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Did Rauner’s budget speech get positive or negative coverage?

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* I love these dueling press releases because they give me an easy way of doing a roundup while still showing you the political spin and back and forth. From the Rauner campaign…

What They’re Saying: The Rauner Tax Cut

Yesterday, Governor Bruce Rauner introduced a balanced budget that includes pension reform and a path to a $1 billion tax cut for Illinois families. The plan will change the status quo in Illinois’ finances, and would lay the groundwork to roll back Mike Madigan’s 32% tax hike passed over the governor’s veto last summer.

Check out some of the coverage below:

Chicago Sun-Times
To help roll back an income tax hike legislators approved in their budget plan this year, over his override, Rauner said “true pension reform” is needed.

“For middle class earners and young mobile workers, the pension crisis is not about the politics that are played in Springfield. It’s about how much money we are taking out of their pockets. The people of Illinois are taxed out. A $1 billion income tax cut should be our No. 1 objective at the end of this session,” Rauner said to some applause.

Associated Press
Gov. Bruce Rauner says a $1 billion tax cut should be the top priority for this year’s legislative session. The Republican said Wednesday it could be achieved by changing the way pensions are doled out to state employees.

Rauner’s fourth budget address included his promised plan for a phased-in cut in last year’s income-tax increase. Lawmakers increased the rate from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent to help pay down the state’s massive deficit. Rauner vetoed it but it was enacted anyway.

Rauner says enacting pension changes would mean “a nearly $1 billion tax cut” that would allow him to “start rolling back” the rate hike.

Rockford Register Star
In a roughly 30-minute speech, Rauner said the number one goal for lawmakers this spring session is to begin to roll back the income tax increase enacted last summer.

“A billion dollar income tax cut should be our number one objective by the end of the session,” Rauner said.

WQAD
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner calls for an end to state’s income tax hike during annual budget address.

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner says the state’s Income tax hike has got to go.

The Daily Northwestern
Two weeks after his state of the state address in the same chambers, Gov. Bruce Rauner delivered an Illinois budget address outlining a proposal emphasizing tax reduction, pension and health care reform and reinvestment in specific areas of need.

In the address, Rauner called for a nearly $1 billion dollar tax cut for Illinois residents. Rauner said they are “taxed out” and that higher tax rates cannot fix a structural need to slow state spending.

“Our guiding principle is this: Only spend money we have, and don’t increase the tax burden on the people of Illinois,” Rauner said.

* DGA…

Short on Accomplishments, Rauner Continues Dishonest Campaign

Chicago Tribune: “Rauner Budget Proposal at Odds with Re-Election Rhetoric.”

How desperate is Governor Bruce Rauner to have a real accomplishment to run on? Well first, he touted a bill that he vetoed and ran attack ads against. Now, he’s out with a misleading new ad that avoids discussing how Rauner’s fiscal mismanagement left lasting damage on the state.

“If Bruce Rauner had something to show for his three years in office, he would not have to mislead the public like his ads do,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner is desperate to avoid talking about his real record – skyrocketing debt, a plummeting job creation rate, and an acceleration of people out of the state. Illinois is worse under Rauner’s failed leadership, and he will try every trick in the book to distract voters from the truth.”

Rauner’s ad conveniently leaves out the fact he’s spending the money he says he vetoed and that the budget is being weighed down by the effects of the two-year budget impasse Rauner forced the state to endure. The press has roundly critiqued Rauner’s budget as a smoke-and-mirrors plan:

NPR Illinois Headline: “On Income Tax, Rauner’s Budget Plan Doesn’t Match Campaign Rhetoric.”

Chicago Tribune Headline: “Rauner Budget Proposal At Odds With Re-Election Rhetoric.”

Chicago Tribune: “Candidate Rauner says he wants a freeze on local property taxes, touts changes to increase funding for poorer schools as a key accomplishment and derides the income tax hike lawmakers put in place last year over his veto. But Gov. Rauner, facing pressure to balance the state’s books and live up to his promise to bring savvy financial management to state government, offered a spending plan that undermines much of that platform.”

WNIJ/WNIU Public Radio: “Rauner would plow the savings from that pension-cost reduction into a tax-rate cut of a quarter of one percentage point; but the plan — and tax cut — could be delayed for years while they’re challenged in court.”

Doug Finke, Gatehouse Media: “In a roughly 30 minute speech, Rauner also dangled the possibility of a cut in the state’s personal income tax by linking the reduction to lawmakers passing a long-sought change to public employee pensions. However, the tax cut wouldn’t take effect until the reform plan gets through a court challenge, which could take years.”

Peoria Journal Star Editorial Headline: “An Election-Year State Budget.”

State Journal-Register Editorial Headline: “Wishes And Wants Do Not Equate To A Balanced Budget.”

I’m a bit surprised the DGA didn’t include Mark Brown’s column entitled “It’s Turnaround time for Gov. Rauner — using old ‘roadmap’ to chart new course.”

Anyway, your thoughts?

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 12:18 pm

Comments

The DH did a good job reporting both Rauner’s key statements, and reactions from both sides. Their headline and lede focused on the potential Property Tax impact of shifting pension costs to local school districts.

