* Erickson…

In a speech Tuesday, Rauner used the backdrop of a convention of road builders to again call for a massive effort to upgrade highways and create construction jobs.

“We are going to put more money in our infrastructure in the next four years than ever been done in Illinois,” Rauner said, garnering applause from members of the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association. […]

But, the only hint of a plan to pay for billions of dollars in highway upgrades came during a recitation of his pro-business platform.

Rauner, a former venture capitalist, suggested that the state could free up money for more road building projects if he and lawmakers can fix the state’s under-funded pension systems, lower prevailing wage costs and reduce participation in unions at a local level.

“It’s going to free up huge resources,” Rauner said.

As subscribers know, that’s not what he intended to say about capital funding.

* But here’s the thing about groups like the Asphalt Pavers. They may not love unions, but they’re smart enough to know that they need the active participation of the construction trade unions to pass capital bills. They also know that project labor agreements keep labor peace. And prevailing wage laws mean that their playing field is level with out of state contractors. They may grumble about it, rightly believing that lower employee wages would mean more money in their pockets, but there’s also a fairness issue here.

So, check out this raw audio of the governor’s speech. When Rauner praised “right to work” zones and trashed PLAs and prevailing wage laws and repeatedly asked the Pavers to help him pass his legislative agenda, not a single attendee applauded…

Click to listen

* I also found it kinda hilarious that the governor slammed the influence of “special interest groups” during his speech.

Um, OK.

The Pavers are a major Statehouse “special interest.” Nothing wrong with that, of course. Just sayin…