Dec. 06--President Barack Obama met late Friday afternoon with Illinois Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner and other incoming governors, leading Rauner to judge it a "terrific day" that included discussions about improving the state's infrastructure and economy.
Rauner, a Republican who will take office Jan. 12, indicated to reporters afterward that he had many friends in the administration, even though Friday marked his first White House visit since Obama became president in 2009.
Rauner, an equity investor from Winnetka, said he's been to the White House in previous years "a number of times."
"Just over the years, I've known a number of the presidents," he said.
Though Obama campaigned heavily for Rauner's rival, incumbent Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, Rauner emphasized his longtime friendships with Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, with whom he dined Thursday night, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the former Chicago schools chief with whom Rauner said he had long worked on education issues.
He said he also met Thursday with Illinois Republican Ray LaHood, transportation chief during Obama's first term, and on Friday with current Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and several other key administration officials.
"We have got to find ways to invest in our infrastructure, upgrade our infrastructure and expand it so it's world class," Rauner told reporters. "Illinois is the crossroads of America. We're the heart of the transportation network for the United States. We need to invest in our infrastructure in Illinois."
He said he and Pritzker talked about ways to improve economic opportunity and achieve more rapid growth. Illinois, he said, was "suffering with low job-creation rates and a difficult economic climate."
Rauner, who met Thursday with Illinois' members of Congress, also highlighted the need to work across party lines.
"We've got to solve problems on a bipartisan basis," the governor-elect said. "Our states are facing significant challenges. We won't solve them unless we do it in a bipartisan way."
The governors also met with Vice President Joe Biden and presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett. The other newly elected officials in the visiting group were Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska and Govs.-elect Larry Hogan of Maryland, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania and Greg Abbott of Texas.
Obama, seated in front of an Oval Office fireplace, opened his session with the newly elected governors by saying it was a "great pleasure" to welcome them.
Speaking at the start of the meeting before the press was ushered out, Obama touted Friday's robust jobs report from the Labor Department, singling out the creation of more than 300,000 new jobs and 57 consecutive months of private-sector job growth.
"That's due to a lot of factors, but the main reason is because we've got great businesses and great workers," Obama said. "But what we want to make sure is that the government is not an impediment but is instead an accelerant of that kind of job growth, and I know that all the governors here feel the same way."
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