EDITORIAL: Neighboring governors’ ad for Rauner misses the point

Gov. Bruce Rauner is running a campaign ad in which the Republican governors of three neighboring states ridicule Illinois.

The ad is kind of embarrassing, but more for Rauner than Illinois.

The three neighboring governors, two of whom pocketed $100,000 in donations from Rauner last year, are parroting Rauner’s line that Illinois’ woes can be blamed chiefly on Rauner’s nemesis of the last three years, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.

But the governors — Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Eric Holcomb of Indiana and Eric Greitens of Missouri — miss two important points.

First, they suggest that Illinois’ problems can be chalked up to the Legislature’s refusal to politely sign off on Rauner’s supposedly pro-business, but certainly anti-union, agenda. In reality, much of what ails our state is a result of the political and governmental paralysis — for which Rauner and Madigan must share blame — that set in immediately after Rauner was elected more than two-and-a-half years ago.

Illinois, already hurting, quickly became a fiscal basket case, racking up more than $16 billion in unpaid bills, along with growing debt and pension obligations.

Second, the three governors overlook that Rauner, unlike themselves, must work with a Democratic Legislature. It’s a trickier business to govern effectively when you must bridge party differences. But plenty of Illinois governors, Democrats and Republicans, have found a way. Rauner has not.

When we saw the campaign ad, our first silly thought was that the three governors are cheering on Rauner because they want Illinois, a weak competitor, to continue to fail. But that’s a stretch. Truth is, they share Rauner’s views. And the ad works great for them, too. They really get to brag.

As it happens, Illinois finally has a budget and is paying many more of its bills, but no thanks to Rauner. Rather, several Republican legislators crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats to force a budget in place over the governor’s veto. Social services, the state’s public universities, transportation systems and other important state functions have received a reprieve.

In his next ad, Rauner might want to talk about how to govern best in Illinois, not in Wisconsin, Indiana or Missouri.

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