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 Following his speech in Chicago, Governor Rauner will take his
message directly to the people of Illinois on a two-day swing from
Rockford to Mt. Vernon.
Remarks as prepared for delivery:
Over the past two
years, the people of Illinois, Democrats and Republicans alike, have
demanded reform. In 2014 the entrenched politicians holding power in
Springfield ignored those demands. They used the Illinois court
system to stop proposals for term limits and fair maps that could
have led to the reforms the people want.
Term limits and fair maps would give the people of Illinois more
control over our broken political system.
But the politicians holding power said no.
Last week they said no again. A lower court threw out this year’s
Fair Maps proposal that has the support of nearly 600,000 Illinois
citizens, support from both Democrats and Republicans.
We cannot let this stand. The only way to overcome entrenched
political power is for the people of Illinois to never give up, to
keep pushing forward for reform. That’s why we’re here today.
Term limits is an issue I believe in deeply. And so do the people of
Illinois. Term limits is supported by 80% of the people I talk to,
and it seems like 80% of the politicians are opposed. Our people
want term limits now more than ever, and that’s why I’m so committed
to continue the fight to make it happen.
You know, I’ve been Governor of Illinois for a year and a half now.
We’ve gotten some important things done. But I’m as frustrated as
everyone else that we haven’t been able to tackle the biggest
challenges facing our state. These past 18 months have been a
humbling experience - I’ve learned just how entrenched the
politicians holding power are. They don’t want to change. They are
focused on their own power, rather than empowering people. But I
have also learned that you want me to keep working to fix our broken
political system. That is just what I plan to do.
But I need your help to get it done.
As I’ve travelled the state, I’ve learned the most from talking to
people, not politicians. I’ve talked to people in factory break
rooms, in coffee shops, in milking barns, in office buildings and at
kitchen tables. After you spend enough time in Springfield, it’s
inspiring to talk with people facing real challenges every day and
seeing how hard they work to get ahead. It makes me want to work
that much harder for all the people of Illinois.
Our people want action on the challenges we face. People want us to
fix the broken system that has put our state deep in the hole. But
in Springfield, too many career politicians holding power have been
happy to kick the can down the road and do nothing about our biggest
problems.
That is how we ended up with a $100 billion unfunded pension
liability. Even with our massive tax bills, our government spends a
dollar-thirty for every dollar it takes in. It simply defies common
sense. The people I talk to every day balance their budgets, and
they expect us to balance the State’s. To do that, we need new
people with their new ideas in Springfield.
People in business are successful by making things happen. In
politics, career politicians don’t have to make anything happen to
get re-elected. If they play their cards right, they’ve got a
lifetime job. We’ve got politicians in Springfield who’ve been there
for twenty, thirty, forty years! And look what’s happened to our
state in that time.
It’s time for change. Two years ago, 600,000 thousand people in
Illinois signed petitions calling for term limits on elected
officials. The politicians long in power ignored the petitions. They
won’t even debate the issue. That’s crazy!
We desperately need new faces and new ideas in Illinois politics. We
need to make serving in government more about public service, and
less about power and a government pension. That should be obvious!
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We need it in the Republican Party, in the Democratic Party, and
throughout the political spectrum. New faces need to believe they
have an even chance of winning in a truly democratic election.
Look at the numbers:
This year over 88% of candidates for our legislature faced no opposition in
their primary.
Even more amazing, two-thirds have no opposition in the general election. That’s
not democracy. That’s a rigged system.
The system has given so many
advantages to incumbents in the legislature that it’s very hard to vote them out
-- even if they’re not doing a good job.
That’s just wrong.
But we can change that. And we must change that.
That’s why I’m calling on the General Assembly to vote on a term limits
constitutional amendment when members return for the fall veto session.
It’s certainly true that getting term limits won’t fix every problem we face.
We’ve still got to wipe out corruption, conflicts of interest, and repair our
broken pension system. We’ve got to balance our budget without balancing it on
the backs of the most needy. We’ve got to get our property taxes moving down,
not up. All of this will help create the environment we need to attract good
jobs back to Illinois.
We can overcome our challenges.
We can do it together. First, we’ve got to fix Illinois’ broken political
system. And when we fix the system, we can take on any challenge Illinois faces.
Term limits will go a long way toward fixing the system by changing the culture
back to public service, not personal gain, by forcing the lifetime politicians
to find new jobs, and by bringing new faces and new ideas to Springfield.
All of the changes we need won’t happen right away. This will take time. But now
we’ll be moving in the right direction.
Instead of gridlock and inaction, we’ll be moving forward.
And every day we’ll get closer to the future we, our kids and our grandkids
deserve. Illinois can be the economic engine of the Midwest again. We can be a
magnet for the best companies from all over the world and the best jobs, just as
it used to be. From our rich farmland to busy factory floors to tech start-ups,
Illinois will be going and growing again.
Now, cynics will say this is an impossible dream to get term limits voted on by
this legislature. But that dream can become a reality if the people of Illinois
demand it.
And we are not stopping with term limits. We’ll keep pressing every day to lower
our property taxes, to protect all our taxpayers, to protect and grow our jobs,
and to ensure every child has a chance at a great education. We can do this – if
we work together for the reforms our state needs.
We’re facing tough challenges, but we can meet those challenges if we work
together for reform. One step at a time. Starting right now. It starts with term
limits.
Thank you.
[Office of the Governor Bruce Rauner] |
