172 Comments - dupage dan - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:17 am: Curious that Rutherford’s camp is not commenting at this time. Are they concerned that maybe the info isn’t as explosive, and piling on Rauner could backfire? Is it possible that Rauner could wiggle his way out of this with little damage to his campaign, thus weakening Rutherford’s position further? Stay tuned to the next episode of “As The Stomach Turns”. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:20 am: ===…how an obsession with profits can obliterate compassion and ethics.=== and… ===Buts it’s how he made the money, and what he’s done with the money.=== Spot on, “more like this please”. Hodas is on what the prism should be. It boils down to ethics, and making and spending of money, for anyone, is an indicator of how they are, morally and ethically. Pensions, Payton Prep, Investments, donations to whom and when… Moral and Ethical decisions made by the monies. Keep the light shining through that prism. It all ties together if you keep it “there” - Samurai - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:23 am: Mr. Rauner evidently has a cheap $18.00 compass. - too obvious - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:23 am: 2nd shoe to drop would be if we find out Rauner clouted an elderly relative out of one of his own nursing homes. - Upon Further Review - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:24 am: In addition to the nursing home scandals, how about the dollars and cents facts that thousands of Chicagoans and Illinoisans are paying higher telephone bills because of the SBC deal that Rauner and Emanuel put in place? - Snucka - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:26 am: This is a ready-made story. It allows for a very simple and crushing attack on Rauner’s singular claim to the governorship, which is his business experience. The problem for Dillard and Hodas is that, in fact, “people all over the state” are not asking anything as it relates to this issue. It will be very hard to change that via press release. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:30 am: ===It will be very hard to change that via press release.=== That is hopefully where the “2PACS” can make a case. On point, press releases are not going to “cut it”. - dave - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:31 am: One of the things that has been missing is that this model (running a business into the ground in order for investors to make big money) is one of, if not THE, key models of private equity firms. This is exactly what they do — buy cheap, slash staffing and other overhead, make a bunch of money, and then close the business. This has happened with numerous retail outlets after being bought by private equity firms. The only difference is that this time, instead of just impact hundreds/thousands of people’s jobs, it also literally impacted - ie. ended them — peoples’ lives. - Norseman - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:32 am: The Rutherford campaign appears to be trying to keep its powder dry. They better get a little more aggressive or the Baron will coast through the primary. - Konda Chilly - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:34 am: This story only has legs if someone drives it via TV. And Rauner will put old people in commercials to rebut it. Then, if he was smart, he would put on more old people who have been hurt by stupid government policies. - Snucka - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:36 am: Then again, Rutherford may just be “assuming” that the PACs will get this story out there before March. - Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:37 am: The authoritarian party has people who got rich by unscrupulous means? I never considered that possibility. - Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:38 am: “I took that $18 Timex off a poor person my nursing home killed. God bless, America.” - Cassandra - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:40 am: It is persuasive, as other criticisms of Rauner and his business dealings and enormous wealth have been, but it doesn’t seem to be helping his Rebub opponents that much, judging by the polls and by their campaign chests. Maybe regular folks aren’t paying much attention yet. Or maybe there aren’t many folks planning to turn out in the primaries at all. Which means a very small number of folks could be selecting our next governor. - A guy... - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:40 am: Dillard, Hodas and Ibendahl in the same boat rowing together. And the PACs are going to jump all over this. I’m having a hard time seeing that since as OW points out, there are other less stretchy things to go after with PAC money. It won’t take long for someone smart to look over every case Dillard’s law firm is involved in and hold “Dillard” personally responsible for it. Might be a handful of juicy wrongful deaths in there, you think? And Dillard’s response will be….”I wasn’t directly involved”. When you stretch, you risk. This is stretching. Maybe because Hodas is the only guy left still cashing a check. Rutherford took the wise tack on this one, Brady’s may have even been a little wider. Ibendahl operates in a certain orbit. Best to leave that space debris where it is and point it out to the folks who loyally vote and enjoy their space under the radar. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:40 am: ===Then, if he was smart, he would put on more old people who have been hurt by stupid government policies.=== If you go down the road of deflecting too much, the question becomes, “What is Bruce Rauner running from there?” Bringing in seniors, to deflect, empowers the idea of what happened in the nursing home tragedy, and the role in business decisions, and the worth… of what Bruce Rauner has on people, and in that case seniors, and Payton Prep, children… It goes on and on. Go that down that road at your own risk. - ChicagoR - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:41 am: I wonder who can get the rights to the Snidely Whiplash cartoon character for their ads about him first. - Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:41 am: Rutherford has been in politics long enough to know, Bruce Rauner has plenty of enemies. Why should Rutherford get drawn into the mud when he knows others are waiting to give Rauner his comeuppance? - MrJM - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:42 am: Just like a conventional compass, you can break your moral compass if you #HammerAndShake it. – MrJM - ZC - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:43 am: The story is 24 hours old and while the vetting appears impressive, Rutherford’s folks may just be doing their own homework before they strike out, or waiting for the Trib to chime in. The 24 hour news cycle exists and the need to immediately attack has its own logic, but let’s remember, it’s fundamentally insane. Posterity won’t much care or remember , if Rutherford attacked on the 25th instead of the 23rd… - Samurai - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:55 am: @Norseman==The Rutherford campaign appears to be trying to keep its powder dry. They better get a little more aggressive or the Baron will coast through the primary=== Rutherford seems reluctant to spend his money for fear if he loses he will be left with nothing. Rutherford and Kirk Dillard are the only realistic candidates against Pat Quinn. Show us the money Dan. - Percival - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:04 am: Rutherford is just being Rutherford. He is a positive person and not one in a hurry to sling mud. He is letting Rauner fall apart, as he has always expected. - langhorne - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:04 am: “One more story like this, and voters should ask Rauner to withdraw for the good of Illinois.” valid and justified criticism from the dillard campaign. but, this isnt enough of a problem to derail rauner, he gets “one more”? are you kidding me? if you have one more in the works, say so, or give a hint where to look. - Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:07 am: This creates an opportunity and Dillard jumping on this is a good start. I wouldn’t expect him to be able to follow through so someone better step up big time….paging Dan Rutherford. - OneMan - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:07 am: Still haven’t seen much about this in the MSM, Dan might want to save the comments for when that happens or perhaps he has something lined up for the forum tonight assuming Bruce shows. - Mrs. Rauner - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:10 am: Anything you need to know about Brucey is on www.norauner.com - eastsider - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:13 