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Rauner speaks at Lincoln Day Dinner in Springfield

Governor Bruce Rauner was the keynote speaker at the Sangamon County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner Wednesday night in Springfield - the home of many state employees. 

Republicans were happy to have one of their own in the Governor's chair. During his speech, Rauner talked about many of his goals, including renovating the executive mansion, bringing new businesses to Illinois, and leading a bipartisan government.

He didn't, however, mention one of his more controversial policies: allowing state employees not in unions to opt out of paying partial union fees.  Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer, a Republican from Jacksonville, was at the dinner. He doesn't like that Rauner issued a state-wide policy.

"I've always been a local control person. I started on the city council, and so I like the idea of local units of government being able to make those decisions for their area."

Davidsmeyer says many of his constituents are state employees, and he thinks most of them are pretty happy to be in a union.
 

Lisa Ryan is a graduate student in the public affairs reporting program at the University of Illinois at Springfield. She previously worked at Indiana Public Radio and the college radio station founded by David Letterman. She is a 2014 broadcast journalism and political science graduate of Ball State University.