and he loses? They will have given up their values for money. Oh wait, this is America, we do that all the time. Nevermind. - MG85 - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:38 am: When you’re trying to make it to shore on a ship taking on water, it’s best to throw the heaviest things overboard first. …that usually means the gold. - Retired Educator - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:38 am: When you are bought you stay bought. You can spin it any way you want, but you took the money. You are bought, and your orders will come later. - DuPage Bard - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:39 am: I hate you, I love you, I hate you, I love you, I hate you……oh a shiny ring ok I love you for sure, now just don’t do it again….please? - Tequila Mockingbird - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:40 am: Conundrum is right. what a mess. - DownstateKid - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:40 am: OW missive on Raunerites in 3, 2, 1…. - 360 Degree TurnAround - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:42 am: Maybe some of the republicans can take a knee during the state of the state and budget address. - Old time Republican - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:44 am: Yes they will stand with him. At the end of the day many of them need his money to get elected again. As OW continues to point out they enabled him so now they must live with him. Without his money a good portion of them are doomed and it’s as much their fault as his. As for standing with him for Governor they can pick their own poison. 1. Rauner who is damaged and flawed. 2. Ives who will be damaged once people get to know her. She is a extension of Proft/Tilman and makes Alan Keyes look like a liberal. That’s the choice it’s not pretty but it’s simple. - LTSW - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:44 am: The Dems are smart in only relying on JB to fund is own campaign and not the rest of the party. This was what Kennedy was talking about early in his campaign but never got much traction. - m - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:46 am: Madigan fought and connived and clawed his way into power. Eventually his power enabled him to take control of the dem money stream. That control of the money allowed him to keep his power. Rauner tried to do it in reverse. Or he skipped a big step. Either way, he’s going to have to spend a lot more money to hang on to the power. - Ghost - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:46 am: GOP, we have already established what you are, now we are just haggling over price….. - Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:47 am: We’ve established what you are, now we’re just haggling over the price - duh - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:47 am: Yeah, they like his money. With Rauner’s background, he never would have gotten elected but for. Not only should they not take his money, they need to give the money back. - Anon E. Moose - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:48 am: Money or principle? Lemme guess which one they choose. - Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:48 am: Nice one Ghost. I needed to ht “return” faster. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:49 am: Here’s a real tell, for me, how conservatives will continue the phony (and some are truly phony… while others do truly have real anger) and hope others… will just let Rauner “be Rauner” … “because Madigan” Case in point? Sen. Jim Oberweis who demanded Pat Brady be removed for supporting SSM… and then realized his Slytherin ways were too extreme. In the Daily Herald, however, Oberweis… http://bit.ly/2xAQbxg ===State Sen. Jim Oberweis, also a fan of the Turnaround Agenda, said Rauner should have vetoed the bill on cost alone, saying the state is in “deep financial stress” and can’t afford new spending. He is also disappointed with Rauner’s recent actions concerning treatment of undocumented immigrants. But, he said, he knew Rauner was not a social conservative. “I respect the man. I think he has done a great job in standing up to Michael Madigan,” Oberweis said=== So… Oberweis, who couldn’t stand the mere idea of a non-conservative thought be propagated by the ILGOP while on the ILGOP SCC said this, for the record… “… “I respect the man. I think he has done a great job in standing up to Michael Madigan,” Oberweis said…” That’s the whole phony ball game. The Raunerites will take the money and/or just support Rauner, feigning their “displeasure, but, who are they kidding, Rauner owns them. - Last Bull Moose - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:49 am: Take the money and ditch the Governor. This is not bargaining in good faith and there is no personal honor involved. If the Governor were goal oriented, he would back someone for Governor who might be able to govern. But he isn’t and won’t. - Macbeth - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:50 am: Of course they will stand with them — and of course they will support him. Even now — just reading Breen’s statement above — you can see positions weakening. No one is seriously *against* Rauner. Everyone loves his money. And everyone — when push comes to shove — will pretend that HB40 never happened. The GOP is without principal — and, more importantly, without any authentic alternative. As I’ve said before — this is all just hustling for 15 minutes of fame. Two weeks from now, we’ll be back to normal. - Earnest - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:52 am: Republican frustration with Rauner, Democratic potential loss/reduction of monetary support from unions with upcoming Supreme Court rulings, both parties would seem to have the highest level of motivation for campaign finance reform they’ve ever had at the same time. I’m just not sure there’s a lot to be done in the political spending equals free speech era. - Ghost - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:52 am: Michelle the secret is not to waste time correcting typos Macbeth seems a bit dramatic today, but maybe I am just a bit haunted over this mess….. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:52 am: - DownstateKid - I’m in your kitchen. You have no points, per usual, but your victimhood is noted. What’s also noted is that “Illinois education” you felt disparaged me, but seem to neglect if you were educated in Illinois or why you’d ding any education in Illinois. Work on being better. Thanks. (Tips cap to - Old time Republican -) - don the legend - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:53 am: DownstateKid. Wow, you think OW would be wrong or mistaken to point out the obvious in his usually enlightening and informative manner? To bait OW or anyone for your party’s hypocrisy when blaming Madigan for his outsize control of democrats and ignoring Rauner’s complete ownership of republicans is quite a spectacle. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 10:00 am: If you can’t take his money and then turn around and vote against him, then you don’t belong in the General Assembly. - wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 10:02 am: Well, there are principles and then there’s principal. When did the scales fall from Breen’s eyes? Rauner was playing both sides of the abortion issue — both in his rhetoric and with his checkbook — as far back as when he was preparing the ground for the GOP primary. See Jack Roeser’s comments back in the day. Despite his ongoing duplicity on that and many other issues, Rauner’s money and agenda were still good with Breen when he agreed to be his floor leader a few months ago. He didn’t know how Rauner played ball by then? That’s simply not believable. Breen was a bedrock Rauner supporter when he was reneging on contracts to Catholic Charities to the tune of $2M a month. And tuning up many more of the least among us just as badly, and piling on $12B in unpaid bills, for more than two years. Were those conservative, GOP “principles” in action? Spare me the phony shock and outrage. You knew he was a snake when you took him in. But you loved that money. He’s on you. - DownstateKid - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 10:02 am: OW, while you’re there do you mind cleaning up a bit? Made cod the other night and it still stinks a bit. Let me know whatever products you need. And next time, be less predictable. LOL - Steve Rogers - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 10:06 am: The ILGOP is just like Gollum: “We swears to serve the master of the precious.” - We'll See - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 10:07 am: Bruce the venture capitalist once said “I’m a pretty disciplined investor and pretty disciplined buyer. I do my due diligence. I do my homework. I don’t waste money.” He knows the IL Republican Party can be bought. - Anonymous - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 10:11 am: “Right, but, in all fairness to Mr. Rauner here, it was a really big check” https://youtu.be/Yo1-WdxQnK8 - dbk - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 10:11 am: I think things remain somewhat unpredictable at the moment, which means they’re more exciting even than usual, but … unstable. Best bet: they’ll Take the Money and Run because TINA. We actually wrote about this very same conundrum today . - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 10:13 am: - DownstateKid - Ya forgot, again, about that disparaging of being educated in Illinois, why do you keep forgetting? I can’t help Rauner is a one trick pony. You seem to think Rauner’s playbook has variety. It doesn’t. Spend money for “$&@#% problems”… spend money to cover Diana’s social agenda… spend money to swamp Rauner’s own failings. Maybe your beef is with… Rauner? (Hat tip to - don the legend -) To further my thought… Rauner’s $4.45 million is the cost he thinks is “his damage” for HB40, for crippling social services, like Cardinal Cupich’s Catholic Charities, the $4.45 million is the cost to the damage of higher education, all that Rauner demanded, all that was enabled by the Raunerites. That’s as raw, real, and plain to anyone… willing to see it honestly. Rauner has weighed and measured his ownership of the brand formerly known as the ILGOP, starting early 2015 buying the caucuses first at $20 million, securing the party and caucuses with another $50 million parked and reinforcing his value of it… now… after all the damage … for a price Rauner thinks is at $4.45 million. All other monies? All other monies, Ken Dunkin included, “maintenance and repairs” to keep Rauner’s machinery “working”. We let a stranger in our house and he knows “our value” to him. Today it’s just $4.45 million, and the likes of Sen. Jim Oberweis seems to agree. - DownstateKid - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 10:37 am: OW - On Illinois schools, they aren’t very good as a system outside of UoI-Champaign, ISU Biz school, SIUE for cost. You’ll blame Rauner, but they weren’t respected when I was in high school either. Eastern was always seen as a bad university