Dan Proft announced on WLS AM Chicago this morning that he will run for governor of Illinois. He is an executive at a Chicago communications firm and has not previously held office, but is a critic of the self-serving political system in this state. For example, he said this:
When something is broken, it does not do what it is intended to do. But these government systems – our schools, our health care, our transportation -- are in fact doing exactly what they are intended to do. They create dependent and dependable voting blocs that sustain and advance the political careers of those in charge. They provide secure jobs and guaranteed pensions for the patronage armies of the political establishment.Now, why do I have the feeling that members of the corrupt Illinois political establishment are really, really going to dislike this guy?
These systems are not designed to produce efficient, responsive government or provide services that improve the quality of life, and they don’t.
Illinois isn’t broken. It’s fixed.
Who benefits from these fixed systems?
The Chicago Nine, as I like to call them.
Those would be the nine Chicago Democrats who live within a few square miles of each other and who currently control more than $70 billion worth of government and more than 125,000 public sector jobs in Illinois.
They are the great protectors of the status quo because they derive their political power from the public sector unions and other dependents of state government largesse.
This explains the great paradox of Illinois politics: systems that no one in power wants to defend and yet no one in power wants to change.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We love to hear your thoughts! However, comments containing profuse profanity, inane insults (unless they're entertaining), or anything else that makes us cranky may disappear.