* With a big hat tip to Illinois Review, Sen. Kirk Dillard was asked this question at a recent tea party forum…
One of your opponents has made union bosses and their muscle in Illinois public policy a dominant issue. In 2010, your campaign took in $250,000 from a teachers union and your current campaign has taken in thousands of dollars from union PACs. Why do public sector union financially support you and how does your position on public sector unions differ from your opponents?
Dillard’s response…
“You said it was 2010 that the teachers gave me that money. I haven’t seen it yet and don’t know if it’s coming.”
I sure hope he meant that he hadn’t seen any teacher’s union money this year as of yet. Sheesh.
I asked the campaign a while ago for a response. I’ll let you know what they say.
*** UPDATE *** From Sen. Dillard’s campaign manager…
Dillard misspoke. Clearly, Dillard’s campaign received an IEA contribution in the 2010 campaign, as the campaign disclosed in its filing with the State Board of Elections. Dillard was referring to the current campaign, when he mentioned that he hadn’t received a contribution from the IEA yet this year.
* I asked Michael Kolenc, the campaign manager for “Yes for Independent Maps” to explain to me why he thinks his coalition’s push to put a remap constitutional amendment on the ballot will survive a key constitutional test.
You can find an explanation for what the amendment actually does by clicking here. The group raised $487K in the fourth quarter (from some heavy hitters like Lester Crown, Ken and Anne Griffin, Jerry Reinsdorf, the IMA, the Chamber, etc.), spent $328K and had $202K in the bank.
* Anyway, the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that citizen petitioners who want to amend the Constitution must confine themselves solely to issues that change both the structure and procedure of the General Assembly.
So, with that in mind, here’s Kolenc’s explanation…
I am very confident that it can survive a challenge. The issue we have to answer is: Does this amendment make a structural and procedural change to the state constitution?
Redistricting is clearly a legislative process–a set of actions taken by the General Assembly once every ten years. Our amendment alters that process so it is transparent and nonpartisan.
Under the current Constitution, if the General Assembly fails to enact a plan before the deadline, legislative leaders appoint a Legislative Redistricting Commission, a structure within the legislative branch. Our amendment alters that structure so that it includes independent commissioners.
From our conversations with several drafters of the 1970 IL Constitution, we know that redistricting reform was exactly the kind of amendment they had in mind when they included the “structural and procedural” clause.
Hope that answer is helpful.
It was helpful to me, and it makes sense. Your take?
*** UPDATE *** Many thanks to a commenter for pointing out perhaps the oddest argument ever on the need to reform the remap process. It’s in the Tribune, of course…
The House has 30 contested primaries; the Senate has two.
Why are there so few candidates? Because the results of the election are already cooked. Lawmakers draw their own districts, and they’re not interested in competitive elections. They’re interested in job security. They’ve gamed the legislative maps to serve their needs instead of yours.
The current boundaries were drawn by the majority party Democrats, who naturally stacked most of the districts in their favor. A handful of districts were ceded to the GOP by corralling Republican voters together. If you’re a Republican in a district drawn to elect a Democrat — or vice versa — your vote rarely matters.
In many districts, the minority party doesn’t bother to field even a token candidate. It’s expensive (and often pointless) to campaign.
How does partisan remapping impact primaries? Yes, incumbents can pick and choose what voters they represent, but that doesn’t really stop anybody in their own party from challenging them in a primary, does it?
If you want to claim that the remap process is unfair to the minority party in general elections, OK. The courts say this is fine by them, but whatever. Make your partisan case. But primaries?
Republican candidate for Governor Kirk Dillard today joined fellow State Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) in announcing legislation that would require state Constitutional Officers and state lawmakers to carry the same standard health insurance benefits that citizens are now required to carry under Obamacare.
“Far too often, legislators pass laws effecting everyone else, but then exempt themselves,” Dillard said. “Most citizens believe that their elected officials should play by the same rules as they are required to. This has never been more evident than when you talk to people about Obamacare.”
Obamacare exempts certain classes of people from its requirements, in effect creating separate classes of insurance coverage. “Governor Quinn and the Democrat legislature created the Illinois Health Insurance exchange,” Dillard said. “If they truly believe this is the best health plan for the citizens of Illinois, then they should be willing to be covered under the same health plan.”