in a crappy town in Illinois. Additionally, outside of Agriculture and a minor in alcohol, Western wasn’t seen as good either. ISU is nicknamed I screwed Up for a reason by suburban kids. Unlike you, I call a spade a spade and Illinois schools are no Aces. Secondly, your revisionist history about the ILGOP is hilarious. Rauner didn’t get let into the house. There was no house. It was a single-wide somewhere in the boonies when he took it over and completely overhauled it. with his money. They took his money because they were broke, powerless and incompetent. Without his money, they will be right back there. - m - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 11:11 am: It’s kind of funny watching people bash the state gop for “selling out” to Rauner while the other side has been bought and paid for by the Madigan atm machine for years. You can talk all you want about term limits and Madigan having too much power when you are in your district, but when it comes to that one vote, you can’t be a Drury, for obvious reasons. Want to restructure juries in civil trials for no other reason that to help the trial lawyers win more cases? Bypass contract negotiations to keep the union money flowing? No problem. Property tax freeze or any kind of reform? That wouldn’t be good for appeals business, so that’s a no. Like to watch the dems trample each other to get their endorsements out for the richest main in their primary? But, the big advantage dems have is that if the Pritzker atm goes away, they still have the Madigan/trial lawyers/union atm. They will get to choose who they sleep with each night. Republicans are left deciding whether they even get to sleep indoors. - m - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 11:12 am: To clarify, I’m not defending anyone. We’ve already established what both sides are. It’s just a question of who is buying. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 11:46 am: ===Unlike you, I call a spade a spade and Illinois schools are no Aces.=== So you went to school out of state? What made you come back to Illinois? ===It was a single-wide somewhere in the boonies when he took it over and completely overhauled it.=== Signing to allow taxpayer funded abortions will do that, “overhaul” the GOP. Rauner took over the brand, not the principles or the 80% Reagan Rule. We let a stranger in our house that fundamentally, within the fiscal and social agenda crossroad is nothing Republican, 80% or not. ===They took his money because they were broke, powerless and incompetent. Without his money, they will be right back there.=== … and became nothing that would mirror the Republican principles that 80% could find agreement. “Madigan” is it. Oh, don’t forget to discuss the going out of state and coming back to Illinois because that see to be the exception instead of the rule, as Illinois loses both students and population. - A guy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 11:53 am: == Rauner’s money and agenda were still good with Breen when he agreed to be his floor leader a few months ago.== A) Not much Rauner money there. B) He’s not the Governor’s Floor Leader. You know better, but you still write it. There’s a word for that. - Blue dog dem - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 11:56 am: Bruce Rauner,aka,Harvey Weinstein. Birds of a feather. If Al Capone was still in business, I am sure he would.be greasin some wheels. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 12:00 pm: === == Rauner’s money and agenda were still good with Breen when he agreed to be his floor leader a few months ago.== A) Not much Rauner money there. B) He’s not the Governor’s Floor Leader.=== Lots to unpack here… “A) Not much Rauner money there.” As Floor Leader, keeping members in-line was done with, you guessed it, Rauner’s money. Picking on its direct influence on Breen personally misses the point as Breen himself discussed enabling Rauner and others enabled Rauner for, you guessed it, an agenda, and the money Rauner promised to support that agenda. “B) He’s not the Governor’s Floor Leader” Until the HGOP shows an autonomous-ness that runs counter to the Governor, Breen IS the governor’s Floor Leader, ushering Rauner’s thoughts and “asks” on the Floor for Rauner. There use to be, at times, a “governor’s” floor leader, then the obligatory caucus floor leader. When Rauner bought the caucuses, that ended on the “GOP”/Raunerite side. - Retired Educator - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 12:02 pm: OW If you feed him, he will return for a second, and third helping. He has no point, no ideas, and no knowledge. Let it go! - @MisterJayEm - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 12:07 pm: == Rauner’s money and agenda were still good with Breen when he agreed to be his floor leader a few months ago.== A) Not much Rauner money there. B) He’s not the Governor’s Floor Leader. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” — Gertrude, Hamlet Act III, scene ii. – MrJM - We'll See - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 12:07 pm: -DownstateKid @ 10:37- “They took his money because they were broke, powerless and incompetent. Without his money, they will be right back there.” Are you talking about that “single-wide somewhere in the boonies” or another type of “house”? - A guy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 12:08 pm: Willy, while your answer demonstrates a thoughtful review, I think what also needs review is “when” exactly he was appointed “Floor Leader” by Leader Durkin, not the Governor. If you target that moment correctly and review what he’s been leading since that time, it may offer more perspective. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 12:13 pm: ===I think what also needs review is “when” exactly he was appointed “Floor Leader” by Leader Durkin, not the Governor.=== Again, the replacing of Rep. Anderssen was done because of whipping votes to override Gov. Rauner. Further, Rep. Breen’s own words indicts himself and the entire GOP Caucuses, and how he personally, and as a Caucus, enabled Bruce Rauner. I trust Rep. Breen’s own words to his thoughts then your words to what you hope he meant. ===If you target that moment correctly and review what he’s been leading since that time, it may offer more perspective=== Not at all. Rep. Breen’s own words seem to refute your own hopes to what you’d hope he meant. I can bring them up for you if you’d like… - Thomas Paine - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 12:20 pm: @A Guy: Let’s look at not only when Breen became floor leader, but how and why? Who did he replace? Rep. Andersson Why was Andersson replaced? For breaking with Bruce Rauner’s agenda Who backed Andersson’s ouster? Rep. Breen, for sure It is ludicrous to suggest for even a moment that we consider Breen as anything but the Governor’s floor leader when he took the post. Did the swearing-in involve dark cloaks, a pit fire, and other elements of a clandestine ceremony? Probably not. But Breen was certainly part of the cabal right up to and including the vote for the Manar school bill. - A guy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 12:37 pm: ==It is ludicrous to suggest for even a moment that we consider Breen as anything but the Governor’s floor leader when he took the post. == What’s ludicrous is to suggest that he is. Reread man. ==Who backed Andersson’s ouster?== It would save a lot of time to say who did not. - wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 12:41 pm: Keep swinging, Guy. You’re bound to foul one off eventually. Not easy when you’re on another planet. When it comes to Rauner’s money, your argument is not with me, but the govenor’s once floor leader, Rep. Breen (look it up). And all those confused voices in your head. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 12:42 pm: ===What’s ludicrous is to suggest that he is.=== I think you’re being too hard on Rep. Breen. He stated how he (Breen) enabled Bruce Rauner and continued to enable Bruce Rauner. That doesn’t sound like a floor leader of an autonomous caucus, a caucus ruled and controlled be Rauner with his money in exchange for that control of Durkin and Breen and the members. You can’t say the caucus(es) are autonomous. That’s grossly disingenuous. - Pot calling kettle - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 1:43 pm: ==the other side has been bought and paid for by the Madigan atm machine for years== If you think dealing with Madigan and dealing with Rauner are equivalent, that reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of Madigan, his goals, and how he operates. Madigan wants to run the show. Rauner wants to run the show AND get his way 100% of the time. Madigan’s agenda is a moving target because it is a product of whatever is necessary to allow him to continue to run the show. Madigan is constantly checking the needs of his political allies and anyone else who will help him stay in charge. When the majority was opposed to same-sex marriage, no SSM; when the will of the majority changed, the bill passed. Madigan drives his members, but they also drive him. When the members need to pass something to please their voters, it passes. Rauner has shown that he does not care what his GA members want or what their constituents want or what his staff wants…Rauner does what Rauner wants and he’ll use money to paper over the consequences. Madigan’s approach resulted in a huge budget crisis (pension debt and backlog of bills) because voters like services and hate taxes. The reason a tax increase passed this summer is because the negatives of the budget crisis were starting to overwhelm the positives of not raising taxes. If you want Rauner to pass something, you better hope it’s something he already favors. If you want Madigan to pass something, just show him how it helps him stay in power. - DownstateKid - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 1:59 pm: - Oh, don’t forget to discuss the going out of state and coming back to Illinois because that see to be the exception instead of the rule, as Illinois loses both students and population. - Because I work in finance and outside of New York, London, Singapore and Hong Kong, Chicago is the best place for employment opportunities. Plus, UChicago and Northwestern have world-class biz/econ schools for further training. - Anonymous - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 2:02 pm: ===Because I work in finance and outside of New York, London, Singapore and Hong Kong, Chicago is the best place for employment opportunities.=== Not according to Bruce Rauner and - Lucky Pierre - All I hear is the bad-mouthing of Illinois. Wonder… wonder if you bad-mouthed Illinois here as you now tout all things great about Chicago. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 2:03 pm: ===Because I work in finance and outside of New York, London, Singapore and Hong Kong, Chicago is the best place for employment opportunities.