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Today’s quotable

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Illinois

* Our good friend Hannah Meisel was recently interviewed by Public Radio about the current environment…

“The governor came in, and he had a very rosy first year as being governor, and then basically as soon as his 14th month hit, we got a pandemic. So, it’s hard but as is the saying around Springfield, governors own. Governors own all problems.”

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 10:34 am

Comments

The pandemic didn’t force him to base his entire first term and budgets on a unicorn tax amendment. He put in the foundation of that problem all on his own.

Comment by fs Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 10:36 am
The Governor may want to take that to heart, instead of repeating over and over that the Republicans bamboozled voters into voting against the progressive income tax. Focus on the future, not the past, and lead the state.

Comment by Smalls Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 10:37 am
I think he and his team have handled the pandemic as well as one could. Can you imagine if Rauner was in charge? We’d be up to our Dakotas with problems and positivity rates.

Comment by Anonamoose Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 10:48 am
If he loses his reelection, his legacy as governor will include the Fair Tax failure and the messes at IDES and IDVA. His first year may be remembered, but he needs to think about how to redefine his administration ASAP.

Comment by NIU Grad Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 10:50 am
Governors own. True. You know who else owns? Voters. When the voters foolishly voted against the Fair Tax, they bought themselves an across-the-board tax increase. You bought it, voters. You own it. Enjoy your tax increase.

Comment by Can Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 10:53 am
== Governors own. True. You know who else owns? Voters. When the voters foolishly voted against the Fair Tax, they bought themselves an across-the-board tax increase. You bought it, voters. You own it. Enjoy your tax increase.==

He should run with that messaging in his re-election campaign. Let’s see how well that works out for him.

Comment by fs Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 10:56 am
“Governors own all problems.” - I don’t know where she gets her rumors from but as far as I can tell JB isn’t responsible for anything. Republicans, the federal govt. and Bruce Rauner are to blame for everything.

Comment by essentially working Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 10:58 am
One of the reasons he particularly owns everything right now is because the legislature has had zero input. Its good to be king, until it isn’t.

Comment by Success?? Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 10:58 am
Campaigns are hard. Governing is difficult.

One of the key elements of being a successful governor is knowing how to use the levers of the office to make policy a reality… and budgetarily, show a commitment to policies by the raw dollars dedicated to the agenda.

That’s governing.

The pandemic, it’s been multi-pronged.

The governor has done a good job in advocating and being an important force to try to keep the people of Illinois safe. I can’t be more grateful, I know in his heart and to his governing he cares.

IDES, however, has been a train wreck far too long, even with changing directors, and with no help from the feds or the congress-folks on the other side of the aisle who are truly no help, the governor owns his agency, and he owns the policy of personnel, that he relieved of duties.

LaSalle Veterans Home, and if you go back to the campaign, candidate Pritzker wanted accountability (as we *all* did and still do) we have an outbreak there where we still don’t know how a director is so in the dark that no one fit a time could answer when the governor and the director spoke, and changes only seem to be at the front line, very limited accountability to, say, the director, when the IDES director was replaced for, arguably, less.

Contact tracing, it’s not a front burner item, and as the governor is trying with very unhelpful locals, carnival barker lawyers, and with wayward and unhelpful state legislators pushing local officials to ignore health concerns, it can be expected contact tracing might fall, but even so, the governor, as all governors do, bear the burden of it on him.

I don’t envy the governor, his crew, his staff, his family if we’re going to talk about the gig in totality, but the way terms of office work, what happens in them, what can be controlled, what can’t, fair, unfair, “both”… it comes with the Big Chair as Wordslinger would say, and with no “far tax”, massive cuts, needed revenue, a vaccine rolling out, and unhelpful folks trying to make all things political to “the next election”…

…

That’s the gig.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:01 am
=The pandemic didn’t force him to base his entire first term and budgets on a unicorn tax amendment. He put in the foundation of that problem all on his own.=

That’s not wrong…as I and many others have said, including Rich, they should’ve bit the bullet and raised the flat tax. Then they could’ve billed the fair tax as an *actual* tax cut.

Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:03 am
JB can thank Republican economic policies for a windfall of tax revenues in his first year in office

“A letter to lawmakers Tuesday from the Pritzker administration reported $4.1 billion in individual and corporate income tax revenues in April. That’s up 38% from 2018 and $1.5 billion more than initially projected.

The letter credited the economy, federal tax-law changes and more.

https://apnews.com/article/7eddb8ba684a4a298964b986ba81eb3b

But now 55% of Illinois are hoodwinked by Republlcans who are to blame for all the state’s problems.

Comment by Lucky Pierre Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:06 am
== He should run with that messaging in his re-election campaign. Let’s see how well that works out for him.==

LOL. Uh, no. Merely pointing out reality when people start complaining about their increased taxes.

Comment by Can Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:08 am
What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago JB was finishing up a pretty successful first year and had a nice platform for moving forward. Things are a lot different now, but they can change back in plenty of time for the Governor. A year from now the pandemic may be winding down, the Feds may have delivered a bailout and Madigan may be happily retired. It can happen. It’s not even hard to imagine it.

Comment by SSL Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:15 am
=== You know who else owns? Voters.===

The governor made the gamble, not the voters.

The governor can purposely hurt the downstate tax eaters already aligned against him.

Or everyone can work to hurt everyone far less after the governor’s gamble

- Lucky Pierre -

Good to see you owning that Trump support, as always.

Good on you.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:27 am
Governors own. True. You know who else owns? Voters. When the voters foolishly voted against the Fair Tax, they bought themselves an across-the-board tax increase. You bought it, voters. You own it. Enjoy your tax increase.

Yes, I will enjoy it, because it won’t be as high as it would have been if that amendment passed. Make everyone feel the pain, not the top3%

Comment by 10th Ward Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:27 am
=== Yes, I will enjoy it, because it won’t be as high as it would have been if that amendment passed. Make everyone feel the pain, not the top3%===

I’m guessing you are in the top 3%

If you’re not, I can’t laugh at you any more than I have at folks where it gets to my sides hurting.

My goodness, this is pathetic if you’re not in the 3% and Ken Griffin thanks you.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:31 am
==Republlcans who are to blame for all the state’s problems==

Still the victim I see.

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:42 am
==Make everyone feel the pain, not the top3%==

lol. That’s right. Make the guy making $50,000 a year pay more taxes and defend those poor rich people. They need our sympathy after all.

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:43 am
It’s on us to let voters know what we want to do, and we need to remember that state policies are about #762 on most people’s priority lists. That doesn’t mean voters are stupid, or low-information, or gullible, or whatever. It means that most people are doing the best they can to get through every day.

It’s not enough to have a good policy. You need a smart, comprehensive, focused plan to let people know why this is a good policy, and why it will make their lives better and easier.

If we fail to make the case, we can’t blame voters.

Comment by Soccermom Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:44 am
==because it won’t be as high as it would have been if that amendment passed.==

Griff, is that you? How about paying your share and buying one less house and/or work of art?

Comment by Jocko Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:51 am
My neighbors voted against the Fair Tax not because they were in the 3% but because they had zero faith the 3% wouldn’t become the 30% and then the 60% within a few years. They knew it failing could mean higher State taxes on them, and still voted against it.

And the Biden/Harris ticket outperformed Fair Tax by over 20 points in the two wards that surrounded me. Now the Governor’s huge task is convincing them and a lot of suburban women that major cuts are worse than trusting the General Assembly with more tax tools. I don’t envy anyone that task.