Syverson agreed, and stated, “if this is the law of the land, then we should not be above that law”. Syverson further noted that not enough has been said about the limits of the ObamaCare plans. “While proponents of Obamacare have focused on getting people covered, many of those who are signing up are just now discovering how limited their coverage truly is.”
The Affordable Care Act defines four new types of health insurance plans for individuals and families that are ranked from the most expensive out-of-pocket costs for consumers to the least expensive: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. All of these plans offer the same minimum level of benefits.
The “Benchmark” plan — the plan subsidies are based on — is the Silver Plan. This plan is touted as the best coverage available for Illinois citizens. It is the benefits of the “Silver” plan that this legislation would require elected officials to carry.
Under ObamaCare, the “Benchmark” Silver plan, individuals will have a $3,000 deductible per person. This plan will also require co-pays to see a physician, to use the emergency room, to be admitted into a hospital, and to have surgery. It would also require prescription drug co-pays of $50 per month and per drug if it’s a preferred brand name. The non-preferred co-pay is $100 a month per drug.
In addition, the insured individual under the Silver plan is required to pay 20% of all costs until the insured person reaches the annual out-of-pocket limit of $6,350 for an individual or $12,700 for a family. These costs do not include the premiums, which are an addition to these costs.
“While some elected officials feel that having out of pocket limits this high would hurt them financially, it’s no worse than what the people they represent would be affected by,” Dillard emphasized. He concluded by saying, “We also believe all of our Congressional Representatives who passed this law should be required to have the same benefit package as they are requiring their citizens to carry. This is about fairness, leading by example, and showing the public that their elected officials are not above the laws they pass.”
* Press release number two…
Republican candidate for Governor Kirk Dillard today said the fact that a former gang member hired by the Illinois Department of Corrections had been issued a handgun flies in the face of the Quinn administration’s claim that he had no administrative role. Xadrian McCraven was fired only after a Sun-Times investigation became public.
“So much for the Governor’s claim that McCraven never had any management or security duties,” Dillard said. “Then why on earth was he given a gun?”
Dillard last week called on Governor Pat Quinn to fire Illinois Department of Corrections Director Salvador Godinez, after the Sun Times disclosed that IDOC hired McCraven, a former gang member with a lengthy criminal record. Department of Corrections documents obtained by the Sun Times through the Freedom of Information Act show that McCraven turned in his weapon upon being fired from his post.
“It’s really a sign of Pat Quinn’s total mismanagement that law-abiding citizens are having a hard time getting their concealed carry permits, but the Department of Corrections issued a Glock pistol to a former gang member they hired,” Dillard said. “Pretty much sums up what’s wrong with Springfield these days.”
Dillard has called on the Governor’s Inspector General to investigate the circumstances under which McCraven was hired and whether any political influence was exerted to secure his employment.
Dillard noted that McCraven’s 24 arrests and documented gang connections make it unlikely IDOC followed its own internal procedures in conducting a complete criminal background check.
In addition, Dillard has filed a resolution calling for Auditor General Bill Holland to determine whether IDOC hiring procedures were followed.
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** A Department of Corrections spokesman says the Dillard press release is untrue. McCraven was not issued a firearm by DOC, the spokesman said. He wasn’t authorized to have one by the state agency, either.
Ready, fire aim?
*** UPDATE 2 *** An e-mail from DOC’s chief of staff sure seems to indicate that Dillard’s claim is true…
*** UPDATE 2 *** According to DOC, the e-mail refers to a five-week inter-agency detail in 2011. He was issued a gun and a badge at that time. But then a background check was done and the detail was terminated. The second job was a “non-sensitive” job. CMS apparently told DOC that they had an employee who needed to be placed due to a grievance process win and asked if they had a spot and he was given one that didn’t include a gun or a badge and where he had no access to confidential or classified info, etc.. He didn’t have a gun during that six-month period.
An exhibit of sets, costumes and props from Steven Spielberg’s award-winning movie “Lincoln” opened Friday at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, where it will be on display for years to come. Children can explore the exhibit free of charge when accompanied by an adult.
The exhibit, “Lincoln: History to Hollywood,” includes the set for Lincoln’s office, part of Mary Lincoln’s bedroom set, costumes worn by the actors and a variety of props used in the movie.
It’s being displayed at Union Station, just across the street from the presidential museum. The station will serve as an annex to the presidential museum where visitors can tour the exhibit and see video presentations about the movie.