am: I wonder why Ibendahl didn’t bother to open the “comments” box on this story. His article makes it look like Rauner’s firm was pulling the strings, but in reviewing the excerpts Ibendahl included in the story this looks far more complicated than a rich-guy in Chicago twisting his mustache while grandmas and grandpas suffer. There’s more to this is my bet, and I’m sure Rutherford knows that - which is why he kept away. Dillard needs all the free press he can get so he had no choice but to jump on this. There’s another shoe out there on this one, and my guess is it lands in Ibehdahl’s mouth. - Anon - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:13 am: Looks like the Republican extremism hose is on full spray. I can’t wait to see how badly the Illinois voters reject this round of extremism in November. - ZC - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:14 am: Samurai, it’s way too early for Dan to spend his cash. That’s what Rauner wants. Rauner has an endless well of cash to draw on; Rutherford doesn’t. Dan can’t afford to be sucked into an early ad war and be left cash-dry in March. He especially doesn’t need to do so if the unions are really planning this outside wave of attacks - though after the past week’s revelations, a few of the officials have got to be wondering, “Maybe we want this guy as the nominee…” - W.S. Wolcott - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:15 am: Agreed. This seems to be a story ready-made for the “Union Bosses” to jump on. Pair this with what’s going on with closing SODC’s like Jacksonville and Murray, and you have a pice of meat the Unions can sink their teeth into - while not looking over zealous… That being said, it is all rather sad, regardless of how much Rauner may have know, or whatever political hay can be made if this. - Gomberger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:17 am: Did Glenn Hodas get this testy when private equity investor Paul Wood was funding his wife Corinne’s campaign for Governor in 2002? Desperate, desperate stuff. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:21 am: - eastsider -, Rich had comments open, did you comment? Over 200 comments. Each of the “3″ has a different timetable, and a different tact in regards to attacking, and reinforcing, while also either hoarding cash, or wishing for some cash. Guessing why Rutherford didn’t respond is exactly that - guessing. Making it about Doug, does zero to the facts of the article. Seems pretty straight-forward, do you have issues with it? Rauner has shown that children, and climbing over them is ok. Elderly, in the way of profits, profits are what is chosen, even at the risk of their welfare(?). There is a Rauner pattern of money and a lack of ethics and morals. If you see it different, enlighten all of us. - dupage dan - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:23 am: === The authoritarian party has people who got rich by unscrupulous means? I never considered that possibility === Please stay on subject, Mr Nyberg. We’re talking about the GOP here. - Samurai - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:24 am: @a Guy 9:40==It won’t take long for someone smart to look over every case Dillard’s law firm is involved in and hold “Dillard” personally responsible for it=== Big difference being an attorney involved in a death case and the defendant in nursing home abuse and neglect cases with deaths and punitive damages awarded. Even the narrow minded extremists ought to understand the distinction. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:24 am: - Gomberger -, Is that where Raunerbots go? lol - dupage dan - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:24 am: Rutherford had better be sure Rauner’s enemies (or the PACs they may fund) are working on the gotcha commercials right now. The clock is ticking. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:25 am: ===this looks far more complicated than a rich-guy in Chicago twisting his mustache while grandmas and grandpas suffer=== Nowhere does the Ibendahl story make anything like that allegation. Look, the guy has his problems, but his links and excerpts are pretty good on this one. So, either deal with the issue at hand, Raunerbot, or go away. - hisgirlfriday - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:27 am: @Dave - Think the phrase you are looking for is “vulture capitalism” I mean just think… Rauner’s GTCR funded the creation of a business outsourcing company (LeapSource) so he could profit from people losing their jobs/getting paid less and when LeapSource went bankrupt and cost a bunch of people jobs there, that company’s bankruptcy trustee sued GTCR (albeit mostly unsuccessfully) alleging that GTCR committed breaches of fiduciary duties that caused it to go under (See Mann v. GTCR). One of the Mann cases (there were several complaints/appeals) notes that it would have been “preferable” if GTCR lived up to the “aspirational ideal of good corporate business practices” but they did the legal minimum so the plaintiffs had no recourse. This is the problem with corporate law in general where corporate actors can do basically whatever they want under the cloak of the presumption they are just acting in the best interests of their shareholders and business executives start to believe their actions are morally sound, not just legally permitted. - LittleLebowskiUrbanAchiever - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:29 am: This is way Rutherford will lose no matter what. He wants everyone to like him. Rauner can get bloodied by the union PACs but he’ll still come through the primary becaus no one will run effective ads promoting themselves. Then Quinn will unleash DGA millions and cripple Rauner before he even has a chance. - LittleLebowskiUrbanAchiever - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:30 am: BTW, what is Rauner’s return on investment of his Cap Fax ad? Negative 1,000,000? Kudos to you Rich. - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:31 am: “Rauner’s firm was pulling the strings” I look at this also from the perspective that here is a guy who tries to get every government break and all the government money he can get a hold of, but when it comes to unionized workers, well, it’s time to bring out the sledgehammer. His firm was persistent in getting the TRS pension fund. I wonder how much Mr. Rauner despised union leaders then. - William j Kelly - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:33 am: That’s an easy one, Rauner’s compass is in Rahm’s back pocket. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:37 am: Again, I gave it yesterday to the Rauner Crew; Do not. Don’t. Do not call this “baloney”. Refuse the opportunity to seem callous. Still a “free” one. - Wensicia - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:42 am: Maybe some are waiting for Rauner’s spin on this before commenting. I’m sure interested in hearing from his side of the moral compass; how long can he keep silent as this story continues to spread? - wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:43 am: -It won’t take long for someone smart to look over every case Dillard’s law firm is involved in and hold “Dillard” personally responsible for it. Might be a handful of juicy wrongful deaths in there, you think?– A Guy, you’re just pulling that slander out of your tukkus. You’ve not presented a single fact. The Rauner nursing home stuff is real. It might not bother Raunerbots like yourself, but that’s your problem. See you in church. - Wondering in Lake County - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:45 am: “We spend a lot of time living with our companies on a week-to-week basis, understanding what’s going on, and being in the flow of information, so we can be helpful and knowledgeable about the operation,” Rauner said. He didn’t know S. Levine was involved with his company. Didn’t know at Lason that his CFO William Rauwerdink was cooking the books. It’s likely he will claim he knew nothing about the nursing home scandal. The SBC transaction was good for Bruce, good for Emmanuel, good for Bill Daley, bad for the 3,500 employees that were laid off. He clouts his daughter into W. Payton prep, snubbing New Trier. His total disregard for the less fortunate stuck in the public school morass of CPS. Thumbs his nose at those on minimum wage. Cut the pizza hut kid’s salary! Arrogance and Ignorance. His primary challengers may not have the $$ to out this guy, but Quinn will. - Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:50 am: “I just got rich. I didn’t worry about the details. I hired people to take care of the tough decisions. Now, can we get back to talking about running Illinois ‘like a business’?” - walker - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:53 am: Rutherford’s laying in the weeds, loading up his weapons. When will Dan see the whites of their eyes? - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:54 am: - A Guy… -, Remember the discussion about you choosing Rauner, the you have to “own” Rauner. Trying to make this about hypothetical Dillard cases…ain’t “owning it” - walker - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:54 am: above: “lying” in the weeds? - hisgirlfriday - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:57 am: @A Guy… Dillard is just one partner in a law firm with 500+ attorneys at offices all over the world. He has not made his career as any attorney a part of his argument for election at all. Rauner was the “R” in GTCR and the firm’s chairman and has made his career in private equity and business acumen as a result of that position the cornerstone of his campaign. If you can’t tell the difference between the two situations you’re willfully ignoring it. