* Maze Jackson’s WVON interview of Gov. Bruce Rauner is a treasure trove…
JACKSON: Let me stop you right there because you talked about unemployment and crime. And the put it on the front page of the paper that you said that part of this was illegal immigration. Talk to me about illegal immigration, how it impacts crime, and how it impact unemployment in our community, the black community specifically.
RAUNER: So here’s what I said that got spun incorrectly in the media. What I said is violence in part is driven by unemployment. That’s just a fact. When a young person doesn’t see a future for themselves, sees massive unemployment in their communities, no way to get an income, when the gangs call and says “Hey join us, we can get you some money, we can get you a gun, some protection” a lot of the kids say “Okay.” I mean it’s not an unreasonable decision for a young person to make if they don’t see another alternative, join a gang. And the gang violence is horrific. We’ve got to have more economic growth. 79th St. here should be booming. It should be an economic mecca like it was 40, 50 years ago. We can do this, and it won’t take 2-3 years. But it’s the unemployment that drives so much of the violence and the crime because it’s the despair, the lack of seeing a future for our young people.
JACKSON: Well governor as I drive down 79th St. and I am going to be honest with you. You know maybe the media spins it, but I am going to say it. For the black community when we look at illegal immigration and we see working on 79th St., and 87th St., King Dr. King Dr., and they are undocumented immigrants, illegal aliens, not illegal aliens that’s hate speech, undocumented immigrants, and our party pushes to the forefront the issues of noncitizens before citizens it is a real issue. If we say what about the people who are already citizens it seems like we are being skipped over.
RAUNER: Totally, you’re right. So this is what I was trying to say. It’s politically unpopular and the media attacks me but I just try to speak the truth and sometimes I get bopped for it but I got to speak the truth. If an economy is booming and there’s more than enough jobs for everybody illegal immigration, what it does is not cause unemployment, what it does is hold down wages because when companies have to compete to higher people they raise wages up. So wages don’t grow as fast if there is illegal immigration in that case. But if there’s not enough jobs and there’s already unemployment, if there’s illegal immigration, unemployment gets worse. That’s what’s happened in Chicago. That’s one of the reasons. We have hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants here the jobs they’re working, they’re here because they got a job, that could be a job for a Chicago citizen, and American citizen. This is just true. People get mad at me. People criticize, but it’s the truth. And when we make a sanctuary city in Chicago, which we have, so illegal immigrants can come here and be protected here that takes away jobs from citizens of America in Chicago. It’s just true. It’s not debatable.
I don’t think the media spun it at all. All the stories that I read correctly reported what Rauner said.
* Rick Pearson took a look at Rauner’s actual claims…
In September of last year, the president of the American Action Forum, a center-right policy group, told The Washington Post there was no proof that immigration — legal or illegal — “squeezes out native-born workers in any systematic way.”
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who was senior policy adviser to the late Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign and a former director of the Congressional Budget Office who leads the group, said, “We’ve experienced waves of immigration and still, on average, reached full employment.”
Additionally, the Marshall Project reported in March that while the number of immigrants — including those living here illegally — overall in Chicago rose by 73 percent from 1980 to 2016, the city’s violent crime rate fell by 14 percent during the time period.
Rauner has sought to heal a divide among the GOP’s social conservative base over his signature on laws that expanded immigrant, abortion and transgender rights. Those conservatives have supported President Donald Trump’s push for tougher border protections and actions against those in the country illegally.
He ran as a moderate in the primary and barely won and is running as a Trump-like conservative in the general and is currently getting thumped. Dude has it all backwards.
…Adding… Not a bad point…
Clarkin forgot “right to work.”
- chito - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 9:48 am:
Maze, what does an undocumented immigrant or illegal alien look like? Do they wear a sign or some other identifier? What you really meant to say was “Latino”, so just go ahead and say that next time.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 9:53 am:
–He ran as a moderate in the primary and barely won and is running as a Trump-like conservative in the general and is currently getting thumped. Dude has it all backwards.–
So strange. Nobody on BTIA(TM) has mentioned this to him?
He should be running on that IPI report that there is virtually no wasteful spending whatsoever in state government.
What other state or unit of government can claim that just .14 of one percent of spending is “wasteful?”
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 9:53 am:
Lesson One: Divide and conquer as a cynical electoral strategy.
Rauner, speaking to African-Americans and undocumented immigrants and their allies: “Let’s you and him fight.”
Lesson Two: It’s not about racial or ethnic divisions, it’s about rich versus poor:
Rauner, Maze Jackson and an undocumented immigrant are seated at a table. On the table is a plate with 1,000 cookies. Rauner takes 999 and, before he leaves, he says to Jackson, “hey watch out Maze, that guy is going to steal your cookie.”
Rauner is blaming undocumented immigrants and pretending that this isn’t a powerful and irreversible global economic force at work. If we deported all “illegal” immigrants tomorrow, Rauner still wouldn’t invite Maze Jackson over for dinner.
