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* Gov. Pat Quinn got a bit harsh with Sen. Bill Brady today…
Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn released his tax returns today and turned his disclosure into a campaign issue by calling on Republican rival Sen. Bill Brady to do the same or drop out.
The governor said there is “something not right” about Brady’s refusal to release his tax information, suggesting Brady is trying to hide business interests that could conflict with holding the state’s top office. […]
“As everyone knows we’ve had two governors preceding me that got into a lot of trouble, one’s in jail, one’s under indictment,” Quinn said, referring to predecessors George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich. “ Illinois doesn’t need a shady governor. I think it’s very important we have a governor that’s open, direct, and accessible.”
“I think anybody who wants to aspire to this office and doesn’t want to disclose their tax return really should re-think their candidacy, because I think this is fundamental to making sure the governor of our state does not have any conflicts of interest that would in any way harm the people of Illinois.”
More…
“The senator said he’s concerned such a disclosure would harm his business interests. Then the question is what are those business interests and do they conflict with the public interest,” Quinn said.
Thoughts?
…Adding… Listen to the audio from this morning’s Quinn statement by clicking here. The governor also whacked Sen. Brady during a brief Springfield appearance and we’ll have that video in a bit, so check back.
…Adding more… The Quinn campaign is pushing back against the notion that it said Brady ought to release his returns or drop out. The Tribune interpreted it differently, and so did I. But just so you know, the Quinn campaign doesn’t see it that way. The headline has been adjusted to reflect that protest.
*** UPDATE *** As mentioned above, Quinn talked to Statehouse reporters today about the Brady income tax issue.
“Sen. Brady says he doesn’t want to hurt his business interests by disclosing his income tax. Well, wait a minute. If you’re going to be the governor the number one interest is the public interest, not your private business interest that you want to keep hidden.”
Quinn also talked about the possibility of Scott Lee Cohen entering the governor’s race. Quinn said he ran into Cohen at a ballgame and Cohen told him to be prepared for a “big surprise.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Brady is disclosing his tax returns. I’m gonna shut off comments on this one. Go to the brand, new, super-fresh post.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 12:38 pm
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The tax return thing? That’s going to be your issue Pat?
Good luck with that.
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 12:42 pm
What does Pat think about Alexi holding his back?
Comment by Logical Thinker Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 12:45 pm
I think, Henry, that there’s gonna be some follow-up stuff about the Brady business empire.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 12:45 pm
A bit over the top. But also expected. Any politician who doesn’t release his tax returns has to expect to get hit with the “what is he hiding” charge by his opponent.
I don’t think that means that Brady has done anythig unethical, however. It’s possible that they will show that he’s a wealthy business owner and that they don’t want Quinn to hammer him for being an evil rich guy. The Brady camp probably made the calculation that not releasing the forms will cause a headache for a week or so and then go away, whereas the “rich guy” label would dog him for the rest of the campaign.
Just a guess.
Comment by ABCBoy Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 12:47 pm
I think this is a good tactic by Quinn, even if he is over reaching a wee bit. Too bad he does not have a campaign manager that could put real time into making the most of it.
Logical Thinker - Alexi asked for an extension, but turned over his documents to WBEZ. Apples & oranges.
Comment by Montrose Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 12:47 pm
- The tax return thing? That’s going to be your issue Pat? -
Why not? If its not an issue why was the press talking about it before Quinn made these statements? It would be politically foolish not to attack Brady on this issue, among many others.
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 12:48 pm
Oh, and in my experience people don’t really care if a politican is rich or not. People care more about their own pocketbooks far more than the pocketbooks of their elected leaders so long as any wealth was obtained ethically.
Comment by ABCBoy Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 12:48 pm
“As everyone knows we’ve had two governors preceding me that got into a lot of trouble, one’s in jail, one’s under indictment.”
Yeah!
And we also saw YOU supporting one of them by becoming his running mate and Lt. Governor in both 2002 and 2006 - so YEAH, we know corruption stops at your front door, doesn’t it Pat? That is, when it knocks twice, rings the freakin’ door bell for 6 years, triggers your car alarm, has Life Alert operators calling 9-1-1, eight helicopters swarm over your house, dropping SWAT teams armed with shotguns, smoke bombs and percussion bombs - THEN, you Pat - you come padding to the door in your bunny slippers and curlers to lead our state!
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 12:53 pm
For the record Rich and the Trib article you are quoting ….. it’s in the audio as well….
Quinn never says Brady should drop out. He says that he should RE-THINK HIS CANDIDACY
Comment by The Shadow Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 12:55 pm
Agree with other commenters, but as always Rich has identified the other shoe to drop.
Clearly Quinn wants to beat the drum about the tax returns until that story is dead. When the timing is right, he’ll unload with whatever the O/R has uncovered about Brady’s businesses. there’s a reason he’s talking about the tax returns
Comment by siriusly Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 12:55 pm
Brady also probably fears that he’ll look bad if he’s made a lot of money while his business let employees go.
