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* UPDATED x1 - Madigan: No evidence of call * Looking forward

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* There’s no public schedule for Bruce Rauner today…

Late last night, Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf said nothing was scheduled for today.

“Focus now on transition and governing. Won’t rush that,” he said in an email.

* Tribune…

Rauner’s transition to governor actually began months before Election Day, said one campaign insider who was not authorized to speak publicly, with a closely held assemblage of veterans from previous Illinois Republican governors and GOP insiders. Their work included shaping the potential personnel in a Rauner cabinet. […]

Earlier this week, Rauner said part of his immediate work was to “assemble a superstar ‘A’ team to turn the government around.”

“This matters so much to me, I’m just on a mission. I’m going right to work,” he said.

* Bernie…

Rauner’s administration will likely bring a full roster of new department directors, and Rauner’s past tough talk about “government union bosses” certainly raises questions about how any negotiations with state workers will go. […]

Rauner may well reach an accommodation with Madigan over time, said former Gov. Jim Edgar, a Republican who backed Rauner. […]

Madigan wouldn’t speak to me for four months after I was elected,” Edgar told reporters in Springfield on Monday. “We finally reached an accord. … He knew I was the governor. I wasn’t leaving. … I think once he realized he could trust my word, that I wasn’t going to change my mind every day,” they were able to work together.

“He would still take me to the mat a few times, and I would take him right back,” Edgar said. “But again, I think we worked out a mutual respect and we were able to get things done.”

* From Rauner’s speech last night…

Just a few minutes ago, I placed two very important phone calls. I called Speaker Madigan. I called President Cullerton and I said to them: This is an opportunity for us to work together.

This is an opportunity to work together on a bipartisan basis, to solve the problems, the challenges facing families in Illinois.

I thought that was an important moment, even though the mention of Madigan’s name prompted loud boos from the audience. Rauner made it clear, I thought, that he was going to try and unify the state.

* But then I read the Sun-Times…

A Madigan spokesman, however, said he was “not aware of any call.”

I called that spokesman this morning and he made it clear that he didn’t want to make too big of a deal about it. He hadn’t asked Madigan about the call and Madigan had made no mention of it. He has another call into the Speaker and he has promised to ask if Rauner did, indeed, talk to him.

As far as Cullerton goes, a member of Rauner’s staff reached out to a member of Cullerton’s staff last night, but the two men haven’t yet spoken, I was told.

* Either way, Rauner did his best to say something positive last night, to show he was ready to move forward, even if it was only symbolic.

*** UPDATE *** Madigan’s spokesman said “We don’t see anything that suggested Rauner called Madigan last night or today.”

OK, I’m changing my mind on this. That’s not a good way to kick off a relationship with the Speaker.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:39 pm

Comments

Kinda strange to have no public appearances today. He should have been out at Union Station or somewhere this morning, shaking hands.

Comment by Just Observing Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:43 pm
LOL!
Rauner’s training begins.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:44 pm
For Rauner, the easy part’s over.

He’ll have hit the ground running in January to fix the hole in the current FY budget then roll right into a constitutionally mandated budget proposal for FY16.

Comment by Wordslinger Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:45 pm
Rauner has to prove to Madigan that he isn’t on political quicksand like Ryan, not out to break the law while snoozing in a hammock like Blagojevich, or a nice bag of hot wind like Quinn.

Mr. Speaker is an institution that has outlived several governors and a thousand representatives. Consequently, he can wait for the new guy to show up at his office.

“not aware of any call” = MJM doesn’t take calls.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:49 pm
I hesitate to say it on this day of peace and tranquility — but it appears that:

Rauner’s public statement that “I called .. and said this is a great opportunity to work together.” actually means one of his staff spoke to one of their staff to set up a phone call.

He’s still talking like a CEO whom no one can check on. Get hands on, man!

Comment by walker Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:49 pm
Sounds like the audience didn’t think much of the outreach program.

Comment by West Side the Best Side Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:51 pm
So Rauner’s already lying?

Rauner may have had his staffers call their staffers and I’ll accept the royal “I called” instead of “my team called their team” in that instance.

But clearly Rauner didn’t actually tell anything to either Madigan or Cullerton.

Comment by A. Nonymous Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:53 pm
Bruce Rauner and his crowd have to understand that Mr Madigan is The Man. He is the three headed dog, Cerberus, that stands guard at the Capitol, only with grey hair. He and his people keep a close watch on everything that goes on downtown. Like Edgar said when Madigan learned to trust him, things improved. Rauner should note that. He will also have to learn he can’t duck tough questions from reporters. He also needs to understand that he is joining the system not the other way around. His appointments of new directors of state agencies should prove interesting. I don’t like him but I wish him luck.

