With the 2018 gubernatorial race looming, Gov. Bruce Rauner made an appearance and spoke of developments in business Nov. 5 at a multi-chamber luncheon held at the Bolingbrook Golf Club.
The event, presented by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, was attended by elected officials and chamber of commerce members from Lemont, Lisle, Naperville, Romeoville and other communities.
Rauner said we are on the verge of dramatic change.
“Whether you’re a Democrat or Republican doesn’t matter, what matters is we have a government that works for you and creates more economic opportunities for everyone in the State of Illinois,” he said. “If we do this right, this cycle we are going to change the power structure inside the state government, and I believe we can change the leadership of the general assembly, so Speaker [Michael] Madigan is no longer speaker. He’s the one person that we need to change in the process.”
“Because it’s really not about Democrats versus Republicans,” Rauner said. “A lot of Democrats want pension reform. A lot of Democrats want lower property taxes. A lot of Democrats want them to fix the system.”
Rauner acknowledged that Illinois faces a lot of challenges and insisted that they can be overcome by making the communities more pro-business.
“I know how hard you guys work, what great allies and advocates you are for the business community for creating jobs in this region of the state,” Rauner said.
During his address, Rauner received a mixed a reaction from members of the crowd.
Rauner touted the fact that he is a businessman turned politician and said the only difference between the world of business and government is people on Capitol Hill are working purely for themselves, not for the people.
Members of the audience watched on as he spoke and some clapped when Rauner’s message hit close to home.
He went for the jugular of political opponents in Springfield, suggesting that Illinois has every reason to thrive, except there are lawmakers running the government for monetary gains, not growth.
“We are going to change that,” Rauner said. “We are going to change the system very, very dramatically.”
“I couldn’t stand to see what’s been happening to our state,” Rauner said. “We’ve been in deteriorating mode—businesses leaving, lost job opportunities, high taxes. We said, ‘No more. We’ve got to change.’ I said, ‘You know, we can do this. We can do it.’”
Since being elected, Rauner has been working to eliminate redundancy in regulation to give power back to the community. Rauner said 15 percent of the restrictions have been cut, and the goal was to eliminate 25 percent by the end of his first term.
Rauner has also been promoting agenda items to excite businesses and allow for greater local control. Rauner stressed that this is not about partisanship.
“This is about good government,” he said.