* From a press release…
Bruce Rauner’s attempt to shed his out-of-touch billionaire image by touring Southern and Central Illinois is nothing more than a gimmick, according to the Dillard-Tracy team.
“Wearing a Carhartt vest and a cheap watch won’t fool voters in central and downstate Illinois,” State Senator Kirk Dillard said. “Bruce Rauner made over $1 million a week last year, and is apparently so close to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel they vacation together. That’s not someone who understands struggling downstate families.”
“I don’t need a ‘listening tour’ to bring me up to speed,” Dillard said. “I’ve crisscrossed this state hundreds of times, talking to central Illinois farmers and southern Illinois coal miners. They want someone with the experience to get Illinois moving again, and you can’t do that from your 33rd floor penthouse.”
Dillard’s running mate, State Representative Jil Tracy, expressed similar concerns. “I’m a southern Illinois native, whose first job was in Monroe County working for Inland Steel. I understand southern and western Illinois because I’ve spent my entire life living and working with the families of this area. The people of Anna, Mt. Vernon, Oblong, West Frankfort, and Neoga know better than to fall for a Chicago politician.”
The “listening tour” seems designed to distract voters from some of the real issues dogging Rauner in this GOP primary:
• Voted Democrat: Why did Rauner vote Democrat in 2006?
• Democrat Donations: Why Did Rauner contribute hundreds of thousands to state & national Democrats?
• Influence: Why did Rauner hire a convicted Blagojevich influence peddler to get state business?
• Chicago Mayor: How close is Rauner to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel if they vacation together?
“Rauner needs to answer these questions, sooner rather than later,” Campaign Manager Glenn Hodas said. “No fancy bus tour is going to make them go away. People deserve to know if Bruce Rauner is hijacking the Republican Party.”
Dillard and Tracy both noted that they have been working around the state since early last fall and are continuing their travels in advance of the March 18 Republican Primary.
Dillard noted that during his recent Southern Illinois travels he took part in the DuQuoin State Fair parade, the Williamson County GOP dinner, met with Effingham City leaders on economic development, discussed pension reform issues with retired correctional officers in Chester and attended a BBQ fundraiser in Ste. Marie.
Representative Tracy marched in the Murphysboro Apple Festival and Deer Festival in Golconda parades, took part in the SIU Homecoming festivities, met with agricultural and business leaders in Mt. Vernon, and attended GOP fundraisers and party functions in O’Fallon, Olney and West Frankfort.
“It takes a southern Illinois native, or someone like Kirk who spent many summers with his grandparents in rural America, to be able to understand and improve our state’s economic climate and bring jobs back to the region,” Tracy concluded.
If Dillard had the money to get that message out he’d be in much better shape right now. But his campaign is running on financial fumes.
Also, spending summers with your grandparents in rural America makes you “able to understand and improve our state’s economic climate and bring jobs back to the region”? I don’t get it. And doesn’t Rauner constantly brag about spending summers with his grandparents on their farm? If that’s what qualifies you to jump-start the economy, then Rauner is qualified by Dillard’s own goofy measuring stick.
- Downstate Illinois - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 11:55 am:
Jill, a true Southern Illinois native would know the “s” is capitalized.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 11:56 am:
Vacations with Grandparents mean nothing in running the 5th largest state.
Spam folders all over Illinois are learning more and more about Bruce Rauner.
- Jon Zahm - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 12:00 pm:
Recently, I wrote about the top five reasons for Republican primary voters to oppose Bruce Rauner. Dillard’s camp mentions three of them. Go to the link to see the other two: http://norauner.com/2014/01/02/top-5-reasons-why-no-to-rauner/
- too obvious - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 12:05 pm:
When Dillard kicked-off his campaign in Chicago I thought he was all about his city boy roots.
- Samurai - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 12:18 pm:
- Downstate Illinois - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 11:55 am:
==Jill, a true Southern Illinois native would know the “s” is capitalized.==
downstate, I think you have hit upon the gaffe that is going to sink Dillard-Tracy’s campaign. The small “s”. Good work. your boy Rauner you make proud.
- Chicago Cynic - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 12:21 pm:
Interesting that they didn’t list clouting his daughter into Payton. Must not be polling particularly well.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 12:21 pm:
I keep looking where that ’s’ needs to be capitalized for claiming to be from that region.
Is that like when Cook County is *cough’ mispelled?
==Jill, a true Southern Illinois native would know the “s” is capitalized.==
Here, I will help
southern IllinoiS.
Better?
- Samurai - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 12:21 pm:
Too obvious: Pretty sure Dillard has always stuck to the theme that he and Jil will represent the entire State.
