Gov. Bruce Rauner spoke in Bloomington on Sunday. (Adam Studzinski/WJBC)

By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – Gov. Bruce Rauner isn't a fan of the fact that Illinois elects its judges.

Speaking in Bloomington on Sunday, Rauner said Illinois is one of the few states in the country doing this and he wants to change it.

"I don't know if you're like me, but I go to the polling booth and I want to vote, it looks like there's 1,000 judges on there," said Rauner. "I don't know a lot of those people, I try to figure it out, but I don't know. I'm not qualified. The American Bar Association recommends we don't do that."

Rauner said the current system creates a conflict of interest.

"We can elect the judges and the trial lawyers are unlimited in their ability to give campaign cash to those judges, the same judges that hear the case that they argue in front of," said Rauner. "Hello. No more. That's a conflict of interest."

Infrastructure governor

Rauner also said Sunday he wants to be an "infrastructure governor" and that means having the best of everything, whether it's roads, bridges, dams, locks, schools, or libraries.

"I want to make sure you're getting value out of your tax dollars. I want to spend billions of your money, and I'm going to be careful about it, but it's going to cost us billions to get the best infrastructure in America," Rauner said.

Rauner added Illinois won't be able to get the best infrastructure if it keeps its current bid process for construction projects.

"When we build a new school, when we build a new road, when we build a new bridge we spend a lot more than we need to to get the job done," said Rauner. "Because we have all these regulations, and rules, and project labor agreements, and prevailing wage restrictions."

Rauner said be changing the way construction projects are bid Illinois can save money and be able to do more.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].