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 10:58 am: I don’t blame Rutherford for staying silent on this. He’s got a strategy and he’s sticking to it. He wants to run positive spots, and frankly, he can only afford to push a few smiling bio spots. He doesn’t have the media budget to go negative. His earned media campaign is designed to support his paid media, so staying away from attacks makes sense for him. Although let’s face, we know he’s praying for a multi-million dollar negative assault on Rauner by someone. It’s his only hope. - Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:02 am: BTW, what sort of internal opposition research did Rauner do as part of running for Governor of Illinois? Or did he skip that step? - Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:03 am: I thought Dillard was an attorney at Edgar, Edgar, Edgar & Edgar… - Conservative Republican - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:03 am: ==I wonder why Ibendahl didn’t bother to open the “comments” box on this story. His article makes it look like Rauner’s firm was pulling the strings, but in reviewing the excerpts Ibendahl included in the story this looks far more complicated than a rich-guy in Chicago twisting his mustache while grandmas and grandpas suffer. There’s more to this is my bet, and I’m sure Rutherford knows that - which is why he kept away. Dillard needs all the free press he can get so he had no choice but to jump on this. There’s another shoe out there on this one, and my guess is it lands in Ibehdahl’s mouth.=== For the reasons well stated in the above, “Raunerbot” will not be easily “pushed away” by this half-story. The sad circumstances, not proven to be intentional neglect or worse, happened on a subsidiary’s watch, no Rauner’s personally. This kind of story resonates with the hard-core left, as evidenced by the comments here, and not independents and Republicans. This story alone will neither sink Rauner’s chances for a victory in the primary nor in the general. The readily discernible distance between Rauner and the harm suffered by the residents is the reason why the major madia have not jumped on the story with Ibendahl’s vigor. - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:09 am: While people go into business to make money (duh!), many go into business to follow their dreams and try to make the world a better place. In this case, THI went into business to suck up the government profits and leave the nursing home residents holding the bag. We’re talking about years of suffering. The victim who died was a nurse herself who spent years helping ease others’ suffering, and in horrible irony, she worked in a nursing home. Here is an excerpt from one of the reports: “But during the time she lived there, Ms. Townsend suffered at least 18 falls. The final fall resulted in a hip fracture that went undiagnosed and untreated for a week. She also endured severe infections, including Clostridium difficile and cellulitis, as well as chronic stomach pains with fecal impaction, skin tears, malnutrition, and dehydration while at Auburndale Oaks. She died on September 18, 2007, at 69 years old. Trial testimony showed that Auburndale Oaks did not have enough employees or supplies to properly care for all of the residents there, including Ms. Townsend.” The report states that the company was sold for pennies on the dollar to a shell company with no employees, to save itself from financial loss. - veritas - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:09 am: This is why Rutherford is not the best candidate. He is only concerned about getting elected and is a product of the “Peter Principle” - he’s reached this level by not offending anyone and isn’t going to change. Rauner is toast. Keep in mind this is only the beginning of the attacks. There is more - much more to come. Even if Rauner were able to survive - how will he ever be able to deal with Madigan?? Might the A.G. decide to look into any one of these shady deals?? - Smoggie - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:10 am: Rutherford is doing the right thing. He’s the guy with some money who can challenge Rauner. If Rutherford gets in the dirt, voters are going to blame both Rauner (for being dirty) and Rutherford (when voters have a third person to support, the like to punish people for going negative). At some point Rutherford may have to go negative, but if he’s got Dillard taking the lead, he’s better off staying quiet. Spend the money going positive. Stay out of the dirt at least until there appears to be no alternative. - Chavez-respecting Obamist - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:16 am: The Raunerbots seem to not care that Bruce made money off the deaths of old people. What would they care about? - wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:16 am: –At some point Rutherford may have to go negative, – He doesn’t have the money to go negative. He hasn’t hit the air with positive spots yet. Dillard and Brady don’t have any money at all… The GOP money boys are all-in on Rauner. He’s their guy, from Roeser to Gidwitz and all point in-between (including Daley and Emanuel funders). - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:16 am: ===Stay out of the dirt at least until there appears to be no alternative.=== Tick-Tock, - Smoggie -, tick-tock. Who is going to educate voters? “2PACS”? Voters aren’t going to learn things they aren’t taught. I am sure Rutherford has a timetable, but the word “time” is in that compound word. Rutherford might start thinking about “time” a little more before he runs out if it. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:24 am: === The readily discernible distance between Rauner and the harm suffered by the residents is the reason why the major madia have not jumped on the story with Ibendahl’s vigor.=== You base this on what? All media came up with that conclusion? “Bruce Rauner” is clean, no need to check it out? Man, that kool-aid must be delicious, because it stinks… and doesn’t pass the smell test for believability too. === This kind of story resonates with the hard-core left, as evidenced by the comments here, and not independents and Republicans.=== I am very much a Republican, and it resonates; Big Time. These past few weeks, and past weekend remind me why this story resonates. It’s about moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and that Bruce Rauner and profits supersede people. It rings true, and your assumptions in that entire post, are so very hollow. - Big Muddy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:28 am: What BVC did here is unconscionable but if it’s only Ibendahl and Zahm screaming about it it goes nowhere. Everybody is used to those two doing nothing but screaming and therefore no one pays attention to them. - Conservative Republican - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:31 am: ===You base this on what?== I base it on the fact that despite the fact that this story is a day old and is now the subject of a Dillard press release, it has absolutely no legs in the print, radio, or TV media. (yep, just checked Google News, no stories). Its clear you live your life on the blog. I’ve skimmed your dozen or so posts on the item, and you have not shown any personal Rauner involvement in any of the nursing home tragedies. If none is forthcoming, the story may not go anywhere. “Plausible deniability” my friend. - wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:32 am: –This kind of story resonates with the hard-core left, as evidenced by the comments here, and not independents Republicans.