Bruce Rauner in 2017 Governor's State of the State speeches
On Budget & Economy:
Reduce regulatory costs & economy will take off like rocket
Our state's economy could take off like a rocket ship if we could just come together on major pro-jobs legislation. Lawmakers from both parties deserve credit for working to reduce regulatory costs and property tax burdens that make businesses in
Illinois less competitive than our neighbors. Hopefully we can build upon these initial proposals to ensure they drive big results on job creation. And hopefully we can work together to cut the red tape even more--reducing filing fees and costly
licensing barriers that prevent hard-working Illinoisans from qualifying for good, high-paying jobs.When it comes to the budget, we all can agree Illinois HAS to do something different. Our Administration has offered many proposals to achieve a
truly balanced budget with changes that fundamentally fix our broken system. We must remember that to keep budgets balanced in the future, our rate of economic growth must be higher than our rate of government spending growth. It's just simple math.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Illinois Legislature
Jan 25, 2017
On Crime:
Close outdated prisons; focus on reducing recidivism
It is a social justice issue to ensure that we provide a means for those in our criminal justice system to rehabilitate and return to productive lives. Over the past two years our Administration has worked to reform our criminal justice system, reduce
recidivism and address underlying behavioral and mental health issues for those in our systems of care, in order to keep our communities safer.
We're making great strides in implementing initial recommendations from our Commission on Criminal Justice Reform--helping non-violent ex-offenders get back on their feet and giving them meaningful skills to find employment.
We've shuttered the outdated Roundhouse at Stateville Prison while repurposing two other facilities in Murphysboro and Kewanee as life skill centers to help non-violent offenders return to the work force more effectively.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Illinois Legislature
Jan 25, 2017
On Crime:
Police trooper surge to counter Chicago violence
Sadly, our progress in reducing non-violent crime is overshadowed by the skyrocketing rate of violent crime in Chicago. The violence occurring in Chicago every night is intolerable; we've got to bring it to an end. Violence experts say there's no single
cause and no single solution. But with the right mix of policies, we can and must find solutions to curb the violence. At the Illinois State Police, we're providing the Chicago Police Department with a wide range of resources--and we stand ready
to do more wherever and whenever called upon. Our troopers have already surged to counter the violence that's spilled over to our expressways--and we're committed to hiring more State Police officers to help patrol Chicago expressways, and other high
violence areas.
Law enforcement plays a critical role in violence reduction--but in the end, it's a treatment, not a cure. Addressing the roots of this plague will take much more: to restore hope where hope has been lost.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Illinois Legislature
Jan 25, 2017
On Education:
$100M for early education; close district funding gaps
Two years ago we delivered unprecedented funding for our K-12 schools, and the next year we came back and did it again. In all, our kids are receiving $700 million more per year from the state than two years ago, including an extra $100 million for
early childhood education. The practice of proration has come to an end.We formed a bipartisan task force to recommend changes to the unbalanced way our K-12 public schools are funded.
For years Illinois has provided the lowest percentage of education financial support from any state in the country. And we have the largest gap between funding for high income schools and low income schools in the country, both across the state and
within the city of Chicago. The task force expects to finish their work in the coming weeks, and we look forward to working on a bipartisan basis to implement their recommendations.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Illinois Legislature
Jan 25, 2017
On Environment:
Test drinking water for lead, as social justice issue
Another critical initiative of the Children's Cabinet is reducing young children's exposure to lead. Democrats and Republicans stood together in signing a bill that requires all schools and day care centers to test their drinking water regularly for
lead, and inform parents of the results. Reducing lead exposure--which disproportionally affects low-income children and children of color--is a social justice issue.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Illinois Legislature
Jan 25, 2017
On Families & Children:
Created the Governor's Cabinet on Children and Youth
We created the Governor's Cabinet on Children and Youth, bringing together all state agencies that serve our children to ensure that Illinois' young people are healthy, safe, well-educated and on the road to becoming self-sufficient. The commitment,
cooperation and effective problem solving among the agencies involved is extraordinary; in partnership with external partners in the private sector, they will make Illinois a better place for all children.Working with the Illinois State Board of
Education, local high schools, community colleges and local employers, our youth Cabinet is striving to expand vocational training and apprenticeship programs for all our high school students so each of them has a clear path to an attractive career.
Another critical initiative of the Children's Cabinet is reducing young children's exposure to lead. Democrats and Republicans stood together in signing a bill that requires all schools and day care centers to test their drinking water regularly.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Illinois Legislature
Jan 25, 2017
On Government Reform:
The people demanded fair districting; judges denied them
We worked hard to change our broken political system and restore competitive general elections in our state. We encouraged the people of Illinois to put more than one million signatures on petitions to get term limits and fair maps on the ballot.
Unfortunately, our judges, who themselves are elected through our state political process, decided that a million signatures weren't enough. They decided that only you, the members of the General Assembly, could pass the necessary legislation to enable
the voters to have their say.I ask you [the legislature] today, on behalf of all the people of Illinois--Democrats and Republicans--please do the right thing and pass the bills to put term limits and fair maps on the ballot.
Let the people decide these issues for themselves. End the power of incumbency and special interest groups, and give power back to the people of our state. Illinois turns 200 in 2018.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Illinois Legislature
Jan 25, 2017
On Technology:
Increase state transparency: millions of documents online
Inside government over the past two years, we've made great strides in ethics reform. We closed the revolving door on Executive Branch employees leaving government to become administration lobbyists. We tightened the gift ban loopholes that lobbyists
and contractors used to influence regulators and win favor with decision makers. We increased transparency, so that any resident of the state can now go online and review state spending on contracts and at-will hires.
We required more comprehensive economic interest statements so we all could see who was being paid, and by whom. We cleaned up the hiring mess we inherited at IDOT--and we're working cooperatively to strengthen state hiring rules even more.
Our new Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIt) is moving millions of pieces of paper out of file cabinets and into the digital age. We are moving to a digital application process for professional licenses and reducing processing times by 70%.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Illinois Legislature
Jan 25, 2017
Page last updated: Dec 10, 2018