Illinois Republican Governor Bruce Rauner delivered his annual State of the State address on Wednesday afternoon in Springfield. In his prepared remarks, he used the occasion of the state's bicentennial to draw upon the state's more well-known historical events.
"We were the first state to ratify the Constitutional amendment to abolish slavery," Rauner said.
He pointed to Illinois as the home of presidents Lincoln, Grant, Reagan and Obama.
"We taught the world how to rebuild a city when we scraped the sky after the Chicago Fire," Rauner stated. "We invented the Twinkie and started the first nuclear chain reaction."
He noted the state's 36 Fortune 500 companies and says the state's produces 10 percent of the nation’s computer scientists.
"This is where Illinois comes from," Rauner continued. "These are the people on whose shoulders we stand to envision our future. This is the lofty vantage point from which we now look ahead."
He highlighted the state’s bid for Amazon’s second headquarters. Illinois remains a finalist for that venture.
“The fact is, there is another, much bigger Amazon-like opportunity to pursue,” Rauner said. “The request for proposal comes from an enterprise called … the State of Illinois.”
Sexual Harassment Claims In Springfield
Rauner mentioned efforts at the statehouse to enact reforms related to the #MeToo movement in Springfield.
“The outcry for ethical reform turned into legislation in a Hollywood minute,” he said. “Unfortunately, many believe that transparency and accountability were sacrificed for optics and speed.
Rauner says he will sign an executive order that creates a chief compliance office in the executive branch; stipulates reviews of allegations in 10 days or less; and requires training on best investigation practices by the end of this year, and every two years thereafter.
Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak and Response
Rauner also addressed criticism with how the state responded to a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at the Quincy Veterans Home.
“Our leadership team and our medical and caregiver staffs took all the right steps to deal with the crisis,” Rauner asserted. “We discovered the true cause of the outbreak through pro-active tests. We partnered with the CDC, took each of their recommendations, installed a new $6 million water-treatment system, and instituted best practices for water flushing and purification.”
He says the state will go beyond the recommendations of experts.
“We are investigating the possibility of entire system replacements, and perhaps even a new facility,” Rauner said.
Education Funding
Education was an expected topic as part of the Governor’s speech. He pointed to increased funding for K-12 funding and early childhood education.
“We enacted historic reforms to end one of the most inequitable school-funding formulas in the country,” Rauner said. “For most districts it will be a welcome and long overdue infusion of new money for their programs. Now, need dictates resources, not ZIP codes.”
Criminal Justice Reforms
Rauner says the state made historic criminal justice reforms, citing a reduction in the state’s backlog of clemency requests.
“The state’s prison population has been safely reduced by nearly 15 percent,” Rauner said. “We do everything we can to help non-violent and young offenders learn in prison, so they don’t go back to prison.”
Rauner introduced Landus Jackson as one of his guests for the address.
“Next time you are in Cairo, visit his barber shop as I did," the governor said, "and he’ll show you the license he earned in prison and tell you with pride about the business he’s built.”
Balancing the Budget
Rauner concluded his remarks with assurances of protecting taxpayer dollars.
“So, on this point I think we can also agree: It is time we do what the people of Illinois want,” Rauner said. “Halt the advance of taxes. Stop spending money we don’t have. Get our pensions under control. And give power back to the people.”
Rauner says he will submit a balanced budget next month. There was sustained vocal reaction to this pledge, given two years in office with a stalled budget plan. He went off script upon hearing the reaction, adding, "and I hope this year you will pass it instead of ignoring it."
“We all know that the people of Illinois are taxed out,” Rauner said. “So, just as we reversed the flow of the Chicago River, it is time to change the flow of money. Let’s curb our spending and work together to give people the capital they need to build and grow. If that happens, we will produce jobs, personal income growth, and attract talented taxpayers to our economy.”
Rauner's primary election challenger, State Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton, says the governor patted himself on the back for accomplishments he shouldn't be taking credit for. She called the legislation he signed to fund schools a "bail-out for Chicago Public Schools."
She also wasn't impressed with his remarks about addressing sexual harassment.
"The idea that he's now coming forward with some executive order on the sexual harassment issues in the state of Illinois, when that legislative inspector general position was left empty his entire term is just preposterous," Ives said
Ives says she heard no specifics during the address that would help put Illinois on a path to fiscal solvency.
Democratic State Comptroller Susana Mendoza had a similar concern: “How does the governor intend to pay for his deficit spending?” she asked. “That is, in fact, now making him the highest deficit-spending governor in the history of the state of Illinois.”
Following today’s State of the State address, Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery released this response:
“Much like President Trump’s speech last night, today we heard Governor Rauner fail to take responsibility for the problems he’s caused while taking credit for progress that occurred despite him, not because of him. "Look no further than his deceptive boasting about school funding. The truth is, Rauner vetoed a bipartisan solution to a decades-long problem, forced through private school vouchers, and has now put equitable funding – and our most vulnerable students – in jeopardy again. "The truth is, Rauner failed to fund MAP grants, forced five public universities into junk bond status and layoffs, and proposed deep cuts to higher education."
Montgomery said Rauner continually creates crisis to boost his political agenda, and that he refuses to compromise, forcing the state to suffer.
He blamed Rauner for several specific circumstances:
"We lost jobs. We lost thousands of college students. And the state lost $1 billion to late fees last year alone, money that could have gone to schools, higher education, and social services."
- WNIJ's Jenna Dooley and Illinois Public Radio's Sean Crawford and Rachel Otwell contributed to this report.