Admit you've lost the battle, governor

State Sen. Matt Murphy's rebuttal of former Gov. Quinn's budget director's April 4 op-ed was predictable. Murphy states that voters elected "Bruce Rauner and his comprehensive plan to change the direction of this state."

This is where the deception began. The governor never unveiled a plan. When questioned during his campaign, he hid his "personal" agenda from the voters. His plan to destroy unions and the working families of this state is purely personal.

His agenda to create right-to-work (for less) zones in Illinois is illegal according to federal and state law. This practice is so damaging to a state's economy that of the top 10 worst states in poverty ranking, nine are states that have enacted this practice. One of the worst is Texas, ranked No. 46, where a shocking 17.5 percent, or nearly one in every five people are at poverty level or below. Not surprisingly, this is the state that the governor likes to use as a model for Illinois to emulate.

The governor is doing an excellent job at making matters worse. As university students and the truly needy continue to flounder, he fails to do his constitutional duty of "preparing a balanced budget." His current grade according to one media columnist is "an epic F"!

Murphy states that Speaker Madigan should respect the will of the people. Madigan is listening while Rauner is not. The governor insists on his "turnaround agenda." The people have already dismissed it as horrible policy. To date, 7 percent of the state's population agrees with the governor, while more than 6.3 million people or 49 percent of the population do not.

I say to Senator Murphy and Governor Rauner: Stop destroying this state and admit you've lost the battle; unless of course you are aiming for an F-minus for your second year grade.

Gary Karafiat

Lisle