Where is the governor driving the state?
Our governor was elected with the promise of reforming state government and addressing the state's financial problems with little vision of how that would be accomplished.
Bruce Rauner became wealthy from his hedge fund activities. Hedge funds "extract" value from businesses they own by reorganizing around profitable activities. Those parts not sufficiently profitable are spun off, sold, liquidated or put into bankruptcy.
In the process, the "owners" gain wealth with capital and resources freed to the private enterprise market. Although making the private enterprise market efficient, this process does not count the cost in terms of financial loss and mental pain to banks, customers, suppliers, managers, workers, families and communities
Economic growth comes from those who create a vision for a new enterprise, obtain resources and lead the effort making that vision a reality. Our state government, however, was not created to be profitable but to serve the citizens.
Rauner has not promoted efficiency or reform of state institutions. He has been unwilling to release capital to serve youth in need of financial assistance to achieve their positive vision beyond street gangs, forced state universities who serve the less financially affluent to close, and left those released from prison to fend for themselves.
Government reform is not using the "blunt" instrument of money to inflict pain but leading changes that promote efficiency and value to citizens. If there were reform leadership, we would be talking about ways of removing unrealistic provisions from the state constitution and eliminating overlapping jurisdictions and responsibilities of state entities.
Destroying state universities, operating state government under court order, shifting the tax burden to local governments and paying millions in penalties by not paying bills is not an environment promoting Illinois as business friendly or providing value to citizens. It is time for true state government reform.
Curtis Siegel
Palatine, Illinois