Or does he maybe have an interest in a gas chamber manufacturer?
This story definitely won’t go away and voters will assume the worst as long as he stonewalls.
Comment by just sayin' Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:01 pm
Yeah, but that can be a two way street.
With some play the interest he takes on the federal campaign stuff isn’t going to sound real good.
Also you walk a line because if you push Brady too hard on the ‘empire’ you are going to sound like you are against success.
I also suspect all of the philanthropic work the companies do will be trotted out.
Little league teams sponsored, etc.
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:02 pm
Brady saying he’s protecting his business interests is very hazy. Does it mean he’s protecting other people? Is it his personal profits? How could Brady have thought there would be no political ruckus about this?
The troublesome part about this is that Brady just looks like he doesn’t care about transparency. Releasing records answers lots of easy questions, which is why almost every politician (and certainly all of the smart ones) does so. Brady, on the other hand, just doesn’t get the message, though then again that seems to be a defining characteristic of his campaign.
Comment by jonbtuba Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:08 pm
It’s pretty stupid of Brady not to release his returns. At the very least it decries an insensitivity to the political realities in IL. We have a bad track record of governors behaving ethically.
Brady has some very conservative positions that he’s going to need to sell voters on in the fall. In my opinion, he’s going to need deep resevoirs of trust/favorability to pull that off, and if he doesn’t have it, he’s sunk.
Comment by Chicago from the Lake Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:11 pm
I could definitely see Brady blowing it. He’s always struck a lot of Republicans as too slick, and I think that’s why he barely got 20% after basically running for governor for nearly 6 years.
Comment by jaded republican Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:26 pm
I wonder if Quinn will press Alexi to release his tax returns or re think his canadidcy. Alot of people are re thinking Alexi canadidcy. Hoffman sure looks good right now.
Comment by fed up Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:30 pm
===
It’s pretty stupid of Brady not to release his returns. At the very least it decries an insensitivity to the political realities in IL. We have a bad track record of governors behaving ethically.
Brady has some very conservative positions that he’s going to need to sell voters on in the fall. In my opinion, he’s going to need deep resevoirs of trust/favorability to pull that off, and if he doesn’t have it, he’s sunk.
===
Totally agree. To draw a contrast with the Democrats (if not necessarily Quinn himself), he should be a paragon of virtue when it comes to transparency and ethics. People don’t expect perfect candidates, but the classic playbook here is to release everything, get out in front of everything, etc.
The more he stone walls the more it draws attention to the issue.
Comment by ABCBoy Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:31 pm
The Brady tax return is music to Quinn’s ears…it’s straight out of his populist hymnal.
Comment by D.P. Gumby Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:34 pm
This is great for Quinn. He doesn’t have to talk about being an actual Governor, which he’s horrible at. He gets to talk about something else that really doesn’t affect regular Illinoisans… just makes good political press. Very much like his predecessor.
Comment by Amuzing Myself Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:38 pm
How many voters tote up the various candidates’ net worths before they pull the lever anyway. We know most pols are well off, especially in Illinois.
Quinn is asking the question the Republicans should be asking themselves before they start investing any more $$$$$ in Brady’s candidacy. Is this a serious candidate? If so, get the stuff out–it’ll be forgotten in a week–certainly by the time “summer entertainment” starts in federal court in June.
Come to think of it, why don’t state legislators have to release their financial information when running for state legislative seats. I guess I just assumed they did.
Comment by cassandra Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:46 pm
“Brady Empire” anyone from B-town who reads that will laugh very hard.
Comment by indupage Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:47 pm
- He doesn’t have to talk about being an actual Governor, which he’s horrible at. -
You Quinn bashers are always throwing out straw men. Quinn has talked plenty about real governance. This is a politicial issue, which is fair game in a political campaign. You want to put Brady up against Quinn on real issues like budgets? Go ahead, Brady has already shown that he’s a simpleton when it comes to proposals to balance budgets.
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:50 pm
Is there absolutely any sane reason why SLC would ever run for GOVERNOR as an independent!? What is he thinking!?
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:54 pm
I think it’s bad for Brady because when you refuse to release them, you get the entire specter of okay, if we wont’ release them, what does he have to hide then………
Comment by I'm Just Saying Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:54 pm
I don’t think the tax return issue is a big concern, and I think most voters don’t care. I think, although I could be wrong, if elected, Brady would still have to complete a conflict of interest form. That should suffice.
Comment by Just Observing Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 1:59 pm
SLC is thinking he wants to get paid to stay out.
It’s not hard people. He’s out serious coin and he wants to be made whole.
Comment by John Bambenek Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:06 pm
Quinn is certainly implying he has something juicy from Brady’s finances. Now he has to back it up.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:08 pm
Brady definitely has something in his returns that he doesn’t want the public to see…he’s probably amending it as I type this…
Comment by Loop Lady Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:12 pm
Blagojevich and Ryan were not businessmen like Bill Brady is, they were long time politicians whose income was primarily their government check. Out of the two running for Governor in Illinois, Quinn resembles both Ryan and Blagojevich in that aspect.
