Rauner tours suburbs, Quinn touts Amazon coming to Illinois
With a week to go in a race for governor that has seen nearly everything, the candidates today traded punches over a disease that hasn't infected anyone in Illinois and a company that plans to build a warehouse in the state next year.
Republican Bruce Rauner and his wife, Diana, shook hands with commuters in Arlington Heights and reiterated his support for a travel ban from Ebola-ridden countries. And Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn announced online retail giant Amazon will open a large facility in Illinois next year that will hire 1,000 people.
The two candidates are busy making a furious final-week push to get out the vote before Election Day on Nov. 4.
Rauner stopped at the Arlington Heights Metra station and surprised diners at Dunton House Restaurant, encouraging them to vote early at the Arlington Heights village hall, which has been one of the busiest early voting sites in Cook County this year. He then headed to greet people at Portillo's in Vernon Hills before wrapping up this afternoon at Keats Manufacturing in Wheeling.
Rauner has worked to fight Quinn over Ebola in recent days even after initially agreeing Quinn had it right with his mandatory 21-day quarantine for people who might have had contact with the virus in Africa. A governor can't enact a travel ban, but Rauner says he's supporting a federal move to prohibit travel from three African countries where the disease is prevalent.
"We need to do everything we can, within reasonable protections, to protect the health of Illinois voters. Right now we aren't doing everything we can," Rauner said.
Rauner's tough talk on Ebola has helped launch the disease onto the campaign's center stage for the last week.
Meanwhile, Quinn started the day's tour of events in Chicago with Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Highland Park announcing the Amazon news.
He said the company is in the process of picking a specific site and will add 1,000 jobs by 2017. The Chicago area is in the running.
Quinn has pointed to the state's recovering unemployment rate and big announcements like Amazon's to blunt Rauner's attacks criticizing Illinois' business climate.
"Making the tough decisions is improving our economy and helping us attract new employers, but there's more work to do," Quinn said in a statement. "Together with great companies like Amazon growing and thriving in Illinois, we'll build on this progress and create even more jobs."
As Rauner greeted commuters before 8 a.m. today some shouted their support of the Winnetka businessman and said they had already voted for him, while others asked questions and said they would be voting for Quinn instead.
Either way, the suburban vote will be important as both candidates race to the finish line. Independent voters in the Chicago area can decide an election if they vote in big numbers one way or the other.
"From a resident perspective, it's nice to see him come to Arlington Heights and focus on Arlington Heights," said Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce President Jim Bertucci, who was at Dunton House when Rauner visited.