Tales from the DarkSide(Bruce Ruiner's way of politics)

During my travels throughout the lovely Illinois landscape, I pick up some very interesting reports about our illustrious, hard-working, by the bootstraps gov. Or so he'd like us to believe.
So....for those of us who have been involved with working for the state, we know about Governor Quinn denying some contractual pay increases in the last couple of years. This was found not to be very nice and state employees won(yes, through AFSCME) the back pay for those increases. BUT...it's been dragging on and on and on.
So fast forward to 2015. There are 2 bills being considered to address the back pay as a supplemental budget item, one from a Democrat(Sue Sherer-Decatur), one Republican(central/downstate who has constituents that have been harmed), and just pay those that are still owed. Much of the back pay has already been paid, let's get it over with and done, right? So, the republican bill goes to committee faster, the roll call is great, everyone wants this to get done, the bill will pass out of committee easily, but....the rep is no where to be found...see, the representative who sponsored the bill has to call the bill before committee--not a co-sponsor, not a committee member, but the republican representative who authored the bill refuses to come to committee. Why? Because the Governor's staff have "reached out" to this representative and told him that he will NOT bring this to committee because the governor doesn't want him to(and we all know about that $20 Million PAC to primary those that don't listen to Lord Ruiner). Let that set in for a minute...even tho the courts have ruled that state employees are due the back pay because our contracts are just as sacrosanct as banksters, even tho this is a bipartisan endeavor that all support, Ruiner intimidates a representative to NOT do what is right by his constituents..so, Sue Scherer's bill had to be approved quickly before the deadline ran out for this session.
Now, this Republican legislator has always worked for his constituency, his constituency was directly affected by the back pay issue. Yes, a back pay bill was approved to go to the floor, but all of a sudden, this became an us vs. them rather than a bill that was right and fair, all approved. Per capita, there are probably more people that will be effected by this bill in downstate areas(that are more republican) but Ruiner didn't want the Republican party, HIS party, attached to it.

Another report of Bullying(assholeness):
Bruce the Ruiner. although he hasn't filed a single piece of legislation during this session, he's posted his Turnaround Illinois bullet list on the gov's website. OK, he won, he can post whatever he wants, but, unlike running a company, you don't just get to make policy and it's Law. is inviting our elected representatives to have breakfast/lunch with him. During this time he's pressing what he feels is the right way for his ideology for Illinois. He doesn't have any real bills, he doesn't want his fingerprints on the wreckage of the middle class. So he just plays the game of, "I feel this is what is good" and good to him is to make the rich much richer and the rest of us? Have we read a Christmas Carol before Scrooge had a heart?
So the governor calls in 3-4 legislators in, dems and repubs. He gives them his speech about how great right to work zones would be and if prevailing wage is something of the past, we don't need no steenkin union wages, the reps ask the gov, where's your legislation, "well here's my proposal and you'll know what to do" and gives them his "Turnaround Illinois" manifesto that's on the governor's website. In one meeting, Ruiner met with 4 democratic  reps and a majority of them were also union members. His agenda was the right to work for less, getting rid of the pension protection, etc. Rauner tells the reps, we're not that far apart, I need 7 bills..so the lawmakers ask, where's your legislation? Rauner says to them, well, you'll know what I need, here's my plan, when you read this you'll be on board, you'll see; we're very close to being on the same page. When more questions are asked, he starts talking about how corrupt unions are, how unions are one of the reasons that businesses are leaving(which is another lie),etc. So, one of the reps states, "Governor, I'm a union member. What your plan has is damaging to my constituents and my fellow union members, I won't vote against them."
At this time, Ruiner gets very frustrated, the smile is gone and he looks at the rep and asks, "Do you know how many union members are in Illinois?" The rep answers, "About 11%" Ruiner hits the table with his hand and yells, "NO! (pound) 11(pound) point(pound) 4 percent!" Do you know how many union members will be in Illinois in 4 years?!! Zero(pound) point (pound) Zero!"
Sorry, I wasn't sure how to show his emphatic pounding on table to while trying to make his point. Now, actually, both Ruiner and the representative were wrong, About 15% of Illinois' working population are union workers, but the point is clear. All Rauner wants to do is to bring back a feudal system where the rich keep everything and we work until we die(or starve, guess that'd be OK in his world also).
Just like your normal, everyday sociopath......

Mitt Rauner(oops, Bruce), trying to talk to real people(yep, another version of deer in headlights)

As many of you may have figured out, I am a union activist, otherwise known as a union thug...or whatever the media likes to call me and, because of that I also have "union thug" friends, even some "union bosses" friends. One of those union boss friends that I'd like to introduce is my President, Larry Brown.

Larry worked at the max prison in the southern part of the state to earn his retirement benefits and he takes his benefits seriously. He also takes seriously how Mr. Rauner has been demeaning us in the press and receiving little to no push back. Don't worry, Larry can push back. Hard. With those silly little things called facts.

