His meeting included a luncheon with U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D) and Mark Kirk (R) and Democratic and Republican representatives from Illinois in the capitol building.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

And while over the past year Illinois House Republicans have been mostly skipping the regular delegation lunch that takes place in Durbin’s office, they all turned out on Thursday for Rauner.

As Rauner rounded a corner in the Capitol en route to a room on the Senate side where he held a brief press conference, marching behind him, almost as an honor guard, were Illinois GOP House members Peter Roskam, Rodney Davis, Aaron Schock, John Shimkus and Adam Kinzinger. Randy Hultgren joined the group  later.

Rauner told the Sun-Times he looked “forward to working with all members of the Illinois delegation in Congress.” He said he recognized the differences between them and their state counterparts in Springfield. While reiterating his support for legislative term limits in Illinois, he also said the rules in Washington are different and that the town “has its own processes.” As the Sun-Times pointed out, Rauner campaigned on the idea of implementing term limits at the state level, but had also just spent the day with many lawmakers who had been in office for far more than two terms.

On Dec. 5, Rauner was set to meet with Obama and Vice President Biden, along with seven other newly elected governors from throughout the country. Rauner said he has known Obama since the president was an Illinois state senator, introduced through several mutual friends, including at least one with whom Rauner also was scheduled to meet in D.C.

“[We met t]hrough mutual friends. Marty Nesbitt, who is one of his personal advisers, is a friend of mine. Arne Duncan, who is head of education, is a personal friend of mine. And I will be working very closely with the Obama administration. Penny Pritzker actually is a good personal friend of mine,” Rauner said.

The governor-elect said he planned to work “very closely” with the Obama White House. Rauner planned to meet with Duncan, secretary of education, and several other members of the Obama administration, including Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Director of the National Economic Council Jeff Zients, among others.

Rauner and Obama have another high-profile friend in common–Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who also was visiting Washington Dec. 4. Greg Hinz at Crain’s Chicago Business said the two were not scheduled to meet in the nation’s capital, though they could surely find a lot to talk about if they did.

Emanuel was in Washington to attend an education conference and planned to meet with some of the same people with whom Rauner was scheduled to shake hands.

Hinz suggested Rauner and Emanuel could talk about the twin minimum wage conversations happening in Springfield and Chicago, infrastructure money and gun violence, all over a $1,000 bottle of wine.

From Crain’s:

Wouldn’t it be loverly if these two ambitious—I would say “all-powerful,” but it’s not House Speaker Mike Madigan we’re talking about here—politicians found time for a quick nosh at some little spot off K Street? Someplace where the big lobbyists could wave at the window and slip some campaign checks under the door?

Hinz called pension reform the “elephant in the room” between the two elected officials:

What are you going to do about the zillions we owe, guys? What’s Plan B if the Illinois Supreme Court summarily tosses out the state’s initial move to deal with the financial crisis?

Hinz isn’t the only Illinoisan who is ready to see the pension issue figured out once and for all. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has asked the Illinois Supreme Court to make a swift decision on whether or not the renegotiation of state employee retirement benefits is allowed under Illinois law.

From Madigan’s motion, filed to ask the court to make a decision by March 10, according to Reuters:

“A prompt resolution of those issues is critical because the state must either implement the act, or in the alternative, significantly reduce spending and/or raise taxes,” the motion stated.

The law, designed to reform the worst-in-the-nation pension system by changing some state employee retirement benefits and signed in December 2013, was ruled unconstitutional by Sangamon Circuit Court Judge John Belz last month. If the Supreme Court overturns that ruling, the new law could immediately save the state up to $1 billion. If it’s not allowed to stand, lawmakers will need to return to the drawing board to propose a new plan as soon as possible.

Maybe Rauner can ask around to see if anyone in Washington has any ideas.

NEXT ARTICLE: Reeder: Courts hold state’s future in balance with Illinois pension reform decision

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