Illinois' primary may be over, but the friction between Governor Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan is not. Nor is their divide over the path forward.
Madigan's viewing the primary results as a sort of vindication, as though the contests were a referendum on Rauner's pro-business, anti-union agenda, and voters rejected it.
The Speaker points to two races as proof: his own, in which he fended off a candidate whom Madigan says was supported by "those aligned with the governor’s belief in how government should be run."
And a $5 million battle over a Democratic Representative from Chicago, Ken Dunkin, who'd aligned himself with Rauner. Dunkin's loss, Madigan says, shows that voters "clearly were unhappy" with Dunkin’s Rauner ties.
But what Madigan hears as a "clear message" from voters isn’t echoing in the governor's office.
Rauner’s spokesman says "special interests backed by Speaker Madigan" came up short in attempts to unseat Republican incumbents who back Rauner's plans.
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