Turnberry Country Club was the location of Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner’s introduction to the business community of McHenry County.
Crystal Lake Chamber Exec Gary Reece introduced Bruce Rauner.
The Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Director Gary Reece made a glowing introduction:
“The first time I saw this guy he was on Chicago Tonight.
“I was impressed.
“Bruce isn’t interested in a political career.
“I think he has all the skills you’d be looking for in a governor.”
Bruce Rauner
Rauner told of his motivations for running and his youngest daughter’s reaction when he told the family:
“Don’t run for Governor, Daddy.
“I don’t want you to go to jail.”
He talked a bit about his campaign, about how he had put “25,000 miles on the Ford.”
“We’re the worst run state in the country,” he asserted, pointing out that some Downstate Democrats he had talked with were ready to vote for a Republican.
“I will not sit back and let the career politicians take [Illinois] down the drain.”
Bruce Rauner has found issues he emphasizes.
Rauner went into his stock speech, which outlines his four priorities, on which he will “focus like a laser.”
- Economic growth and job growth
- Government efficiency, effectiveness and transparency
- Better schools
- Term limits
Some of the quotes I got down follow:
In the economic growth part of the talk, Rauner told of a manufacturer near O’Hare willing to support and contribute to his campaign, but who said,
“This plant we’re standing in won’t be here next year.”
The businessman said it would be in Tennessee. Part of the reason was that the $4 million building was paying $700,000 a year in real estate taxes.
Rauner is a great fan of former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. He told of Daniels’ having brought in thirty top businessmen when he took office and managing for results.
How could he make government more efficient?
Rauner pointed out that the Governor of Illinois has more powers than pretty much any other governor.
“You need the legislature if you want to spend more…but if you want to spend less..[you can] upset the apple cart.”
He bemoaned the fact that “a heck of a lot of Republicans in Springfield take government union money.
“Everyone I’m running against takes government union money.”
Bruce Rauner
An inherent power of the Governor is to negotiate contracts, Rauner said, observing that they come due “six months after a Governor takes office.”
“I will be pushing the envelop of powers of the office,” he added later as he was praising Quinn for applying a line item veto to legislative salaries.
With regard to schools, he said, “We have to hold our schools accountable for results.
“I don’t think there should be tenure…It doesn’t exist anywhere else [in society].”
He favors parents’ having “choice in every school.”
“Eight years and you’re gone” is his position on term limits.
“Boy, do I get a lot of ice stares from politicians.”
He pointed out that polls show 87% of Republican voters favor term limits with 71% for Democrats.
“We can get it done and put it on the ballot,” he said. “We’ll announce it in a couple of weeks.”
The meeting went into a question and answer session next.
He did not directly criticize his GOP opponents more than he already had when given the chance.
Rauner believes the fall race, if he is nominated, will be “a national race” because of his attacks on government unions.
Then he outlined support he had from Chicago that other Republicans have trouble obtaining.
He noted that he already had the support of the former State Senator and Rev. James Meeks. Meeks was originally elected as an Independent, but caucuses with Democrats.
He passed a school choice bill through the State Senate, but it did not make it through the House. (Democrat Jack Franks voted against the bill, which would have saved taxpayer dollars.)
Because of his support of charter schools, he also has other supporters on the South Side of Chicago, plus in Little Village, where the YMCA is named after him and his wife, as he told Nunda Township Republicans earlier this month.
“We’re known in the community as giving back.
“We have built more charter schools in their community than anyone else.”
When asked about school consolidation, Rauner admitted to not being up to speed on the subject. (Hint: it will cost taxpayers more money because grade school salaries will end up being brought up to equal high school salaries. Even the Associated Press figured that out.)
On pensions, Rauner clearing thinks Illinois should be moving away from a defined benefit program to a defined contribution pension system.
Having defined benefit pensions are “why out state and local governments are going bankrupt.”
“Pensions were negotiated by politicians with a conflict of interest. They were bribed [with campaign money].
“Well, now it’s caught up with us.
