OPENING SHOTS
Taxes, toilets and trust liven up first debate in Illinois gov’s race
Gov. Bruce Rauner framed his re-election battle as a fight against taxes and corruption and dubbed third-party candidate state Sen. Sam McCann “phony,” while Democrat J.B. Pritzker kept up a campaign theme of calling Rauner a “liar” and “failed governor” at the first televised governor’s debate on Thursday night.
The candidates were also asked a number of questions about their wealth and whether they could relate to average Illinois voters — they were even asked if they knew how much some food items cost. And libertarian candidate Grayson “Kash” Jackson, a veteran, noted that neither major-party candidate has a “clue” what most people in the state are going through.
Pritzker, who has been ahead in recent polls, was quickly asked about a Chicago Sun-Times report that he disabled the toilets in a Gold Coast mansion next to his own to lower his property taxes by $230,000. The tax reduction is a central theme of Rauner’s campaign, who is seeking to paint the billionaire philanthropist and entrepreneur as a tax cheat.
“Who unhooks all their toilets?” moderator Carol Marin asked Pritzker at the debate sponsored by NBC5 Chicago, Telemundo, the Union League Club of Chicago and Chicago Urban League.
Pritzker said he sought to have a property tax reassessment, as most homeowners do in Cook County. He said he no longer receives the tax deduction. When asked if the toilets have been re-connected, Pritzker said he has “restarted that renovation project.”
Pritzker also was asked about the graduated income tax he supports that would tax wealthier residents at a higher rate, but the Democrat declined to specify what rate he favors.
“Do you have a number that you favor?” Marin asked.
“The middle class should get a tax break,” Pritzker responded. “That is critically important to me. And remember that most states in the United States have a progressive income tax system and they’re doing far better at job creation.”
Marin pressed, “Do you not want to give a rate?”
Pritzker again deflected and said the rate needed to be negotiated in the Legislature before going to a referendum.
Although the two-year state budget stalemate is a focal point of Pritzker’s campaign, the word “impasse” wasn’t mentioned until about 40 minutes into the hourlong debate.
Pritzker said the budget agreement, which leaders finally reached after two years without one, happened “in spite” of the governor.
“You are a failed governor. You have failed every single year of your term,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker doubled down with what he believed to be the reason for a spike in violence in some areas of the state.
“When you cut mental health services, when you cut substance abuse treatment, that is what helps to increase violence on the streets,” he said.
Rauner, in turn, accused Pritzker of lacking integrity and being unworthy to hold the state’s top office and blasted Pritzker’s family wealth.
“It’s easy for you to sit on the sidelines and criticize when you haven’t done an honest day’s work in your life,” Rauner said. “Mr. Pritzker. Mr. Pritzker. You are not addressing the core issues that we need to fix: pension reform, job creation, corruption.”
McCann, a Republican state senator from Plainview who is seeking to draw in conservative voters, accused the other candidates of not supporting President Donald Trump.
Rauner quickly called him a “phony candidate.” McCann has received financial support from the Operating Engineers Union Local 150, which has also endorsed Pritzker. The union’s support for McCann is largely viewed as a way to steer votes away from Rauner.
“You’re a liar and a thief,” McCann responded, noting the governor’s support of abortion.
Seeking to determine whether the enormously wealthy front-runners could relate to average voters, Marin asked Rauner the price of a gallon of milk and Pritzker the price of a loaf of bread. Both passed the test.
But Jackson — a U.S. Navy veteran — said the two “have no clue what it is for people like me to live in the conditions that we live in. Where we have to struggle every single day to pay our taxes.”
Marin asked both Rauner and Pritzker if the amounts they’ve contributed to their own campaigns is “embarrassing.” Pritzker has given $126 million while Rauner has donated $95 million. While both have given some of those sums to other candidates in their respective parties, the bulk has gone into their own race.
Pritzker replied that the race is about “values.” Rauner, too, said the election is about values. Both did not address the millions they’ve doled out.
The two will face off again on Oct. 3 in Chicago and Oct. 11 in Quincy. Pritzker and Rauner also are set to appear together before a meeting of the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board on Oct. 9.