66 Comments - VanillaMan - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:36 am: Slick ad based on nothing that has happened over the past year. - There is power in a union... - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:38 am: “Avery Bourne, she will do anything Bruce tells her to!” “She lost her voting keys on purpose so she wouldn’t even accidentally vote the wrong way!” - Trolling Troll - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:41 am: I feel I’ve seen this ad somewhere before..it had a trooper and another picture perfect family. Hmm.. - Angry Chicagoan - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:41 am: Well, I guess we’re in for another election campaign about nothing. It worked for Rauner, perhaps he hopes it will work for the GOP as a whole. But the two substantive issues in this ad, term limits and “local control of schools”, will make things worse, by boosting power for lobbyists and aggravating poorer districts’ financial troubles. And contradict “cleaning up Springfield” and taking over CPS respectively. In the end, it’s slick but not a standout, something a reasonably competent director puts together day in, day out, for car dealerships or mattress stores on local TV. - There is power in a union... - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:41 am: “Avery Bourne. The best newly graduated law student we could find to represent your district!” - Handle Bar Mustache - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:42 am: Nice photos. All pablum. Good way to keep people not focused on her voting record. Hope a lot of money is wasted airing it. - From the 'Dale to HP - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:43 am: A totally fine but interesting downstate ad; give it a B-. Though chuckled when they said she’d fight for local control of schools at the same time the top GOPer is fighting to take over CPS. - There is power in a union... - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:43 am: “Avery Bourne. She needed a job right after college. We needed a reliable yes person. Our needs aligned!” - There is power in a union... - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:45 am: Exactly what is a “conservative reformer” in the context of the Rauner controlled IL GOP GA caucus? - LizPhairTax - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:45 am: Nothing says “Greed” like an upshot of two dudes shaking hands. Is she still in law school? The ad makes it look like she’s all set to storm the Supreme Court for term limits. Pass Torts and Crim II first, Avery. She grew up on a farm and is one of us! Plus she can cross her arms and look at you tilted right OR left. All I need to know. Probably a good ad for the folks it is aimed at, - wordslinger - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:45 am: Generic word salad. All the ingredients are there, just dull and uninspired. From the construction and editing, it looks like a template spot in which you can just plug in a candidate. So I’m guessing you’ll see a version wherever there is a competitive race. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:48 am: “Rate it” I give it a “C+” “Why” Very cookie cutter and two big beefs… She’s a female Republican, and all we get is stills of her posed? She’s the youngest member of the GA, “workin’ hard” but no acknowledgement of a big deal accomplishment? What I didn’t like? Local control of schools, as Bruce Rauner will “ask” Avery Bourne to bailout Chicago with state control? Ugh. The grew up on a farm angle, what a terrible throwaway line. They could have done so much better in a :30 Ad. “C+” - Jake From Elwood - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:48 am: Marketing peeps, please help me out. Is the folded arms pose some sort of code for power and/or competency? I see it more often in the political ad these days. I think it looks goofy and contrived but maybe I am just walking against the mainstream again. - chiatty - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:51 am: The ad looks and sounds good, very professionally done, but it doesn’t tell us anything about her, other than her farm upbringing. In the absence of anything else, all it tells the discerning viewer is that she’s gonna “dance with the guy who brung her.” - mokenavince - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:51 am: @Word nice description of the add. I was shallow. - There is power in a union... - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:53 am: “She grew up on a farm but will do her best to help Bruce Rauner tank the local economy.” - illini - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:56 am: To some of the previous posts - my recollection is that she was in Law School when appointed. Bot sure she has graduated or passed the bar. Correct me if I am wrong. - GraduatedCollegeStudent - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:56 am: Avery Bourne: She’ll pass the bar eventually. - There is power in a union... - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:56 am: “I believe in local control of schools until the governor orders me to help the state take one over.” - Anon221 - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:57 am: So… blue is the new red for Republicans??? Or, is that just her favorite color for her logo??? - The Muse - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:57 am: It’s a solid ad for not telling us anything besides that she’s conservative and was raised on a farm. It will play well for people who vote in Presidential years and are cursory in their politics. The unions haven’t shown up the way they need to. Scobbie might have close to $54,000 in the bank but Bourne has over $67,000 with a lot more coming. - Homer J. Quinn - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:57 am: Jake from Elwood: I think it’s a body language cue for “I’m serious about serious business.” - There is power in a union... - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:58 am: “I was afraid I might not pass the bar exam. But then the governor offered me a state rep job in exchange for my voting keys. How could I say no? He said the law isn’t important when you have money and don’t care about consequences.” - Boooooooo - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:58 am: “We don’t need any more career politicians,” says 22 year-old-law-school-dropout-career-politician, who according to her LinkedIn page has apparently never had a job other than in politics. I’m sure Madigan is pretty nervous. - Politix - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:59 am: Folded arms shows self-confidence. I give it a C for clichetown, but I’m sure it will appeal to Rauner’s base of lily white conservatives. - Under Influenced - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 9:59 am: “Local control of schools” Curious as to her position on Rauner’s state takeover of CPS? - illini - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:01 am: typo on earlier post. Meant to say ” But not sure she has graduated…” - northernwatersports - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:02 am: To the ad… Production value/graphics/audio voice over = A Political content = D Same old, same old Political name recognition value = D Political persuasion value = D Overall….slick but completely uninspiring. I want to hear the candidate talk to me…not some overbearing ‘wizard’ voice Final Grade = D Hope they didn’t overpay for it - Rufus - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:02 am: She’s cute. That alone (and lots of PAC money) will probably get her elected. It’s the most important thing in elections, how good looking is the candidate. - Cook County Commoner - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:02 am: Well suited for the mental acuity of most Illinois voters. These ads are not designed to reach folks with even a modest level of cerebral activity. The appropriate level of meaningless words and images at a low production cost. - There is power in a union... - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:03 am: Good catch. I can’t find anything saying she graduated. My bad… - The Captain - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:04 am: Is this an uncoordinated independent expenditure from the Party? If so they seem to have a lot of canned photos of her for an uncoordinated ad. The picture of her with her arms crossed in her kitchen appears on her website, that’s the customary way the DC types get around the uncoordinated issue, they put up a full multimedia suite on the website so the ad makers have access to publicly available media, but looking at her website other than the kitchen photo it looks like the rest of the pictures in the ad came from somewhere else. - Boooooooo - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:04 am: She hasn’t graduated from law school. According the SJR, she’s on “leave.” - ToughGuy - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:05 am: She’s going to need more than this ad to save her. She’s a nice young lady but has no practical work experience to compare too. I mean nothing outside of interning for Rodney Davis and Rauner. She is very shy and won’t say anything to a group unless a staffer or campaign worker is at her side to advise her. Lots of current and retired state employees and teachers in her district that she has abandoned in her short tenure merely to push the Governor’s agenda. It will take much more than a cookie cutter ad like this to get her over the top. - Captain Illini - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:06 am: (Yawn) When you blatantly use the same “code” words that the governor does, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that you’ll be a paid shill for this administration. How about highlighting the issues facing your district and how you’d address them - sans the code words. It really bothers me as a Republican that this kind of flash mob politics is the new normal - where we just get somebody to fill a seat versus serve their constituents…sort of reminds me of the old paper cut-out dolls that you can dress with other cut-out wardrobes…disappointing. - El Conquistador - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:10 am: Cook Co Commoner - Harumph! We’ll soon see if Rainer’s purchase of Sfield area GOP is acceptable to the mouth breathers. - Anon221 - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:14 am: If she is on leave from law school at WashU, what are her obligations under the Washington University School of Law Dean’s Fellowship Scholar? Is that a financial package, or just an honorific? - Chairman McBroom - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:16 am: I’d say that the quantity of vitriol and ad hominem attacks in these comments is astounding, but this is regular order around here. Especially the comments from ‘There is power in a union…’ Get over yourselves, folks. - Hit or Miss - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:16 am: According to the ad, “…career politicians made this mess”. As a voter I would wonder if a career politician will be able to solve the mess? - JS Mill - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:18 am: C- She isn’t running against madigan, but that probably plays well to target audience. Little to know substance otherwise. Where is the funding/support coming from? /s - GraduatedCollegeStudent - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:20 am: Avery Bourne: At least her schools aren’t going to lose accreditation. - There is power in a union... - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:21 am: Chairman, if you think this is vitriol then you haven’t been around long… - There is power in a union... - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:25 am: Furthermore, she sold her voting key. Which has real consequence for those going without services. And you’re concerned about some snark on a politics blog? Me thinks your outrage might be a tad misplaced… - Team Sleep - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:29 am: C Not great. Not horrible. I know Avery personally and have for years. She is a nice young lady - which I can say because I’m old compared to her! - and she’s certainly one of the smarter younger persons I’ve been around in this business. Does that make her qualified to make it through the primary and general elections?! We’ll see. Mike Mathis is the best candidate Madigan could’ve found to run against her. - Team Sleep - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:29 am: Also - to piggyback off of Rich’s post that followed this one, can we please criticize without getting personal?! Why does everything have to be so choc full of vitriol and hyperbole?! - zatoichi - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:33 am: Nice production, but how generic can you get. Change the name and you can put almost anybody in the spot and it sounds equally good. Go to any other state, swap Madigan and Chicago for local names and it fits. Throw in a photo of cops and a family