SPRINGFIELD - As the session concludes, it just doesn't get much better than being a Leftist Democrat lawmaker in the state of Illinois.
During the concluding days of the current legislative session, the Democrat majority voted to make state income taxpayers pay 33 percent more than they do now. But they also successfully passed out of the House and Senate some of the nation's most socially-radical public policy bills, including the following:
- Making every publicly-funded school, pre-school, nursing home and medical facility places for criminals in America illegally to avoid deportation and seek protection from law enforcement;
- Forcing every business in Illinois to raise their employees' minimum wage to $15;
- Automatically registering persons to vote that apply for drivers' licenses;
- Expanding taxpayer health care coverage (such as for Medicaid recipients and state workers) unrestricted abortion coverage.
Governor Bruce Rauner will decide whether those proposals are enacted into law. Leftist Chicago media columnists are providing support for the Democrats' positions and join them in pointing to Rauner as the blame for yet another possible year without a balanced state budget.
Rauner's plate is full as the legislative session deadline nears - but that plate has been purposely loaded up by House Speaker Mike Madigan (also chairman of the Illinois Democrat Party) and his Democrat Senate colleague President John Cullerton.
Will Rauner sign into law measures that will make it tougher and less profitable to keep businesses in Illinois? Will he be comfortable with betraying his party's base of pro-lifers? Will he embrace making the state of Illinois an effectively sanctuary state while surrounding states enforce federal immigration laws?
Rauner took on one of the most difficult tasks ever asked of an Illinois leader when he was elected in 2013 to reform Illinois' broken pension system, its corrupt cronyism and its financially desperate condition. His dream of turning around Illinois is not one that has come to pass without resistance. He likely underestimated how deeply embedded the system was, how manipulative Mike Madigan is and how adamantly he and his minions demand loyalty and obedience.
It's up to the people of Illinois to decide who they want to direct the state's future out of this mess - and who they expect to suffer the most during the process. Time to choose sides, folks - jump onto the Democrats' Left-sagging, broken wagon moving downhill, or get behind and help push the reform bandwagon. It's pretty clear that doing nothing means a downhill path that will simply speed up the further it travels.
Which route will you pick?