– You’re out of your mind. “This kind of story” resonates with anyone who ever had a mother. And speak for yourself. You have no business claiming others share your misanthropy. - Ghost - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:36 am: Rauner campaign responded to the news blurb: Soylent green is nutrious and healthy…. - Smoggie - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:38 am: Oswego Willy, Let’s look at this claim. Doug got the story out there. Kirk got up and commented bashing Rauner. Those people are taking the lead. Let them. See if the story moves voters. If those people doing it moves Rauner’s numbers down, let them take the lead. Again, going negative in a three (or four) way race has a lot of risk. People don’t like either the target or the person who goes negative. Of course, if Rauner’s numbers are not moving, then Rutherford must start going negative himself. But I still view this race as very fluid and very early. Rutherford going negative right now has some huge risks. - John A Logan - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:39 am: The idea that this story does not resonate with republicans and conservatives is bonkers. I am on the conservative “right wing” of most issues, and I can see this is horrific. Anyone that reads this story, then goes into partisan knee jerk react defense mode have either lost their moral compass, their ability to think critically or both. - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:41 am: “hard-core left” I don’t consider myself hard-core left. I generally support budget cuts, spending restraints and pension reform, as long as in my mind these things are done equitably. The Illinois Democrat (for your pleasure, not mine) Party has moved toward the middle with its recent budget cuts and pension reforms. I have no problem at all with people becoming wealthy. I have a problem when the super-wealthy like the Koch brothers and think tanks like the IPI make it their missions to attack people like me. I agree with those who say this horrible story resonates deeply. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:42 am: - Conservative Republican -, Totally blew by the question. You, personally, know every single media outlet’s editorial decision? Yeah um, no. ===you have not shown any personal Rauner involvement in any of the nursing home tragedies. If none is forthcoming, the story may not go anywhere. “Plausible deniability” my friend.=== Did you even read the articles? Are you aware of the chain of events? It is not my place to dictate if one, many, or all media outlets carry the story, but based on reading English, and also understanding many, including those here, conclude that monies and how they are spent seem to take this to a tragic ending, I will continue to follow sound thinking, not wishful thinking for Bruce Rauner. Anyone, any person who can parse plausible deniability, and seniors dying due to neglect, and find that relationship acceptable with no ramifications, is not my friend. I feel so sorry for you. At some point I hope “plausible deniability” never shows its head to you or your family. Pathetic. - Demoralized - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:47 am: @Conservative Republican: I don’t think the story is going anywhere anytime soon. It amazes me that people are even attempting to defend Rauner on this. - Norseman - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:48 am: I understand all the folks who think Rutherford should stay above the fray. Campaign 101 tells you to run positive spots to establish your legitimacy for the office. Then you run ads that play to your strength and highlight your opponents’ weakness. In this campaign, you have a super-rich candidate who has all the money he needs to flood the paid media with his legitimacy ads and will be able to flood the media with response/negative ads. Worse yet for his opponents, he has locked up the money men who normally help fund their campaigns. Rutherford is the one that has the most money to fight the Baron. But, not the kind of money that allows him to match blow by blow. One can hope that the independent anti-Baron PAC will be able to go nasty while Rutherford stays above the fray by focusing on positive ads. From what I read on the Fax, this PAC hasn’t generated the kind of dough to effectively accomplish that task. To me, this means that when he goes up Rutherford’s ads need to be a hybrid of positive and negative spots turning into straight negative ads as we approach the primary. Folks, I’d love to be wrong. Prove me wrong. But I see this Baron mega-train rolling over everyone. - Demoralized - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:49 am: Either the buck stops with Rauner or it doesn’t. I don’t want a governor using “plausible deniability” for anything. I also don’t want a governor who doesn’t know what’s going on. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:49 am: - Smoggie - Polling has the “3″ behind, and by quite a bit, with undecided still heavy. You don’t take any shots, they all will miss. The “3″ have been sitting and sitting and sitting. At some point, you have to engage to move the polling numbers. - William j Kelly - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:49 am: Conservative republican, are you really that evil? Your argument reminds me of a serial killer taunting the police by screaming, “prove it.. Prove it …… You got nothin” - wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:50 am: My mother spent her last years in the Alzheimer’s wing of the county home. It was run by a lady who also happened to be the chair of the county GOP. She was an angel; she loved those folks more than a breath of air. She was a powerful advocate and caretaker for them until the day she died. The Raunerbot spin that Republican voters don’t care about this issue is just another example of their contempt for the people. - wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:56 am: “Plausible deniability?” How low can you go? - Hans Sanity - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:02 pm: Haven’t read any political horse race bits yet. It’s a good payoff for Rauner’s GOP opponents counting on IL & Chicago based news-teams to take this beyond Ibendahl’s Republican News Watch story. Seems like long odds. - FormerParatrooper - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:02 pm: I know for me Rauner is not getting my vote. Still waiting for a pol to earn it. Rauner is proving that ethics or leadership is his forte……… Next pol, please show something better. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:11 pm: Keep in mind, the zealot Raunerbots refuse to see the human element. The zealot Raunerbots talk “plausible deniability”, “everyone does this”, and any and all excuses to remove Bruce Rauner from blame… … and refuse to see people… as people. Those few see those seniors as chattel, something that only represents a dollar amount in profits, or a distraction to “shaking up Springfield” How terribly pathetic is it that some here also parse that republicans have no feeling. That independents refuse to see grandma as a person. These are Bruce Rauner’s ardent supporters, being Raunerbots here to mute ethics and morals. Check out that line in Broadcast News. Understand it. Aaron Altman: He will be attractive! He’ll be nice and helpful. He’ll get a job where he influences a great God-fearing nation. He’ll never do an evil thing! He’ll never deliberately hurt a living thing… he will just bit by little bit lower our standards where they are important. Just a tiny little bit. Just coax along flash over substance. Just a tiny little bit. And he’ll talk about all of us really being salesmen. That is Bruce Rauner. Elderly, children, all if its “ok” to look past to have Rauner as governor, but at what cost to who we are? While, I may feel, Illinois will lose with a Rauner Administration, maybe the biggest loser is… ethics and morality? - langhorne - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:14 pm: we have an unusually high number of very active raunerbots on here today. rauner will have to answer on this subject personally, a press release wont do it (tho i hope he tries). there is not enough “distance” to protect rauner. GTCR creates—-THI which gets slapped with—-verdicts worth hundreds of millions. as a hands on businessman, rauner had to know, or should have known. i suspect there are a lot of reporters now poring over any litigation related to rauner, to develop their own take on this or similar stories. rutherford is smart to wait. he can let others can go after rauner on this, and hope rauner is too busy playing defense to attack him. - CollegeStudent - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:14 pm: If you’re basing your campaign on your business acumen and involvement, you cannot play the “plausible deniability” card on this. At all. - Phineas J. Whoopee - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:19 pm: The Rauner campaign reminds me of an episode of the TV show Northern Exposure. Pressure builds and builds till finally the ice cracks and then all craziness ensues. Eventually, there will be an Ah Ha moment. It’s just that the ice hasn’t cracked yet. - Wondering in Lake County - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:26 pm: They just keep coming! Another scandal at one of Bruce’s companies. http://www.chicagonow.com/kelly-truth-squad/2014/01/company-owned-by-bruce-rauners-firm-gtcr-tried-to-cheat-employees-for-millions-lawsuit-claims/ Maybe this is how all PE firms operate so All of Rauner’s financial backers think this is the way to run a business. You do what you gotta do. Cheat, Steal, Kill, Maim. Well, he does have the most money…… - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:38 pm: “Voters aren’t going to learn things they aren’t taught.” Very Yogi Berra-esque. I love it. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:41 pm: - Grandson of Man -, And “I” wonder why no one listens to me, lol - Northsider - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:43 pm: Trans Healthcare is still listed on the GTCR website under “past investments”. http://www.gtcr.com/our-focus/healthcare/portfolio/past-investments-hc/trans-healthcare-inc/ Might want to scrub that, Mr. R. - PoolGuy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:46 pm: Conservative republican only people on the hard-core left care about the treatment of seniors at nursing homes? is that what you are really trying to say? blame the bleeding-heart liberals for caring about what happens to people? nice spin. I’m pretty sure even Rush Limbaugh cares about a few people on planet Earth. where are you from? - Hans Sanity - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:47 pm: More on horses & politics: Maybe THI/GTCR news will break when the ads for most recent buy are done running. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:04 pm: === “Where is Mr. Rauner’s moral compass?” === In his checking account? - Sage - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:07 pm: The mainstream media isn’t picking up on this story because there is no “there” there. First, Rauner’s firm was not a party to the lawsuit. Second, the nursing home provider that was a party to the lawsuit (in which Rauner’s firm did have an interest) had stopped operating the facility for years before the plaintiff’s death. Third, the judgement was a “default” judgement because the nursing home provider stopped participating in the lawsuit after a year of expensive litigation because it had ceased operations, had no assets, and wasn’t even operating the facility during the timeframe in which the injuries were alleged. Again, there is no “there” there, as even the slightest bit of due diligence would reveal. - wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:07 pm: Rauner’s still on the milk carton. Why doesn’t he go on his buddy Kass’ radio yakfest and explain how he’s going to run the state like his nursing home business? - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:12 pm: - Sage -, You may want to understand the concept of “wearing the jacket”. Your points, while compelling, seem less. Where “exactly” are the discrepancies? The article is pretty tight explaining. - wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:16 pm: Sage, that’s all you’ve got? The “hands-on” businessman is not responsible for the actions of the companies he owns? You guys give capitalism a bad name. - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:24 pm: I seriously find the assurances that Rutherford is going to win because he’s such a nice guy a bit surprising. This is a race for the Governor’s seat, and we are dealing with Republican Primary voters mostly. The guy who’s most likely to win is the one who can prove that he’ll be best able to run this State. Our next great Administrator. - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:29 pm: And with regard to Dillard and his law firm, EVERYONE is entitled to a defense. Right? (My goodness how campaigns seem to bring out the “creativity” in us, including quick solutions that cut corners that are foundations for our way of life.) - dupage dan - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:33 pm: The other candidate not mentioned much here is Quinn. We know he is such a bumbling fool that he doesn’t catch on to these stories, right? Rauner will have to answer to these claims now, or later. I would prefer now. If Rauner is sunk because of this, better now when a credible candidate can survive to the general. Otherwise, we may have to talk to see if Scott Lee Cohen is available for a write in campaign. - Sage - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:34 pm: Oswego Willy, The key point is that Trans Healthcare stopped operating the facility in September 2004. The plaintiff was a resident of the facility from 2004 until she died in 2007. Trans Healthcare stopped defending the suit and received a default judgment for that reason. - Loop Lady - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:35 pm: can’t lose something you never had…these plutocrats can justify just about anything that makes them richer… - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:39 pm: =Rauner’s still on the milk carton. = Is he? I thought that maybe I was missing “sightings.” He’s not seriously considering the setting of a precedent where the final leg of the campaign is going to be nothing but a release of non-stop ads, is he? Talking about what a great reformer and nice guy he is until all the men in Illinois want to be him and the women want to have his babies? - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:39 pm: Why is that the Key Point? - Demoralized - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:40 pm: @Sage: The voters aren’t going to care. You can’t just say there is no “there” there and end the discussion. This is politics. Perception is reality. - Sage - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:44 pm: OW - Come on now, you’re smarter than that, at least based on your posts here and the fancy red lettering of your name. How can THC be responsible for her falls over that three year period when THC’s operation of the facility overlapped with the period in her claims by only one month? The judgment was a default judgment because THC stopped participating in the suit because it had folded up. - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:44 pm: = If Rauner is sunk because of this, better now when a credible candidate can survive to the general.= Well, we’ve all been there before so how could I not agree with that? - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:44 pm: Still checking, but here’s the other suit that was won for $900 million… Joseph Webb was a resident at University Place from 1995 to 2005. While there, he suffered multiple injuries including pressure sores or lesions on his right foot, right calf, right heel, coccyx (which required debridement and surgery), buttocks, sacrum, and even his scrotum. Staff did not properly care for the pressure sores on his right leg and foot and this resulted in gangrene causing his leg to be amputated below the knee. He also suffered unexplained weight loss, malnutrition, and multiple infections. The suit alleged that Mr. Webb was the victim of a scheme by an enterprise that included: New York real estate investors; financiers General Electric Capital Corporation (a private bank) and Ventas (a real estate investment firm); and multi-billion dollar Chicago private equity fund GTCR. The plaintiff alleged they conspired to run a nursing home chain into insolvency without regard to the harm the nursing home residents would experience. Mr. Webb was one of the residents of the Gainesville, Florida facility THI and THMI managed and operated. According to testimony by a forensic accountant, Trans Healthcare’s former company leaders engaged in illegal political contributions and then got reimbursed with tax dollars by charging the contributions to the government through Medicare reports. In July of 2004, GECC and Ventas took action to default THI/GTCR on their loans because they used false and misleading financial statements to obtain the loans. The suit alleged that once Medicare money for residents’ rent flowed into the account, GECC and Ventas took their share before monies were available to cover payroll, supplies, utilities, etc. for the hundreds of nursing homes. Former staff members at University Place testified that they didn’t have the necessary supplies to care for residents. http://www.wilkesmchugh.com/florida-nursing-home-neglect/verdict-webb-vs-university-place-care-and-rehabilitation-center.html - Sage - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:46 pm: Demoralized - You are correct in that. Spin artists will do what they do, but my point was this isn’t resonating in the mainstream media because there is no substance to the allegation that Rauner has done anything wrong. - CollegeStudent - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:47 pm: ===The key point is that Trans Healthcare stopped operating the facility in September 2004. The plaintiff was a resident of the facility from 2004 until she died in 2007. Trans Healthcare stopped defending the suit and received a default judgment for that reason. === Is this about the shell company? Because “we unloaded this turkey on a shell company for pennies on the dollar after looting it” doesn’t exactly look any better. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:47 pm: ===The key point is that Trans Healthcare stopped operating the facility in September 2004. The plaintiff was a resident of the facility from 2004 until she died in 2007. === Actually, she moved into the facility in 2001, So, stop saying 2004. http://www.jerebeasleyreport.com/2013/08/jury-awards-1-1-billion-in-lawsuit-against-nursing-home-conglomerate/ - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:48 pm: Shortly after she retired, Ms. Townsend suffered a stroke. She needed 24-hour care, and her son, Gary Townsend, moved his mother to Auburndale Oaks in 2001. But during the time she lived there, Ms. Townsend suffered at least 18 falls. The final fall resulted in a hip fracture that went undiagnosed and untreated for a week. She also endured severe infections, including Clostridium difficile and cellulitis, as well as chronic stomach pains with fecal impaction, skin tears, malnutrition, and dehydration while at Auburndale Oaks. She died on September 18, 2007, at 69 years old. Trial testimony showed that Auburndale Oaks did not have enough employees or supplies to properly care for all of the residents there, including Ms. Townsend. http://www.jerebeasleyreport.com/2013/08/jury-awards-1-1-billion-in-lawsuit-against-nursing-home-conglomerate/ - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:48 pm: I am not too smart, ask around, but I am smart enough to know how to read, and how to read Rich’s Posting above with the link provided. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:52 pm: - Sage -, Opening the door, sometimes you can’t control what you let in. Thanks Rich for your posts and links here in Comments to … clarify… items that seem to some to be up for … interpretation. - Sage - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:52 pm: Rich — The lawsuit alleges her falls were from August 2004 through 2007. - wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:58 pm: –Spin artists will do what they do, but my point was this isn’t resonating in the mainstream media– Who knew that the Cap Fax was some fringe player? Who’s the mainstream media, Sage? Seriously, that’s all you’ve got? Farmer Bruce should cut your allowance. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:00 pm: OK, I’ll just stipulate that. Doesn’t matter for our purposes anyway because it could’ve been caused by underfunding previously. Or whatever. Maybe a jury overreach. I dunno. Bottom line, the company got whacked hard. Also, there’s that other case I mentioned above, dude. Actually, there are three other cases, totaling well over $2 billion in damages. - Think About It - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:05 pm: Mr. Rauner…..moral compass aside, you show a complete lack of character, no values, and no ethics. You are not right for the position of Governor. This state has been dragged through enough. It sounds like you’re going to be the guy your daughter doesn’t want you to be “daddy, I don’t want you to be Governor, because I don’t want you to go to jail”. They had no morals, values, ethics either. - Sage - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:07 pm: Rich — Agreed, THC definitely got whacked in the Townsend case, and the optics are bad, but it’s a stretch to pin that on THC and especially on Rauner. I don’t know anything about the facts of the other case(s), but I would add that these types of cases are extraordinarily common in the nursing home industry because of the competing pressures of low government reimbursement and high incentives for the plaintiffs bar. Why anyone would want to get into that line of business, I don’t know! - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:08 pm: - Sage -, My simple question, ” the Key” is that trying to explain away case after case, and a repeated history that goes beyond one isolated incident. That is the “rub” that can’t be explained away. The manner Bruce Rauner does business, in both his private life and business life, shows a complete lack of integrity and ethics, with the tool of cash used for personal gain even if it hurts people, as long as Rauner gets his way. That is the narrative, no matter the “Key”, in explaining away, or attempting to, seniors and children hurt by those choices. - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:12 pm: === blah blah blah “… my point was this isn’t resonating in the mainstream media because there is no substance to the allegation that Rauner has done anything wrong.” Gee, do you think maybe it isn’t resonating in the mainstream media is because they haven’t had enough time to check it out? Given the nature of the allegations, I’d want independent verification before I went rushing into print. - Sage - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:12 pm: –The manner Bruce Rauner does business, in both his private life and business life, shows a complete lack of integrity and ethics, with the tool of cash used for personal gain even if it hurts people, as long as Rauner gets his way.– OW - That’s a pretty broad statement for a guy who has given more money to charitable causes than we would see in many life times. - wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:16 pm: – Why anyone would want to get into that line of business, I don’t know!– Dude, you are shameless. Rauner went into the business to make a fortune skimming the Medicare money while driving the homes into insolvency. Get it now? - olddog - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:17 pm: Anonymous 2:12 was me. And I meant to say “maybe it isn’t resonating in the mainstream media is because they haven’t had time to check it out.” - Tommydanger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:17 pm: These damaging stories about Rauner can only damage his campaign if they become known to republican primary voters and are weighed and measured by such voters as and against their other choices resulting in them choosing someone other than Rauner. Dillard issued a press release rather than a news conference–poor choice on his part. Getting a news crew to attend a press conference outside a nursing home would draw a crowd. Rauner can ignore the story for now because he can. Unless and until the media decides it won’t take “no” for an answer, he can avoid giving more life and a bigger stage to the story. Unless his opponents invest resources in making this story commonly known to likely primary voters, it runs the danger of getting lost in the noise of a campaign. Unless it becomes the lead story of the campaign and voters can easily and quickly connect the dots (15 seconds max) from tragedy to Rauner, it may be relegated to becoming a big deal to us politicos and less so to the voter. Rauner was a blank slate to most everybody before this election and he has had the time and the $$$ to present his story on the airwaves and tv. The primary campaign season isn’t long enough for him to suffer electoral death by a thousand cuts, but a big enough story can undo a lot of advertising. The story is important and damaging, but whether it lives long enough and is disseminated widely enough, well its just too early to tell. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:18 pm: Tell that to the 7000 kids clouted over the suburban denied daughter of Bruce Rauner. She didn’t qualify, she didn’t live in Chicago, and a phone call, once denied by Bruce Rauner from even happening, got something for Bruce, personally, over worthy children Rauner Prep is about profits, not about Rauner’s daughter? - Phineas J. Whoopee - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:26 pm: Not to sound too conspiratorial, but Rauner is a cash cow to the main stream media right now and they have a definate vested interest in not taking him out. - CollegeStudent - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:28 pm: ====Rich — Agreed, THC definitely got whacked in the Townsend case, and the optics are bad, but it’s a stretch to pin that on THC and especially on Rauner. I don’t know anything about the facts of the other case(s), but I would add that these types of cases are extraordinarily common in the nursing home industry because of the competing pressures of low government reimbursement and high incentives for the plaintiffs bar. Why anyone would want to get into that line of business, I don’t know! === Billion dollar judgments are common in the nursing home industry? I knew I should have studied to become an ambulance chaser. - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:30 pm: = If Rauner is sunk because of this, better now when a credible candidate can survive to the general.