Former Gov. Edgar: Rauner, Dems Should Play Nice

(CBS) -- Former Gov. Jim Edgar has an idea for how lawmakers can get past the current budget impasse: Start playing nice.

Edgar says the back-and-forth between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) must stop.

"My staff will tell you that there were many times when I was governor, and particularly that first few months, I had a lot of thoughts about Mike Madigan, but I never said them publicly," says Edgar, a Republican who served two terms in the 1990s. "I worked that out, and we got to be very good friends, actually."

Edgar says the money Rauner is spending on campaign-style ads attacking Democrats is unnecessary and won't lead to compromise.

"That could make it extremely difficult," he says. "I hope that some private talks will resume."

Edgar says it also doesn't help when Democrats are comparing Rauner to disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. He says when he was governor, in the final weeks of sessions, everyone kept their opinions to themselves and got to work, and thinks that should happen here.

Edgar also says Rauner has to realize he's not in the private sector anymore. Democrats, in turn, must realize they can't do things the way they've always done them, calling it "a new day" in Springfield, Edgar says.

In:
• Jim Edgar