Rauner making people pay for his failures

Gov. Rauner, who blithely offered himself as a panacea to the ills of the people of Illinois, is responding to his own failures to navigate the legislative system of our state by holding us all hostage.

His proposed cuts, a reaction to a budget passed by both the state Senate and House, removes funding not only for programs serving the elderly and destitute, but also the state police, department of justice, Department of Natural Resources and others.

This punitive reaction isn't leveled at a system of governance that may be malfunctioning; it's leveled at the people the governor has sworn to serve.

Mr. Rauner, unable to curry any sort of compromise in the legislature (something President Obama has so frequently been criticized for by conservative pundits in the national media), has decided that the best way to move forward is to threaten the safety and security of his constituency.

How dare you, Mr. Governor, use the threat of pain as a political gambit?

The people of the state of Illinois have endured demonstrably criminal governance for too long, but even those criminals never baldly threatened the livelihoods of Illinoisans in order to force an agenda.

This is a betrayal of the trust put into you by so many voters. How can any Illinoisan see that when your arsenal proved ineffective against Democratic caucuses in the legislature, you swiveled that arsenal against the citizenry, and continue to have faith that in the future, you'll pursue their best interests?

This is a disgusting display of realpolitik that leaves millions in the lurch.

Daniel Morris

Round Lake