A tragic failure
Monday, Nov 26, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Charlie Wheeler…
Like an actor in a Greek drama or a Shakespearean character, Gov. Bruce Rauner will leave office as a tragic figure, felled by his overriding hubris — excessive pride or self-confidence, arrogance — that led to his political downfall.
The private equity investor never seemed to grasp — or was not willing to accept — that he no longer was someone who could say “Jump” and his minions would respond “How high?”
Instead, he was now the head of most of one of three co-equal branches of Illinois government, and thus needed to work cooperatively with the other two branches, especially his legislative peers, Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan. A savvier politician — for that matter, anyone who knows how a bill becomes a law — would have realized that any legislative initiative would need the help of the Democratic majority to become law. Nor can a governor enact a budget by executive order.
Similarly, plain common sense would suggest that finding common ground with negotiating partners probably wouldn’t be made easier by repeatedly calling them “corrupt,” as he referred to Madigan almost nonstop for the past five years or more, in increasingly harsh terms as election day neared. At least he was an equal opportunity insulter — Illinois Supreme Court justices also are part of a “corrupt system,” he told a newspaper editorial board a few months after taking office.
But one suspects Rauner may not have been seeking compromises, but rather intended to impose his will on lawmakers, especially with respect to his overarching goal- - hamstringing public employee unions, notably the detested “Af-scammy,” as he derisively referred to AFSCME, the state’s largest.
He imposed his will on the General Assembly with help from enablers like the Chicago Tribune editorial board until the GA finally had enough and then imposed its will on him. And the tragedy isn’t about what happened to the governor and his political career. The tragedy is what happened to this state in the process of Rauner’s long downfall.
Anyway, go read the whole thing.
- Anon - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:24 am:
=== will leave office as a tragic figure===
The billionaire will return to a life of privilege, living in which ever of the mansions he chooses and perhaps even moving to Italy as he threatened.
The only way he becomes a “tragic figure” is if he winds up indicted or convicted over the way his administration handled the unnecessary deaths of veterans under their care.
- wordslinger - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:30 am:
–He imposed his will on the General Assembly with help from enablers like the Chicago Tribune editorial board until the GA finally had enough and then imposed its will on him. And the tragedy isn’t about what happened to the governor and his political career. The tragedy is what happened to this state in the process of Rauner’s long downfall.–
There’s an underlying misanthropy to that crew, born of shallowness and zealotry.
They didn’t care who got tuned up, or how badly, in pursuit of their “philosophy,” which was as deep as dorm-room debate club chitter-chatter.
It’s going to take a long time, and a lot more hurt, to clean up the “squeeze the beast” mess.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:32 am:
“I’m frustrated too but taking steps to reform Illinois is more important than a short term budget stalemate.”
Rauner isn’t a tragic figure.
Bruce wanted destruction or was gonna cause destruction to things… people care about.
Diana Rauner was the phony “Bruce cares” pivot as she aided and abetted the “feature not the bug” strategy.
Think about it.
Diana Rauner got other social services starved or closed, then got Pritzker to bail out The Ounce… in spite of Bruce.
The biggest winner in Raunerism?
Diana Rauner.
Diana Rauner, as a Democrat, closed social services, saved her own social service with the newly minted Governor-Elect… and imploded the ILGOP… giving Mike Madigan, John Cullerton and all Democrats the overwhelming power in Illinois government….
… and she nearly closed a university or two.
Raunerism and it’s destruction… feature, not the bug.
The tragedy is the 99th GA Raunerites that aided and abetted the destruction… now find themselves far worse off than before Bruce and Diana Rauner bought them.
- Dee Lay - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:32 am:
And the tragedy isn’t about what happened to the governor and his political career.
The tragedy is what happened to this state in the process of Rauner’s long downfall.
This is the story that going to be told for the next generation as we clean up Rauner’s mess.
- Anothereetiree - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:34 am:
We lost four valuable years to deal with the budget crisis. Four years without a recession in which to finally make the hard changes. It may be too late now. That’s also a tragedy.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:35 am:
I hope somebody makes the Governor read this. Wheeler sums it up very nicely, in easy-to-understand examples that cut through all of the baloney Rauner has been hiding behind for four years. This is the obituary for the Rauner Administration, may it rest in peace.
- Generic Drone - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:36 am:
The damage caused by Rauner and his BTIA will take years to recover from. Meanwhile Rauner and his Koch/ALEC agenda will continue their attacks on labor regardless of future damages they may cause.
