Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Updated January 11, 2005 at 7:00 pm
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State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger [R- Elgin]: I think a lot of legislators, including myself, would support a casino complex in Chicago under the right set of conditions and understanding how the resources were going to be used.
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State Senator Steve Rauschenberger is featured on “Public Affairs,” in the suburbs this week [Comcast Cable, Week of Jan. 10]. A partial transcript of the show with Senator Rauschenberger is included, below. See the conclusion of this blog entry for a detailed suburban airing schedule. The show also airs throughout the City of Chicago this coming Monday night [Jan. 17 at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21].
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Jeff Berkowitz: Sounds like you are going to be a candidate for Governor—

Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: I am very excited and I am very excited for the State of Illinois.

Berkowitz: Sounds like you are going to try to be the Republican candidate for Governor to oppose Governor Rod Blagojevich, assuming he does not face a primary challenge or assuming he survives it if there is…. Let us know in June if you have decided to run, is that the decision date?

Rauschenberger: No, who knows when it will be, but it will probably be in the summer.

Berkowitz: Casinos. Should Mayor Daley be given a casino that he owns, that he controls?

Rauschenberger: No. No. I don’t think--

Berkowitz: Should there be a casino in Chicago, at all.

Rauschenberger: I think a lot of legislators, including myself, would support a casino complex in Chicago under the right set of conditions and understanding how the resources were going to be used.
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Berkowitz: You’re OK with more casinos.

Rauschenberger: It’s not my first choice, but if people are asking me if I could support them under the appropriate—

Berkowitz: You don’t want them to be owned by the mayor-- of the City of Chicago?

Rauschenberger: I don’t think the mayor of Chicago—

Berkowitz: He should not be controlling.

Rauschenberger: Right, exactly. Now, it is one thing for the people of the City of Chicago to own it. I don’t have as much of a problem with that—

Berkowitz: CTA Funding. Should the State jump in and bail out the CTA?

Rauschenberger: I think we need to take an honest look at the CTA’s structural problems. Their Dial a Ride—their responsibilities to disabled customers are a major problem. They may need some fare box recovery. I think we ought to talk to the CTA…but some of us are a little tired with the City’s kind of full court press.

Berkowitz: Guns, Guns. Would you like to see a ban on assault weapons? There was one on the federal, it wasn’t renewed. Would you like the State to step in and provide a ban on assault weapons?

Rauschenberger: I am very comfortable with the current state of gun laws. I think what we need to do is enforce the ones we have.

Berkowitz: Did you support the override of the Wilmette gun control ordinance [that provides for prosecution of residents who possess guns- even when they are used against home invaders.]

Rauschenberger, Yes, I did.

Berkowitz: Gun owners should be allowed to defend themselves [against home invaders] without being prosecuted for illegal possession of guns?

Rauschenberger: Absolutely.
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State Senator Rauschenberger interviewed on "Public Affairs," as it is being cablecast this week [Week of Jan. 10] in the suburbs on Comcast Cable, and as it will be cablecast throughout the City of Chicago on Monday night, Jan. 17 at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21. See conclusion of the blog entry, below, for a detailed "Public Affairs," suburban airing schedule. This show was recorded on January 4, 2004.
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State Senator Rauschenberger debates and discusses with Show Host and Executive Legal Recruiter Jeff Berkowitz Illinois First, spending and taxes in Illinois in recent and current years and under former Governor George Ryan, capital projects, school vouchers/school choice, Gun Control, the Assault Weapon Ban, state subsidies to the CTA and embryonic stem cell research.
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The suburban edition of "Public Affairs," is regularly broadcast every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Bannockburn, Deerfield, Ft. Sheridan, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lincolnshire, Riverwoods and Winnetka.

The suburban edition also is broadcast every Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette and every Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. on Comcast Cable Channel 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.
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Jeff Berkowitz, Host and Producer of Public Affairs and an Executive Recruiter doing Legal Search, can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
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