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* From the twitters…
Rauner: "The financial condition of the State of Illinois is stunningly bad. It's horrible." Says he'll have budget plan in February.
— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) November 20, 2014
A recognition of obvious reality or a setup for a “Jim Thompson moment“?
…Adding… Full quote and more from the SJ-R…
“The financial condition of the state of Illinois is stunningly bad. It’s horrible,” Rauner said. “Our financial condition is dire. We need to take strong action to fix it.” […]
Lawmakers last spring passed a state budget based on the fact the temporary income tax increase would start rolling back January 1. Gov. Pat Quinn called the budget incomplete because it provided inadequate funding to state programs, would result in further delays in paying bills and add to the state’s backlog of unpaid bills.
Rauner said some have referred to it as a “booby trap” budget.
“That’s a kind term and it understates the situation,” he said.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:25 am
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Duh!
Comment by UIC Guy Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:30 am
Evidently not obvious reality to the voter who keeps re-electing the same legislators!
Comment by Robbie Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:30 am
Don’t know. But he needs a plan for this fiscal on Day One, not February.
Welcome to the NFL.
Comment by Wordslinger Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:30 am
I’ve been saying for two years that anyone who wanted to run for Governor should be automatically disqualified for clearly having failed to investigate what the job actually entails. I don’t pity Rauner though, he quite literally bought this mess.
Comment by The Captain Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:38 am
If he made those comments with a straight face, he is a better actor than I thought. The financial issues have been huge for years and get significantly worse on Jan. 1, 2015. He needs a budget for FY 16 and a financial plan for the last half of FY 15.
Comment by Bourbonrich Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:39 am
Here are a few management lessons from a guy who knows how to get it done.
Be 100% reliable.
THE WOLF (Winston Wolfe- Pulp Fiction)
It’s about thirty minutes away. I’ll be there in ten.
The Wolf, of course, pulls to the curb nine minutes and thirty seven seconds after he hangs up the phone. That gives him time to walk up the driveway and ring the doorbell. You need to manage expectations properly. The Wolf made a promise and delivered.
Comment by 10th Ward Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:39 am
As recently predicted by many here, the lowering of expectations begins. Right on cue.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:42 am
Preheat to 350…
Comment by A guy... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:42 am
Is the Thompson Tact the shaking or bringing back part of the Rauner Plan?
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:43 am
Huh… Was he supposed to say it was great? Or would it better if he said… “Pat had a temporary increase and with a super majority, they squandered our future.”
Sorry… But tough times coming for more than Rauner gang… All of us are gonna feel this pain.
Comment by Walter Mitty Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:47 am
We must outlaw unions and ask for volunteers to teach our kids and watch our prisoners.
Comment by Obamas Puppy Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:48 am
Wait - didn’t Rauner say he had a plan and that he would reveal it after the election? Well, it’s after the election. The media endorsed Rauner who refused to give details of his plan. Are you guys still going to let him get away with this even now?
Comment by admin Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:49 am
I’d put a gentleman’s bet on a Thompson moment. It’s not like the sorry state of the state’s budget was not the source of much discussion during the campaign.
Comment by Norseman Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:49 am
N-man, uh huh.
Comment by A guy... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:54 am
Thompson moment. He has a plan. He’s had a plan. Quinn’s lame-duck period is a time of lowering the expectations. When a new governor-elect has defeated an incumbent, there are two ways to go; lower expectations, or build credibility. Too many lavish campaign promises to build credibility have resulted in what we are seeing now. And it will go on like this until he is officially the governor. And then we will see what he can do. And it will be tough. He will have to give a lot to get a little with the legislature.
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:55 am
Febraury of what year?!? I was hoping for a plan before the primary…
Comment by Abraham Froman Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:58 am
Is it a Jim Thompson moment when the other party controls the legislature w/ supermajority margins? He can later say he was bowing to political reality and the tax hike would be far less than what Quinn was proposing.
