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Today’s must-listen audio

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Illinois

* If you have time today, you should listen to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s address to members of the Large Unit District Association Superintendents’ meeting. It’s quite good, particularly the Q and A. The man has this stuff down. He also doesn’t scream about the unions, or whatever. I’m telling you, it could be the best speech I’ve ever heard him give. Yeah, there are some nitpicky little things I’d change, but it was his speech, not mine..

Click to listen

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, May 18, 15 @ 2:21 pm

Comments

The challenge for Rauner is when the talking points meet the reality.

When it turns out “shrink the bureaucracy and eliminate unnecessary spending” means gutting funding for autism.

When “increase education funding by $300 million” meets $2.2 billion in phony pension savings.

When “see middle class incomes rise” meets right-to-work.

When “I think teachers should be paid more” meets cutting teacher retirement benefits by 1/3.

You’re too kind, Rich. This guy just sets himself up for embarrassing failures.

Comment by Juvenal Monday, May 18, 15 @ 2:50 pm
The audio cut out before the end, but what I heard was excellent and thoughtful and grown-up and as apolitical as possible. That view and those goals for Illinois are why he was elected. It was good to hear him reiterate it. Thank you for posting this, Rich.

Comment by Responsa Monday, May 18, 15 @ 3:10 pm
Set up for embarrassing failures? Way too soon to tell. I can appreciate a man who is not wetting his finger every second to find out which way the wind blows. If he really has education, helping out those least fortunate as his top priorities and guiding principles (mixed in with some healthy pragmatism) he may find himself re-elected some day.

Comment by anonymoose Monday, May 18, 15 @ 3:15 pm
Sounds like a continuation of his campaign.

Comment by DuPage Monday, May 18, 15 @ 3:17 pm
One of my political family members wanted my take on Governor Rauner. He lives a thousand miles away and involved in politics there. I told him straight.

Rauner is now talking the talk he needed to do during the 2014 campaign with credibility. Yet he has been slow to govern well, undermining what it is he has been saying. Even those favoring the flavor of his policies are disappointed at his poor start to his administration. Rauner is still campaigning to divide and finger point when he needs to be building bipartisanship, finding common ground, and saying good things about Illinois - about every Illinoisan.

He still talks about how we frustrate him - a very poor way to bring people together. No matter how much he sets himself up as someone who is not a politician, he is The Governor, and he needs to stop being negative.

Negative governors do not lead. If he wants to reach his goals, he will need to sell us his ideas, not be threatened by his millions, not be threatened politically, not be brow beaten, not make himself out to be above everyone else.

I don’t want to hear about how we fail him, how he falls out of chairs when we tell him our opinion, we don’t need to our governor to tell us he doesn’t care who doesn’t like what he says - good governors lead positively, not negatively like this.

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, May 18, 15 @ 3:21 pm
Good to see everyone’s standards are droppin’ like rock … lot o wanderin’….lot o missin’ Gs.
Doesn’t seem to understand the bureacraucy is what monitors all tasks the government is supposed to do. He should want to make it work. Not get rid of it. He needs catch the mopes, cheats and polluters….Made a lot of $$$ on tech…actually he made a ton on banks doin’ sub prime loans and nursing homes that killed Grandma….Wants accountability but no clear thoughts on what dat is…..OMG …cuts ag/voc ed $$$ from ISBE total wanderin’ Slides by the beauracraucy mumbo jumbo twice…we think Capt Fax might have bumped his head last nite.

Comment by Anonin' Monday, May 18, 15 @ 3:39 pm
Not buying it. He’ll sell an audience anything. He just needs to know who he’s selling to.

He’s as slick as they come. I know folks think he’s down-to-earth and a good beer guy — but he’ll turn on a dime and is about as intellectually inauthentic as they come.

Comment by Macbeth Monday, May 18, 15 @ 3:42 pm
Macbeth, he usually gives the exact same speech to everyone.

This was most definitely not that speech.

Get over your hatred, already. It clouds all judgement and makes you a doofus.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, May 18, 15 @ 3:43 pm
=== If he really has education, helping out those least fortunate as his top priorities and guiding principles (mixed in with some healthy pragmatism) he may find himself re-elected some day. ===

To paraphrase the VP: Don’t tell me what your priorities are, show me your budget and I will tell you your priorities.