- Pete - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 12:27 pm:
That’s not someone who understands struggling downstate families.
I don’t think people want to be understood by the governor. I think the voters in 2014 are going to want a Governor that:
1. Can get things done.
(Pension reform was painful)
2. Can pay down the state debt.
(After 4 years we still are Billions behind in payments)
3. Will work for equal pay and benefits for all workers.
(Currently there is a 4 teir system -Union workers, Private Sector workers, State/Government workers, and Minimum wage workers)
I think a single message could be attractive to all those tiers. We keep seeing the issues with pensions. Perception could be a very good tool on that third point.
- Just askin' - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 12:31 pm:
It seems the only supporters Kirk Dillard has left is out-of-work ice cream truck drivers.
- Frank - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 12:34 pm:
Allow me to correct a frequent error in grammar that appears in the Dillard release:
Rauner didn’t “Vote Democrat,” he voted Democratic. And for future reference, it’s not the “Democrat Party,” it’s the Democratic Party. A person is a Democrat, the party or an action related to the party is “Democratic.”
This is all Rush Limbaugh’s fault. Republicans not only parrot his thoughts, they copy his poor grammar.
- LincolnLounger - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 12:44 pm:
As best I can tell, there’s very little “democratic” about the Democrat Party of Illinois, Frank.
- Samurai - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 1:02 pm:
- Just askin’ - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 12:31 pm:
==It seems the only supporters Kirk Dillard has left is out-of-work ice cream truck drivers==
Just asking. What the heck does that mean. You are really digging deep for criticism of Dillard today. By the way, bashing ice cream truck drivers is not cool. Hint: Criticize Dillard because he cannot stop talking about Jim Edgar or because he is an old “career politician” who needs to enroll in a fitness program (I suggest kick boxing) that he has inconsistent votes. That he is on a second wife (though divorce I think shows a guy can make the tough decisions). But Ice Cream drivers??? Come on.
- DuPage Rep - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 1:08 pm:
Does Dillard mean to say you are not a real Republican if you have a very close friend that is a Democrat? Perhaps Antonin Scalia is not a real Republican or conservative because he is best friends with Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Better yet, perhaps Dillard is not a real Republican because he is good friends with Barak Obama and cut a campaign commercial for him… Desperate attacks for a desperate campaign.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 1:13 pm:
- DuPage Rep -,
When you …
Vacation with Rahm Emaunel, at your Ranch, with your family and his family …
When you …
Clout your daughter into a school she was denied entrance in, and in a town you don’t live in, through Democrats …
When you …
Donate tens upon tens of thousands of dollars to democrats throught the country and Rich Daley and Rahm Emanuel in Illinois …
When you do that and decide to run as a Republican, you get called on it … every time…
…Carhartt Coat, $18 watch, fleece vest notwithstanding.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 1:18 pm:
==As best I can tell, there’s very little “democratic” about the Democrat Party==
I’m not going to harp on this because it’s off topic, but that little Democrat Party thing annoys me. It’s the Democratic Party. You all can try and define it with your little juvenile mislabeling, but it’s pretty pathetic if you ask me.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 1:19 pm:
=Desperate attacks for a desperate campaign. =
Except if you have an opinion about specific democrats, their friends, and how they do business. Combine that with raising the caps during the primary, which is what can be expected from such a crowd, and those voters are gone.
- Powell - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 1:29 pm:
This whole thing is embarrassing. It’s like Dillard and Rutherford have never run campaigns before and Rauner is a pro. I know BR has some $$, but geez…
- dave - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 1:30 pm:
**Recently, I wrote about the top five reasons for Republican primary voters to oppose Bruce Rauner. Dillard’s camp mentions three of them. Go to the link to see the other two:**
LOL - I thought spam wasn’t allowed.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 1:35 pm:
And I’m happy to see an article regarding Mark Kirk’s agreeing with Bruce Rauner.
They both need more of that.
- Samurai - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 2:01 pm:
DuPage Rep - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 1:08 pm:
==Does Dillard mean to say you are not a real Republican if you have a very close friend that is a Democrat?==
Come on DuPage. More nonsense. You of all guys know that Dillard was pals with Barak. I mean holy crap, he did that disgusting 20 second ad during the Iowa primary. But Dillard never made Barack a multi-millionaire as a law clerk at BIG LAW Lock Lord; donated thousands to Barack,or played basketball with Barack and Gannoulias at East Bank Club (though Dillard does not seem like the basketball type); nor vacation with Barack in Hawaii or his birthplace Africa.