Comment by lake county democrat Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 12:03 pm
I’m surprised people on here don’t believe Rauner, the bussinessman, when he says that higher taxes stifle the economy and tax revenue growth. Regardless, all they have to do is look at the policies of the last few years, or talk to business owners statewide who will certainly give you their stories.
Comment by The obvious Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 12:05 pm
Here comes the Big Jim moment….
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 12:08 pm
It will be/would be totally awesome if Madigan/Cullerton deny his reqeuest to extend the budget address date. The state, literally can’t wait past Jan 1 for an answer to the auto rollback of the income tax extension.
Tick Tock Brucie…Tick Tock
Comment by How Ironic Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 12:08 pm
I should clairify, currently Brucie hasn’t made a request to push back the budget address date, but I’d bet one of his 9 homes it’s coming soon.
Comment by How Ironic Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 12:10 pm
===but I’d bet one of his 9 homes it’s coming soon. ====
Why? The last thing we need is another delay.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 12:15 pm
I never viewed the budget situation as an insurmountable problem for Rauner. He was almost assured of an out due to the pension court case.
Comment by east central Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 12:22 pm
I believe his budget address is going to be more of a Mr. T moment. “Pain lots of Pain!” and anyone with an ACT score in Math above 20 and reads this blog should be surprised by that. Some may remember Big Jim’s exit tour of capital cash only to be DOA with Edgar. Some projects waited until George’s Illinois first money.
Comment by frustrated GOP Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 12:28 pm
@Rich,
I agree that we don’t need another delay. I’m saying that I’ll bet Rauner and his crack team will ask for a delay. If he’s already saying he’ll have a ‘plan’ ready in Feb, clearly he’s not thinking the sunset is an issue.
If he were serious he’d have a plan ready Jan 1. That’s what I meant.
Comment by How Ironic Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 12:36 pm
“Pat Quinn wants to raise your taxes.”
No he doesn’t. Bruce Rauner wants to raise your taxes.
Now that there’s funny.
Comment by Larry the Cable Guy Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 12:45 pm
= Is it a Jim Thompson moment when the other party controls the legislature w/ supermajority margins? He can later say he was bowing to political reality and the tax hike would be far less than what Quinn was proposing. =
I wouldn’t regard it as a Jim Thompson moment if a tax increase were part of an overall negotiated budget plan in May. But if Rauner proposes it in his own budget address in February, that would qualify IMHO - he can’t blame the legislature if he offers it first.
Comment by cover Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 12:56 pm
Governor’s Budget Address by date since 2003
April 12, 2003
February 18, 2004
February 16, 2005
February 15, 2006
March 7, 2007
February 20, 2008
March 18, 2009
March 10, 2010
February 16, 2011
February 22, 2012
March 6, 2013
March 26, 2014
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 1:03 pm
Rauner is already beginning to step outside of the box he put himself in during the election.
Translation: Don’t expect me to do any of the added spending I said I’d do any time soon.
Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 1:15 pm
I have an abundance of faith and confidence that Governor Rauner will govern our way out of the budget morass. It won’t be pretty and probably will be painful but he will manage Illinois, unlike the current incompetent political hacks.
Comment by A Citizen Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 1:16 pm
Anyone who ever trusted Rauner has come to regret it. No chance that will change soon.
Comment by DuPage Dave Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 1:26 pm
Wasn’t “the Illinois budget is in terrible shape, and it is all the fault of Quinn/Madigan/Cullerton” the centerpiece of Rauner’s campaign?
Considering that he ran on the issue, you would figure he would have a plan all ready to go.
Or maybe it was all campaign talk. We will see.
Comment by Gooner Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 1:28 pm
My prediction: Rauner’s tax plan comes in between 4.5% and 4.9%. He calls it a tax cut, down from 5%. Will Caskey properly records every vote for it as a tax hike and gets rich documenting same to help Democrats pick up three more House seats and one more in the Senate.
