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Rauner Bites Back At Edgar, Thompson Critiques

Former Gov. Jim Edgar says it's time for Gov. Bruce Rauner to leave the "Turnaround Agenda" behind in order to get a budget passed.
Hannah Meisel/WUIS
Former Gov. Jim Edgar says it's time for Gov. Bruce Rauner to leave the "Turnaround Agenda" behind in order to get a budget passed.
Former Gov. Jim Edgar says it's time for Gov. Bruce Rauner to leave the "Turnaround Agenda" behind in order to get a budget passed.
Credit Hannah Meisel/WUIS
Former Gov. Jim Edgar says it's time for Gov. Bruce Rauner to leave the "Turnaround Agenda" behind in order to get a budget passed.

 On the state's 113th day without a budget, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner Thursday sloughed off critical comments made by his a pair of his predecessors.

FormerGov. Jim Edgar's still a popular figure within the Illinois GOP, which is why the harsh nature of his recent remarks garnered a lot of attention. Edgar scoldedRaunerfor putting his pro-business agenda ahead of the budget.

Then another Republican Governor from the past - James Thompson -- also said that Illinois' is in the worst position it's ever been.

"I don't spend any time criticizing my fellow Republicans," Rauner said in response. "I don't spend any time criticizing decisions made in the past that created the mess that we're dealing with." Rauner says he's focused on the future.

Democrats say Rauner's vision of the future will kill unions and hurt the middle class; the governor says his plans will grow the economy long-term.

As they fight it out, government and social service agencies are caught in the crossfire. Rauner defended the struggle, saying "We're going through some change. Change is difficult. Change causes pain. We believe very strongly that we're going to go through short-term pain for some very big long-term gain."

Copyright 2015 NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS

Amanda Vinicky
Amanda Vinicky moved to Chicago Tonight on WTTW-TV PBS in 2017.