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More aggressive leadership… for Downstate

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Illinois

* A massive corporate bailout funded by increased electricity rates for a hugely profitable company is absolutely needed to protect a handful of Downstate jobs. But don’t even mention giving Chicago’s schools a penny more than they received this fiscal year, because that would be horrible…

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is “extremely upset” to hear Exelon’s decision to close its nuclear plants in the Quad-Cities and Clinton, Ill., he said during a visit Thursday to the East Moline Correctional Center.

The state’s Republican leader said he has been talking with Exelon officials for weeks and planned to continue conversations later in the day.

“I’m trying to work with Exelon to keep these plants open,” he said, pinning blame on Illinois Democrats’ unwillingness to act on “tough votes,” including a bill aimed at helping Exelon’s money-losing nuclear plants, until after the general election in November. “We need to protect those jobs.”

Rauner pushed Illinois lawmakers to find a compromise, stressing that he does not want the state to lose Exelon, a “good company” with “good-paying jobs.”

We’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars a year for 1500 jobs - and if those plants become profitable again the state wouldn’t be able to claw back the subsidies.

* Those are good jobs. Don’t get me wrong. And the jobs and taxes are hugely important to those two small towns.

But thousands of employees of human service providers throughout the state have been laid off and he won’t sign a fully-funded stopgap approp bill that’s been on his desk for weeks.

* And while we’re at it, after excoriating the House Democrats for passing a 500-page budget bill with only hours of debate, he had his GOP leaders introduce two appropriations bills on the last day of session that totaled 1,054 pages and demanded immediate floor votes.

Dude… Please.

Sorry, but every time this governor goes on one of his Rolling Thunder “I’m Not To Blame!” Pander-Bear tours he makes me cranky.

* Even so I do think he makes a valid point here…

Governor Bruce Rauner told WAND News Wednesday that he believed in early May that a compromise on a new budget was nearly at hand.

That potential deal, or grand compromise, never materialized. Rauner blames it on Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.

“I knew we were getting close because Speaker Madigan started to insert himself. Because he was concerned we were actually going to get a grand compromise and he doesn’t want that,” Rauner told WAND’s Doug Wolfe. “Members of the Republican caucus and the working groups came back and said wow, you could see the chain got pulled in on the Democrats and they’ve reversed, or taken things off the table, or changed their position and gone backwards.”

They did indeed seem to pull back during the last few days.

* But…

[Democratic state Sen. Dave Koehler], too, disagreed with the governor’s characterization of action in the working groups.

“I think we’ve made some real progress,” he said. “It doesn’t look like it, because always on the last day of session things get real crazy.”

But, he said, any agreement on a short-term deal should come out of those groups.

“That’s really what needs to happen. … The reality is that the only way we’re going to make progress is we have to do something in a bipartisan way,” he said.

However, he said that he’s comfortable working on a temporary budget with the likelihood of voting on reforms in Rauner’s “Turnaround Agenda” later in the year or after the new year dawns as part of a final deal — though he still wants negotiation on the terms of those items.

“No one involved in the process can just say ‘No, we’re not doing it,’” Koehler said. “You have to at least talk about something. Now, everybody gets real nervous out there, saying, ‘What are you doing?’ Well, allow them to have their conversation and to find out where you can have some meeting of the minds.”

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 1:37 pm

Comments

One of the big problems we have to stop is “corporate extortion”. That’s what they were doing plain and simple.

Comment by Honeybear Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 1:50 pm
This governor doth project too much. It’s the Democrats who are holding hostages. It’s the Speaker who doesn’t want a grand compromise.

Comment by Moe Berg Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 1:52 pm
Flip flop, flip flop…

Rauner on the bill-

But he added, “I’m concerned when a big company says in order to stay in Illinois, they need a big taxpayer subsidy.”

http://m.saukvalley.com/2016/05/09/standoff-could-be-coming-over-illinois-nuke-plants-tax-demands/a7fxkez/

Comment by Anon221 Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 1:53 pm
Exelon is making plenty of profit to keep the plant open. It’s their choice to close it or not and they bear all responsibility. Corporations don’t care about people or jobs, just profit.

Comment by Honeybear Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 1:54 pm
To the Post,

Until others look at what Rauner says and how Rauner operates and the hypocrisy of Rauner’s words…

Bruce Rauner will continue to speak to his own hypocrisy, mocking people who don’t see it, and making clear anyone that dares to question this blatent hypocrisy…

… phony baloney.

I’m sorry.

It’s been years, including Rauner the Candidate, that Rauner’s Crew…

… To their Absolute 100% Credit….

… has been able to stop any real analysis of Rauner to get any traction. If that is the priority and goal of your Crew, arguably, no Crew I can think of has been as efficient at derailing any substantial analysis of their boss better than the Rauner Crew.

Rauner isn’t getting a pass. No. Not in the slightest. This Crew has mastered making any examination evaporate into nothing.

Look at what Rich has up, and has had up these years. Read the columns, articles, interviews, you can’t say Rich and many others haven’t gone down looking at things or turning a blind eye. Some may have, and it’s been noted here and elsewhere “who” are not looking hard enough, but many are, Rich many times breaking items here or on the fax, but the Rauner Crew owning the news cycle, man, they got that down cold.

If you are one waiting, wondering, “hoping”, “begging” for something of substance getting traction exposing Rauner hypocrisy on a very large scale. Don’t hold your breath. But, do not be fooled that things are being covered. They absolutely are, the consumers of news and information are just listening closer, at times, to the skill of the Rauner Crew.

Period.

It’s up to those wanting to compete with the Rauner Crew’s skill to up their collective games and rely less on thinking “but, but, but we’re right!”