Whether you agree or disagree with him, the governor’s priority is cutting income taxes.

Comment by Juvenal Monday, May 18, 15 @ 3:44 pm
Not a doofus — I just don’t like him. He may be saying what he believes — and if he is, that’s great — but I don’t believe what he says.

Not hatred either. I’ve never liked him — and it’s why I didn’t vote for him.

*shrug*

Comment by Macbeth Monday, May 18, 15 @ 3:45 pm
If the Governor proposed, and the voters approved, a constitutional amendment the terms of which limits - - on a going forward basis — pension cost-of-living increases to one percent annually, not compounded, would the Gov. claim it would pass muster with the IL Supreme Court?

I see little real difference between such an amendment and the amendment Rauner is apparently advocating - - to “clarify” the exiting pension protection provision so as to protect only benefits accrued as of the amendment adoption date.

I have the same view as to Rep. Sosnowski (R-Rockford)’s proposed amendment to simply eliminate the current pension protection language.

IMO these GOPers live in a fantasy world.

Comment by zonz Monday, May 18, 15 @ 3:57 pm
As the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words. He sounds very reasonable in this speech. And yet his actions to date betray his reasonable tone. I don’t buy it.

Comment by Scamp640 Monday, May 18, 15 @ 4:00 pm
==Not hatred either. I’ve never liked him — and it’s why I didn’t vote for him.==

And yet, enough people did like what they heard, and do believe him, and did vote for him, and he was elected governor of Illinois with the assumption by voters that he would make some needed changes. That basic concept should not be all that hard even for partisans to grasp.

Comment by Responsa Monday, May 18, 15 @ 4:00 pm
Capt. Fax:
Let’s all agree the guy is a more likeable Blagoof…apparently not a sinister….how many times does he claim to still be studying something or other after a 2 year campaign…five months in office and nearly 10 years if writin’ checks for education reformin’
He wants VocEd, but cut their funds, he wants to cut bureaucracy but wants accountability…then repeats himself….mostly gibberish and double talks and our kids and their teachers are at his mercy.

Comment by Anonin' Monday, May 18, 15 @ 4:03 pm
Juvenal,
You must look carefully to see the tremendously positive consequences of cutting taxes?

CHART http://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/5-14-15sfp-f1.png

LINK
http://www.cbpp.org/biggest-tax-cutting-states-not-seeing-jobs-boom-0

Comment by zonz Monday, May 18, 15 @ 4:05 pm
—
And yet, enough people did like what they heard, and do believe him, and did vote for him, and he was elected governor of Illinois with the assumption by voters that he would make some needed changes. That basic concept should not be all that hard even for partisans to grasp.
—

Wow. Okay. I get it, but I don’t like him. This audio was a good speech, but I don’t believe it. He’ll say what he needs to say to any given group — as soon as he understands who he’s speaking to.

Partisan? Sure. But it’s as partisan as — as I said above — not voting for him.

I don’t get the tension. Rauner is intellectually inauthentic.

Comment by Macbeth Monday, May 18, 15 @ 4:16 pm
Anonin’ :

Oh, how soon we forget:

April, 2003:

Blagojevich’s budget poll hit
Governor says public backs him

The release of the poll results, which Blagojevich announced at news conferences in five cities, was the latest tactic of a chief executive whose public-relations-driven leadership style has been a hallmark of his slightly more than 100 days in office.

Some lawmakers in both parties have complained repeatedly that the new governor would rather throw news conferences before TV cameras in Chicago than come to the Statehouse to discuss policy.

“I think what this does tell us is that the length of this governor’s campaign is unprecedented,” Patty Schuh, spokeswoman for Senate Republican leader Frank Watson of Greenville.

“He’s continuing campaigning and there are 177 members of the General Assembly who are interested in governing.”

