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* My Crain’s Chicago Business column…
Former Gov. Jim Edgar publicly endorsed Bruce Rauner for governor in 2014 and traveled the state to help Rauner win.
But less than six months after Rauner was inaugurated, Edgar began to criticize his fellow Republican. It was gentle at first, saying in early June of last year that Rauner should maybe stop calling the Democratic legislative leaders “corrupt” if he wanted to get a budget deal, and suggesting that he set aside his anti-union/pro-business “Turnaround Agenda” to make that deal.
By August, Edgar again urged Rauner to cut a deal on the budget, saying there were just some things in his proposals that no Democrat would ever agree to.
In October, Edgar warned that “government is failing,” and he sharply criticized Rauner for holding people and programs “hostage” to his legislative demands.
Rauner and his top staff were seething by then, but the governor mostly held his tongue. “I don’t spend any time criticizing my fellow Republicans,” the governor said at the time.
But Rauner did add a veiled warning shot, saying, “I do not spend any time criticizing decisions made in the past that created the mess that we’re dealing with.”
Rauner was referring to the now notorious Edgar “pension ramp” law passed in 1994 that finally forced Illinois to make its pension payments but put off any steep contribution increases until after Edgar was safely out of office. Some have claimed that Edgar’s ramp got us into this fiscal mess today.
My opinion is that Edgar finally got something done, however flawed, that nobody else had managed to do. The problem was exacerbated by subsequent moves to skip and skimp on those payments.
Edgar didn’t get the hint and didn’t mute his criticism in the intervening months. Rauner finally fired back July 5.
Click here to read the rest before commenting, please. Thanks.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 9:17 am
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
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It would be wonderful if it happened but really what are the odds it could get done?
Comment by doofusguy Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 9:30 am
Good column, but I expect Rauner will fail this challenge as well. His 15 members will come up with a formula I suspect will not sufficiently address the problems of the low income school districts. Rauner will justify this as preventing a Chicago bailout. While the Gov enjoys a solid GOP advantage on the commission, he still needs 60/30 in the General Assembly.
Comment by Norseman Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 9:38 am
The past few weeks your Crain’s column generated lots of comments, many negative which is expected considering the audience. Today? Only 1 which is rather interesting.
I love the question at the end.
Comment by Belle Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 9:41 am
===…many negative which is expected considering the audience.===
What does that even mean?
Seriously.
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 9:43 am
Edgar’s criticisms of Rauner have been mostly right in the same way that 2+2=4 is mostly right.
– MrJM
Comment by @MisterJayEm Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 9:45 am
“===…many negative which is expected considering the audience.=== What does that even mean?”
The Crain’s audience which is disproportionately Rauner cheerleaders.
– MrJM
Comment by @MisterJayEm Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 9:48 am
The stopgap was absolutely critical, I support and supported it even when Ron Sandack would tweet his frustration it reform was more important than a short term budget stalemate.
I guess Ron Sandack just didn’t care about people(?)
I’ve been with Jim Edgar on this since he started his criticism because governors need to do the job as prescribed by the constitution, not hold people, groups, and a state hostage just because Rauner can’t… (or literally refuses to, which is probably more true) count to 60 and 30.
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 9:52 am
===The Crain’s audience which is disproportionately Rauner cheerleaders.===
Now that makes sense… I was confused.
Thanks. - @MisterJayEm -
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 9:55 am
Sorry I left that hanging OW.
Thanks for pitching in MrJM.
Comment by Belle Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 10:13 am
Blind partisanship is an issue. Why can’t a Republican justifiably criticize another Republican, or a Democrat a Democrat? When Dwight Kay says women who use birth control are “promiscuous,” every GOP member should correct him. When Scott Drury says that voting for Map Grants is like “doping heroin,” everyone on the left should correct him. “I don’t spend any time criticizing my fellow Republicans.” Key word: ANY.
No one is infallible, Governor. Nor is any party. I’d advise he calls things as he sees them, but unfortunately I do not believe he sees things as they are.
Comment by AlfondoGonz Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 10:28 am
Good stuff, I would also add redoing the Edgar Ramp, our State can not afford to put 23% of our financial resources into pension payments.
Comment by Ahoy! Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 10:28 am
Edgar did a great service by using his stature to point out the unprecedented, willful sabotage that Rauner was using to pursue his political agenda.
Edgar was stating the obvious, but it seems some media types started picking up on it when it came from him.
If that stung Rauner, well, nobody made him purposely inflict that damage.
Speaking of the ramp, how did the state end the fiscal year in regards to pension contributions? All paid up for the year and fiscally responsible?
Sure hope the state didn’t add to the unfunded liability by skipping monthly payments.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 10:50 am
“I don’t spend any time criticizing my fellow Republicans.”
“I just spend a lot of money, upfront or on the sneak.”
“Just ask Sam McCann, Aaron Schock, Kirk Dillard, Jim Brady, Dan Rutherford…..”
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 10:59 am
== “I do not spend any time criticizing decisions made in the past that created the mess that we’re dealing with.” ==
Wait, what? You do that all the time, Governor!
Comment by Dale Cooper Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 11:05 am
“…massive property tax burden…”
Again and again, “massive (fill in the blank) tax…” What exactly does “massive” mean? What are parameters of “massive”, the actual numbers? Other than being a trigger to evoke hostile emotions, the word us meaningless without numbers. Or is the point emotion not facts?
Comment by My New Handle Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 11:10 am
Great article Rich, and I agree 100%. Edgar can’t use his revisionist history if Rauner passes a bill that changes school funding. Just please don’t get hooked on collective bargaining.
Comment by Almost the Weekend Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 11:17 am
“My opinion is that Edgar finally got something done, however flawed, that nobody else had managed to do. The problem was exacerbated by subsequent moves to skip and skimp on those payments.”
I am not a big Edgar fan but your analysis pretty much sums it up.
Comment by Federalist Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 11:52 am
Not sure why Edgar feels he’s in a position to give advice on how to reform things. Also not sure why Rauner needs to satisfy anything with Edgar. What substantial changes or problems did Edgar even address? Extending pension payments? Yeah, really tough work there. Edgar is a failed go-along to get-along governor who played a major a role in why Illinois is in this mess in the first place.
If Rauner is a failed governor for trying to reform the system and is failing, then so is Edgar who barely attempted to reform the system and failed.
Blago 2018.
Comment by BK Bro Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 12:11 pm
Jim Edgar knows how to govern. Bruce Rauner doesn’t know how to govern, unite citizens towards a common goal, understand how to use political mandates, lead, be humble, exceed expectations or be cool.
He could own Harley Davidson, and Drew Estates, and still look like he got off a short bus wearing protective mouth and head gear.
Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 1:12 pm
Word, Jim Brady?
I believe the Comptroller reported last week that FY 16 pension payments were made in full. For the record, and I may have misspoken in this regard in the past for which I apologize, monthly payments have been skipped and made up later in the fiscal year in years prior to fiscal year 2016.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 1:23 pm
AA, oops.
Tom Brady? Bobby Brady? It’s a common name, just not comin’ to me.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 1:26 pm
==What exactly does “massive” mean?==
The Cook County Property Tax Portal contains many definitions of massive.
Comment by City Zen Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 1:58 pm
Good Column Rich…..now to Edgar “BK Bro” has it right. All con offices in 1994 election and both chambers and what did they get done in 1995 & 96. Not much that I could remember other than pay down some old bills. 2 billion in the hole sounded like allot in those days.
Comment by scott aster Monday, Jul 18, 16 @ 2:33 pm