Now governor Bruce Rauner, campaigning last summer in Livingston County/WJEZ file photo

by Todd Wineburner with John Gregory and Jim Anderson of Illinois Radio News

Governor Bruce Rauner spent part of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day issuing an executive order designed to address opportunities for veterans and minorities. The plan requires labor organizations, contractors, and subcontractors working with the state to identify how many minority and veteran participants there are in training or apprentice programs. Rauner says he isn't currently imposing any minimum standards, but instead assessing how things currently stand to decide what to do next. "You can't manage what you don't measure," Rauner told reporters. "I want to see first hand…what is going on in training programs and in the apprentice programs in the organizations that contract with the state." Rauner's order also calls for a review of regulations that affect veterans and the hiring of veterans, as well as possible disparities in opportunities for veteran and minority-owned businesses.

The governor also used his executive authority to suspend interstate construction projects, saying all pending projects need to be reviewed to make sure they're in the best interests of taxpayers. That move was good news for opponents of the proposed Illiana expressway. The tollway would connect Interstate 55 in Illinois with Interstate 65 in Indiana and critics of the plan have said from the start that the roadway is unnecessary and destined to become a financial burden for taxpayers.