= Speaking of which, has Rauner provided the details of who is working for him? I seem to recall that he was going to promise to do that someday. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:31 pm: Money does not equate ethics or integrity. Some people try to buy both. Just saying. - CollegeStudent - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:33 pm: ===OW - That’s a pretty broad statement for a guy who has given more money to charitable causes than we would see in many life times. === So what percentage of his wealth has he donated? And no, charter schools don’t count when he and his friends make money off of them. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:51 pm: Rauner complains about “Union Bosses” yet made millions off the pensions, and still call himself an outsider who can’t be bought, as tens of thousands are spent, securing support for “career politicians”, vacationing with Rahm Emanuel at his house, and not “owing” a cozy relationship to the mayor he made a millionaire. I am comfortable with my statement. - drew - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:55 pm: Someone might have posted this already and I missed it, but here’s another article I found: http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/who-should-pay-the-200-million-for-nursing-home-death-its-complicated/1214062 - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:55 pm: Is there a script in the Raunerbot’s programming that counters any morally questionable action with something about how much he has given in charitable donation (which is more than you and, therefore, renders any further questions on the subject moot!!)??? “OW - That’s a pretty broad statement for a guy who has given more money to charitable causes than we would see in many life times.” - Sage - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:12 pm “Somebody should remind Ms. Ravitch that Rauner has given more to help educate disadvantaged kids than anybody in Illinois history.” - abc123 - Wednesday, Jan 22, 14 @ 11:09 am https://capitolfax.com/2014/01/22/todays-raunerpalooza/#comments - Hans Sanity - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:56 pm: Tonight’s debate will be moderated by H Wayne Wilson. He’ll be joined by Jim Meadows, Jak Tichenor, Amanda Vinicky and Chacour. It will be on Peoria Public Radio and can be heard on line. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:59 pm: When the Rauetbots go after anyone one on one, you know the talking points are coming. If money/donations equated ethics and integrity, the rich would never tell us how much they donate to cover another story, because those with ethics and integrity have nothing to cover for. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:05 pm: Also, Sage, my recollection is they sold the nursing home to a shell company with no employees. Plus, there’s this… Charlene Harrington, a professor emerita at the University of California at San Francisco, has studied the nursing home industry for 30 years. Last year, she examined the nation’s 10 largest for-profit chains and found up to five layers of ownership. “You can’t tell who owns'’ many nursing homes, Harrington says. “It’s like tracking a problem mortgage when you don’t know who owns the bank.'’ Even the federal government can’t figure it out. Medicare and Medicaid pay most of the nation’s nursing home bills and require homes to disclose their ownership structures. But when the General Accounting Office looked at six big chains in 2010, the information those chains had provided Washington gave no indication of which affiliated companies controlled what. http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/who-should-pay-the-200-million-for-nursing-home-death-its-complicated/1214062 - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:08 pm: I would be very interested when Bruce Rauner answers questions about the nursing homes, specifically, and will the tact be more about parsing, or will Rauner be able to answer the bell and discuss what is his side. “Baloney” is not a response. - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:19 pm: =OW - Come on now, you’re smarter than that, at least based on your posts here and the fancy red lettering of your name.= This is just like a new Tracey Ulman (sp?) episode: Perception (or should we call it “Reality”)? Not to denigrate, of course, Willy. Just trying to make a point regarding “perception” and “reality.” God Bless Americans, I say, and their damn stubborness to not only appreciate a good tinfoil hat, but to occasionally put one on as necessary. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:23 pm: - Anonymous -, if I even knew what you were trying to say that could be taken right/wrong I would probably just let you know u shrugged, like I did anyway. - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:24 pm: Gee, I wonder why the Tribune likes him so much. “One of the things that has been missing is that this model (running a business into the ground in order for investors to make big money) is one of, if not THE, key models of private equity firms. This is exactly what they do — buy cheap, slash staffing and other overhead, make a bunch of money, and then close the business.” - CollegeStudent - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:28 pm: “Mr. Rauner, would you put your parents in one of the nursing homes you owned?” - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:28 pm: Anonymous 2:55: It’s considered rude by some to question one’s charity unless one makes a huge “spectacle” of it and thereby opens oneself to criticism of that nature. Oh, and look! I’ve always enjoyed speaking to “myself.” It brings about such…clarity in thought. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:29 pm: You do … Look good in Red (See how I held the punch line, lol) To the Post, The nursing home issue here reminds me if Gordon Gekko. Buying companies to break up and wreck them, squeezing all the profits out before selling it off before it goes bust. - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:31 pm: Conservative Republican What do you base this on ? I am a moderate independent who leans GOP. I am a hardcore conservative on many issues. This resonates with me. “This kind of story resonates with the hard-core left, as evidenced by the comments here, and not independents and Republicans.” - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:32 pm: Willy, I was just saying that we could all have fancy red-lettering if we wanted it and so that is not by which one should be judged entirely. Just as in elections. During the 2004 US Senate Campaign, there was a group that was fond of the saying “All that glitters is not gold.” (Zeppelin, I believe, and something that for at least my generation spoke to the belief that “perception is reality” for the majority, of course.) - AFSCME Steward - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:32 pm: That last post was me - AFSCME Steward - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:34 pm: This was also me. - AFSCME Steward - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:34 pm: This was me. Sorry, my name dropped from my computer when I posted. Gee, I wonder why the Tribune likes him so much. “One of the things that has been missing is that this model (running a business into the ground in order for investors to make big money) is one of, if not THE, key models of private equity firms. This is exactly what they do — buy cheap, slash staffing and other overhead, make a bunch of money, and then close the business.” - Timmeh - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:35 pm: What bothers me most about this story isn’t just that companies are trying to squeeze the nursing home industry for profits. It isn’t that Rauner owned one of those companies. It’s that his company was the best at it. ==An expert forensic accountant testified that GTCR founded THI in 1998 with a plan to create the largest privately owned nursing home company in the country through a series of mergers and acquisitions. Their Boards of Directors were composed solely of investors and bankers, and did not include a single health care official. From 1999 to 2003, GTCR and THI began acquiring nursing homes with funding from GECC, Ventas and other lenders. THI became one of the nation’s largest health care operators with more than 220 facilities and more than a billion in revenue at that time.== - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:39 pm: I got it. See my punch line. Get this off me, To - Timmeh -, Good point on the idea that Rauner was not just one player, but one of the largest. That growth was based on wanting to provide outstanding health care, or outstanding profits? - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:39 pm: =You do … Look good in Red= Why thank you, dearest! As do you. - SG8prl - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:40 pm: I apologize for not using a nickname. I claim the comment from Anonymous @ 2:55. - drew - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:43 pm: Juanita Amelia Jackson https://www.casetext.com/case/estate-of-jackson-v-ventas-realty-ltd/ Also, it’s interesting to note that some of these legal matters are still ongoing. - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:47 pm: lol AFSCME Steward. I was half-tempted to swipe your handle for just one post to say that you look good in red, too, but I suppose I’m just not made that way. - Sage - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:59 pm: Rich — There is nothing insidious about selling/moving companies to “shell” (i.e., “holding”) companies. Just about every large business with diverse operating divisions does it as a way to segregate finances, operations, and liabilities (I know that last one is going to invite your attention). - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:02 pm: Sage, it becomes “insidious” when it’s done to avoid any and all responsibility. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:03 pm: - Sage -, Intent is key. - Demoralized - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:04 pm: ==That’s a pretty broad statement for a guy who has given more money to charitable causes than we would see in many life times.== And giving to charitable causes mitigates any of this how? ==There is nothing insidious about selling/moving companies to “shell” (i.e., “holding”) companies.== And the average person sees this a rich guy’s trick. It doesn’t exactly endear the guy to the average Joe. He can’t “just be one of us” and have this kind of stuff in his background. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:11 pm: - Sage - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:59 pm: Rich — There is nothing insidious about selling/moving companies to “shell” (i.e., “holding”) companies. Just about every large business with diverse operating divisions does it as a way to segregate finances, operations, and liabilities (I know that last one is going to invite your attention). +++++++++++++++++ RICO settlement? - SAP - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:19 pm: - CollegeStudent - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:28 pm: “Mr. Rauner, would you put your parents in one of the nursing homes you owned?” Nah, he’d just he’d just hire in home care at minimum wage, which he’d reduce. - Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:23 pm: How much of Rauner’s charitable giving has a pretty direct link to furthering his political ambition? Is Rauner willing to provide a list of non-profits, religious institutions and political committees (including 527s and dark money) contributions from the last ten years? - Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:26 pm: =Nah, he’d just he’d just hire in home care at minimum wage, which he’d reduce. = Thank goodness all those people who were laid off by Corporate America are being retrained by our Government. And, believe it or not, “healthcare” is one of the big ones in addition to “hotel management.” Where do we send our resume? - Anon - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:39 pm: Wow. Reading this thread today, and the original yesterday has been amazing. The case in Rauner’s defense sounds awful no matter how it’s communicated. The raunerbots have done their best, but Rauner’s is looking more and more like Monty burns. He will have to explain his position eventually. He isn’t a CEO here who can make things go away by ordering it so. He is a candidate, and the feeding frenzy will intensify e more he avoids it. - Just The Way It Is One - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:45 pm: Smart of Kirk Dillard to jump on the issue. Where’s Brady’s critique? A little surprised he, too, hasn’t pounced on this free opportunity for an “Open-Field Tackle!” Rutherford will respond but I expect he IS planning to go negative on Rauner in at least some of his TV Ads in time (he really NEEDS to, at least, in my view, if he has any genuine chance of toppling the one now clearly ahead in the GOP Polls) and will pile it on with this, yet another BR Debacle, in addition to “hammering” away at Mr. Carhartt’s several other glaring flaws/weaknesses like Payton Prep clouting, minimum wage joke/hypocrisy, being out of touch as Multi-Millionaire, pulling Democrats’ ballots, etc. etc. But to those in denial–make no doubt about it–this latest Nursing Home Flap WILL come back to bite him in the, well, where it hurts…! - walker - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:48 pm: Romney would have gotten past all the negative messages about his uber-wealth, his destructive venture capital deals, his off-shoring to avoid taxes — all of it — were it not for a tape with the “47%”. This is too complicated so far. His opponents need to whittle it down to a catch phrase that sticks in the craw. Caption contest one of these days, Rich? Best short line to use against each statewide candidate? - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:55 pm: - walker -, -MrJM - has it; Baron Von Carhartt. It encompasses the pay to play, Rahm, Payton Prep, nursing homes and legal cases. One package of someone lacking ethics, while running on shaking up Springfield, but being an insider’s insider. Baron Von Carhartt. Says it all, just get it out there. Tonight. Debate. Spin Room after, before… - Wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 5:29 pm: Sage thinks he’s helping his guy out. Let me tell you something: I grew up Main Street Midwestern GOP. The rich guys in town went out of their way to make sure the old, weak and sick lived in dignity. They didn’t try to score off them, by skimming off the government. What more do you need to know about it his guy? He’s bad news. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 6:03 pm: - wordslinger -, The minute that Lugar and the Doles, and even Specter felt My Party abandoned the moderates, the gates opened wide for “Rauners” to think big money and no credibility will be enough to infect and finally have a party of their own, bought and paid for, and with no regard to anyone except their own insider agendas. “Purity” ruined so much, and now the un-purist will dictate, like the Pigs in “Animal Farm”. Rauner wins, “Animal Farm” begins… in My Party. “Some are more equal… if the got the cash to say so.” - Norseman - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 6:09 pm: Willy, do you think the Baron wants to ensure the purity of essence? - Norseman - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 6:15 pm: Purity of essence: http://youtu.be/k3BjS4JUgCE - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 6:15 pm: That might be a Kubrick question, - Norseman -. That is why “Fail-Safe” is the double feature that night. - wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 7:07 pm: Willy, the day that the good people of Indiana rejected Lugar for Mourdoch, I knew we were in deep stink. Sen. Lugar — bought off the Commies after the wall came down. Took thousands of nuclear missisles aimed at us and converted them into electricity. Swords into ploughshares. Can you dig it? Yeah, I’m Midwestern. And always will be. http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB447/ - wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 7:17 pm: “Failsafe,” wow. Henry Fonda, the great Walter Matthau and nuclear combat with the Russkies. I’m 51. I grew up with the smart money telling me that the the USA/USSR conflict would inevitably lead to the destruction of the planet. I planned my life accordingly. Do I have to pay off my Sears credit card? - wordslinger - Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 11:08 pm: Just so we’re on the same page, one of the greatest people I ever knew wss Patricia Lavigne, chair of the DeKalb Count GOP, She is the angel I spoke about earlier. Greatest lady ever, If anyone was ever in a jam in DeKalb County, they called Pat, She’d fix it. What a gal, When my mom got sick with the Alzheimers, we didn’t know what to do. But Pat was right there, guided us, and was the best friend anyone could have, et Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.