* Daily Herald…
Charging gas taxes based on how many miles people drive instead of how much fuel they burn could pump up revenues to help fix Illinois’ roads and bridges, Democratic candidate for governor J.B. Pritzker told the Daily Herald editorial board.
Called a vehicle miles traveled or VMT tax, it’s an idea worth exploring, the billionaire Hyatt hotel heir said in a Thursday interview where he also pushed for a graduated income tax, but gave few specifics.
“We have to invest in infrastructure — it’s been too many years since we had a capital bill,” said the 52-year old Chicagoan, one of six candidates in the March 20 Democratic primary.
His plan would focus “on rebuilding roads, bridges and waterways and in my view we need statewide broadband internet access,” Pritzker said.
But with more fuel-efficient vehicles, traditional gas tax income is shrinking, Pritzker noted.
“In some states (such as Oregon) they have done tests recently for a VMT tax because we have more and more electric cars on the road, more and more hybrids, and because gas mileage is rising. It’s only fair if you’re on a road and traveling on that road that you should pay your fair share,” he said.
A VMT tax “is something we should look at … we have to careful how it gets implemented and that’s why it should only be a test at this point.”
Local 150 of the Operating Engineers, one of Pritzker’s earliest labor endorsers, is the top proponent of the VMT idea in Illinois.
* From the Republican Governors Association…
Illinois Democrat gubernatorial candidate and billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune J.B. Pritzker is already on record supporting a bevy of tax increases, including a major hike in the state income tax. Now, he’s proposing yet another tax – and this one could lead to an unprecedented government invasion of privacy.
The Daily Herald reported over the weekend that Pritzker is open to a new gas tax that would require the government to track how many miles people drive. Pritzker says that the tax and government tracking scheme is “an idea worth exploring.”
A similar tax was proposed by Illinois Democrats last year, and was rapidly shelved after “public outrage.” The proposal required a “tracking device to monitor mileage.”
J.B. Pritzker’s willingness to let the government install tracking devices in people’s vehicles underscores just how out of touch the Hyatt heir is with the concerns of voters.
- Workin' - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:14 am:
Oh please. It’s called an odometer.
- Anon - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:15 am:
I own two electric vehicles. My gas station visits have dropped significantly, but I’m not driving less. I support this idea because our infrastructure must be fixed and the current funding source is inadequate. We need this change — it is forward looking.
- blue dog dem - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:21 am:
Yet another tax on the working poor and middle classes. Is this a common theme for ‘progressives’?
- Politically incorrect - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:24 am:
Oh you mean like tolls that already dominate northern Illinois?
- Never Politically Correct - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:27 am:
Let’s look at the numbers through the 3rd quarter of 2017 combined receipts collected by the Motor Fuel Tax have not gone done in years 2015 and 2016. 2017 looks to be close. http://www.revenue.state.il.us/Motorfuel/Mft/mfgallonage.pdf
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:33 am:
Dems snuck in an increase to the fuel tax now they want more. No wonder people are fleeing in record numbers. We should tax the hot air coming out of Pritzker
- blue dog dem - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:34 am:
Biss and Kennedy ought to be chiming in any moment seeing who can promise to raise taxes on the working poor and middle classes the most.
- JB13 - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:36 am:
I’d be open to this idea if it replaces the gas tax. I suspect, however, it would not.
- Skeptic - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:41 am:
So, how are you going to collect it from out-of-staters?
- SAP - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:46 am:
Seems like it would be easier to put meters on the charging units and use that to calculate tax.
- OurMagician - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:49 am:
Great idea for those in Chicagoland who may spend an hour in the car but drive 15 miles, not so much for those downstate who drive an hour but travel 65 miles to work downstate.
- Roman - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:51 am:
From a public policy standpoint, JB is 100 percent correct. But this is dangerous ground politically — the Republicans will demagogue away and frighten voters with stories of “government monitoring devices” being placed in everyone’s car.
I would argue that those driving electric cars are effectively free loaders. They’re using the roads without paying the motor vehicle fuel tax that pays for the roads.
- m - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:01 am:
This is amateur stuff from Pritzker. Rauner is going to spend millions to paint him as a tax hiker.
Whether the gas tax is good policy, or a VMT, they are both insanely unpopular with the general public.
He might as well add that he supports raising property taxes…
- Nieva - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:08 am:
Then let’s add all wheeled means of transportation to this including bicycles, buses, cabs, and all the other modes of transportation that city dwellers use. For my family to go to the grocery, doctor, or just to see a movie in rural southern Illinois it is a 40-mile round trip. And they wonder why people are leaving this state.
