Defeated Rauner still wasting money, time in court

Fighting state workers and our union every step of the way—and insisting on using a high-priced outside law firm to do so—Bruce Rauner has already run up a legal tab of more than $6 million. 

Now on his way out the door, Rauner hasn’t changed his stripes. Refusing to accept yet another court ruling won by AFSCME—the appellate court decision stating that the Rauner-appointed state labor board erred in finding that the governor and the union had reached impasse in state contract negotiations—on Nov. 27 his administration asked for another 60 days in which to file an appeal to the state Supreme Court.

AFSCME now has an opportunity to respond, after which the justices will consider whether to allow the governor's late appeal.

Rauner's ongoing delay tactics and refusal to accept legal findings make clear that he's never had any intention of bargaining in good faith with state workers.

What's certain is that Rauner's $6 million meter counting the public dollars he's wasted on costly lawyers will keep ticking even higher.