“We should not take away benefits already given.
“Somebody’s got to take the arrows. [My opponents} say, ‘Let’s lock the leaders in a room…'”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Reece said other gubernatorial candidates would be invited to similar meetings.
= = = = =
Republican Sheriff’s candidate Bill Prim attended the event.
Opponent Andy Zinke attended as well, but only for about the last five minutes. He did not wear his uniform.
It’s going to be very interesting to see how Rauner expects term limits to “get on the ballot” seeing as how the last time somebody tried that (a guy named Pat Quinn in 1994) the Chicago Bar Assn filed suit and the state Supreme Court blocked it. (Chicago Bar Association vs. Illinois State Board of Elections, 1994).
Does Rauner know something I don’t?
“…Rauner told of a manufacturer near O’Hare willing to support and contribute to his campaign, but who said,
“This plant we’re standing in won’t be here next year.”
The businessman said it would be in Tennessee. Part of the reason was that the $4 million building was paying $700,000 a year in real estate taxes…”
Nonsense.
Who pays 18% of the fair market or assessed value of their commercial structure in property taxes each year?
No one in North America.
I’ve seen the 2012 property tax bill for a Chevrolet dealer in Kane county and it was $134k. I assume it would be double in Cook based on how they tax businesses vs. Homes.
Rauner has cheated in many ways, like lying about his daughter to get her admission in a college she could not pass into herself. Beware maybe he doesn’t want to be a career politician but he will change rules and laws to help himself after the governorship. He is a private equity owner.
Politics[edit]
In March 2013, Rauner formed an exploratory committee to look at a run for Governor of Illinois as a Republican.[8] Rauner said his top priorities included streamlining government, improving education, and improving the state’s business climate.[9] He also supports term limits and says he would serve no more than 8 years as governor.[9]
In March 2013, the Daily Herald reported that Rauner had, for a number of years, improperly claimed three homestead exemptions on his Cook County property taxes.[10] In April 2013, Crain’s Chicago Business reported that Rauner, who had changed his voter registration address from Wilmette to Chicago in 2008, allegedly used his influence to obtain admission to Walter Payton College Prep for a daughter who did not meet the entrance requirements of the school and was initially denied admission.[11]
In early June 2013, Rauner officially announced his candidacy for governor.[12] Rauner has served as an advisor to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.[1]
The shuttered bank owned Wool Street Sports Bar/Restaurant in Cary has a property tax bill of $ 46,406.40, priced by the bank at $ 1,350,000.00 (which includes all furnishings, kitchen equipment, televisions, etc.).
How can a new business afford that?
I’m sorry, Mr. Skillicorn, but I’m an owner of a manufacturing business with a good chunk of commercial property in Cook County.
That’s why I called BS on Mr. Rauner.
I don’t believe that there is room for anonymous BS in politics.
Mr. Rauner could easily have mentioned the business by name- after all, Illinois corporation and property tax information is public knowledge.
LaurieJ- you ask how a business can afford $46,000 in taxes on a building valued at $1.3M?
The short answer is that they pay less in property tax(as a percentage of fair market value) than I do for my house here in Woodstock.
One pays more property tax on a $103,000 structure than on a $1,300,000 structure.
How can they afford the taxes? They don’t have any problem paying their Cook County tax bill for their Barrington location.
EDIT: One pays more property tax on a $1,300,000 structure than on a $103,000 structure.
Investigate the real Rauner record at http://www.norauner.com
Talk is cheap.
Here’s a map of effective property tax rates for Cook.
http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/cook-property-tax-classification
Mr. Skillicorn- I’m not sure why you posted that map.
It simply proves, based on the 2009 commercial and industrial real estate rates provided, that Mr. Rauner’s story of the apocryphal manufacturer’s tax bill could not possibly be true.
The apocryphal employees that will be screwed by the apocryphal manufacturer when the business moves to Tennessee actually pay lower residential tax rates than we do here in McHenry County, if they live in the Cook County townships that are adjacent to O’Hare.