- OneMan - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:19 am:
Have to agree with Roman here, I think at some point this is going to have to be the case, but it is dangerous political ground.
The thing is you couldn’t just do it as an odometer reading, what would you do have everyone send in a picture? Too easy to photoshop or otherwise modify. You would have to put a GPS widget in a car and that is going to be an issue, people are not going to like the idea of the government having a device that would know everyplace you went in a car.
- Driver - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:20 am:
More tax and spend and from an Illinois Democrat at that, Who would have thought?
/s
- don the legend - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:30 am:
Spare me the Democrats want to raise taxes and Republican’s don’t.
A Twelve billion dollar increase in unpaid bills in three years. Republicans run around saying “We’re responsible. We’re fiscal conservatives. We’re debt free… except for this little ole $12-16,000,000,000 credit card balance”.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:39 am:
Not a fan of the VMT, changing the rules in the middle of the game.
People have made conscious decisions on fuel-efficiency, based on long-standing policy to reduce fuel consumption for both environmental and alleged national security reasons.
Let those who choose the gas-guzzlers continue to pay the premium for their choices and adjust the fuel taxes as need be.
We’re not all going to be driving Rivians anytime soon.
- Ron - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:42 am:
Really bad idea and I hardly drive.
- Lunchbox - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:43 am:
Holy cow is this a bad idea. “Explore it” and then put it to bed, please. Good luck selling this to collar county residents that drive in to the city and use the tollways/ city residents that work in the burbs.
- Maximus - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:46 am:
If he really wants to fund infrastructure by usage then the money charged to get on and off tollways could be increased. This is more of a usage tax and doesn’t rely on installing something new into vehicles or on the road, the method is already in use. The problem then becomes the urge to create more tollways. The good news is this doesn’t hurt as much for downstate commuters as it would for anyone near Chicago.
- Pundent - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:47 am:
We need to properly fund government and have been derelict in doing so for decades. I’m not saying that this is the best option but show me a tax increase that’s universally popular.
- Humboldt - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:51 am:
Gas Taxes currently don’t come close to paying for the cost & maintenance of our roads. If the gas tax is supposed to be covering the costs, we’re all subsidizing those who are using the most gas.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:52 am:
I’ll give Pritzker credit for taking some heat on an obvious problem facing the state. That’s what you do in the Big Chair.
Once you’re no longer a teenager, you come to the realization that you have to maintain your assets to maximize their utility. It costs money, of course, but not nearly as much as neglecting them.
Any sign yet of a Rauner capital plan? We’re now at three years and counting.
Can someone explain to Rauner that he’s actually in charge of that, it’s a big part of his job?
Break it to him gently; he scares easily and then regresses to a catatonic state of chanting “Because Madigan….Because Madigan.”
- Ron - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:52 am:
We need to cut spending in Illinois.
- Telly - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:53 am:
There’s just no getting around the fact that the more fuel efficient cars get, the less money there will be for roads. The most politically doable answer might be increasing the annual license plate fee for electric and hybrid cars, but that’s not a perfect solution either.
In a lot of ways, the motor fuel tax is one of the fairest taxes of all — really just a user fee. But it’s becoming obsolete.
- Puddintaine - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 11:12 am:
Limousine Liberal, who probably doesn’t drive. He has people for that.
- City Zen - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 11:17 am:
Cars are becoming more fuel efficient and heavier at the same time. The tax formula has to change at some point.
- DuPage Saint - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 11:19 am:
“I would argue that those driving electric cars are effectively free loaders. They’re using the roads without paying the motor vehicle fuel tax that pays for the roads.”
Sounds like a Janus vs ASCME argument
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 11:25 am:
==We need to cut spending in Illinois.==
Thanks for that brilliant analysis. I can’t believe nobody has ever thought of that before?
Only the mathematically ignorant believe spending cuts are the singular solution to our problems.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 11:28 am:
Add a tax on those who buy the hybrids and electric to help even it out They won’t be freeloaders
- Rabid - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 11:30 am:
bring back the wheel, horsepower and weight fee
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 11:31 am:
While I credit him for making a suggestion, I’m not sure that’s the way to go. We do have an infrastructure problem. Illinois has acted irresponsibly and has deferred needed capital expenses for a long time. If we want to fix our roads then they need to bite the bullet and raise the gas tax. Americans are spoiled with fuel prices. Gas is comparitively cheap here. If we want nice things we have to pay for them.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 11:31 am:
===Add a tax on those who buy the hybrids and electric===
The state actually has a tax credit program for electric cars. It has deliberately used tax policy to encourage the purchase of those cars for years.
