October 09, 2015
Rauner finally stumbles on a winning message. Is it too late?
Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast Gov. Bruce Rauner
After nine months of all-out warfare with Speaker Mike Madigan and other Springfield Democrats, and nearly four months without a state budget, Gov. Bruce Rauner finally seems to have come up with a reform message that could resonate in this Democratic blue state.
The message is clear and direct and has more than a little truth to it: Government unions are getting rich off of you and your kids and need to be reined in before your property taxes go through the roof.
Unfortunately for Rauner, the new talk comes late, very late. Positions have hardened and a recalibrated message may not resonate the way it would have in, say, March. Plus, Team Rauner keeps adding in distracting stuff that it can achieve other ways and which will only provoke lawmakers. Stuff like term limits and remap reform.
Sigh! Better late than never, I suppose.
If you'll recall, Rauner entered office promising to reform or revamp just about everything that moved. His February State of the State speech, his first opportunity to fully present his plan and priorities as governor, included a stunning list of changes in how Illinois operates, from junking the way the state selects judges to passing an eye-ball spinning six constitutional amendments.
He declared war on organized labor as a whole, asking for right-to-work zones, cuts in unemployment insurance and workers compensation and a bunch of other stuff. In proposing too much and failing to focus on what must be any governor's top priority--enacting a balanced budget--Rauner gave Madigan the room he needed to avoid making any changes at all.
This week, a more restrained Rauner has focused on what he should have emphasized from the beginning: Public-sector unions really do have extraordinary control over who's elected to the Legislature and who lawmakers in an impossible conflict-of-interest situation.
Rauner essentially is right that, if you're going to freeze property taxes, you either have to come up with replacement revenue or cut personnel costs. He's right that, when it's been in their interest, Chicago Democrats have signed off on limiting union prerogatives, for instance clearing the way for a longer Chicago school day over intense union opposition.
Now, I don't endorse all of what Rauner wants to do, which comes pretty close to abolishing collective bargaining in the public sector. But labor groups that demand the right to retire with full benefits as early as their late 50s, who insist on 3 percent annual, compounded pension hikes in an era of 1 percent or 2 percent inflation are expecting to live better than taxpayers who pay the bills. As a matter of practical politics, Rauner has more potential to make a salable argument to taxpayers--the unions are asking you to pay too much--if he sticks to government unions and lets the private sector work on its problems itself.
Rauner says he's taken some stuff off the table, and he has, most notably local right-to-work zones. But even this week, he was still talking about how he needs legislative term limits and reapportionment changes.
Governor, you're not going to get that through the Legislature. Ain't gonna happen. You'd be smarter to take those issues right to the people in the form of petition campaigns to change the Illinois Constitution. Ultimately, such changes are going to have to be ratified by voters anyhow.
With Springfield at war, I'm not sure any of it will work now. But Rauner must have figured out by now that Madigan is not going to meekly fold his cards.
This now is about public opinion, a building state budget crisis and upcoming elections. Rauner finally is beginning to focus on what counts. It's a correct, if tardy, move.
Rauner focuses criticism on public sector unions - Blogs On Politics - Crain's Chicago Business
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