February 11, 2015

By Jim Nowlan
Outside Columnist

Calling for a new partnership in Illinois, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner set a constructive, cooperative, problem-solving tone in his maiden speech Wednesday to a legislature in which more than three-fifths of the members are Democrats.
This positive approach will be critical in a pas de deux between chief executive and legislature that will have to continue unabated for the full four years of Rauner’s term, as the “Illinois Turnaround” the governor calls for will require years to set in motion.
The new governor’s proposals were, as expected, business friendly and union critical, yet he avoided demonizing the latter.
Rauner proposes cuts in workers’ compensation, unemployment and business liability costs as well as relief on property taxes, which are a heavy burden in Illinois on both businesses and homeowners.
The governor calls for local right-to-work zones (where workers would not have to join unions), which will not fly in the legislature, and for prohibitions on union contributions to political campaigns, another dead-on-arrival proposal, I am afraid.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.