“Steven Spielberg is a master story-teller, and ‘Lincoln’ is a classic. Movie buffs of all ages are going to come here to see this exhibit,” said Amy Martin, director of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. “And when they visit, they’re going to be caught up in the fascinating life of our greatest president.”
“Lincoln” earned Academy Awards for Daniel Day-Lewis as Best Actor and Rick Carter for Best Production Design.
“It is an honor to have this exhibit at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum,” Spielberg said when plans for the exhibit were announced. “When we visited for research on the film, it was our thought that there might be an opportunity to bring such an exhibit to Springfield, and that is now a reality.”
The sets and costumes are on loan from DreamWorks Studios. This allows the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum to present the display at minimal cost to visitors.
Children can tour the special exhibit at Union Station for free when accompanied by an adult. The cost for adults is just $5.
Adults also have the option of buying the new “full experience” package allowing them to tour the entire presidential library and museum and the new movie exhibit for $15. That’s just $3 more than the basic museum admission price, which is not changing.
Lincoln’s office is the key set in the movie. That’s where the president ponders how to pass a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery and pushes his aides to get the job done. The exhibit also includes a vignette of Mary Lincoln’s bedroom, the setting for emotional confrontations between husband and wife.
Visitors can see Oscar-nominated costumes for Lincoln, his wife and his son Tad. Props include the stethoscope from the scene of Lincoln’s death, Tad’s toys and gloves used by Daniel Day-Lewis as he portrayed Lincoln.
No tax dollars were used to move the exhibit from California to Springfield. That expense is being covered by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation.
It’s Friday, so let’s lighten things up a bit.
* The Question: Have you ever been to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum? If so, what was your opinion? If not, why not? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* While the overall trend of dropping employment rates for all race-ethnic groups continued through 2012, Black teens had the lowest employment rates across all geographic areas.
* Nationally, the employment rate of Black teens has sustained a declining trajectory dropping from 25% employed in 2006 to 18% in 2012 and faring worse than their Hispanic and White peers.
* In 2012, only 16 out of 100 Black teens in Illinois were employed and only 11 out of 100 Black teens in the city of Chicago were employed.
* Black male teens, in particular, faced challenges in their ability to obtain employment in the U.S., Illinois and the city of Chicago.
* Black male teens in Chicago experienced the bleakest employment rates with the number of Black male teens with jobs dropping from 10% in 2006 to 8% in 2012. A startling 92% of all Black males ages 16-19 in Chicago were jobless in 2012.
* Minority, low-income teens continued to face more challenges in obtaining employment with Blacks and Hispanics experiencing significantly lower rates of employment than other race-ethnic groups.
* Across the nation in 2012, only 13% of Black teens from low-income households were employed and slightly less than 16% of low-income Hispanic teens had jobs.
* In Illinois less than 9% of Black teens living in low-income households (< $20,000) and only 13% of Black teens living in households with an income between $20,000-$39,000 were employed in 2012.
* In Chicago in 2012, only six out of 100 Black teens from low-income households (<$20,000) were employed; equating to 94% of low-income, Black teens were jobless.
* Black male teens from low-income households had the lowest employment rate of all groups. Only 4% of Black male teens from low-income households in Chicago were employed in 2012.
* While not as steep of a decline as teens, young adults (20-24 years old) in Illinois and the city of Chicago also experienced great difficulty finding jobs and a persistent decline from 2006 to 2012. Males, Blacks, and city of Chicago residents 20-24 years of age were the most significantly impacted young adults.
CITY OF CHICAGO TEENS FACE TOUGHEST EMPLOYMENT SITUATION
* In 2012, teens in the city of Chicago (19%) had worse employment rates than peers statewide (27%).
* Only 11% of all Black teens in the city of Chicago were employed in 2012.
* Only 11% of low- to mid- income household ($20,000 - $40,000) Black teens in the city of Chicago held a job in 2012; 89% were jobless.
* Only 6% of all low-income (< $20,000) Black teens in the city of Chicago were employed in 2012.
In the last quarter of 2013, Rauner’s campaign wrote checks for over $184,000 to Paylocity, effectively hiding the names and remuneration of his staff and consultants.
The only hint of staff expenses in the most recent Rauner filings are in the form of travel reimbursements to campaign director Chip Englander and staffer Kelley Folino. The report also shows $10,000 paid to Blue Cross Blue Shield for campaign staff health insurance.