and it’s Bryce Benton. What exactly has she been doing to fight Madigan’s Chicago Machine? Is there ever been a candidate who is not wanting to make Springfield ‘accountable’. D+. - Anon - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:37 am: I live in her District. She is a nice person and comes from a very nice family! I know her and her family well. Unfortunately she has forgotten who she represents in her District! I thought she would do more for the teachers but no, she just doesn’t stand up for them! I thought she would be more helpful for the State employees in her District but no! I thought she would be more helpful towards the children in her District as in improving the schools but no, finally I thought she would be a strong person and stand up to the Politics that we are all tired of but no! This is coming from a Republican and right now I can’t say I would vote for her in the next election and that hurts! My advice to Avery is be your own person and do what is right or your dream will be gone in moving up! You can do it! - The Dude Abides - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:40 am: @Team Sleep, I think you’re probably right about her being pretty bright and a nice person. I give the ad a B-. It’s pretty much the same as the Bryce Benton Ad because it comes from the same source and both Ads have pictures of Madigan, which is never a bad idea in a downstate Ad. Unfortunately neither Benton or Bourne will be able to prioritize voting in the best interest of their District, they will be instructed how to vote by their owner. - 95th resident - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:42 am: Trusted conservative. ..on our side…what pablum. ..needs to say “she is fighting for us”…oh wait that’s democratic boilerplate - A guy - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:43 am: It’s a solid pass. No new ground covered, but a message well delivered. Good to very good. Not great. It gets the job done. - Steve Rogers - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:45 am: C- Too many stills. It seemed more like a power point presentation. Also, I’m not sure why the Supreme Court is the visual for term limits and transparency. I guess policy wonks might wonder, but the average Joe won’t know the difference. All of this speaks to lazy production, imho. - Anonymous - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:48 am: Flat C. She grew up on a farm… If I were running for mayor of Chicago I’d hope my campaign had more than “He was raised in the city.” How about one mention of any accomplishment in her district? I guess when you haven’t accomplished anything, taking on Mike is all they could come up with. - Crazy Horse - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 10:51 am: Anonymous at 10:48 was me. - Anon - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 11:04 am: Good ad. She’s going to win easily. Next? - Anon - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 11:10 am: Adding: Rufus 10:02 said it pretty succinctly. Add to that the fact that this ad is only about name ID and driving up positives before the mud starts flying, and you have smart politics. After a decent run of this, people will know her name, know she’s attractive and see nothing harmful about her. The a poll will be done showing her over 50% with her opponents with zero name idea somewhere at 5% or less. Over before it starts. - Anon - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 11:11 am: Name ID. Annoying auto-correct! - crazybleedingheart - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 11:20 am: ==It’s the most important thing in elections, how good looking is the candidate.== Your comment seems not only insulting, but misinformed. Maybe we visit different statehouses. Which state do you work in? - Anonymous - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 11:22 am: It will work in the Republican primary with the narrow electorate but it won’t work in the General. Agree w/ –Team Sleep Mike Mathis is the best candidate for the Dems. Sen. Manar won this conservative half of his district handily despite Quinn being on the ballot. - crazybleedingheart - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 11:23 am: On the topic of Rep. Bourne, the ad doesn’t explain why she supports punishing women and children in need for the state’s failure to budget. - Left of Central IL - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 11:27 am: “Avery Bourne - Holding Springfield accountable…from the back bench.” - Team Sleep - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 11:39 am: 11:22 - yep, and that means that the high cost of this race will be worth the investment for Madigan. He got burned on the Rosenthal-Landers race. Crazy - correct, but looks are important. - Way South of I-80 - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 11:50 am: I live in this district AND I grew up on a farm and I can tell you that statement has ZERO influence on my vote. Now if she decided to actually represent her district and stand up for state employees/state retirees and our state senator’s school funding reform legislation - which would greatly help the school districts in our district that might change my mind about Avery Bourne. She needs to work for her constituents not for the governor! - Mongo - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 12:10 pm: “Naïve, bought, and on our side.” There, fixed it for you. Rating it was difficult though. The faded image of Madigan-as-the-Wizard made me laugh out loud. And as said by many, talking about local control of schools while BVR raids CPS is more than comical. - Jimmy Baseball - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 1:22 pm: Its laughable that they lay out all of the problems facing Illinois and then expect us to believe a 22 year old is the answer. Dems should feel better if Rauner’s $40 million is spent on generic stuff like this. Ill give it a D-. - siriusly - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 1:39 pm: I give it an A- Good slick ad, good messages. I’d vote for her. Only thing that would improve that ad is hearing her speak actually. I don’t like the narrator only ads. - Rhino Slider - Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 1:50 pm: The responses to this ad are interesting. It is just a bio/name id fluff piece, but people are reacting so strongly on their personal agendas. The responses generally say far more about the commenter than Bourne. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.