Illinois governor refuses to take questions at SABEW

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner refused to take questions on Saturday after speaking to a room full of business journalists at the annual Society of American Business Editors and Writers conference in Chicago.

“I was shocked when the governor refused to take questions, and as far as I know in the history of SABEW, no guest speaker has ever not taken questions and that includes the president of the United States, who was our speaker in Washington many years ago,” said Myron Kandel, former CNN business editor and two-time SABEW president.

At the 2005 SABEW conference in Seattle, some business journalists expressed disappointment when Microsoft’s Bill Gates did not answer questions from the audience and instead conducted an onstage question-and-answer session with BusinessWeek Seattle bureau chief Jay Greene.

Before Saturday’s event, Gov. Rauner was told that the audience would ask questions after his speech, but an hour before the event handlers for the governor said he would no longer be taking open forum questions and instead would take questions informally at the front of the room.

At the conclusion of his speech, the Gov. Rauner exited the stage quickly, leaving journalists confused, including event organizers.

“We made him aware he was in a room full of journalists, and we will want to ask questions,” SABEW President Marty Wolk said. “Several of us followed him out, and handlers said, ‘No questions.’”

Journalists remaining in the room began to voice their discontent.

After the governor left, Wolk addressed the unsettled crowd and apologized for the abrupt ending to that day’s lunchtime keynote.

Wolk said the governor’s actions affirmed the organization’s commitment to ensuring guest speakers know that not only will they be on the record but also are accountable for answering questions.

“We can find other speakers, and we can watch their speeches on Youtube,” said Wolk.

Claire Williams, a UNC-Chapel Hill journalism student, contributed to this report. Meg Garner is a business journalism student at UNC-Chapel Hill.

UPDATE: An International Business Times story noted, “Rauner declined to take any questions from reporters at the event, and his government staff members attempted to shield him from questions as he left the conference room, drawing jeers from assembled journalists at the conference. “