- City Zen - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 11:43 am:
==If we want nice things we have to pay for them.==
Don’t forget the other side of the equation. What’s the R&D for road materials and construction processes? Any Six Sigma practices being leveraged? Has labor become more efficient?
- Plutocrat03 - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 11:49 am:
Lots of whining whimpering about something that needs to be revised. Mileage driven is climbing, but revenues are flat to declining.
There was a certain fairness in a fuel tax because heavier vehicles stress the roads more than lighter vehicles and heavier vehicles used to consume more fuel.
Now things are changing. Electric vehicles tend to be heavy and pay zero road tax. That needs to end as well as the discounted EL plates. As average fuel economy rises, road taxes need to compensate fir the reduced amount of fuel used.
Pritzker is on the right track to address a shortfall in a critical revenue stream here. The complexity is in coming up with a fair replacement.
- Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 11:54 am:
==Yet another tax on the working poor and middle classes. Is this a common theme for ‘progressives’? ==
This proposal is pretty much the opposite. The working poor are not driving around in hybrid and electric vehicles. Those who can afford those types of cars are getting off while letting the poor (who generally have older, less efficient cars) pay for the roads.
- DuPage - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 12:03 pm:
===The state actually has a tax credit program for electric cars. It has deliberately used tax policy to encourage the purchase of those cars for years.===
I was unaware of a STATE tax policy. I had heard of a FEDERAL tax rebate of $7500. I heard it has been abolished as of January 1, 2018 by the new tax law.
- California Guy - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 12:06 pm:
I volunteered to be part of the pilot program for this concept in California. Not the end of the world. Over the course of 12-months, I ended up paying about the same in the mock mileage tax that I would have paid in gas taxes. In California, we’re probably going to end up with a combination of both a mileage tax and a gas tax.
- SAP - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 12:06 pm:
==The state actually has a tax credit program for electric cars. It has deliberately used tax policy to encourage the purchase of those cars for years.== Rich, that was true until a couple years ago when the Governor zeroed out the funding for the state program. There is still a federal rebate program.
- BIG R. Ph. - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 12:13 pm:
If Mr. Pritzker (and his ilk)would actually pay the taxes that they owe rather than hiding them off shore for more than a century we wouldn’t have to keep raising taxes on us little peons that would dare to drive on the pristine roads of Illinois.
- Chicago_Downstater - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 12:45 pm:
@Rabid
“bring back the wheel, horsepower and weight fee”
This is an interesting idea. It looks like title and registration fees are a very promising place to look at for experimenting for lost revenue at the pump. It even looks like some states do an interesting value fee that might help make additional fees less regressive (i.e. the more expensive the vehicle, the more you pay).
http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/registration-and-title-fees-by-state.aspx
- Chris Widger - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 12:56 pm:
Candidates who take bold and unpopular positions that, at least in theory, further the common good should be lauded. I oppose Pritzker strongly but support this proposal. Good on him for pushing it.
- Chicago Cynic - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 12:59 pm:
California guy,
When you participated in the pilot, did you have a transponder or was it some voluntary reporting system?
- Chicago Cynic - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 1:00 pm:
To be clear, something has to be done to fix the problem of more miles but fewer dollars for our crumbling infrastructure. But not a fan of putting a transponder in my car (helllllll, no).
- Ron - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 1:24 pm:
” Illinois has acted irresponsibly and has deferred needed capital expenses for a long time”
Wow, then where do all the taxes go? You, know we have one of the highest tax burdens in the nation and apparently it’s not enough.
- blue dog dem - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 1:25 pm:
Here’s a novel idea. No more sweetheart tax abatements. Charge sales tax on farm equipment that uses are roads. No more TIF deals to auto dealers so LGDF can be reduced an the money savings can go into state roads. Lots of ideas out there that won’t punish just the minimum wage and low income earner that has to commute to find work
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 1:32 pm:
From what someone posted above, gas tax collections are rising. Just more of the insatiable tax appetite in this state.
- SAP - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 1:47 pm:
Motor fuel tax collections just might be rising because more miles are being driven what with relatively cheap gasoline and all.
- MyTwoCents - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 1:56 pm:
Here are 2 articles that help inform this discussion:
https://tinyurl.com/y7hss5vj
https://tinyurl.com/ycu727xd
This is a worthwhile discussion because the long term trend is not looking good for the motor fuel tax and the Illinois tax has not been increased in almost 30 years, and only 3 other states have gone longer without increasing the tax.
