This morning, JB Pritzker delivered a speech on mental health, a speech that yet again highlights Pritzker’s agenda of more government spending.
Rauner campaign spokesman Alex Browning issued the following statement:
“JB Pritzker continues to talk about his ’specific plans’ that lack specifics. He touts more and more government programs, more than $10 billion in additional spending with no reform whatsoever while keeping taxpayers in the dark about how high their taxes will go. This speech is more of the same from Pritzker: higher taxes, more spending, NO reforms.”
Pritzker and Rauner both exemplified their contrasting rhetorical styles in their appearances this week: Rauner illustrated his signature strained, over-stated decisiveness, and Pritzker illustrated his proclivity for semi-spontaneously thoughtful reflections. Whereas Rauner’s style leads sometimes to the cringeworthy “insincere sincerity” we saw in yesterday’s putative personality do-over, the danger of Pritzker’s style is that, if not carefully expressed, it lends itself to acontextual quotation by political opponents. So I’m withholding judgement on JB’s speech until we see how team Rauner splices and re-edits in next week’s ads.
===This morning, JB Pritzker delivered a speech on mental health, a speech that yet again highlights Pritzker’s agenda of more government spending.===
Weak response. I don’t think most people believe spending money on mental health services is a bad thing. Makes Rauner sound uncompassionate and out of touch.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 10:24 am:
I was watching Pritzker’s speech on mental illness, opioid addiction and health insurance. Bruce Rauner was incomprehensively cruel, massively damaging social services. Rauner’s crocodile tears yesterday were so insulting. He knew exactly what he was doing when he created a budget crisis to use the most vulnerable as hostage pawns, to whack unions. He was very happy and energized as the most vulnerable suffered and died. He was taunting AFSCME, pushing for a strike that would have piled damage upon damage. I hope so much that Pritzker, unions and others can convey these messages to voters.
Pritzker missed a chance to counter the “He will spend more. “ argument. He should have argued that cutting mental health budgets is penny wise and pound foolish. We still have to deal with these people. Putting them through the criminal justice system chews up resources and often produces people who are more dangerous coming out than they were going in. Emergency rooms are a notoriously high cost way of treating anybody.
We can get better results at the same cost. The dollars just come from different buckets.
I liked his speech, and thought he got his main point across, to wit that a state like Illinois should care for those with mental illness (we’re 47th in services to this population - nothing to be proud of).
Actually (responding to those who complained above that there’s no money, etc. etc.): he explicitly cited comparative costs: incarceration = $195 a day; hospitalization = $950 a day; outpatient mental health care and counseling = $28 a day. That’s cost-efficient, frankly.
I’d like to add my admiration for Juliana Stratton: dignified, comprehensible without being condescending, down-to-earth.
And Juliana explicitly cited Langston Hughes - if we really want something, we’ll find a way to reach our goal - implication being that if Illinois really wants to support those with mental illnesses, the state will find a way.
- Anonymous - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 9:26 am:
Q: “How do we deal with the pension problem?”
A: “We have to have a dialogue.”
Pritzker pension plan about as robust as the Pritzker tax plan.
- Anonymous - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 9:33 am:
Perhaps less specific.
- Fixer - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 9:34 am:
Anon, maybe we should keep going the unconstitutional route. That’s worked so far.
- Math(usually)Doesn’tLie - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 10:16 am:
Pritzker and Rauner both exemplified their contrasting rhetorical styles in their appearances this week: Rauner illustrated his signature strained, over-stated decisiveness, and Pritzker illustrated his proclivity for semi-spontaneously thoughtful reflections. Whereas Rauner’s style leads sometimes to the cringeworthy “insincere sincerity” we saw in yesterday’s putative personality do-over, the danger of Pritzker’s style is that, if not carefully expressed, it lends itself to acontextual quotation by political opponents. So I’m withholding judgement on JB’s speech until we see how team Rauner splices and re-edits in next week’s ads.
- Cubs in '16 - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 10:19 am:
===This morning, JB Pritzker delivered a speech on mental health, a speech that yet again highlights Pritzker’s agenda of more government spending.===
Weak response. I don’t think most people believe spending money on mental health services is a bad thing. Makes Rauner sound uncompassionate and out of touch.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 10:24 am:
I was watching Pritzker’s speech on mental illness, opioid addiction and health insurance. Bruce Rauner was incomprehensively cruel, massively damaging social services. Rauner’s crocodile tears yesterday were so insulting. He knew exactly what he was doing when he created a budget crisis to use the most vulnerable as hostage pawns, to whack unions. He was very happy and energized as the most vulnerable suffered and died. He was taunting AFSCME, pushing for a strike that would have piled damage upon damage. I hope so much that Pritzker, unions and others can convey these messages to voters.
- don the legend - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 10:24 am:
==Makes Rauner sound uncompassionate and out of touch.==
Sound, sound. Drop the word sound and you have an accurate statement.
- walker - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 10:27 am:
Math(usually).. at 10:26
Smart and well-written. Kudos.
- A Jack - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 10:28 am:
To Rauner’s response: Mental health issues have been at the core at a great majority of mass shootings and some of the recent higher profile murders.
Improving mental health is a much better response than Rauner’s apparent solution of vetoing immigrant legislation.
- Anonymous - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 10:30 am:
==Anon, maybe we should keep going the unconstitutional route. That’s worked so far.==
You mean unconstitutional like the progressive tax?
- DuPage Bard - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 10:46 am:
So the Gov follows up yesterday’s speech by attacking his opponent on a speech about mental health solutions?
Well that was a good speech yesterday that apparently meant nothing?
Do better.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 10:48 am:
===“…This speech is more of the same from Pritzker: higher taxes, more spending, NO reforms.”===
So, like Rauner’s lone signed budget these four years?
Got it. Thanks.
- Last Bull Moose - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 11:15 am:
Pritzker missed a chance to counter the “He will spend more. “ argument. He should have argued that cutting mental health budgets is penny wise and pound foolish. We still have to deal with these people. Putting them through the criminal justice system chews up resources and often produces people who are more dangerous coming out than they were going in. Emergency rooms are a notoriously high cost way of treating anybody.
We can get better results at the same cost. The dollars just come from different buckets.
- Jocko - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 11:40 am:
Dear Bruce,
Is JB more understanding while you’re more courageous…or is it the other way around?
- Laurie Durbin - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 12:00 pm:
How will you legalize marijuana and what will the revenues be spent on?
- dbk - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:02 pm:
I liked his speech, and thought he got his main point across, to wit that a state like Illinois should care for those with mental illness (we’re 47th in services to this population - nothing to be proud of).
Actually (responding to those who complained above that there’s no money, etc. etc.): he explicitly cited comparative costs: incarceration = $195 a day; hospitalization = $950 a day; outpatient mental health care and counseling = $28 a day. That’s cost-efficient, frankly.
I’d like to add my admiration for Juliana Stratton: dignified, comprehensible without being condescending, down-to-earth.
And Juliana explicitly cited Langston Hughes - if we really want something, we’ll find a way to reach our goal - implication being that if Illinois really wants to support those with mental illnesses, the state will find a way.
I think they’ll make a very good team.