I don’t know which is worse, that Rauner actually believes the garbage that he’s spewing or that he’s doing it simply to win an election.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 9:56 am:
So farmers downstate never, ever use undocumented workers? That’s good to know.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 9:58 am:
===He ran as a moderate in the primary and barely won and is running as a Trump-like conservative in the general and is currently getting thumped. Dude has it all backwards.===
… unless Rauner knows his position is untenable… and passively auditioning for the Trump Administration, with his friend VP Pence in the President’s ear… why not passively be a Trumpkin with Gidwitz and McCarter are Ambassador material?
Think on this.
Quinn didn’t personally spend $117 million.
Quinn served 6 years.
Rauner and Quinn *may* be the same “private citizens” in January?
Diana Rauner can’t have that. Need the $117 million to lead to something, not a failed 1-term former Governor… serving two years less than Pat Quinn to boot.
- Huh? - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:00 am:
There are many jobs that Americans refuse to do. How many landscapers are filled by US citizens? Meat packers? Custodians? Cab drivers?
There are many jobs that many people think are “beneath” them to do.
Having been a custodian and can driver, I know from experience that these are difficult jobs with low pay and little respect.
- Practical Politics - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:06 am:
“serving two years less than Pat Quinn to boot…”
Quinn served those extra two years as governor because Blagojevich was impeached. It is not like the electorate preferred Quinn more highly. Quinn’s single gubernatorial election victory was a squeaker
- Demoralized - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:12 am:
If illegal immigrants are getting jobs then perhaps he might talk to his friends in the business community and ask them why they are hiring those individuals.
And good for Dave Clarkin for pointing out that the Governor himself has advocated for lower wages.
- Annonin' - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:13 am:
So GovJunk has to turn to Maze to find someone to agree with his immigration mumbo jumbo. That is a desperate man. Then hop on the highway to take the Exit Interview Tour to Q town
- MG85 - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:13 am:
According to Rauner, anything that leads to suppressing wages leads to more crime.
So, Rauner has directly led to lower wages by
1) opposing a minimum wage increase
2) step freezes for public employees
3) no payouts for contractors due to no state budget for almost 3 years
Therefore, Bruce Rauner, according to Bruce Rauner, is responsible for higher crime rates in Chicago.
For once, I agree with Bruce Rauner.
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:16 am:
JB’s campaign should send Maze a nice honorarium.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:16 am:
===Quinn’s single gubernatorial election victory was a squeaker===
Bet Rauner would like a squeaker win…
A win is a win.
So there’s that, lol
- Molly Maguire - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:16 am:
Talk to any small business person. There is a shortage of viable labor. Rauner’s “gang members” are not going to go out on job interviews. It is very difficult to find anyone to take jobs at restaurants, construction, etc. We have had several years of out-migration of immigrants, and it has held our economy back.
- Fav human - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:17 am:
Think about how blatantly he lied about Ives in the primary. Worked then, he thinks it might work again.
- Rusty Bridges - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:18 am:
==There are many jobs that Americans refuse to do.==
What nonsense. It’s a question of pay. And the open borders lobby just wants to keep exploiting undocumented, illegal labor in the interest of greater profit.
In typical Rauner fashion he’s so all over the place he ends up annoying all sides. He can’t even stick to obvious fact that of course SOME illegal immigrants commit crimes. There is plenty of evidence from all over the country, basically ever single week. When someone is killed by someone who shouldn’t have been here in the first place it’s especially tragic. Means that murder was 100% preventable. None of this of course matters to a dying Democratic Party that desperately wants to import new voters.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:22 am:
===What nonsense. It’s a question of pay===
Simple answers are usually neither.
- GOPgal - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:23 am:
“Illegal alien” isn’t hate speech. It’s the legal term, what the statutes use. The Left is off its rocker
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:24 am:
==There are many jobs that Americans refuse to do. How many landscapers are filled by US citizens? Meat packers? Custodians? Cab drivers?==
There is no “rule” that these jobs have to pay low wages. Offer good wages and benefits, Americans will apply for these jobs.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:26 am:
==And the open borders lobby==
There is no “open border lobby”. Just some employers who cheat.
- Rusty Bridges - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:31 am:
The old saw that American citizens will never take jobs like driving a cab is pretty rich given all the young people especially who now find it cool to be an Uber or Lyft driver. They are actually bankrupting a lot of the old cab drivers that the lefties pretend to care about.
- TaylorvilleTornado - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:45 am:
Not content to just using the GOP’s racial politics playbook to pit white vs [Every other race], Rauner has decided to try it with Latino vs black…with a dash of the GOP’s self-victimization card.
- Last Bull Moose - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:45 am:
It is unfortunate that certain necessary jobs are considered beneath the desired status. I saw that a lot among Arabs in Saudi Arabia. That was not a good feature of their culture and should not be a feature here.
