Chicago Crains Bruce Rauner can help Illinois change course October 10, 2014 3:00 AM image Bruce Rauner is the best candidate to pull the Illinois economy out of its low-growth rut. For that reason, above others, he earns our endorsement for governor. The central issue in this gubernatorial election is how best to promote business growth. Unlike many of our neighbors, Illinois has yet to enjoy the full benefits of the national economic recovery. Job growth remains weak, despite recent improvements in the unemployment rate. In study after study, the states business climate trails its peers. The state faces massive fiscal challenges, but higher and higher taxes are not the solution. More jobs and more income will generate more tax revenue. Combined with a tighter grip on spending, that is how Illinois can prosper again. Mr. Rauners experience as a private-equity investor would benefit Springfield. Government isnt the same as business, of course. As head of the states executive branch, the governor wields real power, but its less than that of a chief executive. Still, Mr. Rauner would bring the much-needed perspective of a private-sector leader. And he has a sharp eye for efficiency, something that bloated state government desperately needs. He is no politician, and that is a good thing. Mr. Rauner promises reforms that would lessen the burdens on business and promote entrepreneurship, including cutting red tape, making common-sense changes to workers compensation and revitalizing the state agency that should be hustling to bring business to Illinois, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. He has said he would become the states top recruiter. We believe him. Key to Mr. Rauners fiscal fix is rolling back the “temporary” income tax hike passed in 2011, the one that Democrats seem hellbent on making permanent. Phasing out that tax probably will take longer than the four years Mr. Rauner would like. But in the end, he would release individuals and businesses from an anti-competitive levy. His plan to make up the lost revenue is better for the state, too: an overhaul of the tax code that would reduce the overall sales tax rate while expanding it to many services. Meantime, he would put a ceiling on property taxes. Mr. Rauner also wants to shift public employees from old-fashioned pensions to 401(k)-style retirement plans, which would bring government retirement systems in line with the private sector and greatly ease the burden on taxpayers to foot the pension bill. The Illinois Supreme Courts recent decision extending constitutional protection to state workers health care benefits—a ruling that threatens to void last years pension reform—underscores the need for dramatic action to address the greatest fiscal challenge facing the state. While shifting to a defined-contribution system makes sense in the long run, we are concerned that Mr. Rauner has not specified how he would pay off the $100 billion unfunded liability that the existing pension plans still face. Were troubled, too, that Mr. Rauner keeps putting off exactly how he would balance the budget while, on one hand, rolling back income taxes and freezing property taxes and, on the other, boosting spending on education and infrastructure. Business needs a leader in Springfield. He has not always acted like one on the campaign. There is much here, in fact, that must be taken on faith. But we are confident that Mr. Rauner has the vision and values to do the job. Illinois is badly in need of a fresh spirit of confidence that we can tackle the problems that lie ahead. A natural salesman in the best sense of the word, Mr. Rauner will convey a renewed sense of optimism about the future, replacing the funk in which Illinois finds itself. Our endorsement of Mr. Rauner is not an act of partisanship. We have rallied behind Democratic candidates for governor in the past, including Glenn Poshard over George Ryan in 1998 and Rod Blagojevich over Jim Ryan four years later. Gov. Pat Quinn took office amid the worst corruption scandal in the states history and put Illinois on stronger financial footing. He helped push through last years bill to restructure the states pension funds, putting him at odds with his political allies, the unions representing public employees. Yet all too often, Mr. Quinn has seemed deliberately indifferent to the needs of business owners. Exhibit A is his “temporary” income tax hike. Originally an outsider, Mr. Quinn unfortunately has fallen victim to the vices of one-party rule, promoting patronage and passing around political favors. He has not garnered enough political support, among voters or in the Illinois General Assembly, to serve as a counter-weight to House Speaker Michael Madigan or Senate President John Cullerton. He is too ready to spend taxpayer money on projects that we cant afford or arent even needed, such as an airport in Peotone and the Illiana Tollway. If elected, Mr. Rauner likely would face stiff opposition in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Still, his relationship with the Democratic leadership is unlikely to be worse than Mr. Quinns, and could be better, by putting honest differences on the table. Illinois has been on the wrong path for years, going back to a time before Democrats reclaimed the governors office. With an independently minded Mr. Rauner, we now have a chance to change course. Mr. Rauner deserves your vote.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 11:52:10 +0000
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