=== Not according to Bruce Rauner and - Lucky Pierre - All I hear is the bad-mouthing of Illinois. Wonder… wonder if you bad-mouthed Illinois here as you now tout all things great about Chicago - m - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 2:08 pm: =Madigan wants to run the show. Rauner wants to run the show AND get his way 100% of the time.= You’re pretty close there. =Madigan drives his members, but they also drive him. If you want Madigan to pass something, just show him how it helps him stay in power.= Closer here. =When the members need to pass something to please their voters, it passes.= Only when it serves Madigan’s goals. The reality is that passing those bills often aligns with Madigan’s goals. You’ve seen him put votes on bills that nearly no one in the districts wants, where people vote against what they’ve campaigned on their entire career. But your basic point is valid. Madigan runs his side based on maintaining and/or growing his power. Rauner runs his based on passing what he believes in. I don’t think the reality for either is exactly flattering. I certainly like idea of someone fighting for what they believe in better than I like the idea of someone who is only it for the power. But the key there is the idea of it. In practice however… - DownstateKid - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 2:11 pm: I care about Illinois, hence my presence here. You won’t hear me bad-mouth Illinois the state itself, but the rest is fair game. Illinois schools, be better. OW, be better. - m - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 2:12 pm: =If you think dealing with Madigan and dealing with Rauner are equivalent, that reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of Madigan, his goals, and how he operates.= I never said they are equivalent, but they are very comparable. If Madigan just bends to the wishes of his legislators, then there is no power. You know this. The goals are different, and one of them has a lot more experience and skill at it, but they both put a lot of people under their thumb with the money they control. You’ve seen Madigan clear a primary for the one who takes orders. You’ve seen his preference for mushrooms, and you’ve read Rich write about it. He likes hard workers who do what they are told. Otherwise I think most of what we are both saying is in agreement. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 2:13 pm: Hmm… ===- DownstateKid - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 1:59 pm … Because I work in finance and outside of New York, London, Singapore and Hong Kong, Chicago is the best place for employment opportunities=== Hmm… - DownstateKid - Monday, Jul 17, 17 @ 4:38 pm The state itself is in such a poor spot when the next recession arrives. Real wage increase is weak, property growth is weak, unemployment lags natural average and more people leaving the state than entering. All that equals hell to pay when a recession is likely over the next 3-5 years. We are already at one of the longest economic expansionary periods in US history.=== Thoughts? - DownstateKid -? - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 2:16 pm: ===You won’t hear me bad-mouth Illinois the state itself, but the rest is fair game.=== Be consistent - DownstateKid -… be consistent. Here endeth the lesson. - A guy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 2:20 pm: Willy, given your previous comments about Leader Durkin, I find your comments today to be a bit confusing. - DownstateKid - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 2:20 pm: OW, Again this you being purposefully obtuse. Illinois job market = bad. Specific industries in Illinois = good. Manufacturing climate in Illinois is bad. Having an engineering job at Caterpillar or John Deere is good. And everything I said about the fiscal state of Illinois is spot on and is based on the most recent data. Illinois itself will suffer and like most recessions, the poor and working class will bear the greatest blow. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 2:25 pm: ===You won’t hear me bad-mouth Illinois the state itself, but the rest is fair game.=== Hmm. ===Real wage increase is weak, property growth is weak, unemployment lags natural average and more people leaving the state than entering.=== ===Illinois itself will suffer and like most recessions…=== ===All that equals hell to pay when a recession is likely over the next 3-5 years=== Please stop. You’re embarrassing yourself. ===given your previous comments about Leader Durkin, I find your comments today to be a bit confusing.=== Nothing too confusing… I asked Leader Durkin to take the lead and not be forced to do bidding or be undercut like Leader Radogno. Gov. Rauner “obliged”, it was never a true independent move, Rauner “let” Durkin be an independent operative - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 3:02 pm: Another key to keep in mind is that one branch of government is using monies to usurp one half of another branch of government via real time monies to attain a wanted goal. Rauner is far, far different than Madigan in that specific governing/monetary dynamic. Lest we forget the Rauner doling out checks/monies to legislators during session and some legislators were “perplexed” at such a move. - striketoo - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 5:15 pm: “Conundrum is right.” Let’s not talk about birth control. - Publius - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 9:28 pm: downstate kid– speaking of schools, OW has taken you there and cleaned your clock. keep up and listen to his wisdom, if you dare to. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.