- slow down - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:39 am:
Excellent piece, and that’s without truly exploring the very real pain caused by Rauner’s hubris for our state’s most vulnerable citizens.
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:46 am:
Excellent article. It’s what some have been saying all along.
The great irony is that although Pritzker has tax/toilet issues, Rauner flushed $95 million of his own money down the loo, for worse than nothing, based on the damage he created. The irony is because Rauner wants to starve unions of money so people like him can permanently call the political and economic shots.
It’s quite fitting as well that Madigan and Democrats have the power they do now in state government, in the way Rauner went all-in against Madigan, to the harm of the entire state. Madigan was a Rauner smokescreen, to sabotage government and pin blame. An accomplished governor would be busy working with people instead of constantly demonizing them, especially when he or she is politically outnumbered.
- Skeptic - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:48 am:
“I hope somebody makes the Governor read this” There are a number of regular commenters here that need to read this as well.
- LXB - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:57 am:
Always the hubris, never the ideology.
- El Conquistador - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:57 am:
The ILGOP is in ashes after being bought and controlled by Brucey. Rauner’s departure cannot come soon enough.
- Honeybear - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 9:58 am:
Hubris and Narcissism
Vulture Capitalism
Profit Supremacy
created malignant callousness
and blinding self-entitled privilege
in
Bruce V. Rauner
His sole purpose in taking the job of Governor
was to destroy all labor
and
“The destruction of the Administrative state”
(Steve Bannons phrase)
Only labor and government regulation
stand in the way of
total corpora-fascism.
Bruces sole mission was to
in the perfidious disguise of Governor.
Hollow out State government.
Damage unions.
Now we will begin to see the hidden cost
of the
Rauner
Malum in se
- Annonin' - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:02 am:
Wheel’s piece along with the video from last weeks’ Clueless Convention at the City Club pretty well sums up the GOPies state of the state.
It also tends to confirm the GovJunk was really a light weight in the biz world and favored because folks liked his dad, ex. etc., etc.
We agree the damage done will take take a long time to fix.
Those concerned with the Koch Brothers Agenda should never forget.
- Lucky Pierre - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:04 am:
Adding insult to injury– or in a case of poetic justice, depending on one’s perspective– Madigan, Rauner’s favorite rhetorical punching bag, the supposed architect of everything wrong about Illinois– actually increased his House majority, despite a heartfelt plea from a Tribune editorial writer that Pritzker voters at least mark for GOP House candidates to rebuke Madigan
Poetic justice? No bias there Charlie.
Or any balance about the legislature’s failure to work “cooperatively and professionally” with a Republican Governor on solving the problems caused by decades of unconstitutional, unbalanced budgets.
- anon2 - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:06 am:
Rauner doesn’t have the self-awareness to recognize the truth in Wheeler’s autopsy. It will always be someone else’s fault.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:07 am:
===the legislature’s failure to work “cooperatively and professionally” with a Republican Governor===
Blah, blah blah. You’re just like the Governor, Lucky. You can’t count to 60 or 30. You somehow think you’re entitled to get your way “just because.”
It don’t work that way.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:07 am:
Oh “Lucky Pierre”…
===…solving the problems caused by decades of unconstitutional, unbalanced budgets.===
Charlie Wheeler, June, 2018
===The actual record:
Illinois last ended its fiscal year with a general funds budgetary surplus (GF available balance > lapse period spending) in FY2001, when the AB was greater than LPS by some $300 million.
As measured by declining GF budgetary deficits, however, Illinois last had a balanced budget (current year spending less than current year revenues) in FY2015, when the deficit declined by slightly more than $1 billion.
Starting with FY2002, Gov. Ryan’s next-to-last last budget, through FY2015, Gov. Quinn’s last budget, the GF budgetary deficit improved in eight of 14 years, meaning spending was less than revenues in each of those years.
Sources: Illinois Comptroller Reports, Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.
Charlie Wheeler===
- A State Employee Guy - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:09 am:
Yes, but did he go to jail though?
- DeseDemDose - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:12 am:
The only truly tragic figures are the poor, elderly, handicapped, and those with mental health issues whose lives were lost. That is the tip of the iceberg.
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:16 am:
“Or any balance about the legislature’s failure to work “cooperatively and professionally” with a Republican Governor on solving the problems caused by decades of unconstitutional, unbalanced budgets.”