Comment by walker Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 12:32 pm
For me, the best lines were from Brian Mackey’s report (WNIJ/WNIU Public Radio aove, last lines) about Rauner the “bridge seller”. Excellent snark;)

Comment by Anon221 Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 12:34 pm
It’s funny how all the fake news outlets jump on cutting workers benefits but it says nothing about the benefits non workers get who are truly bleeding this state dry

Comment by Fake Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 12:36 pm
I think slightly negative. but no one was/is paying attention because of the school shooting in Florida.

Comment by Amalia Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 12:37 pm
Slightly negative, but overall a big ol’ “Meh.”

Comment by WSJ Paywall Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 12:49 pm
It’s obvious that whatever he says depends on who he’s saying it to and where he’s saying it at

Comment by Pieroge tirebiter Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 1:02 pm
The budget is unbalanced and calls a tax shift a tax cut. Any reporting that fails to say that is wildly favorable to Rauner.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 1:03 pm
Over many years, I’ve known lot of reporters who would love to do deep dives into budgets, but management invariably spikes the idea because it’s “boring.” Just run the “both sides” quotes and call it a day.

It’s worse now in the click-bait era of journalism.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 1:24 pm
===It’s funny how all the fake news outlets jump on cutting workers benefits but it says nothing about the benefits non workers get who are truly bleeding this state dry===

It’s funny you didn’t use “taxpayers”

Rauner did. You should too.

To the Post,

Very sadly, as it was stated above by - Amalia -, the overall television coverage was aimed elsewhere.

That caveat aside, the coverage is still here, Rich has highlighted the points, and Rauner, I felt, was treated with ambivalence… he is the governor, we should take what he says as important and an honest representation of his thoughts, as he said them…

… and the fairly easy look at the words, “buzz words”, “code words” and the mathematical impossibilities wrapped in the political hurdles Rauner continually ignores.

The ambivalence (less Brown, for discussion purposes) speaks loudly to the lack of real leadership Rauner portrays, while ironically trying to seem to us all like someone we all should follow.

There’s a sadness I read while the coverage tries to give light to what was said, and the realities of what is really yet to come from these words and his positions.

They also read like a melancholy walk of what could’ve been, a wasted term, and this speech only highlights the past three years of failure, and this fourth year of continuing that path we’ve all walked with Rauner.

The conerage was fair, it was at times very honest to Rauner, more than the budget itself, and that’s a big takeaway for me too… more of a focus as these words frame Rauner, then these words piecing a budget beyond words but with numbers.

I read the good and bad and it’s a sadness and despair, something you’d hope your governor would exude.

But, here we are.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 1:26 pm
Trying to figure out “young mobile workers,” and what planet this governor lives on.

Comment by Ed Higher Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 1:34 pm
Pantagraph had a dumb online headline that was “Rauner wants $1 billion tax cut with pension fix” but I am not sure if they wrote it or AP did as I think it was on an AP story.

Their followup local coverage has been better at communicating it’s a cost shift not a pension “fix” though

Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 1:51 pm
Usually my morning radio show DJ’s are all about reducing taxes by cutting “fraud and waste” and think we should only be cutting and never increasing taxes but even they recognized this morning that Rauner’s ideas might cause property taxes to go up.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 1:52 pm
From the budget address… Rauner’s own words… and why I think this is important to the coverage too.

Rauner…

=== We can make all this happen. But we must abandon Illinois’ fiscal status quo, and take steps to make tax-spenders more accountable to taxpayers. We must enact structural reforms that allow us to be as competitive as we need to be, so we can be as compassionate as we want to be.===

“…and take steps to make tax-spenders more accountable to taxpayers. We must enact structural reforms that allow us to be as competitive as we need to be, so we can be as compassionate as we want to be.”

Right there.

That’s the whole budgetary address.

“…and take steps to make tax-spenders…”

Prevailing wage, collective bargaining… the coverage glossed over, at times, the continued budgetary leverage, a word, “leverage” Rauner himself used in the speech, and looked at the political and numberic realities of his proposals, but it’s the going back to Rauner’s own beginning, and the conerage has “it”, but not to where Rauner has failed to lead or learn.

Continuing,

“…more accountable to taxpayers. …”

This is the campaign, this is the battle, not only for this budget, for the campaign, but it’s a bit harsh, no?

So… ending…

“We must enact structural reforms that allow us to be as competitive as we need to be, so we can be as compassionate as we want to be.”

Rauner makes clear…

“Hostages will be possible, but if you give me my wants, you will be rewarded at the levels I feel you deserve”

To the coverage to that, that’s the quotes we all are numb to…

“Budget DOA”
“Not possible”
“Not workable”

So the coverage… how many showed where policy and politics and budgets converge… and how fair was it.

There was ambivalence.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 1:56 pm
I suppose the fact that we’re even asking that question indicates it was very mixed, which is to say “unlikely to move the needle much”.

But when you’ve got a 26% approval rating, you really need that needle to move…

Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 2:13 pm
Probably the best summary of Rauner’s speech is an old political truism:

Governor’s propose and Legislature’s dispose.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Feb 15, 18 @ 3:15 pm