An Illinois Referendum
From the Wall Street Journal
There's plenty of competition for the title of worst-run state in America, but Illinois is near the top of any fair survey. The good news after Tuesday is that voters in the Land of Lincoln will now get a choice of a new direction.
Businessman Bruce Rauner won Tuesday's Republican primary for Governor, and he's promising a reform agenda that sets up a November referendum on the corruption and union-dominated politics that have defined Springfield for decades.
Government unions clearly see Mr. Rauner as a threat, which is why they spent some $5 million backing state Senator Kirk Dillard, a status quo Republican who claimed a toothless pension compromise that didn't solve the problem but gave Democrats political cover. Backed by teachers unions, Mr. Dillard pilloried Mr. Rauner as a "bazillionaire" and member of the "0.01 percent" who made a fortune in private equity.
The union's goal is to portray Mr. Rauner as Mitt Romney without the charm. A labor PAC has run ads linking Mr. Rauner to wrongful death judgments at a nursing home in which his firm once invested. Never mind that the courts have overruled or stayed many of the judgments. Unions also urged their rank and file to "crossover" and pull a Republican vote for Mr. Dillard.
Mr. Rauner has personally contributed $6 million to his campaign and raised another $8 million, so he should have enough money to fight back. He will also benefit from being unattached to the insider cronyism that has dominated state politics under both parties.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Wall Street Journal
There's plenty of competition for the title of worst-run state in America, but Illinois is near the top of any fair survey. The good news after Tuesday is that voters in the Land of Lincoln will now get a choice of a new direction.
Businessman Bruce Rauner won Tuesday's Republican primary for Governor, and he's promising a reform agenda that sets up a November referendum on the corruption and union-dominated politics that have defined Springfield for decades.
Government unions clearly see Mr. Rauner as a threat, which is why they spent some $5 million backing state Senator Kirk Dillard, a status quo Republican who claimed a toothless pension compromise that didn't solve the problem but gave Democrats political cover. Backed by teachers unions, Mr. Dillard pilloried Mr. Rauner as a "bazillionaire" and member of the "0.01 percent" who made a fortune in private equity.
The union's goal is to portray Mr. Rauner as Mitt Romney without the charm. A labor PAC has run ads linking Mr. Rauner to wrongful death judgments at a nursing home in which his firm once invested. Never mind that the courts have overruled or stayed many of the judgments. Unions also urged their rank and file to "crossover" and pull a Republican vote for Mr. Dillard.
Mr. Rauner has personally contributed $6 million to his campaign and raised another $8 million, so he should have enough money to fight back. He will also benefit from being unattached to the insider cronyism that has dominated state politics under both parties.
Read more in our daily News Update...