The hubris comes from never being willing to admit to or own the wrongdoing. Madigan offered to work with Rauner on workers comp reform early on. Rauner blew up the Senate’s grand bargain and called reform offers phony. There was no chance to pass local RtW and other local union-stripping policies with strong Democratic GA majorities.
- Norseman - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:19 am:
=== Yes, but did he go to jail though? ===
Pretty low bar there. The man increases our debt, damages our higher education system and social services system and we should take some comfort that he didn’t go to jail?
- Lucky PIerre - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:20 am:
“Illinois failure to address its pension crisis has resulted in further deterioration of the state and cities’ financial condition, exorbitantly high borrowing costs, and an inability to address other critical needs at the state and local level,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a Chicago nonprofit that tracks state and municipal finances. “Time is not your friend when your liabilities are compounding and your revenues are not.”
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180508/NEWS02/180509859/every-illinoisan-owes-11-000-for-pensions-with-no-fix-in-sight
Charlie Wheeler has been reporting in Springfield since 1970 and has a had a front row seat on all of the dysfunction that has lead to record outmigration and unfunded pension liabilities. He is not a change person either.
- wordslinger - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:23 am:
–Wheeler sums it up very nicely, –
Charlie can hit, can’t he?
- Lucky Pierre - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:24 am:
Who will you all blame for Illinois problems in January when the Democrats resume total control of Springfield and you realize the pensions are unsustainable and there is no money to pay them and your progressive agenda?
The problems have not gone away suddenly and they will not be solved by a progressive income tax passed in two years.
- Pundent - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:28 am:
=Or any balance about the legislature’s failure to work “cooperatively and professionally” with a Republican Governor on solving the problems caused by decades of unconstitutional, unbalanced budgets.=
Rauner’s vision of “reform” was rejected by the legislature and ultimately the voters. The opportunity to work “cooperatively and professionally” was there for the taking with the grand bargain in the Senate. He could have boxed Madigan in but instead decided to throw Chris Radogno under the bus.
- Norseman - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:31 am:
The enablers included GOP leadership. They paid for their complicity at the ballot box.
- Trapped in the 'burbs - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:38 am:
LP, true or false-Rauner made things worse?
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:39 am:
===Who will you all blame for Illinois problems in January when the Democrats resume total control of Springfield and you realize the pensions are unsustainable and there is no money to pay them and your progressive agenda?===
Governors own, they always do.
You’ve learned nothing.
===…progressive income tax passed in two years.==
And here I was told by you and Rauner taxes were going up immediately… now it’s in two years you’re claiming taxes “may” go up?
- Justacitizen - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:41 am:
Can’t argue with Wheeler’s assessment; however, with JB & Madigan in charge I predict that 4 yrs from now Rauner will still be blamed for our sorry state.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:43 am:
===I predict that 4 yrs from now Rauner will still be blamed for our sorry state.===
It will take at least a decade to correct the purposeful damage Rauner did.
It may be we’ll talk about Rauner… thankful he’s gone and Illinois is recovering.
- Jibba - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:44 am:
Rauner administration:
“Unwept, unhonored, and unsung”
- don the legend - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:44 am:
LP, Am I wrong to assume you must be getting ready to move out of Illinois?
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:46 am:
“The problems have not gone away suddenly and they will not be solved by a progressive income tax passed in two years.”
Of course decades-long problems won’t just go away with Democrats, who had a huge share in causing them. However, it’s past time that the highest incomes get a state income tax hike. We have to right-size the state income tax code. But Republicans are not change people and have utterly refused a progressive income tax.
There is no reason whatsoever why we have to extract huge cuts from workers living paycheck to paycheck, particularly when the top incomes have been taxed low for decades.
- striketoo - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 10:55 am:
If only he had come into office and focused exclusively on the unbalanced budget. If he had said: I will spend every penny appropriated by the GA, but not a penny more, and then cut programs to meet those appropriations. That would have been the responsible way to approach the issue without all the unneeded union bashing and total lack of a budget. It would have put the burden on the GA to raise taxes or accept the budget cuts.
- lakeside - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 11:07 am:
The real kicker is that the path Rauner took during his tenure would have hurt Illinois even if we’d been on firm ground - but we were already in a deep hole. And Rauner traded in a shovel for a backhoe.
Imagine if we’d had the last four years back to make some more progress on filling the hole. Say what you want about Pat Quinn, but he was at least trying to put dirt in the hole and making some amount of progress on the pensions and backlog. I’ll never forgive Rauner for being so arrogant and destructive, but, most of all, so careless.