The Illinois State Board of Elections told Illinois Review they’d not been asked about this before, and thought it may warrant further investigation. The practice is illegal on the federal level according to FEC rules.
Rauner had no comment when queried about the practice. However, Dillard campaign manager Glenn Hodas told IR, “This is just another case where Rauner needs to come clean with GOP voters. You can’t bend the rules just because you don’t like them. The question is … what is Bruce trying to hide?”
The Democratic Party of Evanston also used Paylocity as recently as a year ago.
But this is an odd, and possibly illegal way of doing business.
* Steve Shearer, who has formed a PAC to go negative on Rauner in the GOP primary, sent out this statement…
Candidates just can’t do what Rauner did. If you have a campaign credit card from Visa and charge a bunch of different expenses on it, you can’t just list a payment to “Visa” for the amount and not list a full description of each charge. Rauner is hiding things. Rauner has to play by the same rules as everyone else on campaign finance transparency.
Maybe Rauner and his campaign are too used to operating a C4 where all contributions and expenditures are anonymous. Running a campaign for Governor does not allow a candidate to be able to decide what to make public about campaign finances and what to hide.
Rauner had people on his payroll in January 2013 when he didn’t form his committee with the SBE until March 2013. If those staffers salaries and consulting fees were reported as they should have been back then, the caps would have been blown last winter instead of this past fall. Up until fall, Rauner carefully declared that he only gave his campaign $249,000, avoiding the $250,000 threshold that would blow the caps.
This is deliberate obfuscation from a candidate portraying himself as a reformer and the opposite of business as usual. Well, it is the opposite of business as usual because no one before has been so corrupt as Rauner to actually hide who his campaign is paying, how much and when. It is the opposite of transparency and reform. It is corrupt.
10 ILCS 5/9-11) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-11)
Sec. 9-11. Financial reports.
(a) Each quarterly report of campaign contributions, expenditures, and independent expenditures under Section 9-10 shall disclose the following: […]
(13) the full name and mailing address of each person to whom an expenditure for personal services, salaries, and reimbursed expenses in excess of $150 has been made and that is not otherwise reported, including the amount, date, and purpose of the expenditure
* Decatur Herald & Review editorial: THUMBS DOWN! To Republican candidates for governor, who seem to be intent on making a controversy out of something they’ve all done in some manner. Candidate Bruce Rauner is being criticized for exerting pressure to get his daughter into a high-profile Chicago public high school. Rauner is firing back that several of the other candidates were involved in seeking admission help for students trying to get into the University of Illinois. As despicable as it is, influence peddling is a way of life in Illinois politics. We’re reminded of something about folks in glass houses shouldn’t be throwing rocks.
* Rauner, Rutherford turn fiery at candidate forum: “Kirk you’ve taken hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars,” from unions, Rauner said, looking at Dillard. Rauner then turned to Rutherford and began: “Dan you’ve taken a lot..” “That is not correct, Bruce Rauner,” Rutherford interrupted. “No, Bruce Rauner don’t do that. That’s not correct … You have no right to put out false information out there.”
* Cahill: Rauner’s gift to biz: a minimum wage hike: It’s one thing when a left-leaning populist like Mr. Quinn comes out for a minimum wage increase. His arguments are taken with the usual grain of salt accorded to standard line items in the liberal agenda. But the idea gains more credibility when a Republican candidate for governor, especially one seen as closely aligned with business, speaks favorably about it (even with qualifiers).
* Jim Nowlan: Minimum wage remark stirs political pot: As for Illinois politics and the minimum wage, I predict that mega-bucks candidate Rauner will have the campaign dollars to shift the focus before the March primary off the subject and onto term limits, his favorite horse to ride. All the while, Rauner has handed Gov. Quinn a potent little guy versus big guy issue to carry into the fall general election, regardless of who wins the GOP primary. There are a lot more little guys than big guys.
* Sheila Simon reacts to the AFL-CIO endorsement of Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka by the Illinois AFL-CIO…
Simon was clearly stung by the show of support to her fall opponent, lashing out at the union brass and insisting she – not Topinka – carried the support of “rank and file working men and women across the state.”
“It’s not surprising that a small group of insiders endorsed Judy Baar Topinka behind closed doors – after their membership had already recommended no endorsement,” Simon spokesman Dave Mellet said. “Sheila is a proud union member who supports a higher minimum wage – unlie Judy Baar Topinka, who called it ‘another giveaway program.’”
