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Rauner touts anti-corruption stance

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Illinois

* Gov. Bruce Rauner’s op-ed in the Chicago Sun-Times…

To unleash our full potential, Illinois needs to end corruption in state government.

For decades, career politicians and political insiders have abused their positions of power to line their own pockets and rig the political system in their favor. The result has been a state government that works for career politicians and their cronies to the detriment of the people.

*Cough!*Ken Dunkin!*Cough!*

* To be fair, he did do some positive things…

In my first term, our team delivered meaningful, measurable reforms that have ended some of the corrupt state government practices holding Illinois back. We strengthened ethical requirements on all executive branch employees to change the culture within state government.

By requiring enhanced annual economic interest disclosures, we promoted transparency and accountability for employees of the executive branch. We closed the revolving door between public service and lobbying by banning anyone from lobbying the administration for one year after leaving the executive branch and stopped lobbyists and government contractors from unethically influencing state regulators by closing loopholes in bans on gifts and lobbyist-funded travel.

* And, of course…

Disturbingly, those who control the General Assembly have made no effort to stop elected officials from engaging in harmful conflicts of interest. House Speaker Mike Madigan himself makes millions enriching himself by running a property tax appeals firm in Chicago while simultaneously hiking taxes on hardworking Illinois families and businesses while in Springfield. And allegations of sexual harassment and intimidation call into question how his organization conducts business.

Taxes, corruption, Madigan, Pritzker, Blagojevich right through November. Get used to it.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 9:41 am

Comments

Was the years-long Legionnaires’ disease crisis at Illinois’ state veterans homes due to corruption, incompetence or disinterest?

I’ll take my answer off the air.

– MrJM

Comment by @misterjayem Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 9:44 am
If the General Assembly wants to show good faith, they can change the law to remove their FOIA exemption. Until then, the GA can’t finger-point at anyone.

Comment by Chris Widger Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 9:46 am
–To unleash our full potential, Illinois needs to end corruption in state government.–

Protecting old manila folders in warehouses leased at wildly jacked-up rates from Cellini friends and family is a big part of that.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 9:46 am
===Taxes, corruption, Madigan, Pritzker, Blagojevich right through November. Get used to it.===

All true. Not up for dispute by me, that’s for sure.

My question continues to be…

Rauner is terribly unliked. At some point this continued ignoring of Rauner being terribly unlikable will make the transition from the plan of…

“Taxes, corruption, Madigan, Pritzker, Blagojevich… “

… to “Vote for 4 more years of Bruce”… Bruce needs to be more likable.

You can’t be under water as Rauner is and make the steep climb Rauner needs by continually being unlikable.

Notice, there’s no embrace the GOP… it’s the “legislature” or “career politicians”… “political insiders”… for “decades”

Rauner has been our governor for 3+ years, Rauner has failed, and if you listen to Candidate Rauner in 2014… failed governors need to face the voters… as the failures that they are.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 9:50 am
Yet we have a governor who literally bought a political party, extorted it and wreaked the worst damage in state history.

We have a governor who purposely caved to a corrupt tax increase from corrupt insiders and signed a budget passed by corrupt insiders with the corrupt tax increase in it.

How does this guy have any credibility to fight corruption with such an abysmal record, by his own standards?

Comment by Grandson of Man Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 9:56 am
Rauner has no other course than to smear his opponent, and yes this will continue all the way until November. He does however have the chance of making something happen for the first time. Make me vote for a Democrat for Governor for the first time in my life. Four years ago I voted for the Libertarian, whoever that was because I could not vote for him or Quinn. This year it is more important to me to help rid our Party of Rauner and the destruction he has brought, than to just enter a vote for neither one as a protest.
My father used to say that George Ryan did more for the Illinois Democratic Party than any Democrat had done for 20 years. Rauner has done more damage than Ryan, and even if that means electing Pritzker, the only way to fix it is to get him out, and start to rebuild.

Comment by SOIL M Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 10:04 am
13 13 13 13

Comment by Annonin' Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 10:09 am
==Taxes, corruption, Madigan, Pritzker, Blagojevich right through November.==

Back porch deals, no bid IT contracts, Legionnaire’s/Veterans deaths, Ken Dunkin patronage payoff, “not in charge”
right through November.

Both messages are backed by more money than needed.
Which one disgusts the voter more?

