Bruce Rauner

I like to do things that get results. Results are all that matters.

I want to do something that I'm proud of and that I can look back on with pride of accomplishment.

The tax money belongs to the taxpayers. It doesn't belong to the bureaucracy. And government is not a welfare system.

We have a moral duty to have an efficient government.

These political consultants love business guys who've never been in politics to try and take advantage of them. I get that.

I certainly don't need a job. Getting re-elected is not on my Top 10 list.

I'll be willing to do things that politicians won't do. Because I don't care who I upset.

I just want the state fixed, and I just want to do the right thing for the taxpayers.

We have to be bold, tough, and fundamentally change government because Springfield is broken.

The government union bosses are the most powerful politicians in Springfield.

Our government workers should be treated fairly and appropriately. They should have a decent retirement, but not a gold-plated system where they can retire multimillionaires in their 50s.

Money's important, but it isn't a motivator for me.

I don't like to pay lip service. I don't frankly like to talk about stuff.

We need to focus on reducing property taxes. We need to focus on education funding. We need to focus on getting term limits on elected officials.

I'm a business guy. I'm not a politician.

Let's put Illinois back on the road to prosperity.

If Republicans and Democrats commit to working together, we can reach a bipartisan, common-sense agreement to reverse Illinois' economic decline and set the stage for a bright economic future.

Government pensions are among the largest cost drivers for state and local governments.

We cannot accept the status quo of throwing more taxpayer money into a broke and broken system.

The people of Illinois sent me to Springfield to end the era of unbalanced budgets and runaway debt.

Government unions should not be allowed to influence the public officials they are lobbying, and sitting across the bargaining table from, through campaign donations and expenditures.

I don't care what the headline is. I want the results.

In democracy - and the good thing about democracy, big change does not happen quickly, and you need a buy-in and a convincing, a selling, an arm-twisting to get big change. And that takes time.

Ronald Reagan helped me become a Republican.

I tend to think that free-market conservative principles are the best ones for the CEO of a state.

We have to reduce the tax burden, whether it's income tax for corporations or private individuals, and we should put a freeze on property taxes.

I have said, on a number of occasions, that we could have a lower minimum wage or no minimum wage.

I think we've got to be competitive here in Illinois. It's critical we're competitive. We're hurting our economy by having the minimum wage above the national. We've got to move back to the national.

I like to spend money on investments.

I'm very thoughtful and disciplined with my money.

We must find a way to balance our tradition as a state welcoming of refugees while ensuring the safety and security of our citizens.

Government employees deserve to be treated fairly, but they do not deserve a significantly better deal than average Illinoisans get in their own jobs.

I've got to pick my fights at the right time.

Crisis creates leverage to change.

I will advocate moving the Illinois minimum wage back to the national minimum wage.

Given my venture capital background, I know the tech sector well.

My wife and I believe that there's nothing we do together as a community that's more important than education.

We've talked through the fact that our family will be attacked. Our family will be dragged through the mud. My businesses that I've helped build and create will be attacked and dragged through the mud. That's politics. I don't spend a lot of time worrying about it or thinking about it.

The fact is that politics in Illinois is a blood sport. It's really rough. It's really nasty.

There are plenty of examples of very wealthy people who have run for office and failed, certainly in Illinois.

Frankly, I would never ask a supporter to bet big on me if I wouldn't bet big on myself. It wouldn't be fair.

I'm a pretty disciplined investor and pretty disciplined buyer. I do my due diligence. I do my homework. I don't waste money.

We've become a collectivist economy in Illinois. It's crushing us. And no problem is going to get fixed unless we bring more economic freedom into the state. And I believe that very passionately.

It takes someone with a unique background to stand up to the threat of a strike and win.

If yelling and threatening, intimidating and chanting solved problems, Illinois wouldn't have any problems. We're good at that stuff.

Voters want conflicting things. They want a lot of government spending, but they don't want higher taxes.

Your average person in Illinois doesn't really even know what workers' comp is. The average person doesn't know really what's going on in the pension system. They know their taxes are too high; they know we've got a deficit. But getting that message out and helping the people of Illinois really understand what's going on, that's hard.

I've completely lost faith in the Democratic Party to truly serve the disadvantaged.

Mitch Daniels in Indiana was the best governor in America for eight years. I've gone to Indianapolis to study with him.

Being a successful CEO, where I've driven a bottom line, assembled teams, driven results, that's a critical benefit to running the state government.