Carrigan said the endorsement doesn’t necessarily mean the union will embrace Topinka over Simon when it does its endorsements in June for the general election.
Yeah, I’m sure the union folks will go with Simon in the fall campaign after she insulted them yesterday.
“Judy has been around decades. She has gone to labor events and labor conferences, and she’s always availed herself to talk to union members. Those countless events and meetings she’s been to paid off for her,” Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan told the Chicago Sun-Times. “She’s just better known throughout the state than Sheila Simon.”
* Jeff McKinley, the only openly gay legislative Republican candidate in Illinois, withdrew from the race last night. From a press release…
“One of the ideas I’ve talked about on the campaign trail has been duty to family. This is a value that guides my life and shapes my decisions as a husband, as a father, and as a citizen.
“I know that, no matter what, I have the unwavering love and support of my family, and I know that they will stand by me through thick and thin. However, today, I have to consider my reciprocal duty to them.
“Certain concerns have arisen within my family that make it impossible for me to proceed with the campaign at this time. I assembled a great team, and we had the pieces in place to achieve victory, not only in the primary, but also in the general election in November. I thank them and all my supporters for their efforts and dedication. Words are inadequate to explain just how grateful I am.
“Effective immediately, I am officially withdrawing from the campaign to be the next state representative from the 71st district. I also wholeheartedly endorse my former opponent, my coworker, and my friend, Jim Wozniak, as our next representative. Jim and I decided to run without knowing each other’s intentions. Our competition was never personal and we both ran positive campaigns focused on issues and the future. I am also grateful for that.”
Wozniak now has a clear shot at freshman Democratic Rep. Mike Smiddy, who won two years ago without help from the House Democrats.
Despite strong statements and leadership from Governor Pat Quinn, emergency petcoke regulations unveiled by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency today fall far short of the mark, according to legal experts with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Following is a joint statement from NRDC Midwest Director Henry Henderson and Southeast Environmental Task Force Executive Director Peggy Salazar:
“The Governor has been forceful with the message that the state should put a pause on petcoke and coal pile permits. The piles blighting the southeast side of Chicago do indeed imply a deeper threat for communities across Illinois; and Governor Quinn is right to take emergency action.
“But, the Governor’s strong leadership and thoughtful response to the problem are not reflected in today’s rule. It is a reasonable first step, but short of the moratorium implied in his statements. More action is needed from the administration if they are going to match their stated goal to put a halt to this activity.”
)O)ur key priorities include (i) shortening the timeframes for enclosure of major dust sources; (ii) adding further clarity to the provision governing operation during wind events, which we consider to be critically important; (iii) enhancing the setback requirements, which are also critical, and (iv) adding testing and monitoring provisions for most notably visible emissions and opacity.
* 4:41 pm - Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka and Gov. Pat Quinn were both endorsed by the Illinois AFL-CIO, according to a news release from the organization.
I think this is the first time that the AFL-CIO has endorsed a statewide Republican since 1986, when Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar were given the nod, so it’s a very big deal for JBT and a major, crushing defeat for Sheila Simon.
And the nod for Quinn should put to rest the constant media speculation that all of organized labor is angry with him - although you gotta figure that AFSCME and the teachers weren’t too pleased with this move.
Additionally, the [AFL-CIO] board passed a resolution to engage union members to defeat GOP candidate for Governor Bruce Rauner. Rauner, a billionaire private equity magnate, has advocated for a minimum wage cut and made his disdain for unions a centerpiece of his campaign.
“It’s critical that we not only advocate for who we think will be the best candidates for working families, but that we also make sure workers understand who is using them as scapegoats for the state’s problems,” [Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan] said.
* Surprise, surprise, Eden Martin uses his Sun-Times column to endorse his old friend Bruce Rauner…
Supporters of some of the establishment Republican candidates for governor and a few media commentators are now taking shots at political newcomer and present front-runner Bruce Rauner. Some say he has an “arrogant” streak, and others claim it’s hypocritical for a wealthy candidate to refer in campaign ads to wearing an old watch or driving an old van.
I’ve worked with Bruce for years on state finance and education policy, and I can understand how some who disagree with him might easily mistake self-confidence for arrogance. But I’ve found him to be smart, disciplined and focused on getting results. Full disclosure: I like and respect him, and I’ve contributed to his campaign.