Something needs to change with the MFT, whether increase the MFT and/or add registration charges for electric/hybrid or completely change the structure of funding roads & bridge construction.
- DuPage - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 2:10 pm:
===Wow, then where do all the taxes go?===
A lot of the motor fuel taxes are diverted to other things, like grants to libraries, CTA and RTA, and IL EPA emission test stations (which could be eliminated). Electric cars don’t emit greenhouse gasses, and save the state from having to test them.
They could go to a 2-year registration and have the odometer read and application signed by a SOS employee, a police officer, or a reuse of the emission test places. I sold a used car decades ago to someone from out of state, and he had a form that had a space on it where a police officer would read and write down the VIN number and mileage on the odometer and sign it. (This was more of an anti-vin/odometer tampering effort, but it would be a way to certify the actual miles used.)
If a mileage fee is enacted, it should be in place of, NOT in addition to existing gas taxes. It should also have no minimum. If a car is only driven once in a while, the owner should only pay for the miles actually driven. I think that would make people more accepting to the concept.
- Responsa - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 2:12 pm:
==Pritzker is open to a new gas tax that would require the government to track how many miles people drive. ==
It’s the concept of “tracking” by the government part of the plan that is going to cause him problems with individuals both within his own party and with Republicans.
- SSL - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 2:13 pm:
Give JB credit for sticking to his vision. He needs revenue from every possible source. Legalize marijuana. Yep. Expand gambling. You bet. Increase the gas tax and implement a VMT. Sure thing. Ram through a progressive income tax structure. Right on JB.
How else can he pay for all the pie in the sky programs he’s promising. He only talks of spending mega billions on new programs. Has he said a word about reducing costs.
There’s your choice folks, an ineffective governor like Rauner, or a tax like you’ve never been taxed before liberal elitist like JB.
Remember when Pat Quinn doubled the cost of tolls overnight. What did we get for that again. Absolutely nothing. That’s what JB’s tax increases will get you. But the pensioners will sleep better.
- California Guy - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 2:19 pm:
@ Chicago Cynic
I had an app on my phone that reported the miles driven (but not the location so no conspiracy theory stuff). The pilot program allowed you to select a variety of reporting options. The one I did would keep track of the miles driven and send me a bill every three months.
The pilot program is now complete. People involved in managing the program are leaning towards having a third-party tech company basically oversee the program with emphasis on technology implementation. State of California has a really hard time attracting tech talent because the pay in the private sector is like 3-4x as much. Tech workers are not interested in step increases, collective bargaining bureaucracy, etc. No way they can implement it in-house.
For commercial vehicles, they’re leaning on more of a fixed transponder that goes in the vehicle (delivery trucks, fleet vehicles, etc.).
There are several options on how to pay (I chose the quarterly bill option). You can pre-pay for the year and have the miles deducted from the account and I think you can just have the whole bill sent to you at the end of the year. There was another option that time-window based where you pay for unlimited miles for a set amount of months. If you don’t pay, they hold you up at vehicle registration time.
In summary, they found out that implementing the system is not very simple. For simplicity, they’re looking into a way where all vehicles would have some kind of transponder that collects data at gas pumps. That way, they don’t have to deal with app updates, people not having smart phones, etc.
- Ron - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 2:23 pm:
SSL, I’ll take Rauner. Thanks
- City Zen - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 2:31 pm:
==the long term trend is not looking good for the motor fuel tax and the Illinois tax has not been increased in almost 30 years, and only 3 other states have gone longer without increasing the tax.==
Illinois may not have increased the motor fuel tax directly, but we’re one of the few states that charges sales tax, and sales tax increased 1.25 percentage points over that time. We collect a lot in taxes from gasoline.
- Ron - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 2:59 pm:
City Zen, notice how it’s never enough though?
- NorthsideNoMore - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 3:31 pm:
Said the guy that has limo service and a helicopter. We pay by the Mile already its called the MFT (no not that MF) the Motor Fuel tax and we get the privilege of a gas sales tax that the State gets the largesse of when the price goes up. Anyone remember the Quinn capital promises tour when gas was $3.80-4.00 a gallon ? windfall was in the millions. Wonder how 150 guys who drive 50 miles a day to job site feel about this one.
- vic - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 3:59 pm:
People:
Open Road Tolling is coming. It will manifest as really high tolls, or the tracker, as an alternative. It will be the norm in all States within a decade. Pick your poison, the State must find revenue for almost everything including infrastructure.
