EXTRA: Rauner wins! (for now)

Gov. Bruce Rauner has a political victory, for the time being. Albeit one that I’m sure his political opponents will want to use to beat him repeatedly over the head with as we come closer and closer to the November general elections.

RAUNER: The ultimate loser?

Rauner used his “veto” power to reject a measure the General Assembly approved this spring – one that would have put state government into the business of licensing firearms dealers operating anywhere in Illinois.

HE CLAIMED THAT was too much regulation, and that there already were other entities providing sufficient regulation of such businesses.

That rejection was permitted to stand when, earlier this week, the Illinois Senate decided not to even try to overturn the governor – which they could have done if they had come up with a 60 percent united front. Something that Democrats do have it in their power to do.

But they’re not going to try. So Rauner’s veto will remain in place, and the measure that was part of a series of bills approved by the Illinois Legislature in the weeks following that school shooting incident in Florida earlier this year will not take effect anytime soon.

It’s always possible the Democratic-led Legislature can try again, and perhaps get it though the governmental process in the future to become law.

CULLERTON: Not challenging veto

BUT FOR NOW, it’s going to serve as a partisan club that can be applied upside Rauner’s head as Democrat J.B. Pritzker challenges him for the governor’s post in this year’s election cycle.

You can already hear the partisan rhetoric – legislators tried to pass a new law meant to protect the public from acts of violence, yet Governor Rauner decided to side with the National Rifle Association and the other conservative ideologues inclined to reject firearms restrictions of any type.

It makes me wonder if Democrats are actually happier with the governor’s veto than they’d be if they could pass the bill into law. A partisan weapon for a future Election Day always has value to political operatives.

PRITZKER: Gains a weapon against Rauner

Now I’m sure the ideologically-inclined of you who are willing to support Rauner’s re-election bid are claiming this is a cheap shot and that nobody of any sense would give such a charge any credence.

BUT KEEP IN mind the level of cheap partisan rhetoric the Rauner camp is spewing, and will continue to spew, in their efforts to get people to cast symbolic votes against Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, by casting actual ballots against Pritzker.

Just this morning, I received an e-mail from the Rauner camp telling me, “Pritzker and Madigan aren’t interested in fixing our state – their only concern is maintaining their own corruption.”

Of course, then the Rauner camp proceeded to solicit donations so they could afford to keep spreading their message.

Which means they want us to pay so they can continue to bombard us with nonsense-talk – an act I think actually shows a lot of nerve and one that makes him worthy of all the headaches he will suffer as he defends himself against allegations that he “sold out Illinois” to the NRA.

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