He’s not only given money to Rauner’s campaign, he hooked Rauner up with a key supporter. Mark Brown has the story…
The Rev. James Meeks, a former Democratic state senator who pulled out of the 2011 mayor’s race against Emanuel, and Rev. Marshall Hatch, a lower-profile West Side minister most recently in the news for helping bring Rev. Al Sharpton to town, are actively supporting his campaign, Rauner told a Gurnee audience in November.
“They want more jobs, and they want better schools, and the Democrats aren’t delivering,” explained Rauner, who said he expects to win 25 percent of the city vote with their help, enough to keep a Republican competitive in a statewide race. […]
In a phone interview this week, Meeks confirmed he supports Rauner and said he will try to convince other African-American ministers to help him, too.
“I was with him since Day One,” said Meeks, who describes Rauner as a friend and fly-fishing buddy with a shared interest in education. “I think he will do good things for people.”
Meeks said he’d never heard of Rauner before Eden Martin, President of the Civic Committee, called on Rauner’s behalf about five years ago to request a meeting. […]
Rauner ended up paying a three-hour visit to Salem Baptist Church, the 20,000-member megachurch Meeks built in Roseland.
That led to dinners and eventually Rauner hosting Meeks for some fly-fishing at his ranch in Montana. Now he and Rauner email back and forth with photos of fish they’ve caught, Meeks said.
* The two met in 2008, when Meeks was leading protests demanding that South Side kids be allowed to enroll in New Trier. Ironically, Rauner was trying to get his New Trier daughter into a Chicago public school at the same time.
Mark is quite surprised at Meeks’ support for Rauner, but look at the history. Meeks initially fought for a Dawn Clark Netsch-like tax hike for schools, but that was blocked by House Speaker Michael Madigan and Meeks never forgave the Speaker. So, Meeks and Rauner have their distaste for Madigan in common.
* Meeks eventually soured on the whole project and in 2010 keynoted an Illinois Policy Institute school choice symposium. He launched a blistering attack on teachers unions at that event, another Rauner enemy.
* And, of course, there was this tweet from last summer when Rauner announced he was running…
Congrats @BruceRauner. I think you will make a great governor.
— Rev. James T. Meeks (@revjamesmeeks) June 5, 2013
An obscure panel of lawmakers unexpectedly shot down video gambling reforms Tuesday, leaving regulators grasping to close loopholes in the lucrative business.
Aaron Jaffe, chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board, which proposed the reforms, said he was “astounded” by the move, which came with no public discussion after a closed-door meeting by the lawmakers.
“This is an open invitation for bad people to come into gambling,” Jaffe said.
In explaining the vote, state Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, said the Gaming Board “exceeded their authority.” Lang, who has long supported gambling expansion and who has often been at odds with Jaffe over regulation, received about $70,000 in campaign contributions tied to a Louisiana businessman who could be excluded by the reform.
First of all, this was a unanimous decision by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. The committee is only “obscure” to those who know little about it. It’s also a bipartisan committee that’s co-chaired by Democratic Sen. Don Harmon and Republican Rep. Tim Schmitz. Look at the membership list for yourself and tell me everybody on there is an ally of organized crime. Please.
The Illinois Gaming Board is demanding answers about why a panel of lawmakers this week rejected a series of proposed video gambling reforms, including blacklisting some felons..
* OK, wait a second. These rules went way beyond “blacklisting some felons.”
And maybe Chairman Jaffe or the Sun-Times could’ve just picked up the phone and called a random JCAR member. I chose Rep. Greg Harris, who said committee members had a few major concerns.
The emergency rule, Harris said, would conceivably banish far too many people from working in bars, restaurants, etc. where video gaming terminals are located. A waitress with a pot conviction 30 years ago could possibly be put on the board’s “exclusion list,” Harris said. And the same goes for people who work for vendors who supply those taverns, restaurants, truck stops, etc. and for those who aren’t even convicted of anything.
Also, the Gaming Board chose to issue emergency rules, rather than go through the normal rule-making process. There were just too many questions about whether the proposed rules went further than the law allows.