So...Mitt, er, Bruce Rauner decided to go to southwestern Illinois to speak to state employees and retirees about how he wants to "help" them. Larry was present at the meeting.

Mr. Rauner came out with a prepared statement, he was trying to garner some grassroots troops. The question and answer session lasted about 90 minutes and to his credit, did try to answer questions from the audience. He did say that he thought that SB 1(the pension theft bill) was "unconstitutional"; that doesn't mean he wouldn't support cutting our benefits, he actually thought it didn't go far enough, considering some of his comments in the media and his calls to Republican leaders in the General Assembly to vote against the bill, partially because he wants larger cuts and partially just as a black eye to the Dems.
Larry asked about SB1313, which AFSCME is also litigating and was signed into law in 2012. For those of you who don't know or remember, this is the bill that attacked retirees' health care. Now, I don't expect everyone to know this, but...if you're running for governor....Mr. Rauner had that deer in headlights look and told Larry(after Larry explained the law to him), "You gotta be kidding me, I'll have to check it out." Maybe we all need to start carrying fact sheets with us, eh? Help out Mr. Rauner's knowledge base?
So, more about pensions. Mr. Rauner stated he wanted a "Two-Tier" pension...Larry, again, informed him that Illinois has a two tier pension, since January of 2011. Mr. Rauner, "We do?" Yes, we do. So, we now know that what Mitt's talking about is a Three tier system; his idea is that those that are retired, their defined benefit pensions aren't changed. If you're still working, the defined benefit stops the day he takes office--for all, whether you are coordinated with Social Security or not. And from that day forward? Employees will be expected to figure out the stock market and use a (private) financial planner to get a 401K. You know the type, the hedge fund managers charge their fees and make $$$$ while the small investor watches his/her ability to retire get smaller and smaller because of "market forces". The other part of this silly idea that Mr. Rauner didn't address is if we have no funding from our working brothers and sisters(State and University employees pay up to 14% of their salary into the pension fund), if they are now playing on the market, how do you keep the pension fund solvent for the older retirees?
Mr. Rauner also wanted to assure the retirees and employees he was speaking to that he didn't have any problem with them, it was those corrupt "union bosses". So, Larry asks him, "Why are you mad at me?" Mr. Rauner stated he wasn't, he was against the bosses. They make the decision to fund corrupt politicians with your union dues. Larry informed him that he was a union boss, he was democratically elected and represents over 27,000 retirees in the state of Illinois and that the dues, by law, cannot be used as political contributions. Larry went on to tell Mr. Rauner that AFSCME does have a voluntary deduction for our Political Action Committee, called PEOPLE, but we also vote democratically, both the active and retired employees, on who we will or will not support. Larry asked Mr. Rauner if his company gave political contributions. Mr. Rauner answered yes. Larry asked him if those contributions were voted on by all of the workers in a democratic fashion. We all know the answer to that question, don't we?
So, it seems that Mr. Rauner has very little knowledge of what is law, what is being litigated in the state of Illinois, and very little knowledge on how unions function. And he's being touted as the front runner? He can't even figure out his own taxes(he took 3 property tax exemptions instead of just one), doesn't know that "union bosses" are democratically elected, doesn't know about litigation that will affect his governance, if elected, doesn't know that there are laws that make it illegal for his idea of "union bosses" handing money to politicians.
Can we really want someone who is so stupid about how the government is run...to run our government?????
I do understand, Quinn ain't the public's savior, but he's not trying to sell off Illinois. No one spends as much money as Mr. Rauner has on his campaign and expects nothing from it.