Comment by ChicagoBars Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:52 am
=== My neighbors voted against the Fair Tax not because they were in the 3% but because they had zero faith the 3% wouldn’t become the 30% and then the 60% within a few years. They knew it failing could mean higher State taxes on them, and still voted against it.===

Between the passage of getting the CA on the ballot, the July 3rd money drop of $50+ million and the first absentee voting or early voting… the pro fair tax folks got owned on the messaging.

Thinking everyone should pay the same versus a worry or taxes going up are two different arguments… like a Ken Griffin “house” versus a typical bungalow in the city different.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 11:56 am
A midterm reset is probably in order for JB. But that would require some self-critical introspection. So far, the Guv and his folks have been too sensitive to constructive criticism. That needs to change.

On balance, I think he’s handled Covid well, but maybe not well enough for it to be the cornerstone of a re-election campaign. And fairly or unfairly, his actions have super energized an opposition bloc (and not all of them are fire-breathing conservatives who would vote against him no matter what.)

So, assuming “I managed Covid well” isn’t enough to get him re-elected, what else is there? That’s what Team JB needs to figure out, quickly.

Comment by Roman Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 12:03 pm
yes I am in the top 3% and I have worked hard to get there.

Comment by 10th Ward Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 12:08 pm
Billboard I would put up immediately if I had the bucks-

“Ken Griffin made a zillion dollars last year. How much did you make?

Ken Griffin thanks you for defeating the fair tax amendment”

Make him the new Fire Madigan.

LP- What was the balance of current unpaid bills when Bruce left office vs. when he entered?

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 12:09 pm
===I have worked hard to get there.===

You protected yourself, like Ken Griffin.

No one else works hard, I take it… the “little” people?

Don’t worry, making them pay more because you worked hard, I get it.

You showed them…

===Make everyone feel the pain===

Whew.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 12:12 pm
===I have worked hard to get there.===

You protected yourself, like Ken Griffin.

No one else works hard, I take it… the “little” people?

Don’t worry, making them pay more because you worked hard, I get it.

You showed them…

===Make everyone feel the pain===

Whew.==

This is one reason why you who want Willie to be silenced are wrong.

He is only using some of our own words to point out the absurdity of some of our positions.

Thanks OW and keep up the good fight.

Comment by don the legend Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 12:26 pm
JS Mill what Republican policies did the Democrats led by Speaker Madigan compromise with Governor Rauner on during his four years in office?

Comment by Lucky Pierre Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 12:39 pm
(Tips cap to - don the legend -)

What a person like - 10th Ward -, which I get, you’re in the 3%, saving yourself, protecting yours, yep, is also telling me about messaging in the fair tax is… the 3% already knew… they knew it, accepted it… it was class warfare.

If 97% weren’t getting a tax raise and the 3% were saying the quiet part out loud “class warfare”, why all the subtly to the have and have nots… during a once in a century global pandemic

That’s on the governor too, as he bet on it.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 12:45 pm
=JS Mill what Republican policies did the Democrats led by Speaker Madigan compromise with Governor Rauner on during his four years in office?=

None, there was nothing to compromise on with him unless you wanted to destroy unions (democrats would never do). “Member the grand bargain he pulled out of at the last minute. Then some ILGOP member sof the house joined the democrats and passed a budget?

So I manned up and answered your question even though you didn’t answer mine. I am no intellectual coward.

How about you, care to drop the deflecting and answer the question I posed?

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 12:53 pm
===what Republican policies did the Democrats led by Speaker Madigan===

It’s up to EVERY governor to find their 60, same as it ever was… just as Hannah Meisel said.

You want Pritzker to own, but you’ve never felt Rauner owned.

Your typical ridiculousness is exactly why Rauner failed, Pritzker won… it’s as, again, Hannah Meisel says… same as it ever was.

So, now that that’s done…

To the post,

Personnel is policy, governors’ personnel positions, like agency heads, those are clearly belonging to the governor. At some point, even holdovers, they are policy now, and that’s what we’re talking about too.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Dec 17, 20 @ 12:58 pm