The last “debate”/joint appearance between Gov. BRUCE RAUNER and Democrat J.B. PRITZKER was held last week.

If you want to heave a sigh of relief, you’re entitled.

The rigid format of these things has long been conducive to skilled candidates simply repeating their well-rehearsed talking points while getting in the occasional dig at an opponent. The news often occurs when a candidate stumbles while trying to answer a question.

Unfortunately, the one-on-one sessions between Pritzker and Rauner shed precious little new insight into how the two would deal with the state’s problems. Instead, they degenerated into something resembling a playground brawl with each man talking over the other's answers to questions and lobbing charges against each other over who was the most duplicitous and most undeserving of getting elected.

So if you like that sort of thing in your debates for governor, sorry, it’s over for another four years. Everyone else can focus on something more productive.


* Let’s briefly shift our attention away from the dysfunctional campaign for governor to a dysfunctional government building. Namely the state Capitol. 

Anyone using the south entrance to the building the last couple of weeks has seen the barriers that were put up to keep people away from the building itself, although the entrance remains open. The reason, according to the secretary of state’s office, is that state maintenance workers noticed a small piece of stone on the facade was loose. It was removed, but in the process a crew noticed there were also some small cracks in the stones. 

The plan now is to rent some equipment so state workers can get up there to seal the cracks. The hope is to complete the work in the next couple of weeks. 


* As long as we’re on the topic, one of the three elevators that people can use from the Capitol rotunda remains closed. 

It was shut down in mid-April while the session was still going last spring. It’s not a big deal this time of year, but when the legislature is in session and the place is packed, the elevator gets a lot of use, especially from the public which may not be aware of other elevators in the building. (And we’re talking about people who need to use them because they can’t negotiate stairs). 

The thing was shut down for maintenance last spring, then returned to service for a couple of days before it was shut down again. It’s been that way ever since. 

The secretary of state’s office said the elevator needed a part to ensure safe operation. However, the elevator is so old, parts to fix it are no longer available. As of several months ago, the elevator maintenance company was trying to find a company that could custom make the part. Illinois companies were contacted, but no luck. The search was expanded nationwide. Still nothing. 

So now the plan is to do a “modernization repair” that basically involves replacing all of the equipment that makes the elevator go up and down. That means an extensive bidding process, not to mention the work itself. 

At this point there is no estimate of a cost or when the work will get done. 


* Coming up this week in the General Assembly is a hearing by a couple of House committees that is supposed to focus on bringing sports betting to Illinois. 

It could be illuminating, especially in light of Pritzker’s oft-repeated comment that he sees legalizing sports betting as a way to bring more revenue into the state. 

But Pritzker isn’t the only one talking about gambling expansion. Rauner has discussed the idea of expanded gaming as a way to pay for a new capital plan. 

Whether the legislature moves quickly on this is another question.
