Rauner Speaks to Business Folks

Sanguinetti facing left speaking in mike

Evelyn Sanguinetti

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner and his running mate Evelyn Sanguinetti spoke to a gathering of Chamber of Commerce members at the Dole Mansion in Crystal Lake late Friday afternoon.

Sanguinetti was the warm-up act as Rauner waited at the door of the meeting room.

Rauner started his talk by revealing,

“My friends are leaving the state [going] to Texas, Florida.]

“I’m not going to leave Illinois.”

He told the same story that he gave to an earlier joint chamber meeting at Turnberry Country Club about his daughter not wanting him to run for Governor because she didn’t want him to go to jail.

It again brought laughs.

“We have a system of corruption, of self-dealing and it’s horrible,” he said.

“Our current Governor is under Federal investigation.  I think he’s in big trouble.”

Rauner pointing Dole

Bruce Rauner

He repeated the same four goals he does in all campaign stops:

  1. Restoring the business climate
  2. Shrinking the spending, waste and inefficiency in Springfield
  3. Allowing each child to have a decent education, plus putting vocational education back in high schools
  4. Term limits for legislators

The last point garnered applause.

“We got to rip corruption out of Springfield,” was his follow-up.

Building on his first point, later he said that McHenry County was “a booming county.”

“I want to make every county like McHenry County.”

Rauner told of the three values his grandfather had taught him:

  1. Work your fanny off.
  2. Get a great education.
  3. Give back to your community.  (“To whom much is given, much is expected,” he quoted the Bible.)

“This is my ultimate way of giving back,” he said, pointing out that he would take no salary or pension.

He told of investing public pension money in his business life, saying the rate of return was 20% compounded over twenty-two years.

“The race is going well,” he observed.

“We’re leading in most of the polls.”

Rauner crowd 1 Dole

The crowd was responsive to Bruce Rauner’s talk.

He then emphasized voter turnout as the key.

“It’s all about getting out the vote in places like McHenry County.”

He predicted that the election would be decided by a few thousand votes.

Rauner stressed that Illinois must “become a two party state again.”

Young people in college and high school “realize Illinois isn’t a good place for them.”

Attacking opponent Pat Quinn, the Republican said, “He’s corrupt just like Blagojevich.”

He stressed that he was not going to ignore Cook County.

He talked of his approach to the half million Greeks in the area and how Quinn’s “toughs” had tried to throw him out of the Greek parade.

Two to three African-American churches every Sunday hear one of his speeches.

One man stood up in the back of one and said that he had never voter for a Republican.

“OK, how’s that working out for you?” Rauner asked.

Another view of those attending.

Another view of those attending.

His follow-up is, “You know the guy in there now is failing.”

He said that often results in people taking a yard sign.

At an airport, Rauner reported going through the check point and putting his belt and shoes back on as four TSA employees came running toward him.

“This can’t be good,” he thought.

“All four of us are Democrats and we love your ads.  We’ll all going to vote for you,” one said.

In the question and answer period the first one was, “Why invest in Illinois?”

“I can’t make a great case right now,” He replied, but asked to be given 18-24 months.

He said he would target Workers Compensation, Tort Reform, environmental restrictions and labor [rules].

“You guys need more roads,” he added to applause.

In answer to how he would get legislation passed, he said he would get to know every member of the Illinois General Assembly “personally.”

Rauner + Evelyn Dole

Bruce Rauner and Evelyn Sanguinetti.

He mentioned knowing virtually of the Republicans already and, then, mention members of the Black, Latino and Downstate Caucuses, who have told him,

“We need a leader in Springfield.

“We need someone to take the arrows.”

Rauner also pointed out the leverage he would have if he were willing to spend less than what was appropriated.

That, besides the line item and reduction vetoes, Executive Orders, the ability to negotiate contracts with both employees and government suppliers make an Illinois Governor one of the most powerful in the country, he explained.

Rauner told of the large number of company owners who had told him, “If you don’t win, we’re out of here.”

He took my question (handed in on a card with no identification of who asked the question) about whether he favored lowering the corporate income tax.

“Yes,” he answered.

“I’m proposing overhauling the entire tax code in Illinois.”

He said he wanted “to study what well-run states do,”mentioning Texas, Tennessee, Florida and Georgia.

He talked about closing “special loopholes”

He mentioned that Illinois “taxes some things very highly and other things not at all.”

Rauner did not mention whether he was referring to the sales tax, which exempts services, or the income tax, which exempts retirement income.

He did say he wanted to “work the income tax down to where it was.”

“Local spending is out of control,” he asserted.

He also did not see the logic of Illinois having 7,000 tax district, 2,000 more than the next highest state.

“We don’t need that.”

He pledged to set up a task force of school superintendents and mayors asking them to suggest “how to rationalize local government in Illinois..

Rauner’s parting comment was that Illinois schools relied too much on property taxes.

He said education should rely more on the State.


Comments

Rauner Speaks to Business Folks — 6 Comments

  1. Well to start Bruce, on how Texas does it.

    They pay their legislators $12 K a year not $80 K, plus, plus.

    Start there.

  2. Just want to remind you Cal that this event was a private event for the Business Community that are members of an area Chamber of Commerce.

    Even you, needed to have a membership for attendance.

    It is through their invest in their community Chamber that we are developing a collective voice for Advocacy for business issues.

    Join your local Chamber for Education, Advocacy and Communication for information about the issue that impact business.

    Thanks for coming.

    It was a good event.

  3. Mary there is never any privacy in political discourse…..

  4. Perhaps the better way to describe that then Jeff is a closed event.

    it was for the benefit of Chambers members to come hear about business related issues.

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