Bruce Rauner takes pride in not being like any of Illinois' previous governors. A multimillionaire in his first public office, the former businessman stops at bars in the state capital and orders a lowbrow Stag beer. It's not unusual for him to be the worst-dressed man in a room.
Mostly, though, it's his politics. Unlike even his Republican predecessors, who cut deals with Democrats and their labor union allies, Rauner boasts about standing up to them, even as it's led to gridlock and a record seven months without a state budget.
Now, after the most unusual first year of any new governor, Rauner is starting 2016 with signs the strangest may be yet to come.
He's talking tougher than ever about adversaries like "union bosses" and raising the specter of growing chaos, including public-employee strikes.
