 Rauner used the opportunity of his first State of the State address to present
his agenda for fixing the state’s most pressing problems such as high property
taxes and a wage and labor environment that he says are pushing jobs and people
out of Illinois.
“Over the past dozen years, 275,000 more people decided to leave Illinois than
chose to come here,” the governor said. “And over that same time period, the
states around us have been kicking our tails.”
Among the high points of the governor’s agenda:
Education
Although he did not cite numbers, Rauner promised to boost education funding,
including for the state’s most disadvantaged school districts and for early
childhood education.
“From cradle to career, our children’s education needs to be our top priority,”
Rauner said.
The governor also reiterated his support for special education, as well as
vocational and technical training.
He said Illinois has to do better getting resources into classrooms.
“Our education bureaucracy stands between state resources and the classroom,”
Rauner said. “We must find ways to reduce it.”
He called for ending the cap on the number of public charter schools that can be
created.
Labor
Rauner isn’t backing away from organized labor.
The governor said he wants to streamline requirements for state projects such as
the prevailing wage and project labor agreements.
He said the state employee pay scale should be based on achievement rather than
longevity. He also called for allowing local communities to create right-to-work
zones that would prohibit workers from being forced to join unions.
Rauner also wants to require unions that contract with the state to increase
minority participation in their apprenticeship programs. He said about 80
percent of people in Illinois apprenticeship programs are white even though
whites make up less than 63 percent of the state’s population.
And Rauner continued to press that unions that do business with the state should
not be able to fund the campaigns of the very people with whom they bargain.
Minimum wage
The governor proposed an increase in the minimum wage to $10, but phased in over
the course of 7 years. Democrats in the General Assembly groaned when they heard
that, and House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, smiled and said Democrats
would be moving quicker.
Prisons
Rauner said the state will hire more prison guards to improve safety for guards
and inmates.
The governor also stressed increased investment in prison alternatives, such as
the state’s Adult Redeploy program, which he said has diverted more than 1,900
offenders into community-based programming.
Taxes
The governor was critical of Illinois’ reliance on property taxes and focused
largely on improving the ability of state and local governments to cut costs
through reduced spending on labor and improved bidding processes.
Other than mentioning a need for a broader tax base, the governor stayed away
from discussing new revenue sources.
Other ‘reforms’
Rauner again mentioned Illinois’ over-abundance on units of local government
(nearly 7,000) and called for reductions.
He endorsed term limits, calling for the a constitutional amendment ballot
question in 2016, saying the decision belongs to voters.
Rauner said excessive burdens from workers compensation, unemployment insurance
and liability costs all need attention, as Illinois costs are out of line when
compared to other states.
The governor also called for prohibiting trial lawyer donations to elected
judges and moving toward merit-based judicial reform.
Reaction
The governor’s fellow Republicans praised the address, saying Rauner was the
first governor in more than a decade to accurately portray the condition of the
state.
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 “It was big and bold and it was hopeful,” said state
Rep. Ron Sandack, R-Downers Grove. “I thought it was realistic given
where we are. The governor’s offered a transformative agenda and I
like it.”
Others in the GOP concurred.
“It’s the first time in my five-year tenure as a state
representative I’ve heard a true State of the State speech. By that
I mean it’s the first time I’ve heard someone lay out the problems
we have, specifically, how its affecting us, specifically, and what
the governor intends to do about it,” said Rep. Dwight Kay, R-Glen
Carbon.
“I also found thought it was very interesting that it was not a
bi-partisan speech” intended for popularity. “Rather, it was one
where the governor said here’s what we need do for this great state
and the citizens of this great state. I’ve not heard that in the
past.”
Rank-and-file Democrats largely praised the addition
of more prison guards and increasing education spending, but some
were also critical.
“Again, I think it’s so much more of a campaign speech and were not
getting to the real meat of it,” said state Sen. Linda Holmes,
D-Aurora.
Others did not like Rauner promoting charter schools.
“I’m an opponent of charter schools. I just think it takes away from
the public schools. We should all be working together to make our
public school system stronger and better for everybody,” said state
Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan.
But state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, countered that charter
schools offer inner-city youngsters trapped in failing schools
opportunities to thrive.
State Rep. Jay Hoffmann, D-Collinsville, said he hopes Democrats and
Rauner can work together, but he was disheartened by the governor’s
thoughts on organized labor.
“I don’t think you should be attacking teachers, I don’t think you
should attacking correctional officers, I don’t think you should be
attacking state police and the firemen who are out there on the
front lines doing the work,” Hoffman said.
Michael Carrigan, president Illinois AFL-CIO, was blunt.
“I don’t think he had a firm grasp on reality” Carrigan said. “He
was talking about how we all need to work together for a better
tomorrow but then launches into some pretty vicious attacks on
organized labor, who is the middle class.”
For Rauner’s part, he said, “Next to being a parent, teaching is the
most important job in the world. We must support our many good
teachers. That means putting more resources directly into
classrooms, reforming the education bureaucracy and rolling back
costly mandates.”
State Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Rockford, said Rauner and the
Legislature “need to bring all groups together, including the
unions, to make sure we are working together. That’s far more
productive than to point fingers or cast blame.”
The leaders
Madigan struck a cooperative and even affable stance after the
speech, saying he didn’t see the governor’s address as divisive. He
pledged to work with Rauner.
Speaking to reporters, Madigan refused to rule anything out, saying,
“I don’t want to prejudice any of the governor’s ideas.”
The speaker did return repeatedly to a couple of themes, namely a
need for reasonable negotiation and Rauner’s remembering it takes 60
votes in the House and 30 in the Senate to make ideas into
legislation.
Madigan also said he did not think spending cuts alone would be
enough to lift Illinois from the financial hole it is in.
“There are a lot of people in the House who would like to vote for
an extension of the income tax increase,” he said. “That’s just the
reality.”
House GOP Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, praised Rauner for
being up-front.
He “was very bold making very direct statements, but the type of
statements the people of Illinois want to hear,” Durkin said.
Said Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno, “The bottom line
here, and I think the governor made this point, is that Illinois is
not competitive.
“So no matter what we have in place right now, as long as we’re not
competitive, the problem isn’t solved and nothing can be taken off
the table.”
[This
article courtesy of
Watchdog.]
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