Rauner will also have an larger than previously stated “expansion” of the sales tax. The education budget goes up $3. The other promised spending increases are pushed off due to “worse than expected financial situation.”
So it is not quite a Thompson moment, but whether, in four years, you view it as a tax hike or a tax cut depends on your party.
Comment by Gooner Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 1:38 pm
“I’m shocked, shocked, to discover gambling…”
Comment by D.P.Gumby Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:14 pm
C’mon guys, pick a side. You only wanted more revenue from one guy and not the other? We’ll see what he plans to do, but the slipperiness on this is odd.
Comment by A guy... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:18 pm
@A Guy,
It’s not the tax hike that’s the issue. The fact is (at least for me) that I knew we needed it the first time it came up, and know we still need it.
But for Rauner to campaign against Quinn and now JUST REALIZE the budget will be a disaster w/out the tax is beyond belief.
I’m just going to enjoy Brucie trying to round up the necessary GOP votes to pass it. And if he doesn’t…well I’m glad I’m not in Illinois to have to deal with the total meltdown of govt services.
But then again, Brucie does have an eye for ‘Fraud, Waste and Abuse’. I’m sure he’ll be able to make up for any budget shortfall and still distribute enough money to pay for all of his programs he promised on the trail.
Heh.
Comment by How Ironic Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:30 pm
The takeaway to FKA’s series of dates is that every election year the budget address gets delayed. In a normal world, in January after the inaugural, Rauner would make another dire announcement that things are even worse, and that the leaders have agreed to push back the budget date to March or April. But since the leaders have little incentive to help Rauner out of this mess, expect them to stick to the statutory date unless pigs fly and the Supremes keep the pension law.
Comment by vibes Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:31 pm
Not to say “I told you so,” (because I have too much class to do that), but when your candidate flatly refuses to give his budget plan throughout the campaign and replies with a chuckle and a “trust me” approach, what can you expect?
This is not the corporate world, Mr. Rauner. You wanted this tiger, and now you’ve got it by the tail. No “career politician” tactics now, please.
Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:32 pm
A Guy wrote: “You only wanted more revenue from one guy and not the other?”
It was not a matter of what I “want.”
I want my taxes cut in half. And I want Arsenal to sign a defensive midfielder. And I want the temps to stay around 30 this winter. But none of those things are going to happen. Just because I want something doesn’t mean there is a chance in “heck” of it happening.
Bruce Rauner told us that he was outraged that Pat Quinn said we needed to increase taxes. The voters agreed with Rauner.
Welcome to democracy. The people have spoken. And now we all wait for that plan that keeps taxes at 3.5%.
What do we want? We want Rauner to do what he said he would do, even if we all know that the odds of Arsenal adding that help are 1000x greater than Rauner keeping his promise.
Comment by Gooner Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:39 pm
-Norseman-, I’m not betting against you … there’s a Thompson moment coming. The only question is if the sunsetting income tax or the pension funding gets blamed for the “aha” moment.
Comment by RNUG Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:42 pm
== How Ironic 2:30pm:
@A Guy, It’s not the tax hike that’s the issue… ====
You nailed it, H.I.
Comment by Anonomooser Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:53 pm
Formerly Known As… (1:03 pm)
Extending the record of budget addresses back:
1977 March 2
1978 March 1
1979 March 7
1980 March 5 (Education budget on February 5)
1981 March 4
1982 March 3
1983 March 2 (Tax proposal February
1984 March 7
1985 March 6
1986 March 5
1987 March 4
1988 February 25
1989 March 1
1990 March 7
1991 March 6
1992 April 7
1993 March 3
1994 March 2
1995 March 1
1996 March 6
1997 March 5
1998 February 18
1999 February 17
2000 February 2
2001 February 21
2002 February 20
Comment by Harold's Left-wing Dinner Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 3:23 pm
=== Anonomooser - Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:53 pm:
== How Ironic 2:30pm:
@A Guy, It’s not the tax hike that’s the issue… ====
You nailed it, H.I.===
When you guys get done patting each other’s fannies, how bout you suggest what the “issue” is in a revenue situation? I saw your first explanation, it gets an F-, but I’m a good guy so I’m open to extra credit when you decide to offer a serious answer beyond your philosophical views of an election that’s over.