Comment by Ginhouse Tommy Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:54 pm
“Madigan wouldn’t speak to me for four months after I was elected,” Edgar told reporters in Springfield on Monday. “We finally reached an accord. … He knew I was the governor. I wasn’t leaving. … I think once he realized he could trust my word, that I wasn’t going to change my mind every day,” they were able to work together.”

That was the problem with Blago, right? Madigan couldn’t trust him? Let’s hope Rauner doesn’t have that same problem. I have hope that some governing will get done, but then again I had that same hope in 2008.

Comment by k3 Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:54 pm
A. Nonymous

I called that spokesman this morning and he made it clear that he didn’t want to make too big of a deal about it. He hadn’t asked Madigan about the call and Madigan had made no mention of it. He has another call into the Speaker and he has promised to ask if Rauner did, indeed, talk to him.

Comment by OneMan Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:55 pm
===Either way, Rauner did his best to say something positive last night, to show he was ready to move forward, even if it was only symbolic. ====
I was going to go into what was wrong with this statement, ie) Rauner lying again, etc, but after taking a breath I realize you are right. What is said in a campaign doesn’t mean anything now. As long as he can go into meetings with the leaders, and in the long run be trusted, maybe there can be some progress to get things done.

I’m not holding my breath.

Comment by Been There Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:57 pm
Trust - Edgar’s term. But the Governor-elect’s comments last night about reaching out to the Democratic leadership and implying that he had spoken to them, do not help us to trust what he says. That has been the issue all along.

Comment by uptown progressive Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 12:57 pm
I understood the phone call comment to be a threat, not an olive branch. Rauner’s thinking is that it’s to Madigan’s peril to refuse.

I also assumed Rauner was lying about the phone call. I can’t imagine Rauner placing it, and I certainly can’t see Madigan taking it — at least for a while.

Comment by Frenchie Mendoza Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:02 pm
===Rauner’s thinking is that it’s to Madigan’s peril to refuse.===

LOL

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:03 pm
Keep in mind that Rauner helped Madigan win 4 seats in 2010. Rauner is an insider with deep pockets and friends with deeper pockets. Until otherwise proven wrong - money talks behind Illinois’ closed doors and it passes hands in many ways…

Comment by 2 Cents... Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:03 pm
“Just a few minutes ago, I placed two very important phone calls. I called Speaker Madigan. I called President Cullerton and I said to them: This is an opportunity for us to work together.” Am I missing something? Did he talk to them or did he not? If not, he is saying he did something that never did. That is, in fact, a lie and a helluva way to start out his tenure as the would-be leader of our state.

Comment by BarbaricYalp Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:04 pm
The most amazing part of Rauner’s speech last night was when he said something to the effect of “we will be judged as a state by how we care for the most vulnerable among us.” That sounded like a line straight from the mouth of FDR, if not Pat Quinn. It really makes you wonder if Rauner was really just saying anything (in a good way) to get elected, and will govern like the centrist/moderate/pragmatist that everyone has suspected he always has been.

I’m a Quinn supporter (still), but I was really moved by that portion of his speech. If he’s going to be our next Governor, hopefully he adheres to that message.

Comment by Empty Chair Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:07 pm
Blah Blah… He called …someone did.. they didn’t.. I look forward to the cabinet… Perhaps some bipartisan love?

Comment by Walter Mitty Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:11 pm
==”Madigan wouldn’t speak to me for four months after I was elected”==
I wonder if Gov. Edgar means this literally?

Comment by Robert the Bruce Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:13 pm
Interesting dichotomy for Illinois.

State level, we get to watch an Republican Chief Executive try to work with a strong Democrat legislature. While a the national level, a Democrat President faces and emboldened Republican legislature.

I look forward to reflecting back in both two and four years - as to which succeeded, if either.

Comment by Downstate Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:14 pm
The difference between talking with someone, and having your people call their people is huge. If Rauner is ever going to get anywhere with Madigan he is going to need to at least fake a bit of humility.

Comment by AC Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:19 pm
This (new) TED talk is interesting in the context of Rauner in the primary — and now Rauner moving forward:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0-WkpmTPrM

“The Science of Lying”

Rauner actually fell into many of these “tells”.

Comment by Frenchie Mendoza Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:19 pm
So I shouldn’t waste my time with idot’s acting secretary employee survey?

Comment by foster brooks Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:19 pm
WM, Words matter and so does the truth. BR will need to learn that very quickly.

Comment by BarbaricYalp Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:21 pm
=== Kinda strange to have no public appearances today. He should have been out at Union Station or somewhere this morning, shaking hands. ===

Usually when you make a big purchase, you simply lounge around one of your 9 abodes and enjoy it.

Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:21 pm
@ OneMan:

=====

As far as Cullerton goes, a member of Rauner’s staff reached out to a member of Cullerton’s staff last night, but the two men haven’t yet spoken, I was told.