The Administrator or Board may place a person on the Video Gaming Board Exclusion List for any of the following reasons (which parallel the reasons for placement on the existing Riverboat Gambling Exclusion List established for riverboat gambling by Subpart G of 86 Ill. Admin. Code 3000):
* Conviction in any jurisdiction of a felony, crime involving gaming, crime of moral turpitude, or crime of dishonesty. […]
* Performance of any act, or notorious or unsavory reputation, that would adversely affect public confidence and trust in gaming.
Yep. Pretty darned broad, and well beyond the rules for Riverboats, which the Gaming Board claims this proposal “parallels.”
Less yellow journalism, please.
…Adding… Wordslinger makes some excellent points in comments…
Seriously, a “black book” for video gambling? Give me a break. How do you skim the machines when they’re hooked up to a state monitor and the state collects and disburses the money?
By Jaffee’s logic, shouldn’t you have a “black book” for every business that has a lottery machine?
Just like the lottery put the illegal Policy Wheel games out of business, legal video gambling will put illegal video gambling out of business. So who’s shilling for whom here?
* Do you think any of the three Republican gubernatorial candidates who are being vastly outspent by Bruce Rauner should drop out of the race? If so, which one(s)? Take the poll and then don’t forget to explain your answer in comments, please.
* I forgot to put up a link for this morning’s Republican gubernatorial debate. However, here are the tweets from three reporters on the scene, Mary Ann Ahern, Mike Riopell and Natasha Korecki. Click here if your phone can’t see the embed…
Republican governor candidate Bruce Rauner poured $3.2 million into advertising during the final three months of last year, far outraising and outspending his three rivals for the March 18 nomination, campaign disclosure reports show.
Rauner spent more than he raised, but he’s a kabillionaire and can afford it. Not so much for Kirk Dillard.
* Check out the burn rate for a campaign that has done almost nothing except, well, I’m not sure what…
Dillard, of Hinsdale, who lost the 2010 nomination to Brady by 193 votes, reported raising $328,700 in the two funds he controls during the last three months of 2013. He spent $389,555, leaving $144,866 in cash to start the year. He has raised $6,000 since Jan. 1, but he also is carrying a $50,000 personal debt in one of his campaign funds.
He barely has enough in his account to pay January’s overhead expenses. Not good.
* Dan Rutherford is the only candidate in a financial position to make a major run if Rauner stumbles or is knocked off his throne…
Rutherford brought in $393,000 during the final three months of 2013. The more than $1.37 million in his political fund as of Dec. 31, leaves Rutherford as the only other candidate positioned to purchase some TV time before the March 18 primary.
State Sen. Bill Brady, one of four Republican candidates for governor, drew in $74,000 during the last three months of 2013, his campaign revealed Wednesday.
Republican candidate for treasurer Tom Cross had shown more than $327,000 in receipts and $388,000 cash on hand in his campaign fund, and primary competitor Bob Grogan reported raising $9,749 last period, closing out his fund with a total of $21,087.
* But unless he can raise any real money, Hardiman’s campaign appears quite doomed…
Gov. Pat Quinn has banked about $4.5 million for his re-election bid.
Campaign finance reports filed late Wednesday show the Chicago Democrat raised about $1.9 million in the final quarter of last year. His biggest donations came from labor unions. […]
Tio Hardiman of Hillside is challenging Quinn in the Democratic primary. Hardiman raised about $15,000 in the same three-month period. He finished 2013 with about $550 in his campaign account.
* Bernie Schoenburg interviewed Bruce Rauner about clouting his kid into Payton Prep back in September. Bernie asked if Rauner called then CEO of Chicago Public Schools Arne Duncan about his suburban daughter’s application to the Chicago public school…
Well, that’s not what was being reported in various media outlets this week. Rauner did a round of interviews, including talking to ABC, NBC and CBS stations in Chicago, to explain himself on Monday — the day that Sun-Times story hit the streets. All three stations reported that Rauner called Duncan.
Jay Levine of CBS-Channel 2 said in his story: “Rauner admits making a call to Arne Duncan to get his daughter into Payton despite what he calls her middle school attendance record marred by illness.” […]
Mary Ann Ahern, in her story on NBC-Channel 5, said: “Bruce Rauner says yes, he made a phone call to then-Superintendent of Schools Arne Duncan, so his daughter, moving into the city from Winnetka, could get into Walter Payton College Prep.” […]
And CHARLES THOMAS of ABC-Channel 7 reported: “When his daughter’s application was rejected, Rauner admitted calling then-CPS CEO Arne Duncan to get her admitted to Payton, which had a waiting list of over 7,000 city teenagers.” […]
Rauner spokesman MIKE SCHRIMPF said this week that when Rauner told me in September he hadn’t talked with Duncan, it was because of how Rauner interpreted my query.