You can raise more revenue. you can cut. You can do a combination of both. You can propose policy that will help add revenue beyond a tax increase. You can go steal some money from Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana and North Dakota. At night.
We’ll just have to see, won’t we.
Comment by A guy... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 3:49 pm
Guy, you’re an incoherent dick.
Are you a gag? Because you have no game,
Comment by Wordslinger Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 5:07 pm
A guy-Many commenters on this blog “picked a lane” during the campaign, calling out Rauner for his disingenuous promises of increased spending while lowering taxes. Many also predicted, apparently correctly, that if elected he would pull a Thompson. The issue of whether those commenters actually wanted to tax to stay at 5% was often not the topic. In your world I bet black is just a very dark shade of white, isn’t it.
Comment by efudd Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 5:38 pm
For you efudd:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7sG8cw50mQ
Comment by Norseman Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 6:00 pm
The best solution to Illinois’ financial condition would be a graduated state income tax such as they have in Wisconsin and at least 30 other states. We need to solve the revenue problem before we can improve Illinois’ “dire” financial condition.
Comment by Enviro Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 6:22 pm
Harold’s Left-Wing Dinner - Thank you for posting that. I did not have dates beyond 2003 readily accessible. Cool to see the way things change over time and some of those aberrations, including last year’s budget speech which was pushed back to take place after the opposing party’s primary.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 6:26 pm
Cop out.
Rauner’s going to use it as an excuse to deplete the company’s assets and reserves, drain the employees’ retirement funds and ship their jobs overseas.
Oh. Wait. I mean he’s going to use it as an excuse to TRY and slash middle class benefits, increase taxes and fees that most impact the middle class and working poor, cut taxes on the job non-creators and fight for unnecessary “business reforms” that help the wealthy investment class while negatively impacting the 99%.
Or am I missing any pages from Scott Walker’s play book?
The only difference is Walker has a GOP legislature in WI that doesn’t care about the middle class any more - not when they can rely on hefty and timely donations from the wealthy elite that benefit the most from their GOP “investment”.
Comment by A. Nonymous Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 6:51 pm
If you are a Union worker, working for the state…
Prepare for the shutting down of the state, an executive order dismantling the collective bargaining aspects, and new hires on the 401K and constitutionality(?)
Is that the real play under the guise of the Thompson Tact?
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 7:24 pm
Rauner may find that Executive Orders won’t work all that well at State level if the targets can evoke enough support from the General assembly.
Comment by RNUG Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 8:47 pm
Willy, in part perhaps but the major aspect of the Thompson tact is to raise taxes. Rauner will go after state workers in general, unions in particular, to garner some cost decreases. These actions will not provide him with suffient money to craft a budget.
Comment by Norseman Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 9:16 pm
- Noresman -,
You are very correct.
I was just putting into the discussion; it’s cover too, to implement his payroll/Union/401K agenda too.
The fiscal mess Rauner now “finds” will allow the 2nd prong to be in play(?)
Just thinking out loud, much respect and deference - Norseman -, as always
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 9:32 pm
-OW-
the budget savings from “his payroll/Union/401K agenda” won’t be much more than a rounding error or two in the State budget. That may be where the red meat is for Rauner’s political backers but that’s not where the money is.
Comment by RNUG Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:04 pm
- RNUG -,
Yes. It’s about the red meat, not about the dollars.
It is a chance in the political to male it seem like a fiscal maneuver.
I have a feeling many political moves like that will be tried under fiscal responses, but have little or no fiscal impact.
Thanks, - RNUG -.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Nov 21, 14 @ 7:24 am