=====

Emphasis added.

Rauner said he had called Madigan and Cullerton and that he (quote) “said to them: This is an opportunity for us to work together.”

Obviously, he did not say anything to at least Cullerton.

Ergo, Rauner lied.

Comment by A. Nonymous Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:22 pm
=== Rauner’s transition to governor actually began months before Election Day, … with a closely held assemblage of veterans from previous Illinois Republican governors and GOP insiders. ===

I hope he picks the right two-thirds of this group.

Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:24 pm
=== Ergo, Rauner lied. ===

A. Nonymous - Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:22 pm, what’s your point. There’s not too many times when he hasn’t lied.

Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:26 pm
OMG… Enough alreay… Quinn never lied? Please, the election is over. Can we enjoy the fact, today, the winning candidate wants to reach out?

I suppose since the loser did not conceede… We have to stay all negative all the time. Madigan will work with Rauner. He has a legacy he is trying to leave. In 4 years, if he doesn’t, our state will be in even worse of a mess… Tin foil hat brigade, how does that work to get his daugghter elected Gov? If pensions go another 4 years, we won’t have a State…

Comment by Walter Mitty Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:27 pm
@ Walter: how is pointing out that the Governor-elect lied in his Election Night speech “negative”?

It’s an honest acknowledgment of his false claim. And I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

….Moving on…..

Comment by A. Nonymous Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:32 pm
Looks like everything will continue to be Brucie Goosie.

Comment by DPGumby Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:35 pm
barbaricyelp agreed.

Comment by Ginhouse Tommy Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:39 pm
So his potential cabinet you say and whom may I ask they might be?
Who gets the dreaded COS position. Have fun holding that job down.

Comment by Joe Maddon Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:40 pm
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD - CAN WE PLEASE STOP ARGUING?!

Comment by Team Sleep Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:40 pm
Thanks, Empty Chair! I heard that this morning but was almost convinced I had dreamed it. So not like Rauner to say something like that. I’m hoping he meant it and that those words have the same meaning to him that they do to the rest of us. Time will tell.

Comment by girllawyer Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:40 pm
@ Empty Chair - I like that Rauner as well. (I also like the Rauner who supports the ACLU reproductive justice program, even though it turns out that he has not been paying attention to its campaign against parental notification.) We will wait and see which Rauner we get.

Comment by uptown progressive Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:44 pm
White lie or not, it doesn’t matter. Are people really going to look at it negatively, when he’s trying to convey a positive message after a brutal campaign season?

Comment by LA Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:44 pm
Not to worry! Rauner is going to apply his business experience to Illinois budget woes. All underperforming citizens, i.e. those who need government services like education, etc, are slated to be downsized. Please form a line to be sent to India. Then, he will strip Illinois of its assets and declare bankruptcy. Oops, Madigan got three first.

Comment by Anon Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:48 pm
“What do we do now?”
Bill McKay The Candidate” 1972

Comment by Ronco Nagurski Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:51 pm
The new Governor will need people who are knowledgeable, thoughtful, reasonable, and pragmatic. People who can listen. People who are self-assured w/o necessarily being total a-holes about it all the time. Draft Schnorf!

Comment by A Modest Proposal Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:58 pm
WM, What do you think would have happened if President Obama said on election night that he reached out and spoke directly to House and Senate leaders about “working together” and it never happened? How would that look? What would you have said? How would the media have reacted? BR is trying to take credit for something he never did. It’s just plain wrong.

Comment by BarbaricYalp Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 1:59 pm
The more I think about it, Bruce’s first call sould have been to Durkin. Telling him to start finding the 30-35 votes he is going to need to get anything done in the GA. Because that is the first thing that Madigan will probably tell him he is going to need once they actually talk.

Comment by Been There Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 2:06 pm
A. anonymous and Ginhouse Tommy. Appreciate your agreement. This acceptance of what shouldn’t be accepted is like when a Cub fan says “This is the our year” at the beginning of every baseball season and some other sap responds with an immediate and robotic nod of the head despite all history and indications to the contrary. Officially moving on.

Comment by BarbaricYalp Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 2:09 pm
Is it just me or is anyone else angry at the so called Democrats for Rauner; Manny Sanchez, Newton Minow, Rev. James Meeks and others? Did their endorsements draw any Democrats over to Rauner?

Comment by Because I said so..... Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 2:15 pm
At least he didn’t say that he’d called the speaker on his cell phone.

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 2:28 pm
Does Terry Cosgrove have to clean out his desk in January? Sparks were flying over the last week of the campaign. I am not sure if his term is for a fixed number of years or if he serves at the pleasure of the Governor.