As for Rauner and the Shakespearian tragicness of his figure: By my heel, I care not.
- Earnest - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 11:07 am:
Tragic, I don’t know. He had an amazing two years accomplishing reductions in human service spending, reductions in higher education spending, state workforce spending, redirecting state money to large multi-state corporations in IT and managed care, supporting the ultimately-victorious Janus case, building up debt to curtail future new spending and owning messaging over a silent DPI. Take away the Mendoza victory and keep the Superstars around and by now we may have fewer state colleges for tax dollars to support and be picking up the pieces of the locally-rooted human services system by redirecting those tax dollars to more large, multi-state corporations. He may get to do that one more time with the Individual Service Coordination NOFO. He probably wishes he’d make it just a bit further squeezing the beast, but he really did accomplish a lot of his agenda.
- Demoralized - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 11:07 am:
LP
The voters didn’t go for the Governor’s (and your) whiny argument. And yet you continue to beat the same tired drum.
The fact is that the Governor failed to govern. Period. He never got the concept. You, like he, played the victim card and threw your hands up for four years because that mean old General Assembly wouldn’t work with him. So, instead of figuring out how to work with them you simply took your ball and went home and pouted.
You didn’t get it then and you still don’t get it now. And that’s why the Governor lost.
You, like the Governor, are a failure.
- Demoralized - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 11:09 am:
And LP, you aren’t even in the same league when it comes to intelligence as it relates to political analysis. Not even close.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 11:11 am:
===Charlie Wheeler has been reporting in Springfield since 1970 and has a had a front row seat on all of the dysfunction that has lead to record outmigration and unfunded pension liabilities. He is not a change person either.===
“Because Charlie Wheeler”?
That how it works?
Please step up your game. Rauner is gone. You’ll need a better rap or you’ll get run over.
- Demoralized - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 11:15 am:
==“Because Charlie Wheeler”?==
That’s par for the course for a guy who’s spent the last 4 years being a professional victim. The Governor was simply an innocent bystander.
I was always amazed at how little LP expected of a Governor.
- wordslinger - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 11:38 am:
–He is not a change person either.–
LP, you’re a “change person” in that your two-cents is almost worth that much.
Have some pride, dude; Don’t embarrass yourself more than you already do by thinking you can match up with Charlie.
Are you working on spec now? Hoping to get on that Uihlein gravy train?
- 47th Ward - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 11:42 am:
===Are you working on spec now?===
I had him pegged as an “economist” at IPI. Somebody has to be paying him to leave that graffiti here. He’s owning the libs, that’s for sure.
- Generic Drone - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 11:56 am:
LP=who will we blame in January= Excuse me? Tou want to blame democrats the very second they take office? Well how come you refused to blame Rauner the very second he took office? Nice try. But, if they fail to make progress on a budget, you can bet I will be giving dems what for.
- Barrington - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 11:58 am:
Looking forward to a new governor. Unfortunately most of his time will be spent trying to undo the damage done by Rauner.
- MG85 - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 12:24 pm:
==Who will you all blame for Illinois problems in January==
Most likely, LP, the person(s) who created them. These days, the problems facing Illinois all either stem or were exasperated by Governor Rauner.
So when GOPers are screaming about “the debt” the adults will have to pay for it. How does that happen? Revenue increases and deficit spending cuts. Where do GOPers want to cut? Remember when Rauner’s own Directors went before the Senate and couldn’t think of a single thing to cut? I do.
That leaves Revenue increases. Now, we can raise rates on everyone, currently, and ensure our flat tax hurts those most vulnerable, or we can graduate that scale and lessen the blow for those at the bottom and require more from those who can afford it.
- wordslinger - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 12:31 pm:
–Instead of seeking compromise, this governor seemed to pursue a divide-and-conquer strategy, for example assuming that the pain the record budget impasse would impose on the state’s most vulnerable folks would force Democrats to surrender unconditionally and accept his terms. “Crisis creates leverage,” he told one audience. Ultimately, shredding human services and undermining higher education did lead to a reckoning in July, 2017 — but the 736-day stalemate ended when a handful of House Republicans split from the governor, including voting to override his vetoes, to enact a Democratic-crafted budget plan to end the impasse and to increase income tax rates to begin the recovery.–
Never forget, he did it on purpose. It was a willful strategy.
That’s what I mean about the underlying misanthropy of Rauner and his enablers.