Comment by don the legend Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 10:15 am
Let me get this straight: A conservative is upset that corporations who own large buildings in downtown Chicago are able to get their taxes reduced? I thought Repubs were for tax reductions and less money for govt?

Not in this case I guess.

Comment by low level Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 10:15 am
Pritzker is making a big mistake if he doesn’t push back against the corruption charge this summer with a big media buy. Highlight the mansion porch meeting, the Springfield lease tied to the Cellini family, etc. JB needs to “swift boat” Rauner on this.

“He promised to shake up Springfield, instead he shook down Springfield…..”

Comment by BC Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 10:20 am
Have the donors for the Executive Mansion renovation ever been identified? Without that, how can anyone determine if they received something of value in return?

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 10:49 am
===*Cough!*Ken Dunkin!*Cough!*===

Lol. Has anyone asked Governor Rauner if he personally interviewed Dunkin before naming him to the MWRD post? Did he consider any other candidates? What qualifications did Dunkin possess that made him the most qualified in the Governor’s opinion?

At a minimum, those questions should get a few hearty guffaws from Rauner. I’d expect him to laugh and stammer through his answer. That would look great on video.

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 10:51 am
==You can’t be under water as Rauner is and make the steep climb Rauner needs by continually being unlikable.==

Indeed. And the fact that he is unlikable keeps his hits from fully landing. Too few people trust the source. Look at the ratio on all of his tweets.

Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 10:58 am
Speaking of self-serving political corruption…….. maybe Mr. Rauner can shed some light on his back porch meeting at the mansion a few years back?

Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 11:02 am
Rauner put in a DCFS Director who hired cronies on contracts. He hid his business relationships with those people from the people who oversee contracts. But failure to disclose seems to be a feature of the Rauner Administration.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 11:08 am
===ratio on all of his tweets===

Tweet ratios are not data. Same goes for Facebook comments, online polls, blog comments, etc.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 11:28 am
== Highlight the mansion porch meeting, the Springfield lease tied to the Cellini family, etc. JB needs to “swift boat” Rauner on this.==

Pritzker could do this, but would likely get more traction with this from the IWT twitter to the right of this screen :

BASIC QUESTION:

Why did Bruce Rauner have more personal income in his first two years as governor than in the prior 5 years combined?

Anytime he wants to talk about corruption, Pritzker should mention this fact. Just throw it out there and let the voters and news media speculate on it. Direct accusations don’t stick as well as a good mystery does, and it’s a question that Rauner likely won’t answer or can’t give a detailed enough answer to. That is a vast increase in personal financial gain, and few will buy the old “blind trust” response.

Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 11:28 am
Like the heads of IL EPA, IDOA, IDNR have not had some major conflicts of interest?

Comment by Vole Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 11:44 am
“Why did Bruce Rauner have more personal income in his first two years as governor. . .”

I was thinking about this today–has Rauner ever announced his income from 2017?

Comment by G'Kar Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:51 pm
Maybe seeing how his appointment of Ken Dunkin worked out caused him to finally see the light on this issue.

Comment by Gooner Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:11 pm
I have zero faith in the man’s interest in ethics given those he put in charge of a certain agency. The place is worse than it was under Blago and a shell of its former self. Those that it supposedly regulates call the shots and the head honcho’s main interest is self promotion. All the while Illinois suffers.

Comment by Nobody Sent Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:22 pm
Besides the 13s it might be easier to put the full fraud of GovJunk on display with some attention to Trump and their partnership or lack thereof

Comment by Annonin' Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 4:07 pm
Govenor you validated the tax hike with signature

Comment by Rabid Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 4:31 pm
What about Legionnaires’ disease crisis that went on for 3 years in the Veterans’ Home in Quincy?

Comment by Mama Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 8:31 pm
I wonder if there is a difference between Rauner’s corporate scavenging, i.e. corporate corruption and political corruption, ethically speaking.

Comment by wonder Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 9:24 pm
Who knew Rauners income would skyrocket with an impasse of his own making, what’s he hiding from voters

Comment by Rabid Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 9:48 pm
–Besides the 13s it might be easier to put the full fraud of GovJunk on display with some attention to Trump and their partnership or lack thereof–

Here’s the Madigan communications braintrust in action.

Such a mystery that the dude has a 21% approval rating.

What. Are. You. Talking. About?

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jun 14, 18 @ 10:19 am