STATE
The Herald-News / TheHerald-News.com
Page 16 • Friday, January 17, 2014
Rauner is center of GOP governor candidate jabs By SARA BURNETT and SOPHIA TAREEN The Associated Press CHICAGO – The millions that businessman Bruce Rauner has raised for the Republican contest for Illinois governor have allowed him to flood the airwaves with television ads but also have made him the main target of his opponents, who unloaded on the wealthy political newcomer during their first joint campaign appearance of 2014. State Sens. Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard and state Treasurer Dan Rutherford jumped on Rauner on Thursday for everything from his flip-flop on rais-
ing the minimum wage to his daughter’s entrance in an elite high school, prompting Rauner to declare it “a little bit of a beat up Brucey morning.” The comments followed news conferences both Dillard and Brady held in the past week that focused solely on criticizing the equity investor from Winnetka. Rauner called the attention a positive sign and said he expects it every day until the March 18 primary. The attacks may be the best strategy available to his three rivals, who have lagged significantly behind in fundraising. Rauner raised more than $7 million last year – a to-
AP file photos
(From left) Bruce Rauner, Kirk Dillard, Dan Rutherford and Bill Brady are running for the Republican nomination for Illinois governor in the March 18 primary election. tal that includes about $2 million of his own money. Rutherford raised about $1.5 million, while Dillard brought in about $900,000 and Brady about $203,000. “The only chance any of them has to beat Bruce
Cook leading concealedcarry applications The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – Almost one in four of the roughly 23,000 Illinois residents who have applied for concealedcarry permits live in Cook County, but new figures from the state police show most of the relative interest comes from rural areas of the state when factoring in population. Data released this week show the highly populated county that’s home to Chicago leads the rankings with more than 5,300 applications filed between Jan. 5 and Jan. 13. Suburban Chicago’s densely populated Will
and DuPage counties followed in second and third with 1,759 and 1,589 applications, respectively. But on a per-capita basis, rural counties have the highest proportion of applicants compared to urban and suburban communities. When comparing application numbers to a county’s population, Cumberland County in east-central Illinois ranks first, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Fifty-six people there have applied for the permits. Cumberland has about 11,000 residents. In White County in southern Illinois, there have been 70 applica-
tions so far. The county has about 15,000 residents. And in Wabash County in southeastern Illinois, there were 52 applications. The county has about 12,000 residents. On a per-capita basis, Cook County ranks last among Illinois’ 102 counties, the newspaper reported. State Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg, was the lead architect of the measure that led Illinois to become the last state in the country to allow residents to carry concealed weapons. He tells the Sun-Times he already has applied for a permit.
Rauner is if everybody trains their fire on him directly,” said Republican strategist Doug O’Brien, who was a former chief aide to U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk. But it’s uncertain who
benefits from the approach. Being singled out by the veteran lawmakers could strengthen Rauner’s image as the outsider who wants to “shake up Springfield.” And if none of the other candidates have money to break out of the pack, all of their efforts may just be drowned out by Rauner’s prolific messaging. Those ads – which have been running for weeks and include radio, Internet and social media in addition to TV – have focused on his plans to improve the economy, establish term limits for lawmakers and improve education. Brady said his focus on Rauner was necessary for the party, particularly on
the minimum wage issue. At a candidate forum last month, Rauner said he’d support bringing Illinois’ $8.25 minimum wage rate down to the national rate of $7.25. Weeks later, he said he’d be in support of raising it under the right c i r c u m s t a n c e s . R a u ner has called the earlier stance “a mistake.” “The Republican Party, not just Bruce Rauner, took a hit because of his position, whatever it might be, on minimum wage. It was damaging,” he told reporters after Thursday’s forum in Mount Prospect. “I had to defend the fact that Republicans don’t stand for cutting people’s wages.”
NEWS BRIEFS Income tax filing season delayed SPRINGFIELD – Illinois revenue officials say residents won’t be able to file their 2013 income taxes until the end of January – a two-week delay. The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports the delay follows a similar federal postponement. Refunds and the April 15 filing deadline aren’t affected. The Internal Revenue Service is delaying the start of the tax-filing season because of last year’s government shutdown that furloughed workers who were programming and testing tax-processing systems. Now, state and federal returns can be filed starting
Jan. 31. Sue Hofer is a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Revenue. She says the two-week delay isn’t expected to cause problems in Illinois because “very few people file in January anyway.” Employers have until Jan. 31 to give employees W-2 forms.
Legislation eyes animal abuse registry SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois lawmaker has introduced legislation that’d create a list of people who’ve been convicted of animal cruelty charges. The Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers reported that the legisla-
tion is aimed at protecting animals. The measure is sponsored by Chicago Democrat Toni Berrios and would be similar to a state registry for sex offenders. The database would track anyone who’s older than 18 and has been convicted of cruel treatment, aggravated cruelty or animal torture. It’d include their names, birthdates and addresses. People on the list wouldn’t be allowed to own a pet or work with animals. They’d also have to notify authorities of a change of address. People wouldn’t be removed from the list until they’ve had psychiatric or psychological testing.
- Wire reports