* Tribune…
Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker is making a $1 million deposit in a black-owned bank in Chicago, taking a page from Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s playbook.
The issue led to back-and-forth attacks from the two campaigns centered on failures of financial institutions Rauner and the Pritzker family have been involved with in their careers.
Pritzker’s planned deposit, like Rauner’s three years ago in a South Side credit union, carries the goal of generating support from black voters.
Pritzker’s campaign tried to draw a distinction between the two men’s actions: the Democrat’s money pledge was only announced on a Chicago radio show, while Rauner’s visit to the credit union was a major campaign event.
The two sides then exchanged barbs much like they’ve been doing on this blog for weeks.
* The Pritzker campaign’s initial release…
Bruce Rauner told Illinois communities that he would fight for them, but then he got elected and left Illinoisans behind. Rauner has stood with his special interest friends to decimate our state’s economy as our most vulnerable communities pay the price. Unlike Bruce Rauner, Illinois communities can count on JB to stand with them as governor because that’s what he’s done his entire career. JB will ensure Illinoisans have a seat at the table as he works to grow jobs, support small businesses, expand access to capital, and bring investment directly into black and brown communities.
* The Rauner campaign’s response…
It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the millions Pritzker made peddling subprime mortgages loans to minority communities, while costing the taxpayers $300 million and ordinary depositors their savings.
* Back to the Tribune for a bit of context…
In December 2001, the Pritzker family and its business partner agreed to pay $460 million to the U.S. over the bank’s failure and a decade later got a discount on remaining payments of the 15-year settlement by agreeing with regulators to pay off the balance early, Bloomberg News reported in May 2013.
* The Pritzker campaign shot back…
Bruce Rauner is desperate to distract from the fact that throughout his business career and his time as governor, working families have paid the price for his failures. At HomeBanc, Bruce Rauner profited off of predatory loans, preying on the dreams of working families. He then drove the company into the ground, firing approximately 1,100 people, but making sure his CEO got a nearly $5 million golden parachute. Rauner’s distraction tactics won’t change the fact that he has yet to pass a constitutionally required budget for our state.
* The Trib took a look at the HomeBanc issue after Pat Quinn aired a TV ad about it…
The new ad focuses on HomeBanc Mortgage Corp., which filed for bankruptcy in 2007. A narrator contends the bankruptcy came after Rauner “took millions out of” the firm, noted HomeBanc’s CEO got a $5 million “bonus” and 1,100 employees who lost their jobs “got a $20 gift card.”
The equity firm Rauner formerly chaired, GTCR, partnered in 2000 to create HomeBanc Mortgage. While GTCR once held a majority stake in the firm, it reduced its holdings after a public stock offering, selling the last of its shares in September 2006, Security and Exchange Commission records show.
GTCR’s actions came just months before the sudden financial unraveling of the mortgage company in 2007 led first to the January firing of CEO Patrick Flood, followed by an August bankruptcy filing. But GTCR had no board members on the mortgage firm involved in its management since 2005, prior to Flood’s firing and severance, and the bankruptcy filing. Records show Rauner was not a board member of HomeBanc in the lead up to its public offering in 2004.
Quinn’s 2014 TV ad is here.
- The difference - Monday, May 22, 17 @ 9:06 am:
Seems the biggest difference between Rauner and Pritzker is Pritzker is running in a Democrat primary.
- downstate commissioner - Monday, May 22, 17 @ 9:18 am:
Except another difference would be that Rauner has a track record of dumping on the lower income and needy people… Pritzker’s record seems to be more sympathetic…
- JoeMaddon - Monday, May 22, 17 @ 9:54 am:
My billionaire is bigger than your billionaire, but the ways my billionaire made money were only slight less bad than the ways your billionaire made money.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, May 22, 17 @ 10:03 am:
Where Candidate Rauner was genius was the fact that the Crew just swamped these stories with more ads, more attacks on Quinn, more attacks on “career politicians”… Rauner’s Crew systematically muted any criticism of business failings and criticisms of character (warranted or not) by controlling, thru ads and the beginnings of vertical integration.
Rauner rarely, if ever, chased criticisms of himself or his own history.
Pritzker’s Crew really needs to get much better at realizing the assets they have allow them to control the damage and the message together… if they have the information and framing a prepared when they themselves face criticism.
Up to today, it’s a glaring hole of weakness. You can drive a truck through that hole, as Rauner and the media are “proving”.
What the Pritzker Crew is waiting on, I have no idea.
Everyday they are chasing, as challengers, they are allowing Rauner… and Kennedy, and Biss, and… and they are losing the exceptional messaging that they do have, with their purposeful and thoughtful message rollout(s)
It’s a problem.
- Amalia - Monday, May 22, 17 @ 10:06 am:
Dueling bank deposits? Dueling billionaires? video of the “fight” set to Dueling Banjos?
- Annonin' - Monday, May 22, 17 @ 10:09 am:
GTCR and DopeyDuct was at HomeBanc when the subprime loans were bein’ made so they had their hands in the til. And while they were makin’ the bad loans they claimed to the SEC and bank regulators that everythin’ was fabulous.
- Rocky Rosi - Monday, May 22, 17 @ 10:32 am:
This doesn’t look good for JB. He needs to come up with solutions that will help the AA community which will help him win the Dem. primary “if” they come out to vote. BVR has the edge this month but its a close race.
- Biker - Monday, May 22, 17 @ 10:44 am:
Willy, spot on, with one adendum. He bought the SunTimes, got a rwporter diffing into him fired and made an endorsement happen. Now that both Chicago newspapers and owned by the same guy I would imagine that coverage will tilt decisively at an important moment in the campaign, probably not until right before the general election voting starts, but who knows.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, May 22, 17 @ 10:54 am:
- Biker -
Thanks… to this…
===He bought the SunTimes, got a reporter diffing into him fired and made an endorsement happen===
That was another prong of vertical integration, working in concert with newspapers to continue Rauneristic thinking, including endorsements.
Pritzker and his Crew need to realize real quick they are chasing, that’s not great for a challenger.