A man who has been recently closing the gap in polls in the Illinois Governor Democratic primary, campaigned in Galesburg last night at Knox College.
State Senator Daniel Biss made a stop in Galesburg last night as a part of his bid to the Democratic candidate for Illinois Governor.
Biss met with voters on Knox College’s campus. He says that young voters are an important piece of getting his message out saying that the economy is only working for a few people and young people have the most at stake in altering the state’s path.
J.B. Pritzker is the money leader in the race by a longshot and Gov. Bruce Rauner has targeted Pritzker in ads before either man has won their party’s nomination.
Senator Biss says Pritzker is using the “Bruce Rauner” playbook, “Unfortunately for all of us in Illinois that worked for Rauner and so that’s what Rauner expects is gonna work for Pritzker. Here’s the good news. The Democratic primary voters in Illinois aren’t buying it. Democrats in Illinois want a middle class progressive. They want someone who actually knows what it takes to make government work for the rest of us.”
Biss champions a progressive income tax which would raise taxes on the wealthiest in the state.
He says this would allow Illinois to properly fund schools without burdening the middle class and working poor. In reviewing Rauner’s proposed budget unveiled a few weeks ago, Biss says it is not in balance and relies on “ambitious assumptions.”
Speaking to WGIL about the economic changes in Galesburg over the last decade plus, with large manufacturers like Maytag leaving, Biss says its an “extreme” example of what’s happened in Illinois’ economy for years.
He says Illinois needs to make investments in infrastructure and universal access to broadband in order to modernize the state economy along with fixing the tax code and passing regulations that work for consumers and small business, “And right now the state government is run by a few wealthy people on behalf of a few wealthy people and large corporations and the rest of us, who are trying to make an economy that works for ordinary families, are being left out in the cold.”
Rauner’s proposal to shift pensions to local bodies over a four-year period, Biss says its the governors way of pushing a state financial issue on to local districts.
Biss says Speaker Michael Madigan is one of the few running the state and has too much power.
He says he’s pushed for legislative leader term limits and also has called on Madigan to step down as Illinois Democratic Party Chairman and Speaker of the House because of the way he handled a paid consultant sexual harassing a colleague.
Democrats must address issues with their own party he says and that they can’t happen with a Madigan-aligned governor.
