Davidsmeyer, McCann, react to Rauner’s State of the State Address

By Gary Scott on February 1, 2018 at 11:16am

Local lawmakers are sharing their reactions and thoughts to yesterday’s State of the State address delivered by Governor Bruce Rauner.

The speech is much like President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address the day before, just on a state level scale. And similar to the State of the Union address, a number of lawmakers are sharing their reactions to yesterday’s speech by Governor Rauner, including local State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer and State Senator Sam McCann.

Davidsmeyer says the governor’s message to the state was a very positive one, and goes over some of Rauner’s biggest talking points.

“I think that the governor came in and he was very positive. This is the State of the State not the budget address, so this is an opportunity to try and bring people back together. He talked about the long history of the state, the builders and growers that have helped build Illinois to where it is. He talked about growth opportunities that Illinois should be easily vying for. Overall, it was really positive,” Davidsmeyer says.

Davidsmeyer though, it’s often tough to tell if Republicans and Democrats will truly come together to make some of the more difficult decisions.

“I wonder how many people have their roots in the ground and are stuck where they’re at, or if they’re willing to realize that the state of Illinois is still in a horrible situation, and we still need to come together to actually change policies, change how the state operates, in order to be able to save money. Not just that, but the policies that we have here designate how our economy will grow and build in the future, and job opportunities that we’ll have for the next generation. So (Democrats) need to come to the table too and be willing to make some tough decisions,” says Davidsmeyer.

In recent weeks, Davidsmeyer has made it clear that his main goal for 2018, if it can be summed up in three words, is to “stop the bleeding” when it comes to Illinois’ finances. In terms of that sentiment, Davidsmeyer says Governor Rauner touched on a few issues that tie into his goal, but again stressed the need for bipartisan support.

“A balanced budget says we’re going to take the money we have now, and that’s all we have, so that stops the bleeding. The governor also mentioned trying to work on building a surplus so we can have for emergencies. So I think there’s opportunities, but once again we still serve in the minority, and we have to make sure that some of the majority party comes across the isle and are willing to make some of the tough decisions,” Davidsmeyer says.

Also sharing his thoughts on the State of the State Address was local Senator Sam McCann. In a statement, McCann says he agrees with Rauner in that the state needs “bipartisan cooperation aimed at reforming what has too-often been a broken state government.” McCann went on to stress the importance of finding common ground, and says that Illinois and the effort to find common ground has lacked “real leadership from the top. The local Senator continued by saying that “the commitment to work together to solve major issues” is what the state truly needs, and believes all of Illinois’ problems can’t be solved with a single speech.

In discussing his feelings towards the pending spring session, McCann refers to himself as “hopefully, yet realistic.” The senator says he is “ready to work around the clock with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to pass a balanced budget and protect the rights of our citizens,” and that lawmakers cannot allow another budget standoff that people and businesses around the state.