GOVERNOR RAUNER CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE, JANUARY - MARCH 2015
January 1-12: Transition period as Rauner assumes governorship of Illinois.
January 12: Inauguration of Governor Bruce Rauner
January 13-15: Discussions with Republican leaders in the General Assembly on how to balance the budget without gutting important programs or raising taxes
January 16-17: "Vacation" to Moline; gives speech in Davenport about President Clinton's "abominable" behavior with regards to DNC rigging a year prior; media speculation begins regarding a Rauner '16 candidacy.
January 18-20: State Rep. Randy Frese (R-Quincy) introduces proposed budget; despite Speaker Madigan's best efforts, it passes the State House, 60-54 (four Democrats abstain; five vote for the budget).
January 21-22: State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) introduces proposed budget to the Senate; Senate President Cullerton, knowing he cannot stop the bill, agrees to support it; the bill passes the Senate, 44-15 (sixteen Democrats vote for the budget).
January 23: Governor Rauner signs the new budget into effect.
January 24: Rauner secretly recruits gubernatorial campaign manager Chip Englander to run a potential presidential campaign.
January 25-27: Interviews with numerous media correspondents regarding his new budget, which many Illinois Republicans hail as a "defeat for the Chicago machine."
January 28-29: Holds town halls in Springfield, Decatur, Bloomington, and Champaign regarding budget concerns.
January 30-31: Makes trip to Des Moines to speak with several Iowa businesspeople about opening branches in Illinois, due to corporate tax cuts.
February 1: Holds town hall in Peoria to discuss budget concerns. Morning Consult releases gubernatorial approval rating poll, showing Rauner at 55%; this high approval is largely attributed to anti-Madigan factions within both parties.
February 2: Returns to Springfield.
February 3-26: Performs gubernatorial duties, allowing media to speculate on potential presidential bid; refuses to rule out at any point.
February 27-28: Debates next move with Englander and state legislative party heads. Decide on private school scholarship program.
March 1: Announce private school scholarship bill.
March 2: Madigan and Cullerton condemn scholarship bill, claiming Rauner is "simply making half-baked amends for gutting the public school system." Rauner fires back by reminding them that he only reduced public education funding by 10%.
March 3-4: Bill narrowly passes committee.
March 5-7: While awaiting House vote, Rauner travels to Charlotte, NC, to discuss Duke Energy building hydroelectric power plants in Central and Southern Illinois. Duke's response is not final, but indicates that they will most likely do so.
March 8-9: Scholarship bill passes House, 62-56.
March 10: Cullerton attempts to prevent floor vote on scholarship bill, but is overruled.
March 11-13: Long, protracted debate in State Senate; bill passes 31-28.
March 14: Rauner signs private school scholarship bill.
March 15: Rauner travels to Des Moines once again, this time to speak with Governor Branstad about implementing a scholarship bill of his own.
March 16-18: Rauner and Branstad speak together several times in Des Moines; Rauner presidential speculation surges anew.
March 19-31: While awaiting Duke Energy's decision, Rauner continues to serve out standard gubernatorial duties.
