* ABC7 on yesterday’s Governor’s Day rally…

One name heard frequently was Mike Madigan, the Democratic House Speaker.

“One thing that brings us all together and will unite us in November is knowing that now is the time for Mike Madigan to retire,” Jim Durkin, House Republican Leader said.

“Can we continue to fight back and break the stranglehold that Mike Madigan’s machine’s has on our state, can we break that lock hold and grow jobs, cut the taxes get term limits, end the corruption,” Rauner said.

* Sun-Times…

Rauner spoke of the “darkness of Madigan and Pritzker,” saying “everything is on the line.”

“We’re not going to fall backwards. We cannot let Madigan and Pritzker get total control of this state,” Rauner said. “That’s going to be more taxes, more corruption, more job losses and a devastating future for our children and our grandchildren in the state of Illinois. We can’t let that happen.” […]

[Illinois Republican Party Co-Chairman Tim Schneider] said voters will realize that “this race is about Michael Madigan once again controlling this state, the status quo, business as usual.”

* Tribune…

“Republicans now need to come together. We can have issues where we might disagree … but you know what? We’ve got to unite. This is the time for everybody to come together,” Rauner said.

“We can have our differences on different policy issues, but what really matters is we don’t give total control to Madigan, his machine, funded by Pritzker. More corruption. Higher taxes. More job losses. That’s what they’ll bring,” he said.

* SJ-R…

Tim Schneider, chairman of the state GOP, told reporters Wednesday that the past Ives challenge and McCann being on the ballot are “just distractions.” He said as Republicans meet voters, it’s clear “the people of Illinois don’t want a Madigan puppet as their governor.” […]

He said Illinois can sometimes be seen as being in two parts.

“We have downstate Illinois that really embraces Donald Trump, and the northern half of the state, they are less confident in his abilities and don’t like his rhetoric,” Schneider said. “We have to deal with that.” But he said that when “people realize that this race is about Michael Madigan once again controlling this state, the status quo, business as usual, I think they’ll come home. I think we’ll get independents and all the Republicans and some soft Democrats to vote for the governor and win House seats in November.”

* Dave Dahl…

In addition to saying House Speaker and Democratic Party of Illinois chairman Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) is pulling the strings for everything – particularly gubernatorial candidate JB Pritzker and other statewide candidates and Democratic lawmakers – Rauner said the choice is clear.

“The reason we’re going to win,” Rauner said, “is our message is a unifying message. Democrats want lower property taxes. Democrats want term limits. Honest Democrats not loyal to the machine want the same changes that we do.”

Rauner also spent time talking about the attorney general’s race. He said Republican Erika Harold is so fearsome that incumbent Lisa Madigan decided not to seek another term just weeks after Harold arrived. And he characterized Harold’s rival, State Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), as “bad news,” another Madigan puppet.

* AP…

The attack on Madigan “confirms they don’t have anything in the way of an accomplishment to talk about,” Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said. “It’s more falsehoods on just about every level.” A Pritzker spokeswoman did not respond.

…Adding… Heh…