Free Republic

Former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner believes it’s time reopen the state amid the coronavirus pandemic, blaming politics for the decision to keep restrictions in place. In a text message, Rauner argued that the state’s phased reopening plan is a boon for Democrats, who he says are looking to benefit politically from the coronavirus. “Keeping economy shut (is a) Trifecta for Dems: justification for income tax hike in November, justification for federal bailout of states, (and a) horrible economy for Trump’s re-election,” the former governor said. “We’ve put this problem almost entirely on the backs of our children (who are at...

Illinois has long been a blue state, mainly because of the way Chicagoans lean. But if state Republicans had hopes of gaining, or even maintaining ground last Tuesday, their hopes were quickly quashed. Democrats ousted Republicans in the race for governor and in two key congressional districts, and the General Assembly locked in Democratic supermajorities in both houses. So where do Republicans in Illinois stand today, and what’s to come?

Democratic candidates won governorships in seven Republican-held states on Tuesday as voters rebuked both President Trump and unpopular GOP governors in some of the deepest red territories in the country. Democratic candidates picked up open seats in Maine, Nevada, Michigan and New Mexico where Republican incumbents faced term limits. State Sen. Laura Kelly (D) beat out controversial Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R), who ousted Gov. Jeff Colyer (R) in this year’s Republican primary. Billionaire hotel magnate J.B. Pritzker (D) easily outpaced Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) in a race that cost both men tens of millions of dollars....

You know what you think of Bruce Rauner and J.B. Pritzker. One promised to shatter the status quo and admits he has come up short. The other removes mansion toilets to save on taxes and coos on FBI recordings with a corrupt Rod Blagojevich. Now set all of that aside. Focus instead on the one reality that should guide your vote for governor of Illinois. Combative campaigns, like summer romances, tend to be fun and have no lasting consequence. But after this election, one of these men — Republican Rauner or Democrat Pritzker — likely will govern with an overwhelmingly...

Jeanne Ives and Governor Bruce Rauner It isn't often that you see political courage shown in Illinois. Illinois is a deep blue state that has very restrictive gun control laws. Chicago politicians are all to eager to curry favor with the national media and to go-along to get-along with the anti-Second Amendment agenda. Illinois politics is dominated by Chicago. Governor Bruce Rauner went against the flow and the enormous power wielded by the network media. He vetoed an expensive and ineffective bill, SB 1657, designed to make gun sales more difficult in Illinois, at least for small dealers.  From...

In 30 years of writing op-ed columns for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, I'm hard pressed to recall making any political predictions. I prefer to leave it to the Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn. But here comes an exception. Bruce Rauner has slit his throat, with his general incompetence and a campaign that was so dishonest that it set some sort of record in a state where truth is typically flushable. The way he failed to get a single one of his goals accomplished in his three and a half years as governor is by itself a flop worthy of...

The Associated Press has called the Republican gubernatorial primary race for current Illinois governor Bruce Rauner, who defeated his conservative challenger Jeanne Ives in a tight contest tonight. Ives conceded to Rauner around 11:30 p.m., saying, “We fell just a bit short.” In spite of the close loss, the Ives campaign put together a remarkable effort in the primary, challenging Rauner to a difficult campaign season despite his massive spending advantage. When the race was called, Ives lagged behind the sitting governor by a little over three percentage points. Meanwhile, Erika Harold defeated Gary Grasso tonight for the GOP attorney-general...

Cook County GOP Chairman Sean Morrison is attempting a first time ever-seen tactic to overrule or undermine all of the Republican Township Committees that chose to endorse counter to his primary picks with a sample ballot that hit mailboxes Friday. In the mailing, Morrison writes in a small box a comment that leads unknowing Republicans to believe that any other ballots - possibly including local township organization ballots - are illegal. Wheeling Township GOP Committeeman Ruth O'Connell told Illinois Review, "This mailing undermines the work we've been doing in Wheeling Township and my authority as a committeeman. We endorsed Jeanne...

Gov. Bruce Rauner's local Republican organization will not endorse his re-election. The New Trier Township Republican Organization (NTRO) officially declined to endorse during a meeting on Saturday, just blocks from Rauner's home. "It is extraordinarily rare to fail to endorse an incumbent governor, let alone the incumbent's local organization." Rauner is facing a challenge from conservative reform State Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton). Blair Garber said NTRO should back Rauner because "his money" can help Republicans re-claim control of the Illinois House from Democrats. "There's nobody who can do this but Bruce," he said. He's put in $100 million of his...

State Rep. Jeanne Ives, a Wheaton Republican, pulled no punches regarding her disdain for incumbent Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner at an appearance in Princeton Saturday evening. Speaking to supporters who gathered at the Red Apple Restaurant prior to the annual Lincoln Day Dinner, Ives said Rauner isn’t telling the truth about the budget, about his record, or about hers in multiple attack mailings sent to GOP primary voters. “What he’s telling you is a complete lie, but this is to be expected from a man who lied to a cardinal about taxpayer funding of abortion,” Ives said. Ives is a...

