Mediaboss Marketing

Welcometo Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield. Subscribehere.

Topspin

The Illinois Republican Party heavily funded by Gov. Bruce Rauner has worked for years to tell voters that Democrats wanted to raise state taxes.

Then a bunch of the party's own lawmakers voted for a tax hike and bucked the governor's override. Shortly after, Rauner's hand-picked state GOP chairman released a statement sharply critical of them.

After all we have accomplished together, it is astonishing that these legislators would now turn their backs on taxpayers across the state, the statement from party Chairman Tim Schneider read in part. I am confident voters will hold those politicians accountable for choosing Mike Madigan over the people of Illinois.

Assuming Schneider isn't suggesting he wants Democrats to defeat those Republicans, the statement suggests those GOP lawmakers could face primary opponents next spring.

On Sunday, 15 House Republicans voted for the tax hike. By Thursday's override, there were 10. In the meantime, Rauner had vowed to do"everything possible"to prevent the override.

To make up for the Republicans that changed their minds, four Democrats who had originally voted to reject the tax hike changed theirs. The GOP lawmakers that jumped off the proposalcited talks with constituents.

The more than one thousand calls, emails and Facebook messages I have received have been about 10 to 1 opposed to any more taxes. The message from my constituents has been loud and clear that they do not want a tax increase so I had to oppose this plan with a permanent tax increase, state Rep. John Cavaletto, R-Salem, said in a statement.

Republican Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer of Jacksonville said that since the first vote he "had many conversations with constituents and laid out the facts as well as the possible ramifications of not having a budget."

At least one of the Republicans who voted for both the tax hike and the override anticipated a primary challenge immediately.

"For me right here today, right here, right now, this is the sword that I'm willing to die on," Rep. Michael Unes, a Republican from East Peoria, said after the first vote. "And if it costs me my seat, so be it."

What's on tap

*Mayor Rahm Emanuel's schedule says he'll be out in the morningto talk about progressin separating the lakefront bike and pedestrian trails.

*Gov. Rauner has no public schedule.

*State lawmakers have gone home after overriding the governor's budget veto.

From the notebook

*Emanuel doesn't engage McCarthy:Mayor Emanuel wouldnt engage directly Thursday with the possibility former Police Supt. Garry McCarthy could run against him for mayor.

Emanuel was leaving a brief news conference when he was asked about a potential McCarthy challenge following a Tribune story noting McCarthy supporters are passing out campaign buttonsfor him. McCarthy, who the mayor fired in late 2015 during the fallout from the Laquan McDonald police shooting video, did notrule out taking on Emanuel in 2019.

The mayor returned to the mic, but immediately pivoted to talking about his goals for the remainder of his second term.

Look, heres my thing. I know what my job is, in the next two years, to make sure theres more thriving community and neighborhood investments, make sure that we have education investments like this that have not only (a) rising graduation rate but every child is 100 percent college-ready and 100 percent college-bound, Emanuel said after handing out grants to small-business owners at a school in Back of the Yards. Those are my priorities, those are my focus; and thats what Im going to focus on. And theres nothing else really to say. Thanks. (John Byrne)

*Quick spins: State Sen. Daniel Biss' campaign for governor announced an endorsement from fellow Sen. David Koehler of Peoria. ... From the Champaign News-Gazette: Longtime Illinois House fixture former state Rep. Bill Black of Danville is considering a return to politics. ... The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform announced an event it's holding July 12 in Chicago called"Illinois: A state divided?"

*On the Sunday Spin: ChicagoTribune political reporter Rick Pearsons guests are state Rep. Steve Andersson of Geneva, the Republican House floor leader; Democratic Rep. Carol Sente of Vernon Hills; and Christopher Mooney, director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs for the University of Illinois. The Sunday Spin airs from 7to 9 a.m. on WGN 720-AM.

Read more from the original source:
Morning Spin: Will Republicans who bucked Rauner face primary challenges? - Chicago Tribune