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

By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – Illinois' new governor wants the economy "booming" in Central Illinois.

That was part of Gov. Bruce Rauner's message to a room of more than 300 Bloomington-Normal residents Sunday afternoon. Rauner told the crowd Illinois is beyond the point of making budget cuts to solve its financial problems. He said the way to fix the state is through economic growth.

"Every problem that we have is going to be dealt with by becoming a growth state," said Rauner. "Pro-investment, pro-job creation, pro-careers, not just minimum wage jobs; that's the real answer and that's my number one focus."

Rauner said McLean County schools are not getting their fair share and he's going to work to fix that.

"We have a $35 billion budget. There's money, we just haven't prioritized education," said Rauner. "Frankly, what politicians have done in the past is cut education funding to create pressure to try to force more tax hikes. We don't have to do that."

Rauner also had a message for those who are calling him "anti-union."

"I'm not anti-union. People are trying to say I am. I just want people to be able to decide whether to join a union or not," he said.

Rauner said what he is is anti-conflict of interest.

"I want to eliminate the conflict of interest inside of government where government union leaders can give union dues to politicians and then turn around and negotiate pensions or pay with them," Rauner said.

Bloomington was Rauner's last stop on a 15 city tour following his State of the State address.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].