Comment by Juvenal Monday, May 18, 15 @ 4:19 pm
i’m 10 minutes in and just not hearing what’s so great about this speech. So far I’ve heard that he wants to take money out of burrocracy and put it in education, all while balancing a budget that’s $6b short. Lots of dropped gs. Lots of talkin bout learnin more. Lots of “not braggin,” “not apologisin.” No specifics. I guess he’s more docile than during the campaign? i dunno, not hearing much.

Comment by Johnny Pyle Driver Monday, May 18, 15 @ 4:32 pm
Thanks for posting Rich. Agree with him on the overreliance on property taxes and needing to use more from the state revenue funds. Hopefully by the end of term 1 will have addressed some of the structural costs in this state and be in a position to do that.

Comment by Very Fed Up Monday, May 18, 15 @ 4:37 pm
This is the best I’ve heard him on a subject and speaking to it.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, May 18, 15 @ 4:42 pm
Ok, after listening to it all, i’m still not really hearing much. i mean, I’ll give him some credit. He sounds like a normal person just riffing on a subject. I applaud him for his commitment to prioritizing schools and disproportionate funding for poor schools, to the extent he keeps it. But, yea alot of this is just continuation of the campaign.

“There’s all sorts of taxes on stuff!” - that’s his explanation of the revenue streams we’ll use to better fund schools.

Comment by Johnny Pyle Driver Monday, May 18, 15 @ 4:56 pm
with a nice encore of inside dealin and special interests rhetoric. niiiiiice

Comment by Johnny Pyle Driver Monday, May 18, 15 @ 5:01 pm
I think he presents well, developing into a good retail politician, who is comfortable talking to groups. A note of skepticism is certainly warranted, of course. For example, he has been in office almost six months. What part of the bureaucracy has he shrunk? Has he shrunk anything? Referring to next year or the year after that isn’t good enough for me. What is he going to shrink next week.

Comment by Cassandra Monday, May 18, 15 @ 5:16 pm
Get money out of our bureaucracy- I wish he would specify EXACTLY what that means.

He has elements that are positive, but like any politician he plays fast and loose with the numbers. He is certainly no worse than any of his three predecessors or MJM in that regard.

Comment by JS Mill Monday, May 18, 15 @ 5:32 pm
He displayed a good working knowledge of how to measure school performance. Also a good understanding of how power and responsibility are mismatched.

This audio gives a sliver of hope. Thanks for posting it.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Monday, May 18, 15 @ 5:32 pm
Listening to the end of the audio two things really disappoint:

1) His understanding of how the poverty grant drives school funding. He equated poor communities with poor (funding) school and that just is always true. Just writing this could free up $100 million in school funding.

2) The insider talk is just done. He is an insider, he knows it. Be honest. Move on.

Comment by JS Mill Monday, May 18, 15 @ 6:05 pm
I just don’t see how the numbers add up. At various points he promised to: increase funding for education overall; increase teacher pay; hold the line on taxes; lower property taxes; and address the problem of school districts making decisions that raise pensions while the state pays the bill.

How on Earth does he possibly accomplish all of that? He doesn’t say, and it doesn’t seem realistic to be able to do all of that, in the short or long term.

Comment by South of Sherman Monday, May 18, 15 @ 7:17 pm
I will admit up front that 34 years of government service has made me a bit cynical. That aside, when someone changes their story so many times over the course of a couple of years, I have a hard time taking them seriously. I’m at the point of show me, don’t tell me.

Comment by Former Merit Comp Slave Monday, May 18, 15 @ 8:42 pm
Gov. Rauner shared many of the same topics with this group that he did with the Suburban Superintendents group in March. Here, he spends more time on education issues and less on his turn-around agenda. And he must have switched to decaf — much more conversational and measured here. This is the type of talk more people need to hear from him.

Comment by Diogenes in DuPage Monday, May 18, 15 @ 9:47 pm
Choose innocent/good guy explanations if you wish, this is our Governor’s milieu:

Elizabeth Drew’s recent articles:

How Money Runs Our Politics
JUNE 4, 2015
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2015/jun/04/how-money-runs-our-politics/

Big Dangers for the Next Election
MAY 21, 2015
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2015/may/21/big-dangers-next-election/

Comment by zonz Tuesday, May 19, 15 @ 2:05 am