State Sen. Daniel Biss formally announced his Democratic candidacy for governor Monday, assailing a broken system he says favors his political opponents and contending that powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan has been a force in Springfield for “too long.”

“We have a political system where billionaires and machine politicians are the ones who are listened to. That’s the system we have to change,” Biss, who has represented Evanston for six years in legislature, said in a 25-minute Facebook Live video.

“We have to build a movement of the people because the question fundamentally is, ‘Who do politicians feel obligated to listen to?’ In Illinois, the public has set very low expectations and we can understand why,” he said.

Biss’ indictment of Illinois’ system of government covered a wide swath, including not only Madigan and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner but also Democratic rival businessman Chris Kennedy and prospective Democratic primary candidate J.B. Pritzker.

Asked directly in a Facebook question about Madigan, who is Rauner’s chief political nemesis, Biss sought to create some distance from the House speaker, who also chairs the state Democratic Party.

“I’ve been clear for a long time that Madigan’s been there too long,” Biss said. Madigan has been speaker for 32 of the past 34 years. Biss noted that he early on sponsored a measure to limit how long a legislative leader can serve.

At the same time, Biss said focusing on clashing personalities in Springfield such as Madigan and Rauner helps obscure the need for a comprehensive plan to restore Illinois’ economy and finances.

Biss’ effort to inoculate himself against Madigan was the result of the largely Rauner-funded state Republican Party’s efforts to associate Democrats up and down the ballot, including candidates for governor, with the veteran House speaker — a move intended to tarnish the public’s view of Madigan.

Rauner on Monday dismissed Biss as “part of the system.”

“We need big changes in Illinois, big changes,” Rauner said when asked to respond to Biss’ candidacy. “We need to grow more jobs, bring down our property taxes, properly support our schools and get term limits and fair maps. This is what we need. And folks who come from the system, are part of the system that helped create the problem, are not going to be the solution.”

Biss, a former University of Chicago mathematics professor, last year ran a political action committee that sought to link Rauner to President Donald Trump. On Monday, Biss criticized Rauner for refusing to speak out against Trump’s attempts to curb immigration, to ban abortion and to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

In staking out a populist progressive tone, Biss backed changing the Illinois Constitution to allow the imposition of a graduated income tax, which would require the wealthy to pay higher rates. He also spoke of the need to change Illinois’ property tax-dependent system of financing education and providing economic help to impoverished neighborhoods and communities.

Biss and Chicago Ald. Ameya Pawar now find themselves each courting the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party divide, both without the personal resources of those more on the party’s establishment side such as Kennedy or Pritzker. Kennedy got in the race last month, and Pritzker has formed an exploratory committee to consider a bid.

“I’m not the millionaire or billionaire in this race,” Biss said in describing his effort as “a campaign for the rest of us.”

Biss reported more than $1.3 million in his campaign fund at the start of the year. A bid for governor would prevent him from seeking re-election to his state Senate seat next year.

But it is questionable whether Biss will enjoy support from organized labor, a traditional Democratic ally. In 2013 he co-sponsored legislation to alter public employee pensions to reduce the state’s massive pension debt. The plan was later struck down by the Illinois Supreme Court.

Chicago Tribune’s Kim Geiger contributed.

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