Bruce Rauner--the new Jacob Marley...or a Romney wannabe

Bruce Rauner has been stomping on Illinois for the Republican Primary. He's been rallying against the "union bosses" and praising charter schools. Now? He wants to lower the minimum wage in Illinois which put a big smile on the other three Republican candidates. See, this is another chip in his "just a regular guy" armor. The whole nation, when polled, is in favor of raising the minimum wage to at least $10 an hour. Rauner wants to lessen our minimum wage which is $1 above the federal. So, then, he tried to pedal back...in the northern regions...thinking that the Southern areas wouldn't compare what was said in the Northern areas.
See, Illinois is the only state that travels through the "rust" belt, the "corn" belt and the "bible" belt of America...we are a microcosm of the USA in many ways( and yes, we have our tech belt also...and we're getting pretty good at wine also!). We have a very diverse population, but, I would venture a guess that none of us like being played for a fool and most of us have, at least, a TV and access to what candidates say in all areas of the state.
Mr. Rauner loves to do his commercials in Cabella gear and his $18 watch, but I really doubt that's how he looks at board meetings at his venture capitalist groups. In fact, let's talk about his home "roots".
To ensure that his daughter could get into one of the most prestigious charter schools in Illinois, he first bought and used the address of condo that's near Millennium Park. When it was shown that he used influence(and maybe a $250K bribe...err...donation) to the Walter Payton Charter school, he tries brushing away the reports by saying his daughter was good enough grade wise, it was because of illness that she didn't automatically qualify.This is just another political attack on him. Sorry, Mr. Rauner, but I'm sure there are many children who could qualify, grade wise, but because of absenteeism, were refused, but didn't have the ability to pull out $250K to smooth over the questions or to call their "friend", Arne Duncan(who was head of schools in Chicago at that time), to get some dispensation for their child.
Then there's the Stuart Levine thing.....
Stuart Levine is legendary in Illinois politics as a "fixer", he's testified for the prosecution against Rod Blagojevich, William Cellini and Tony Rezko and was sentenced to his own 5 year sentence for money laundering and fraud. Mr. Rauner's ties with him? Mr. Levine was paid a salary of $25,000 a month by one of Rauner's companies to acquire government contracts. Twenty Five Thousand dollars a MONTH. So, being fair minded, I looked to see how Mr. Rauner answered questions about this. He didn't. All he said is it just another political attack. I don't know about anyone else, but when I'm looking at a candidate, specially for governor, I'd like to think I'm smart enough NOT to vote for the guy who has ties with a convicted felon who took down another governor--this already smells really bad. 
Then, comes the "fund-raising". Mr. Rauner's campaign is very proud of their "fund-raising" skills, having about $4 Million dollars. They don't mention that $3 Million has been donated by the candidate himself! So, in reality, the campaign has raised less than $1 Million. Yes, that's a good amount of change, but it doesn't mean that he has so much support, it means he can self-fund his campaign because he's a multi-millionaire/billionaire.
And let us not forget that last, "Regular guy that I'd like to have a beer with"...GeeDubya...2 illegal wars, the worst recession(I'd say depression) since 1930 and how many unneeded deaths and anger toward our country? Rauner ain't that much different, knows how to go walmart and laugh all the way to the bank as he screws the working poor and middle class.

Illinois Politics, the Newest Soap Opera

In Illinois we are facing a very dark gubernatorial election; Governor Pat Quinn on the Democratic side and the four Stooges on the Republican side: third timer State Senator Pat Brady(the author of the "KILL THE PUPPIES" bill fame--he authored a bill that would allow mass euthanasia of shelter dogs by gas chamber), State Senator Kirk Dillard(who used to be a moderate republican, now has become a SKY IS FALLING teabagger shill), State Treasurer Dan Rutherford and carpetbagger....er...venture capitalist Bruce Rauner.
OK, so now you know how much respect I have for them, but I'm not supposed to, I'm the Union Thug Gramma! Oh, but there's not much love going on in the republican camps either....
Seems there's a new attack ad against Kirk Dillard, who, in many ways has been written off as a "has-been" because of how he ran so far to the right after the 2010 primary. Even tho he's had trouble raising money, mainly because of this turnabout from moderate to batshit crazy rightwing nutjob(OK, I'll take the nutjob back, he really isn't), that the right doesn't know which Kirk Dillard is going to show up for the governor's mansion. But, it seems that someone is trying to muddy the waters. See, Dillard has always said that Jim Edgar(Governor after Thompson, during the 90's--one term) and this video first uses the song, "I touch Myself" from the 90's and ends with saying this video was brought to you by Kirk Dillard and friends at MSI--which was a soft core scandal of Edgars that surfaced in 2000.
And then, there's the new group, Republican Fund for Progress and Jobs that just recently formed. The Head of this group is the former Aaron Schock Chief of Staff, Steven Shearer, Schock is another teabagger(aka batshit crazy) who is supposed to represent Peoria and Springfield(among other areas) in congress, but can't seem to ever make it out to his Peoria office, feeling much more comfortable in what could be called Illinois' beltway-Springfield. Now, this new group is saying they are just trying to educate voters about the candidates, but when Schock was thinking about running for Governor, Rauner paid for attack ads against him. Think maybe that might come back to haunt him? I hope so.
Now, Rauner has gotten the endorsement of the Cook County Republican Party(wow, all 30 of them?), but it still may become a primary Heathers trap---real bloody and lots of bad publicity. 
And that's fine with me. Let's get the red meat out now and hope that people vote for someone who actually cares about the people of Illinois, not just the bottom dollar of campaign funds.
OH. The other big high school drama is "WHO'S BEING NICE TO DEMOCRATS...EWWWWWW" There have been push issues about Dillard giving less than $1000 to the Obama Inauguration Fund, not his campaign fund, but after he was elected. A whole $ 924. Like that was gonna make a difference, what, you think that paid for a table of republicans to go to the balls? The way the batshit crazy rightwing media is spinning it, you'd think that Dillard financed Obama's presidential campaign by himself!
On the other hand we have Rauner...who has given truckloads to Rahm Immanuel and,{PERISH THE THOUGHT} maybe even MIKE MADIGAN(OK, I feel I need drama music) and all of this will be coming out.
OK, gotta admit, love the hysterical drama queen persona of the republicant party when they turn it on themselves. Seems to fit well.