Governor Bruce Rauner used his state of the state address today to say that he wants to bring back competitive balance to Illinois. Illinois Public Radio's Amanda Vinicky reports.
Rauner had an unenviable duty: to give a major address, before a joint session of the General Assembly, at a time the state has gone nearly eight months without a budget. It's a task no other Governor has had to face, though Rauner's critics would argue it's self-inflicted.
The governor didn't address the budget situation directly, save for at the very end of his half-hour speech.
"We all know, all of us in this chamber, had a difficult year together in 2015. As we debated a budget with structural reform."
Even as he spoke, protestors chanted in the capitol rotunda. Though Rauner returned to previous themes -- like weakening unions -- the governor went out of his way to strike a more conciliatory tone with Democrats, who control the legislature. He spoke of a pending compromise with the Senate's top Democrat on pensions, and of mutual respect.
