The new legislative "working groups" designed to hammer out compromises on Governor Bruce Rauner's "Turnaround Agenda" finally began meeting in secret last week. At least one of them got a bit heated.

A working group tasked with writing ethics legislation hit a brick wall right off the bat when it came time to discuss Rauner's term-limits constitutional amendment. Two Democrats on the committee reportedly said there was plenty of time to deal with the amendment next year, since it couldn't be placed on the ballot until November 2016.

Nope, said the administration representative, according to sources. The governor wants that amendment passed by the end of the spring legislative session. When he was met with stiff resistance, the administration official reportedly became agitated and more than implied that if the constitutional amendment isn't passed by May 31, the governor would not support any revenue increases to patch next fiscal year's massive $6-billion hole.

Governor Bruce Rauner devised a new way to reward his friends and punish his enemies on April 16 when he created a campaign committee called Illinois Turnaround.

Illinois Turnaround is an independent-expenditure committee, meaning contributions to it and by it are not capped by law. The committee's officially stated purpose is to "support state legislative candidates who support Governor Rauner's bold and needed reforms, and to oppose those who stand in the way."

According to Rauner insiders, the new committee will be given $4 million to $5 million within days of its founding. That's in addition to the $20 million the governor has in his own personal campaign account, which won't be touched for this particular effort.

Spending on advertising is expected to begin soon after the money comes in.

The governor's campaign also released a polling memo that purports to show that the public backs his agenda. While his job-approval rating is just 38 percent, his disapproval rating is five points below that (33 percent). The percentage of respondents who view him favorably was 42 percent compared to 34 percent who viewed him unfavorably.

A newly formed group of self-described "center-left" Democrats claims to have secured $20 million in commitments to spend on state legislative races in Illinois.

But that $20 million apparently isn't meant to counter Republican Governor Bruce Rauner's infamous $20-million campaign stash, which he says will be used to support his allies and punish his enemies. Indeed, the Democratic group appears to be promoting what could be seen as a somewhat softer, neo-liberal version of Raunerism.

Illinoisans for Growth & Opportunity (ILGO) is not a traditional Democratic group. The press release announcing its launch blasted Democratic leadership, including former Governor Pat Quinn and both legislative leaders, for passing a budget last year "that they knew would create a financial crisis."

The group also bemoans the lack of manufacturing employment, the state's horrible credit rating, and its poor business-climate ratings without specifically endorsing any real-world fixes such as workers' compensation reform.

ILGO blames all these problems on unspecified "special interests" that have had "far too much influence with legislative majorities in setting public policy."

Governor Bruce Rauner has met with dozens of state legislators both individually and in small groups since his election. By all accounts, every meeting has been cordial, and he has scored lots of points with legislators who aren't accustomed to this sort of gubernatorial attention.

Then he had the Senate Black Caucus over to the governor's mansion for breakfast.

It started out well enough, but things turned south in a hurry when Rauner said he couldn't accept the Senate Democratic majority's stand-alone proposal to patch about $600 million of the current fiscal year's $1.6-billion budget deficit with transfers from special state funds. He wanted, he said, an "all or nothing" solution.