Not only is next year’s Illinois gubernatorial election already crowded on the Democratic side, it also might be the most expensive governor’s race in American history, some experts are predicting.
According to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Illinois is No. 1 in the nation for most candidates who have officially filed their candidacy and started fundraising. It’s also No. 1 for dollars raised, nearly doubling the next-closest state.
The group says the candidates, who include at least three who are independently wealthy, have raised more than $61 million toward the 2018 race, with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner leading the pack with $50 million of his own funds donated in December and Democrat J.B. Pritzker, who just entered the race, personally chipping in $7 million.
The next three states are Texas, where one gubernatorial candidate has reported raising more than $34 million; New York, with nearly $24 million raised by one candidate; and California, where three candidates have raised about $17 million.
Sarah Brune, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said spending for next year’s governor’s race is already more than half the total from 2014, when Rauner was elected.
Though he and Rauner are both extremely wealthy, Pritzker says that’s where the similarities end.
“Bruce Rauner and I couldn’t be more different. We have a completely different set of values,” said Pritzker.
“This state needs a champion that’s going to stand up for our kids, that’s going to stand up for creating job, that’s going to fund education and stand up for health care,” he said.
Heather and Jackie have heard those promises before.
“Bruce Rauner said the same thing and we still have no budget yet,” said Grissom.
He did get quite a bit of good press over the weekend, however…
When asked where the problem lies amongst the governor’s administration and the legislature, Daiber said there is “plenty of blame that can be spread in a lot of places.“
”I think compromise is the issue at stake here. I think it’s something that’s failed to happen for two years. I don’t like to put the whole blame on the governor, but realistically he came in with the Turnaround Agenda, and he’s dug in. Residents of western Illinois are sort of held hostage. I don’t think that’s they way you govern. He would’ve been more successful if he came in, found common ground with Democratic leadership, passed a budget, and then said, ‘Look, I want to rebuild the business climate in Illinois, here are some of my agenda items. What can we work on here?’ That’s not what’s happened here.” […]
“Illinois is a rich state. It has the financial capacity to be prosperous. The agricultural industry base isn’t talked about a lot in Illinois, but it’s the meat and potatoes of the economy. All the businesses and industries in Illinois are solid because of agriculture. I have been involved in agriculture all my life. With being governor, I think it’s just an advantage for that business group.“
* Several candidates attended the March for Science on Saturday…
Representatives for gubernatorial candidate Daniel Biss were also out campaigning. They pointed out that as a former U. of C. math professor, he would be uniquely qualified to solve Illinois’s budget issues. It is true, he probably has more experience with imaginary numbers than most.
Kennedy had to leave before he was supposed to speak and nobody told the hosts. So, there was an awkwardly long pause when the emcee called Kennedy up to give his speech and he wasn’t in the room. Oops. I got some texts and calls last night and this morning wondering what had happened, but I’m told all is well. Kennedy is heading to Caseville today.
At the same time that nursing home workers are negotiating a new contract, they are also working in Springfield with the Alzheimer’s Association to pass new safe staffing legislation. Despite a 2010 law which set minimum staffing requirements at long-term care facilities, more than one-third of nursing home facilities across Illinois continue to staff at dangerously low levels, leading to the improper discharge of seniors and people with disabilities into hospitals and psychiatric units. As Illinois faces one of the worst rates of long-term care resident abandonment in the nation, the state legislature is currently considering two bills —SB 1624 and HB 3392— that would make it harder for nursing homes to violate existing legal staffing requirements and chalk up small penalties to the cost of doing business.
