Opinion

Disconnect between votes for Rauner, initiatives

Posted November 19, 2014 4:00 am

Illinois had a few ballot initiatives, and one involved the minimum wage. Sixty-seven percent of the people in Illinois voted to increase the minimum wage from $8.25 to $10. Bruce Rauner is quoted as saying, I have said, on a number of occasions, that we could have a lower minimum wage or no minimum wage as part of increasing Illinois competitiveness. Bruce Rauner won 50.77 percent of the vote to become the next governor of Illinois. Do you see the disconnect?

Seventeen percent of the people who favor raising the minimum wage voted for the wrong candidate. Raising the minimum wage was not the only progressive ballot initiative that passed. What also passed an initiative against voter ID, an initiative that requires birth control coverage by insurance plans, and a new tax on millionaires to provide additional revenue for schools. None of these issues will be considered by Mr. Rauner. So why did so many people vote for a governor that is against the ballot initiatives they favor? If any readers have theories, please comment.

John D. Morgan

Arlington Heights

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