Friday, November 07, 2014

Illinois Governor's Race Cost Close To $100 Million, Including More Than $27 Million From Rauner's Pocket

Billionaire vulture capitalist Bruce Rauner (R) spent more than $27 million of his personal largess in his nearly $66 million campaign to defeat incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn (D). Combined with more than $31 million his opponent spent on his campaign, the two spent more than $97 million on the race. That doesn't include millions in expenditures spent by independent groups. Not surprisingly, most of Rauner's money came from people like him in business and finance, while Quinn relied heavily on labor unions for support.

Illinois' former Republican governors, Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar, are both urging Rauner to work out a deal on making a temporary income tax enacted by the Democrats, which expires on January 1, permanent before he takes office to avoid the necessity of making budget cuts in his first few months as governor. Rauner has not yet stated his view, although he campaigned against making the tax permanent. If he starts by supporting one of the many tax increases Democrats have enacted in Illinois in recent years, he sort of defeats the purpose of electing a Republican. Democrats hold super majorities in both legislative chambers, allowing them plenty of votes to override any of his vetoes.

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