It was a defeat for Mr. Rauner, a former private-equity executive who had never held political office before he promised to “shake up Springfield” and was elected governor in 2014. As a crusading conservative in a Democratic state with deep financial woes and one of the most underfunded pension systems in the nation, he attacked public-sector unions, demanded term limits for politicians and called for lasting changes to the pension system.
Now he is the second Midwestern governor in recent weeks, along with Sam Brownback of Kansas, to face an override supported by some in his own party. In Kansas, where Republicans control the Legislature, Mr. Brownback’s colleagues turned against his tax-slashing philosophy last month. In both states, at least some Republican lawmakers sent a message to their fiscally conservative leaders: They had reached their limit.
The Illinois outcome raised questions about the political future for Mr. Rauner, now abandoned by some former allies and seemingly surrounded by a growing crop of Democratic hopefuls for governor — including some with prominent surnames like Pritzker and Kennedy.
