At Issue: Tio Hardiman Discusses Clash Between Rauner And Madigan, Governor's Race
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Long-shot candidate for Governor, Tio Hardiman said people in Illinois need for the "Clash of the Titans" between the Governor and the House Speaker must end, so the budget standoff can too.
Longtime anti-gang violence activist Tio Hardiman said he's a regular person running for Governor; and the election of Donald Trump last fall shows there's something percolating among the voters. They don't want the same people doing the same things. WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports.
Hardiman, director of the non-profit group Violence Interrupters, said he's running for Governor to represent the poor, and the disenfranchised as well as people in rural downstate areas and suburbs.
Hardiman said he blames both sides in the state's two-year budget dispute. The democrat said he blames House Speaker Michael Madigan for the budget impasse as much as Republican Governor Bruce Rauner.
"You have a clash of the titans right now, Bruce Rauner and Mike Madigan must take the blame for not passing the budget. Everybody points fingers at Bruce Rauner and I do believe Bruce Rauner is one of the worst governors that state of Illinois has ever witnessed; but at the same time Mike Madigan is really the unofficial governor. People don't want to say that, he's like the godfather down there in Springfield and both those guys are stepping on the poor and working class people.
But, what would he do in Rauner's shoes?
He said the Govenor should just sit down with Madigan and work out a compromise, because "people are hurting out here."
Gubernatorial hopeful Tio Hardiman's the guest on our "At Issue" program this week and you can hear more of his thoughts Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.