Really bad argument. It reminds me of that song “BLAH BLAH BLAH”. There are all kinds of things Quinn could say about Brady, why is this where he is going?
Comment by annon Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:16 pm
It really is too bad that both Quinn and Brady can’t just go away.
Quinn is going to get hit over the head by Alexi’s refusal to release and his “late filings.” But, Brady should know better….but alas, he doesn’t. Says a lot about him as a candidate.
I can’t wait to hold my nose and vote for Brady…then take a shower.
Comment by DuPage Moderate Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:16 pm
- SLC is thinking he wants to get paid to stay out. -
You thinks SLC is that delusional? Maybe, but I also wouldn’t put it past him just to be doing this to be a spoiler and get back at the Dems who pushed him out.
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:18 pm
Here’s part of the issue, as I see it.
1. Clearly, and admittedly, there’s some personal and business interest that is keeping Brady from releasing his returns. It could be any number of things … the bottom line is he released them in 2006 and won’t this time and that makes people wonder.
2. It will be an issue related to “what’s he hiding?” and it will give the appearance of not truly valuing transparency. It could even hurt him on the “end the pay to play, culture of corruption” stuff.
3. And, now, it creates an additional problem. If he continues to not release them, these questions and issues continue to nag and he looks like he is hiding something. There’s no way that’s a win for the Brady camp. IF he chooses to release them, it now looks like he does so under public pressure. And, there’s no way that’s a win for the Brady camp.
Comment by NormalRedefined Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:19 pm
Annon, “Blagojevich and Ryan were not businessmen like Bill Brady is, they were long time politicians whose income was primarily their government check.”
You really believe Blago’s income came primarily from their government check? LOL
And, Brady is as much a career politican as the rest of them.
Comment by NormalRedefined Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:22 pm
There are a lot of reasons not to disclose. You may have business partners that don’t want to be involved in politics. Correct me if I am wrong, but everyone jumped Jack Ryan because he had an investment that profited from insurance carriers that covered abortions. The fact is, Brady has complied with the law.
Pat may be going all in a little early here. Brady disclosed in 06. How much sinister stuff could have happended in 4 years? I would let Quinn beat this drum for a month or two then release them. Then What?
Brady can alwasy say, I am in compliance with the campaign requirements set for by Mike Madigan and Pat Quinn. Had they felt I needed to disclosed these records, they certainly could have passed a law requiring me to do so. It’s a loser Pat, move on.
Comment by the Patriot Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:29 pm
Also, George Ryan had a pretty good income from his pharmacies. That made him a businessman.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:30 pm
NormalRedefined:
If he caves to political pressure and releases his returns then it won’t be a loss. It will just put him on equal footing as Pat “the political windsock” Quinn. But you’re right, that’s not a good thing.
Comment by DuPage Moderate Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:30 pm
Brady is probably trying to hide the fact that he has a controlling interest in a Novelty Company that makes fur hats out of animal skins and sells them at all those sovenier stands in Wisconsin. And that he had to pay off a lady because she found a little red checkered bow that was still on one of them.
Comment by irish Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:36 pm
The fact that Brady backers are working hard to make the argument this is a non-issue and Quinn should move on is telling.
We have reached a point in the political environment where releasing your tax returns is a given. It is just what you do at this point. To refuse to do it is making an issue where there doesn’t need to be one.
If there is ugliness in Brady’s returns it means he is being sloppy. The man has been running for governor for six years. Did even he not envision a day when he would actually win the primary?
Comment by Montrose Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:47 pm
I bet Brady makes at least three times what Quinn declared on his returns…hard to be a “man of the peeps” when you’re raking in half a million a year…
Comment by Loop Lady Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:48 pm
Interesting … at one point Brady stated “As one of the owners in a family-operated business, I have to be cognizant of the effect of releasing my income tax returns can have on other people and the potential of providing competitors with confidential business plans and information” …
Maybe a tax expert could help me. On which form or schedule does one list their confidential business plans?
Comment by ShadyBillBrady Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 2:54 pm
Personally I don’t care to comb through anyone’s tax returns. That being said what conflict of interest in Quinn referring to with the former Governor who’s in jail and the former Governor who’s under indictment. From what I can tell or know about both of those cases their conflict of interest wasn’t indicated in a tax return!
Comment by Levois Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 3:04 pm
- There are a lot of reasons not to disclose. You may have business partners that don’t want to be involved in politics. Correct me if I am wrong, but everyone jumped Jack Ryan because he had an investment that profited from insurance carriers that covered abortions. -
Not sure if it was your intention, but thanks for alerting people to the possibility that Brady has something similar that he’s hiding.
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 3:06 pm
Brady folded. Comments are now closed. Go to the fresh thread… https://capitolfax.com/2010/04/20/this-just-in-brady-to-reveal-tax-returns/
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 20, 10 @ 3:07 pm