- PP - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 12:43 pm:
Like a dull actor now,
I have forgot my part, and I am out,
Even to a full disgrace
-BRUCE RAUNER
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 12:50 pm:
Not in my wildest dreams did I think Madigan and Democrats would emerge as victorious as they did in this last election, after facing the Rauner/GOP onslaught. According to a McKinney tweet, Dems have 74 House seats. That seemingly gives Madigan a little wiggle room to get a progressive income tax on the 2020 ballot.
It’s a stunning repudiation of Raunerism and the right wing. It’s divine justice, if you will.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 1:11 pm:
In a Greek tragedy, the tragic hero supposed to achieve anagnorisis, some type of insight brought about by the experience.
This is real life, so I wonder if that will happen.
- Huh? - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 1:25 pm:
“Like a dull actor now,
I have forgot my part”
Unfortunately, the play has to run for another 7 weeks. And like any play, the cast, of which 1.4% is the star, must still take the stage to play to the paying audience.
There are no stand ins or understudies for this play. There will be no excuse for failing to take the cue. The curtain drops at noon on 1/14/19 and not a moment before.
I doubt there will be standing ovations and multiple curtain call for the star of this show.
- Huh? - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 1:32 pm:
anagnorisis - this moment came for 1.4% on the evening of 11/6 when he realized that he lost the election and was no longer successful at everything he did, that he was a failure.
1.4% never understood that failure is an option and can be a learning experience.
- Honeybear - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 1:58 pm:
anagnorisis- Oh my God what a gift of a word. I can’t wait to read up on this. Thank you
- DuPage Dave - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 2:09 pm:
This is a side note, but the phrase “overriding hubris” calls to mind the phrase “overweening hubris” used often (usually with a smile) by Harold Washington. Gone 31 years yesterday.
- Flapdoodle - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 2:32 pm:
With all the respect due Charlie Wheeler, Rauner is no tragic figure in the classical sense. A classical tragic figure was worthy, perhaps even heroic, but felled by a character flaw or chance of fate. Rauner is neither worthy nor heroic, but is instead a mendacious, grasping man willing to trample others in his pursuit of personal wealth. And wealth is all he has. Lacking character, he displays wealth in its stead. His wealth may be large, but he is himself a small man who rates people and things by their cost, not their worth, because worth requires a fineness of character, spirit and mind he utterly lacks.
Rich is absolutely correct — whatever tragedy there is here lies in the damage this self-absorbed egoist has inflicted on the state and its people, especially the most vulnerable among them.
- dbk - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 3:41 pm:
Apropos of the “tragic figure” analogy: I’m not sure Rauner rightfully falls into the category of “tragic hero” (I mean, is he like Oedipus, or Philoctetes, or Agamemnon?) but in any case, in line with “anagnoresis,” we might also mention the collective sigh of relief/sense of release of the audience at the conclusion of a tragedy, which Aristotle in his Poetics referred to as “catharsis.” This is something many Illinoisans may be feeling the past three weeks.
- aeovh; - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 3:58 pm:
It’s not a bad summary, but incomplete, as hubris is one of many characteristics that define the man. He failed to learn the job, as he admitted, but also failed to try to learn it. Most of his time in office was spent going to events that were similar to campaign functions. How many months would go by without communication with the legislative leaders? You cannot do the job if you can’t find time to talk to the other branches of government. And when he wasn’t meeting with the other leaders, he also wasn’t managing his executive departments. And these are not “tragic” flaws or traits of a hero.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 4:48 pm:
When you talk about Greek tragedies, a close meaning of “tragic hero” is flawed protagonist, not someone who selflessly rescues people. Sorry for the confusion.
But he did rescue that deer…
- Beacon of Hope - Monday, Nov 26, 18 @ 5:29 pm:
I am just lost for words…. the biggest failure in America is how this should be coined. I appreciate we are at least being honest with ourselves and hope JB will do the same.
Currently, our state wide marketing arm Intersect Illinois misleads so many with its “ there is nothing wrong here” best state in America. I get it, you need to market the state but you have to be honest with the real situation.
- Me Again - Tuesday, Nov 27, 18 @ 12:44 am:
If Rauner had even a small bit of Charlie Wheeler’s common sense, Illinois would not have had to go through four years of foolishness.
- NoGifts - Tuesday, Nov 27, 18 @ 8:51 am:
Beacon of Hope - I think Sam Brownback of Kansas gets the title of biggest failure in America. Rauner may be a second though.