I was contacted by the Illinois Federation of Teachers today, asking me to help circulate this video of Bruce Rauner. In the video he threatens to solve the state’s debt by firing public employees.
“We may have to go through rough times. We may have to do what Ronald Reagan did with the air traffic controllers. Sort of have to do a do-over and shut things down for a little while. That’s what we’re gonna do.”
The story is getting some national traction now that David Sirota has written about it in the International Business Times.
Rauner’s threats were greeted with warm applause by the gathering of Illinois Republicans Rauner was speaking to.
Sirota writes:
Rauner’s call to “shut things down” took place only a few months after the federal government shutdown last October. It also comes amid Illinois’ ongoing debate about how to address an estimated 30-year, $100 billion pension shortfall.
Critics of Illinois’ recent move to slash pension benefits have pointed to the state’s spending on tax cuts and subsidies as proof Illinois has plenty of money to address its pension obligations. For example, a New York Times analysis indicated, Illinois currently spends roughly $1.5 billion every year on taxpayer subsidies to corporations. Additionally, the state in 2011 passed a corporate tax cut bill that is estimated to cost $371 million a year. That bill was designed to award tax breaks to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Sirota hits the nail on the head.
Illinois’ bi-partisan tax and spending plans have been to let the rich go tax free and cut public pensions or privatize them.
Fred Klonsky 
You don’t provide quality when you pay employees wages so poor they take another job at the drop of the hat. There’s much to be said for training, education, & experience which isn’t what you get when you have constant turnover of employees starting from scratch constantly with each batch of new employees. No matter how busy, cheerful and well intentioned they may be they don’t get adequate training or experience. Services and the quality of those services suffers. It may save the state money in the short run, but people and businesses will go where there is quality. People may think civil servants do nothing, but they do a lot and are the backbone of a stable society providing consistency when everything else is changing.
Have an unopened bag of clothspins I may use for the Govorner’s race, but that’s the ONLY time I will use them. Holding my nose and voting is something I usually avoid.
To clarify…I’m voting for Quinn, rather than Darth Rauner…
What a brilliant idea – fire public employees so they’ll have to go on public assistance instead. Now that will save a lot of money. And even better, it will create a whole new group of “lazy, entitled people who don’t pay taxes” for people to look down their noses at.
That said, I’m getting to a point where I say let ’em do it. If we aren’t already in the streets rioting, and if this doesn’t get people in the streets rioting, maybe we deserve what we get. Contrary to popular opinion, the proverbial frog would have long since hopped out of this pot of boiling water.
Count me in the clothespin club. I’ll also try not to remind myself that Rauner’s position on shutting down the government is probably pretty similar to whatever dark advice Paul Vallas is whispering in Quinn’s ear.
Perhaps state and city workers should take a leaf from rauners book and all strike for a day or two
Stop spending money on brick-and-mortar projects – like building dormitories for students at Northeastern – which is a commuter school.
Northeastern is already located in a densely populated area – there’s no need to tear down a neighborhood or to build more buildings on land used for sports.
Spend money on teachers – not on buildings.
Pass the clothespins. Every public employee should see this. If there were any doubts about Rauner’s intent to destroy us, there is no doubt about it now.
When you vote, are you voting for what benefits you or are you voting what benefits Illinois?
How can anyone running for a state office consider violating the rights to collectively bargain when the office will require swearing to uphold the state constitution and the laws of the state? This is more pandering to an audience and attempting to bust unions. The problems afflicting the state of Illinois will not go away by punishing state employees which includes teachers. The debt will remain if Rauner is elected at the expense of every other citizen and only benefit the 1%ers. As you have stated, Fred, as well as learned others, the state’s problem is not one of pensions, but theft, greed, and a need for revenue.
Nobody wants to “punish” the teachers.
What needs to be done, within the confines of the law, is to make the necessary adjustments for the largesse that was handed out by the Democrats to get votes, without providing the funding for this largesse and entitlement programs.
Bob Kastigar, IBEW Local 1220 Chicago
And by “largesse” you mean contractual compensation. IBEW? Really? Well, knowing the IBEW (in fact, having been an IBEW member) can’t say I’m surprised.