- City Zen - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 3:59 pm:
==notice how it’s never enough though?==
Well, I’m guessing the sales tax revenue goes somewhere besides roads. But a sales tax on fuel is a significant windfall either way.
==Wonder how 150 guys who drive 50 miles a day to job site feel about this one.==
For them, it’s merely a cost of goods sold. The tax provides the job that will pay the taxes.
- blue dog dem - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 4:16 pm:
California Guy. Was this tax in addition to MFT PAYED AT PUMP?
- California Guy - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 5:36 pm:
@blue dog dem - You didn’t actually PAY the tax because it was a pilot program. The bills I got were “simulated.” The mileage tax would have actually saved me some money based on the print out I got at the end (compared what I paid in gas taxes vs mileage taxes). My vehicle gets so-so MPG, so it helped me in a way.
Basically, people with really fuel efficient cars (Prius, Corolla, Civic, etc.) will probably end up paying a little more. People with full size trucks and SUV’s probably a little less.
- MyTwoCents - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 5:39 pm:
City Zen, the application of sales tax to gas is something that needs to be explored as part of the broader discussion. However, it is not relevant to the current topic when Pritzer is talking about changes to the MFT and the future of infrastructure spending, which has nothing to do with sales tax, particularly when sales tax does not go into the road fund.
- City Zen - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 5:57 pm:
MyTwoCents, sales tax is indeed relevant because it is a component of the overall cost and is allocated towards transportation:
http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/fuel-sales-taxes-and-other-related-taxes.aspx#il
- Chicago 20 - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 6:39 pm:
Just think where Illinois would be if we got back a dollar for every dollar we send the Washington D.C..
Now imagine where Illinois would be if we got $7.87 back for every dollar we send to Washington D.C..
- Generic Drone - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:01 pm:
Ron @1:24pm
You answered your own question. All the tax money goes to programs which have been underfunded for decades because folks like you think we dont need mre taxes to pay for these programs. See the cycle.?
- City Zen - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 9:06 pm:
==Just think where Illinois would be if we got back a dollar for every dollar we send the Washington D.C..==
Just think where my hometown would be if we got back a dollar for every dollar we send to Springfield.
- Ron - Tuesday, Jan 16, 18 @ 10:14 pm:
Generic, what has been underfunded? We have literally one of the highest tax burdesn in the nation. We should have plenty of money. Where does it go?
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jan 17, 18 @ 1:48 am:
== “I would argue that those driving electric cars are effectively free loaders. They’re using the roads without paying the motor vehicle fuel tax that pays for the roads.” ==
Here goes a maybe simpler suggestion. All numbers are made up to simplify the example.
It would be a trailing year calculation and somewhat of a SWAG, but figure the percent of all electric registered and the percentage of hybrid cars registered. Let’s say it turns out to be 5% all electric and 10% hybrid. That leaves 85% paying only the Motor Fuel Tax. Since hybrids also pay some MFT, include half of them, making MFT paying vehicles 90%. And we’ll say the 90% equals 5 million vehicles and the State collects $500M in MFT revenue. So the “average annual per vehicle” (AAPV) MFT payment is $100.
At registration time, add the full AAPV to the plate fee for electric vehicles and add half (because they already paid some MFT) of the AAPV for hybrid vehicles.
Alternatively, for those owner’s who don’t think it is fair, let the electric or hybrid owner buy an approved GPS mileage tracking device on their own dime and then pay a flat x cents be mile fee, with the hybrid fee half of the full fee. Set the fee more or less equal to what the MFT generates on a per mile basis using the EPA’s 5 year old new manufacturers MPG target. Why 5 years old? Because the average car on the road is most likely around that age.
This won’t be as accurate as tracking everyone everywhere, but it doesn’t require any mileage tracking. It does create a bit more hassle at plate renewal, but only for a small portion. And it gives an alternative for those who don’t mind being tracked.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jan 17, 18 @ 1:56 am:
Any Legislator who wants to adopt that idea, feel free to do so.
/s on
The only payment I want is to exempt all MY vehicles from both MFT and mileage taxes.
/s off
- Way2Taxed - Thursday, Jan 18, 18 @ 2:24 pm:
I can’t say I agree with this in the least bit.
I guess I see where he’s coming from, but I have a feeling this would be in addition to, not in place of the existing gas taxes. Also, I work in Missouri, so I drive 20 minutes or so to the river, cross, then I’m out of state. How do they intend to calculate that? I sure do not like the idea of a tracking device on my personal vehicle.
I’m no big fan of Rauner. I’m a republican and not very happy with what he’s done so far, but compared to the ideas this candidate has, Rauner will definitely get my vote.