Addresses of the State

It was on the evening of January 30 when President Trump delivered the first State of the Union Address of his presidency.

What struck me was that he sought to convey a conciliatory tone, reaching out to the American people as a whole, rather than focusing on his base, as the pundits say.  He made many remarks that addressed everything good going for the United States, and jumped right away into highlighting personal stories, which were scattered throughout the address.  And that was the basis for discussing his policy objectives, though I didn't see much in the way of specific steps he intended to complete.  He also underscored some serious issues, like with immigrant criminals, highlighting the story of two teenagers who were murdered by gangs.  He laid out some important steps for immigration reform, but it's clear that what we need is strong leadership to get the legislators to band together and take the appropriate action to reform the system.

As the speech went along, I wondered when he would address foreign policy matters.  It appeared he was concluding as he told the story of Albuquerque police officer Ryan Holets, but once he made the case for the strength of Americans like Office Holets, he then turned to address foreign policy.  He used a similar approach as he did with immigration as he spoke of the brutality of the North Korean regime through the stories of Otto Warmbier and Ji Seong-ho, a North Korean defector.

He used the theme of striving for freedom to conclude his speech, talking about the qualities of greatness in the American people.

US Representative Joe Kennedy also spoke to the qualities of the American people in his Democratic response to the State of the Union Address, referring even to the great work being done by those at the school in Fall River, MA, where he spoke.  He laid out a different vision for American greatness and was critical of the vision advocated by President Trump, claiming it leaves out certain people.  I felt his response speech focused mostly on character qualities, and not so much on specific policy objectives.  I couldn't help but notice his use of many expressive gestures.

The following day, January 31, Governor Rauner delivered the 2018 Illinois State of the State Address.  I quickly took note of how he embraced the occasion of Illinois's Bicentennial year to extol the great qualities of Illinois and its people.  He used those qualities as the basis to advocate for reforms to make people's lives better, especially ethics reform, tax reform, and curbing the powers of the Illinois state legislature, and ensuring that Illinois goes forth with a balanced budget that will ensure prosperity for the people.

Illinois State Representative Lou Lang offered the Democratic response to Governor Rauner's State of the State Address.  He had some rather harsh words, suggesting Governor Rauner is a failed leader who refuses to cooperate, and doesn't seek to create a good government for the people of Illinois.  I sense, though, that the Democratically-controlled legislature wasn't really that much willing to talk with Governor Rauner about enacting a balanced budget, as they were focused on their own interests, and so he had to lock horns with them and push Illinois into a budget crisis.

Two weeks later, he delivered the Budget Address.  It was clear that his heart was in the right place in his focus on devoting resources to services to maintain a good quality of life for people, especially to provide funding for education, veterans, and public safety.  He also advocates for lessening the tax burden on the people of Illinois, which will come in part through various reforms, like pensions.  Critics, like State Representative Greg Harris, who delivered the Democratic response to the budget address, claim his proposed budget will place too much of a burden on those in a vulnerable position and not do enough to fund important services like education.  But it's clear that this task is difficult because of the budgetary problems that the state has faced for years, and will continue to be a burden because it's a hard mess to clean up.  Hopefully the needed sacrifices will eventually pay off, and leave Illinois taxpayers with less of a burden, and continued provision of important services.