Having a group of people who are “not us” increases development of unworthy jobs, be it slaves, untouchables, or illegal aliens.
When more people compete, prices tend to go down. Bringing China as India into the market economy brought huge numbers of unskilled and semiskilled into competition with American workers. Competition at higher levels was more limited.
NAFTA was partially sold on the basis that goods would move but not people. Then immigration laws were not enforced for decades. The economy shifted to the new reality. Not clear that we could or should try to shift it back.
The major way to cut crime is to take out the cash flow to the gangs. I would prefer to see a State run distribution of marijuana and eventually of other moderately dangerous recreational drugs.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:45 am:
Open borders wpuld be like the Schengan agreement in Europe. Name one bill that proposes a “Schengan agreement” for North America. Just because you disagree with some immigration policy doesn’t make the opposite side “open borders”.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 11:02 am:
==They are actually bankrupting a lot of the old cab drivers that the lefties pretend to care about.==
Cabbies didn’t make good money before Uber. Uber drivers barely make minimum wage. As far as lefties not caring, some lefties in California are trying to have drivers considered employees not independent contractors, so they have more labor protections. Some lefties are organizing drivers. And manu lefties are pushing for $15 an hour minimum wage for all workers. Tell me, what things are non lefties doing for drivers?
- wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 11:07 am:
–The old saw that American citizens will never take jobs like driving a cab is pretty rich given all the young people especially who now find it cool to be an Uber or Lyft driver.–
LOL, yeah, well, in Chicago, many of those “young people” think it’s “cool” to do business in their South and West Side neighborhoods those poor old taxi medallion owners redlined for decades.
Cry me a river about Big Taxi in Chicago. They had it coming.
- Northsider (the original) - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 11:10 am:
===When someone is killed by someone who shouldn’t have been here in the first place it’s especially tragic. Means that murder was 100% preventable===
Most murders are 100% preventable. Personally, I find the more than 7,800 children killed by guns since Sandy Hook especially tragic. But that’s just me.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 11:19 am:
Rauner is a poor politician.
Voters imagined four years ago that he was brighter than he is. He immediately revealed himself as very poor politician by attacking the very voters that had just elected him.
He’s a poor interview.
He photos poorly.
He has the charisma of spoiled milk.
He got lucky in 2014 because few thought we could do worse than Quinn.
Joke’s on us.
JB isn’t giving me any hope.
What have we done to deserve this parade of governors?
- Last Bull Moose w - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 11:41 am:
We deserve these Governors because every time we had a choice between magic beans and tax increases, we chose magic beans. We got class b services for class c taxes.
- My New Handle - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 12:15 pm:
Of the dozen or so times tha I have used Uber in Chicago or the burbs, the drivers have all been in their 40s. That’s “young” from my age perspective but I wouldn’y call them young people.
- Nacho - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 12:53 pm:
==Think about how blatantly he lied about Ives in the primary. Worked then, he thinks it might work again.==
If we look at the outcome as a simple binary then yes, he won.
On the other hand, winning by less than 3 points as an incumbent against an underfunded opponent who would be unelectable in the general election is an incredibly weak performance that certainly doesn’t validate the strategic decisions you made.
Of course, given how Rauner has run his general election campaign, I wouldn’t count on him to be able to figure that out.
- Lester Holt’s Mustache - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 12:56 pm:
=====What nonsense. It’s a question of pay===
Simple answers are usually neither.==
Perhaps, but Rusty is correct. Companies could find plenty of citizens willing to do landscaping, or dishwashing, or what have you - if the companies were willing to pay $20 or more per hour. Heck, they could probably fill these jobs by paying what they offer now, if they were willing to hire workers full-time but they won’t do that either because then they’d have to offer benefits. They’re not willing to do any of that because it wouldn’t be profitable, or at least not profitable enough for the business owners liking.
- Skeptic - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 1:01 pm:
“So farmers downstate never, ever use undocumented workers? That’s good to know.’
None in my area! So do you know what you are talking about. The real users is the large corporate livestock industry and they rarely use illegals but just import labor from 3rd world nations.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 1:03 pm:
===real users is the large corporate livestock industry===
In this state, it’s where the canneries are. Seneca, for one.
- just an fyi - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 3:01 pm:
Citizens commit enough crimes. The idea that we shouldn’t then care about a murder by person with no right to be here is lefty gibberish.
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 6:57 pm:
- Skeptic - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 1:01 pm:
“So farmers downstate never, ever use undocumented workers? That’s good to know.
=================================================
Ohhhh yes they do.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 10:58 pm:
Why doesn’t Rauner go all-out & call firefighters “union thugs?”
- 17% Solution - Friday, Oct 12, 18 @ 3:37 pm:
“The idea that we shouldn’t then care about a murder by person with no right to be here is lefty gibberish.”
Nobody says we shouldn’t care about murders.