Well, it’s February 6, so we expect to hear any day now that Rabine, 56, a citizen-politician if ever there were one, is stepping into the ring. Is this morning a preview of that? Will former Senator and downstate lawyer Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo), 50,  senator and downstate farmer Darren Bailey (R-Louisville), 50  and upstate attorney & Kirkland and Ellis Partner Richard Portner make it a quartet, or will they defer to Rabine? Inquiring minds want to know!

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Watch this morning’s  “Public Affairs,” with show host Jeff Berkowitz interviewing likely Gov Candidate Gary Rabine (R-Woodstock).  about improving our law and order environment, cutting property taxes, offering more school choice, attracting jobs to IL , opening up IL’s economy and schools,  inspiring more citizen-politicians and other issues relevant to Rabine’s seemingly imminent campaign for Governor.

Rabine said in Part 1 of this two part series, taped on January 12,  that he is was 80% likely to run for Governor and that he planned to make the decision whether to run or not in February, 2021.  Well, it’s February 6, so we expect to hear any day now that Rabine is stepping into the ring.   

You give us 30 minutes and Gary Rabine gives you a different kind of politician than you are used to seeing. Rabine reeks of sincerity and genuineness. And, his public policy positions are rooted, in large part, in the entrepreneurial spirit and vision that has driven much of his life’s professional focus from the time he graduated from high school and started the first of his now eleven companies, focusing on paving driveways in Lake and McHenry counties.

This morning’s show  (Saturday ), Rabine, part 2, aka Rabine2,  airs thorough-out the City of Chicago proper on Cable Ch 21 (CAN TV) at 9:35 am (This airing is part of a two hour Illinois Channel package and it follows a 30 minute IL House GOP members’, Leader Durkin & IL State Trooper Moon press conference. 

Rabine 2 also airs tomorrow, Sunday morning,  thorough-out the City of Chicago proper on Cable Ch 19 (CAN TV) at 9:05 am (This airing is also part of that same two hour Illinois Channel package and it also follows  the same 30 minute IL House GOP members’, Leader Durkin & IL State Trooper Moon press conference, referenced above.

You can also watch 24/7 the show featuring ditchdigger CEO Gary Rabine, Part 2, by clicking here.

Rabine, during the show, talks about the importance of letting police do policing, to make our towns and cities safer.  He also discusses the importance of starting down a new path, one of much lower property taxes, more school choice, attracting jobs to, not repelling jobs from, IL , opening up IL’s economy and schools,  inspiring more citizen-politicians and other issues relevant to Rabine’s more and more likely imminent campaign for Governor.

The show featuring Gary Rabine also airs:

–in Aurora today (Saturday) and next Monday at 6 pm on ACTV-10, also known as Cable Ch 10 and Aurora Community Television

–in Highland Park on this Monday and Wednesday night at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 19.

You can also watch 24/7 the show featuring ditchdigger CEO Gary Rabine, Part 2, by clicking here:

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Summary of tonight’s show with Gary Rabine: 

Gary Rabine, likely Republican Gov candidate, says it’s time to “Make Illinois a ‘destination state’ again.”

Rabine climbed the business ladder of success:

Right after graduating from High School, Gary entered the  entrepreneurial business world by starting a company focused on paving driving ways in Lake and McHenry counties-in Northeast IL.

Now, at the top of his business game, Gary Rabine is still “A Ditchdigger CEO” playing a major leadership role in his eleven small and medium sized companies, not just employing but inspiring more than three hundred hard working, high spirited teammates- who share Gary’s tremendous desire to compete to provide the best possible services to their customers.

Rabine promises to make Illinois streets safe again:

In this week’s show, Gary discusses at length how, as Governor, he would have done much more during the summer of 2020 than Gov. Pritzker did to protect the lives, livelihoods, hard earned property and jobs of Illinois’ citizens from looters and rioters.

Rabine emphasizes the importance of supporting law and order- and the police who enforce that law and order. He acknowledges that maybe one per cent of police are not performing well and should be disciplined, and/or removed from the force.

Respect the police- no more Police stand-downs: 

But, says Rabine, the great majority of police deserve the support of the citizens and the Governor. The Governor, mayors and police chiefs, Rabine says, must work together to enforce law and order, not tell their police to “Stand down,” as apparently happened during the summer of 2020, when public officials let looters and rioters run wild, stealing from stores and destroying property, jobs and lives at will. He would never go along with that, he said, as Governor.  That kind of business environment provided by the Governor and Chicago’s Mayor is helping to kill Chicago as Illinois’ engine of economic growth.

Rabine will attract people and jobs to IL by competing: 

In 2022, Gary, if he is running for Gov, will offer his strong competitive and entrepreneurial spirit to IL’s citizens– so IL can compete with states, adjacent and far away, to “Kick ass,” and attract citizens to come to Illinois, after Gary has persuaded the Legislature to make reforms, making IL the land of:

–low property and low income taxes,

–safe streets, cities and villages,

— high performing schools (chosen by parents from a menu of charter, private voucher and traditional neighborhood schools),

–solid private sector job opportunities, and

–reformed and fiscally sound government budgets.

Rabine would restructure IL’s pension liabilities:

In part 1 of this two part series w/Gary Rabine, the ditchdigger CEO highlighted the importance of  amending IL’s Constitution to permit its Governor and Legislature to negotiate w/unions a restructuring of the State’s and Cities’ massive $400 billion in pension liabilities to a more livable level.

Rabine will end Tax Theft:

In this week’s Part 2, likely candidate for Governor Rabine talks about ending “Tax Theft.” Gary says Illinois’ taxpayers understand why they should have to pay the national average amount of property taxes– about one per cent of their property’s value.

And, Rabine says, Illinois’ citizens are good with that.  But, the 56 year old entrepreneur said they don’t want to pay two or three times the national average for property taxes, which is the current Illinois Property tax level, i.e., 2% or 3% of their property’s value. That’s theft by high taxes- or tax theft, said Rabine.

Rabine: Open IL’s economy and schools:

In part 1 of the two shows, Rabine discussed how science and data supported keeping IL’s economy and schools safely open last year- and he emphasized that he would never have “Shut down the IL economy and schools,” as Gov. Pritzker did. That shut down, perhaps motivated by a national Democratic Party intent on driving President Trump from office,  kept many IL citizens essentially locked and depressed in their homes, exacerbating the riots and looting last summer in IL, said Rabine in Part 2. Now, says Rabine, IL is overdue to repair the damage from Gov. Pritzker’s mistaken shut-down – and open Illinois’ schools and economy.     

 A time to Lead?

Will Gary Rabine, Ditchdigger CEO, try to fix IL by making a run for Gov? To learn Gary’s decision, stay tuned to Public Affairs and the Illinois Channel, as Rabine promises to return later this month, or perhaps sooner,  to tell us if he’s running for Gov!

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