Comment by Upon Further Review Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 2:28 pm
Walter Mitty: Better get use to this. See this is how it works when you have the big office on the Second Floor. The days of you throwing the rocks are over, now you get to dodge them and they will come early and often. As Rich would say, this governing stuff can be tough.

Comment by Give Me A Break Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 3:05 pm
First there’s the David McKinney incident which is a wound that may never heal and now lying about making these calls. Either Madigan and his people are lying or the new Governor is. His ship is taking on water and it hasn’t even left the dock. Not good.

Comment by Ginhouse Tommy Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 3:22 pm
Not so fast, you seen Rauner’s cheap, really cheap, old farm duds, Timex watch dating back to John Cameron Swayze and a beat up van, so anyhow, he does not know how to use anything other than a rotary telephone and he goofed up dialing on one of those iPhone thingies. So he made an honest mistake when he called for room service when he thought that he was talking to the Speaker’s appointment secretary.

Comment by Upon Further Review Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 3:24 pm
–OK, I’m changing my mind on this. That’s not a good way to kick off a relationship with the Speaker.–

Agreed. In fact, it’s also not a good way to kick start your relationship with the people of Illinois, the campaign was over, it’s time to be honest.

Comment by Ahoy! Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 3:29 pm
LOL at the Rauner supporters freaking out at people pointing out Rauner lied even after the election is over.

As if the people who commented on this blog they were bothered by Rauner’s misleading/both-sides-of-his-mouth statements during the campaign only raised those complaints for electoral advantage purposes, and not at all because… people don’t like to be lied to and will say so when it happens.

Comment by hisgirlfriday Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 3:32 pm
Geez, don’t lie when there’s no upside. Reminds people of a certain former governor.

Comment by Wordslinger Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 3:59 pm
Remember he was trying to ad lib last night. Or maybe the cue cards were too small. But anyway he meant to say it this way.

“I call for Speaker Madigan. I call for President Cullerton and I say to them: This is an opportunity for us to work together.”

Much better and not lying.

Comment by Been There Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 4:07 pm
That seems like a silly thing to do. If you didn’t call, fine. You can still indicate you intend to speak with them. Why say that you have called if you haven’t? Not much of a confidence builder if this is how we are going to start off.

Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 4:15 pm
Maybe Rauner was taking a truthiness lesson from Kass’ column today on Madigan. As in, if you wish it had happened, it’s okay to say that it happened, AKA, making stuff up.

See if you can follow Kass’ attribution acrobatics to this “direct quote” from Madigan:

–”Why should I retire?” he is said to have told a lobbyist friend years ago. “This is my life. My life!”

Whether he actually said it that way or another way, it’s widely accepted as true, because power is Mike Madigan’s life.–

So…..who said what now, to whom, when and where? And how is that a “direct quote?” Since it is not, why are you pretending it is one? Can’t think of another way to write it to make your point?

You young writers and journalists at home… don’t do that, lol.

Comment by Wordslinger Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 4:38 pm
Starting the new season with an unforced error. geez.

Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 4:47 pm
This was a Blago way of handling issues. He could have simply said that he WILL be reaching out to C and M.

Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 4:48 pm
I think some of you miss the point. It was a shot at Quinn for not conceding. Rauner tells Quinn, I’ll call the real people in charge of the government the last 6 years.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 7:28 pm
For those of us who enjoy laughing at the foibles of those in high office, it is nice to see that the departure of Quinn does not mean that the circus is leaving town.

Comment by jake Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 8:39 pm
Congrats to Rauner, but he should keep a certain amount of humility when looking at the vote totals. PQ ran so far behind the other statewide Dems that it is pretty clear that he won by virtue of just not being Pat Quinn who is a decent, honest man bug out of his league. He is entering a profession where there is value to being known as someone who means what he says and keeps his word. That means quit lying abour conversations that never happened and stop changing your stance on issues based on who your audience is.

If I were the Speaker, I would pass legislation Rauner would want to veto and then make him either sign it or have his veto overriden just to remind him how little power he actually has.

Smart move by the Cook County R’s to not contest the down the ballot races, probably kept the GOTV efforts by thr Dems under control.

Comment by The Way I See It Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 9:49 pm
“Rauner tells Quinn, I’ll call the real people in charge of the government the last 6 years.”
and
“remind him(BR) how little power he actually has.”
Precisely, if you think PQ was ineffective- just wait

Comment by MIMI Wednesday, Nov 5, 14 @ 11:50 pm
“Are people really going to look at it negatively, when he’s trying to convey a positive message after a brutal campaign season?”

Hmmm… conveying a “positive message” by lying to the public?… Wasn’t that the staple of his campaign?

It’s gonna be a long four years (if he lasts that long…)

Comment by Titus Lucretius Carus Thursday, Nov 6, 14 @ 12:11 pm