Dems vow to stand up to ‘extreme agenda’ of Rauner, Trump

SPRINGFIELD — A day after Republicans largely avoided mentioning their party’s presidential candidate during Governor’s Day at the Illinois State Fair, Democrats on Thursday lauded candidate Hillary Clinton and sought to tie Gov. Bruce Rauner and the rest of the Illinois GOP to Donald Trump.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who also chairs the state Democratic Party, vowed during a breakfast meeting of party leaders ahead of Democrat Day at the fair that the party and its labor union allies will continue to stand up to the “extreme agenda” of Rauner and Trump ahead of November’s election.

Rauner in particular leads an effort to reverse a trend in American government that has held steady since the start of Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency, Madigan said.

“For 83 years, the American national government and state governments, including Illinois, have always worked to raise wage levels and the standard of living and to protect the vulnerable in our society,” he said. “That’s been the policy of American governments for 83 years. However, today in Illinois, Gov. Rauner is attempting to advance an extreme agenda that would actually take the state of Illinois in the opposite direction.”

Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/statehouse/illinois/dems-vow-to-stand-up-to-extreme-agenda-of-rauner/article_30c4f769-51a1-592b-b844-b006f4127172.html