By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – It’s become a tradition for Gov. Rauner, and he wants to carry it on for four more summers: roaring into the State Fair Governor’s Day rally on his Harley.
He arrived to chants of “Four more years!” as he led an enthusiastic crowd on the Director’s Lawn.
In addition to saying House Speaker and Democratic Party of Illinois chairman Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) is pulling the strings for everything – particularly gubernatorial candidate JB Pritzker and other statewide candidates and Democratic lawmakers – Rauner said the choice is clear.
“The reason we’re going to win,” Rauner said, “is our message is a unifying message. Democrats want lower property taxes. Democrats want term limits. Honest Democrats not loyal to the machine want the same changes that we do.”
Rauner also spent time talking about the attorney general’s race. He said Republican Erika Harold is so fearsome that incumbent Lisa Madigan decided not to seek another term just weeks after Harold arrived. And he characterized Harold’s rival, State Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), as “bad news,” another Madigan puppet.
Thursday is Democrat Day at the fair, though their rallying activities will be confined to a hotel breakfast, with more informal mingling on the fairgrounds later.