You may be right, you may be wrong, but you aren’t being heard(?)

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 1:54 pm
Sounds like Rauner wants to bailout Exelon..

Comment by Jay Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 1:56 pm
Here’s a two-fer: a carbon tax.

Exelon’s nuclear plants are more expensive than our filthy coal plants because we basically don’t price pollution.

We need general revenue.

So, let’s impose a tax on carbon to make the dirty power from the coal plants more expensive, relative to Exelon’s clean nuclear plant product, so Exelon gets a fair level playing field.

Instead of writing a check to Exelon shareholders, we should solve Exelon’s legitimate pricing problem by taxing pollution and collecting that money for the public.

Comment by Dan Johnson Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 2:01 pm
He’s right. Excelon employees are extremely well-compensated.
vs
Not-for-Profit employees who are not well-paid. But, the Not-4-Profit people still want and deserve to have their jobs back.
You could do a deal with Madigan, Gov 1%? Think about it. What did Mom always say> “You do better with Honey than Vinegar.”

Comment by Belle Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 2:04 pm
So let me see if I have this straight…. First, the governor doesn’t want to negotiate an energy bailout and wants to focus on the budget. Then at the beginning of May says he isn’t sure about the bill. And now, after months of complacency, decides that the democrats should have passed the bill that he wouldn’t say he would sign. Okay then.

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 2:04 pm
=Pander-Bear tours=

I couldn’t read anything else after I read that!!! Priceless!

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 2:14 pm
Regarding the WAND excerpt-

Gov Rauner is the Governor of the entire state, of every citizen, regardless of political party. Stop demonizing the members of the opposite political party, start governing.

Comment by Thoughts Matter Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 2:14 pm
Spot on Ducky!

Comment by Anon221 Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 2:18 pm
I heard the talks fell apart when Rauner came up with a new demand to cut state employee/retiree health insurance.

Comment by DuPage Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 2:26 pm
So correct me if I’m wrong, but with or without these plants, doesn’t IL still need electricity? Do we care if it comes from Nuclear, Gas, or Wind? Are Nuclear jobs better than Gas/Wind jobs?

This seems like something that’d likely balance out.

Comment by ChicagoVinny Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 2:27 pm
Has Rauner given any reason whatsoever for this tour (other than the obvious, throwing blame at Democrats and demonizing Chicago)? Isn’t Rauner’s time better spent elsewhere, actually -doing- something? I’d take anything at this point.

Also, I’d throw in $5 for a Pander-Bear costume to be sent to Rauner’s office. It would make the months leading up to November much more… bearable.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 2:28 pm
Word +1

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 2:28 pm
Wow, the legislature has been working on this Exelon issue for 18 months and the governor did NOTHING to support this issue (big surprise there). Not one darn thing.

Now he wants to talk? The day after the legislative session has ended??!? This guy is unreal.

Comment by Hip O. Krit Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 2:38 pm
Rauner doesn’t want a bailout for Exelon, he wants to use Exelon as a partisan club against the Speaker.

The Guv has made ONE statement about energy in his entire term of office, and it was when he expressed skepticism about the Exelon bailout last month. His office has not been substantively engaged in the energy debate on either side.

Rauner isn’t interested in helping Exelon, he’s skeptical of their proposal. He just wants to use them to score rhetorical points against the Dems.

Comment by Senator Clay Davis Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 3:07 pm
If Exelon wanted to be able to easily “control” the Capitol, then they needed to try and take-over CWLP years ago instead of Illinois Power’s Clinton station. I bet the lights would have been turned off months ago for non-payment then! Just think of the “leverage”. /S

Comment by Anon221 Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 3:25 pm
Capt Fax calls the a point
“Governor Bruce Rauner told WAND News Wednesday that he believed in early May that a compromise on a new budget was nearly at hand.”
The problem is that none of the caucuses and no one on the governor’s said their bosses were “for” the framework. There was no agreement
No nothing. Only that the numbers on the page did add to pay the tab/ Another example of poor staff work. They really should clue him in once in awhile.

Comment by Annonin' Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 3:52 pm
Also: if Rauner wants compromise on an energy bill, he needs to put votes on it. And when those Yes votes are accused of supporting a $7 Billion rate hike on Grandma, he needs to support his members for taking that vote. The only way we get a bill before the election is a structured roll call.

Comment by Senator Clay Davis Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 3:59 pm
As someone who lost money on the former Dynergy, I say call Exelon’s bluff. They don’t want the cost of decommissioning those nukes; it would kill their bottom line.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 4:15 pm
Wonder how close these plants are to the end of their life expectancy?

Comment by South Illinoisian Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 5:00 pm
Poor Rose and Mitchell… Welcome to the world according to Rauner. He’s got your backs, guys. Until he doesn’t!

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2016-06-02/lawmakers-back-clinton-plant-rauner-calls-bill-bailout-hopes-find-way-through

Comment by Anon221 Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 5:22 pm
Hopefully this link works..

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2016-06-02/lawmakers-back-clinton-plant-rauner-calls-bill-bailout-hopes-find-way-through.

Comment by Anon221 Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 5:24 pm
I’m hopeful that future energy dollars can be allocated to solar and wind projects in these communities

Comment by Biker Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 5:58 pm
So Illinois ratepayers should shell out billions more(effectively a state-mandated tax)for the same amount of service to subsidize allegedly unprofitable plants for a highly profitable company?

That’s quite a Five-Year Plan you have there, Commissar Rauner.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jun 2, 16 @ 6:18 pm
Sen Koehler +1. Well said.

The rank and file sounds more reasonable than the leadership right now.

Maybe they will find a way out from this mess.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:40 am
Edison has no plans on closing those plants. Call their bluff

Comment by Foster brooks Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 8:14 am