The election is six weeks from today and the candidates, their supporters and their detractors are making every possible case to try to win voters to their side.
Carol Felsenthal at Chicago Magazine spoke with one detractor of Republican candidate for governor Bruce Rauner in May. New York University professor Diane Ravitch told Felsenthal she thinks Rauner as governor would be a “terrible idea.”
Ravitch is an education researcher and historian and served as assistant secretary of education under President George H. W. Bush. She won the Kohl Education Award in Chicago in 2011, where she met Rauner, a charter-schools backer. Ravitch recounted her conversation for Felsenthal:
Ravitch: It doesn’t seem fair that charters can exclude students with disabilities. That leaves them to public schools.
Rauner: That’s no problem for us. Kids who don’t speak English, we don’t have to take them.
Ravitch: That’s not fair.
Rauner: What’s wrong with not taking kids? We don’t need kids whose families are not highly motivated. That’s our choice.
Ravitch, “an ardent supporter of the right of teachers unions to organize and strike,” didn’t like Rauner’s approach to education and is against charter schools in general. She said she thinks his views on charter schools informs how he would run the state if elected governor.
From Chicago Magazine:
“It’s a terrible idea to elect Rauner governor,” Ravitch told me. “Hedge fund managers [again, Rauner’s business is private equity] love charters…. It’s one thing if a rich guy gives money to charters, but quite another if this guy becomes governor of a big state.” She added, “In my opinion, charter schools represent a new kind of dual system…. Long-term, it’s not a vision for American society.”
Such was Ravitch’s stance against Rauner that Felsenthal writes:
There’s no one I’ve interviewed on the subject of Bruce Rauner—well, maybe Karen Lewis, who called him a “menace to society”—who expressed more disdain for the Republican candidate for Illinois governor than Diane Ravitch.
But Rauner supporters, such as former Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard, said Rauner’s views were not “cold-hearted,” and Rauner’s campaign said he is committed to charter schools as a way of improving education.
But even as the Rauner camp must defend itself against criticism if it wants to win against Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, the Republican is also picking up support in places that might surprise some. According to NBC5, several black ministers in the Chicago area have endorsed Rauner for governor, because they say Quinn has not delivered on commitments he made four years ago.
Two of the ministers explained their positions:
“Are we better off today than we were five years ago? The answer is no,” Dr. Willie Nelson said.
“Bruce, we’re going to give you our trust. And I know you’re going to prove faithful, just like you always have,” Pastor Corey Brooks said.
According to WBGZ radio, one minister, Pastor Robert Patterson, said that just because the African-American community is traditionally thought of as voting for mostly Democrats doesn’t mean that being a Democrat automatically earns a vote from black Illinoisans.
Some raised questions about Rauner’s involvement with the black community.
From NBC5:
But at Monday’s news conference, Rauner was peppered with questions about minority hiring when he led the private equity firm GTCR. Quinn is running a radio ad that claims Rauner left the firm without hiring a single black professional.
“We have had African Americans at my firm and I hired many of them. I’ve been gone from the firm for several years, I can’t comment today,” Rauner said.
And from WBGZ:
A protester outside the endorsement event claimed that Rauner was paying off these leaders for their support, which Rauner denied. “That’s baloney,” Rauner said. “In no way is that occurring whatsoever.” Rauner has made several efforts to court African-American voters in Chicago. He has opened campaign offices in predominantly black neighborhoods, and donated $200,000 to a credit union.
NEXT ARTICLE: Sun-Times poll: Quinn and Rauner in “statistical dead heat”
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