- DuPage Rep - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 2:08 pm:
==But Dillard never made Barack a multi-millionaire as a law clerk at BIG LAW Lock Lord==
You are right, he just helped him become President of the United States of America. Now we have Obamacare.
- Chicago Cynic - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 2:14 pm:
“…nor vacation with Barack in Hawaii or his birthplace Africa.” Keep it up dude and you just may help Dillard get elected. Geez.
- Impressed but not Gullible - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 2:19 pm:
New Respect for RAUNER. Ok I have bashed Rauner here and elsewhere relentlessly. At about 4 p.m. Sunday evening my cell phone rings and it was non-other than Bruce Rauner calling to chat. He said, hey I just want to talk about the campaign and what I am doing to win the campaign. He said, hell, for all I know you hate me. We chatted for five minutes, he left his cell and home phone number. I called the home number and sure enough it was the Rauner residence.
I still strongly support another candidate and will to the bitter end. But I gotta say, that call was class and went a long way.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 2:23 pm:
===I called the home number and sure enough it was the Rauner residence.===
Which one?
lol
Sorry. Somebody had to ask it.
- A guy... - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 2:24 pm:
I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a “fancy” bus tour. This sounds a lot like whining when it’s done this way. Now Jil Tracy and Glenn Hodas are whining too. “It takes a Southern Illinois native ‘or someone like Kirk’…Really? Illinois is a bellwether State; Urban, Suburban, Exurban, Rural. Every Governor is going to be from somewhere in the state. It doesn’t take a native from any region or someone like anyone to really know something. Even the Campaign spokesperson sounds nutty now. He should know better. Pound the other guy or extol your virtues. If you try to do both, you’ll accomplish neither. That’s what this dopey press release accomplished. Nothing.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 2:32 pm:
===Which one?
lol===
Do you even undeerstand how difficult it was for me not to “go there”? Good stuff, Rich.
- DuPage Rep -,
If you can’t see the differences with Dillard and the Obama Ad, and the life, the true life and lifestyle of Bruce Rauner, how he does business, his lack or ethics, and the lack of being genuine, none of us are going to be able to help you.
I hope Bruce Rauner calls me, or we get to have a beer sometime…
- Impressed but not Gullible - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 2:38 pm:
===I called the home number and sure enough it was the Rauner residence.===
LOL–Which one? I know Rich, I sound like a putz, but I still think it was good for. No lie, I was hoping for an offer.
312 number, so must be the Chicago Manor House. Called and a woman answered, I asked is this Mrs. Rauner. Answer: No, I am an employee of the family. I Got the help.
- Impressed but not Gullible - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 2:42 pm:
- DuPage Rep - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 2:08 pm:
==But Dillard never made Barack a multi-millionaire as a law clerk at BIG LAW Lock Lord==
What a laugh. Yea right. That was the tipping point.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 2:45 pm:
- Impressed but not Gullible -,
If he calls back again, put in a good word for AWillyWord Con$ulting…give them - AA - info if you could too.
Thanks.
- LincolnLounger - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 3:19 pm:
@Impressed but not Gullibe: I’m not trying to figure out who you are, but can you give us some context as to why Rauner would be calling? Party official? Elected official? Big donor? Or is he just doing a Tim Johnson and randomly calling voters?
- CircularFiringSquad - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 3:54 pm:
” I called the home number and sure enough it was the Rauner residence.”
And did the maid/butler take your # or transfer to some sweatshop call center in Malaysia?
BTW not seeing much copy from FarmerBrucey big buscapade. Small talk this a.m. centered on local outrage that FarmerBrucey would skip Biscuits & Gravey for Raisin Bran. Very poor start.
- Konda Chilly - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 3:58 pm:
It is almost as if Dillard is asking for Rauner to level him like Nagasaki with an Obama ad.
- Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 9:40 pm:
AA is neither impressed or (usually) gullible about most things, so I’m kinda wondering about this phone call story. Rauner’s big house is not in the 312-does he have “help” downtown, too?
Questions, questions.
- Just The Way It Is One - Tuesday, Jan 7, 14 @ 11:57 pm:
Kirk needs to utilize all the openings he can get his hands on. And I’m sure BR must start off his greetings to voters on his “bus tour” by pointing out how excited most Illinoisans who have to scrape and save just to pay their bills are about one of his TOP Campaign Promises he’s making–to CUT working folks’ Minimum Wages by an ENTIRE DOLLAR an HOUR! Whoa–I’m sure the crowds are just roaring with approval and standing ovations when he raises THAT particular hallmark of his Multi-Millionaire’s campaign…! Yeah, right.