Is Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives really a creature of Democratic boss Mike Madigan? Gov. Bruce Rauner says so on his commercials. So it must be true, right? No. A friend saw the Rauner ad against Ives and texted, “So she’s a Madigan candidate?” No, I told him. Absolutely not. But when you have millions and millions to spend, like Rauner, you can say almost anything if you pay for it, and if media don’t call you out on it. Ives, the conservative Republican from Wheaton who is challenging Rauner in the primary for governor, is no Madigan toady. The...

Soon, Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., is expected to sign pro-life legislation, expanding on his unbroken history as governor of supporting pro-life policies. This is in contrast to his neighbor to the south, Gov. Bruce Rauner, R-Ill., who actually expanded taxpayer funding for abortion. On Election Day 2014 I watched election results come in at the Hilton Chicago with the Chicago GOP and the Rauner campaign. As a campaign manager for a state house representative, I celebrated as the Republicans retained control of the U.S. House and won the Senate. Late into the evening, I cheered as Bruce Rauner pulled off...

CHICAGO In an awkward onstage appearance this week, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner drank a glass of chocolate milk to demonstrate his belief in diversity. "It's really, really good," Rauner said after taking a sip of the sugary drink. "Diversity!"

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Bruce Rauner proposed on Wednesday an election-year budget that relies on a politically questionable shift of pension costs to colleges, universities and local school districts. "The simple truth is this: We have to change the way we manage pension costs and group health expenses. If we don't, our finances will continue to deteriorate, our economy will remain sluggish and our tax burdens will stay high and keep rising," Rauner said in his fourth budget address. "Our FY19 budget addresses the problem head on and creates a surplus that we can use to pay down some of our...

A Republican lawmaker trying to unseat Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is standing by a campaign ad that’s being blasted as racist, homophobic and “repulsive.” State Rep. Jeanne Ives, a social and fiscal conservative, says the ad that began airing this weekend illustrates the GOP governor’s “chosen constituents based on the policy choices he made.” The ad features actors portraying people including a transgender woman and a Chicago Teachers Union member, all thanking Rauner. The deep-voiced transgender woman, wearing a dress that reveals a hairy chest, says “Thank you for signing legislation that lets me use the girl’s bathroom.” …

The ad marks a sharp public shift to the right in Ives’ campaign. Ives had been gaining attention following a debate with Rauner at the Chicago Tribune last week. And her sharp critiques of the governor were used in a digital ad by Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker. “Thank you for legislation that lets me use the girls’ bathroom,” says a man in the new ad, dressed in a woman’s red dress. That targeted a House bill Rauner signed into law which allows transgender citizens to change their gender designation without going through gender reassignment or gender confirmation surgery. “Thank...

Grassroots support for Jeanne Ives’ gubernatorial bid continues to grow. Today, she adds the backing of the Wheeling Township Republican Organization (WTRO). Ninety percent (90%) of WTRO’s precinct captains voted to endorse Ives over incumbent Governor Bruce Rauner. Wheeling Township is a Republican stronghold. In 2014, more Republican primary votes were cast in Wheeling Township than in 89 of Illinois’ 102 counties.

Starting in January, Illinois will bar a rare criminal defense allowing the use of a victim’s sexual orientation as justification for violent crime, a ban gay rights advocates say they will attempt to replicate in about half a dozen states next year. Defense attorneys will no longer be able to mount the so-called “gay panic defense” in Illinois, the second state after California to prohibit the tactic. It isn’t common, but one study shows it has surfaced in about half of all U.S. states and has been used with some success. Advocates say bans are necessary because crimes against gay...

...This model is the iron alliance of the Democratic Party and government workers’ unions. Madigan supports Pritzker, who is committed to the alliance. This is the state of the state under it: Unfunded state and local government retirement debt is more than $260 billion and rising. Unfunded pension liabilities for the nation’s highest-paid government workers (overtime starts at 37.5 hours) are $130 billion and are projected to increase for at least through the next decade. Nearly 25 percent of the state’s general funds go to retirees (many living in Texas and Florida). Vendors are owed $9.5 billion. Every five minutes...

Commentary: Welcome to the dysfunction of Illinois government Diana Sroka Rickert I walked into the Thompson Center on my first day, not knowing what to expect. In many ways, my new workplace was like any other large organization: big building, thousands of people and plenty of broken computers. Except this building is dilapidated, many of the employees are political hires and the computers will never be repaired, ever. And it’s all paid for by you, Illinois taxpayers. “Welcome to state government,” said a new colleague, as we boarded the elevator for the 16th floor. This summer I got to see...