Rauner makes quick campaign stop at Lou Mitchell's

Republican gubernatorial front-runner Bruce Rauner made a brief stop at Lou Mitchell’s in the West Loop — a traditional campaign stop — Monday morning, shaking hands with the breakfast crowd and urging them to vote Tuesday.

“Go Bruce!” said one diner, to which Rauner, wearing a St. Patrick’s Day pin, replied, “We’ll get ’em.”

Rauner, who pulled up in his campaign bus, whipped through the restaurant — not stopping for breakfast or even dipping a hand into a basket full of Lou Mitchell’s famous donut holes.

Stopping briefly to talk to reporters, Rauner stuck to his campaign script, pushing his message of lower government spending, lower taxes and term limits in Springfield.

“We’ve got to rip the corruption out of Springfield by bringing term limits to our state government,” Rauner said, standing next to his running mate, Evelyn Sanguinetti.

Doug Youmans, 52, of Woodstock, was enjoying a bacon-fried-egg-and-potato skillet, when Rauner’s bus pulled up.

Youmans, downtown for an appointment, was delighted to meet Rauner — the Woodstock man’s choice for governor.

“I’ll tell you right now, I’m a small business owner, I’m a gun owner and I’m a family man,” Youmans said. “I believe he’s going to protect all three of those.”

One note of interest: Gov. Quinn’s campaign had a campaign tracker on hand at the restaurant. This is the first indication that Quinn’s people are tracking any of his potential opponents.

The winner of Tuesday’s primary will face Quinn in November.