News

Rauner defends HB 40, remains cagey about re-elex plans


A quick question-and-answer between Gov. Bruce Rauner and reporters in Chicago Tuesday included the subject of a possible primary against one of the legislative leaders — House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs).

“I don’t know, I can’t predict the future,” Rauner said with a nervous chuckle. “Today, I’m not really focused on politics.”

Really? What about his 2018 re-election plans?

“If you just watch and see how I’m working — the one thing I can say to you is I will never give up on working to protect Illinois, create a better future for Illinois. I will never give up, I will never back down, never give in. Our system is broken, it’s fundamentally broken, and I believe that we can have a movement.”

That movement, Rauner said, would include term limits and changes to the redistricting process.

On the abortion bill he signed last week, the governor said, “Reasonable people can disagree reasonably.”

Rauner called the Las Vegas massacre Sunday “so heartbreaking, so horrible, beyond description” before framing it as a mental health issue. He would not delve into specific policy ideas.

Recent Headlines

5 hours ago in Entertainment

Josh O’Connor usually hates watching his movies for the first time. ‘Disclosure Day’ was different

Josh O'Connor heard a quote once that said that Steven Spielberg was like "the director of every child's imagination." The British actor may not have grown up in a moviegoing family, but he was still very aware the Spielberg thing as a '90s kid. It's just in our psyche, O'Connor told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

5 hours ago in Entertainment

Rachel Zegler to take her ‘Evita’ to Broadway in spring 2027

Fresh off her triumphant turn in London as Eva Perón, Rachel Zegler is taking her Argentine first lady to Broadway.

11 hours ago in Entertainment

Taylor Swift files 3 new trademark applications. One expert says it is to curb AI threats

Taylor Swift filed three new trademark applications with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, a move one legal expert theorizes it is to protect her voice and image from potential misuse through artificial intelligence.