“They didn’t ask for him to put her into the school,” Schrimpf said of Rauner and his wife, Diana, “which I think is what the thrust of your question was.”
How can Mr. Rauner be trusted to clean up corrupt Springfield when he won’t fully explain how and why Mr. Levine made $25,000 a month trying to get government business for a company owned in part by Mr. Rauner?
As I reported last March, Mr. Rauner made his fortune as a principal in GTCR LLC, the big Chicago private-equity business. In fact, as my colleague Lynne Marek later reported, Mr. Rauner was the key “people person” in the firm, the guy who made the calls to potential clients trying to sign them up. And many of those big clients were pension funds, like the giant Teachers Retirement System of Illinois, which covers just about every public-school teacher in the state outside of Chicago.
That’s why my eyebrows went up when I discovered that in 2003, TRS initially turned down a request from GTCR to handle $50 million in its pension investments. The decision was reversed at the next TRS meeting, after Mr. Rauner personally showed up to make a pitch. And among those who voted to give the firm the $50 million was TRS board member Mr. Levine, whose legal problems hadn’t surfaced yet but who had objected at the first meeting to GTCR’s request.
Nowhere in the minutes of those meetings — and I’ve checked them for both the February 2003 meeting and for the May 2003 meeting — is a pretty pertinent fact disclosed: Mr. Levine at the time was getting $25,000 a month from a medical-bill processing company named CompBenefits that, a few years earlier, had been acquired by GTCR and three other investment companies. In other words, Mr. Rauner was seeking a favor from a guy whose bread was being very well-buttered, in part, by Mr. Rauner’s company.
* Rauner does, indeed, need to answer for this. But I checked with TRS executive director Jon Bauman about his recollections of those two meetings. Rauner claims he’s never met Levine, so I wanted to know if there was any interaction between the two men. His e-mailed reply…
They were both present at the meeting in May 2003 when GTCR got a do-over following a bad presentation at the prior meeting (I think Feb. 2003.) At that meeting, one of Rauner’s partners, a guy named Dave Donnini, showed up solo. We always encouraged money managers presenting to the Board to bring two people in case one screws up, has a bad day, or whatever. They didn’t, the presentation didn’t go well, and both Levine and John Glennon really bashed this guy’s head in. The Board almost voted it down but on the recommendation of the outside investment consultant, postponed action.
In May, Rauner came in with maybe 3 other guys and a clearly well-polished presentation. I don’t recall any controversy and few questions and the Board unanimously voted to approve the Fund.
To the Question, I don’t remember them interacting beyond a handshake or the like at that second meeting. I can tell you unequivocally that Levine never said anything to me about Rauner. He said he objected the first time because the guy was so bad and acted like the Board was a rubber stamp, in so many words.
So, maybe there’s not much “there” there, but Rauner still needs to answer questions.
Trading units of ConvergEx Group, a brokerage firm for big investors, agreed to pay more than $107 million to settle charges brought by U.S. authorities related to overcharging customers when the firm carried out their trades.
The units also agreed to admit wrongdoing, as did former employees Jonathan Daspin and Thomas Lekargeren.
Additionally, the U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges against Messrs. Daspin and Lekargeren as well as ConvergeEx Group and a brokerage subsidiary. ConvergEx agreed to pay $43.8 million in penalties and restitution to settle those charges.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, which charged the firm with fraud, said the firms used a system that made customers “unknowingly pay more than double what they understood they were paying to have their orders executed.”
In a statement, ConvergEx said the employees were no longer with the company and that the Bermuda trading desk at the center of the alleged fraud has been shut down, while the activity in question was discontinued two years ago. […]
ConvergEx has faced volatility on other fronts, too. In 2011, a deal to sell itself to CVC Capital Partners, a private-equity firm, fell apart. The next year it managed to sell its Eze Castle Software and RealTick businesses to TPG Capital, another private-equity company, in a deal valued at $1.9 billion. In June it withdrew plans to issue stock to the public but didn’t comment on its decision.
* So how does this matter? Well, that 2011 deal which fell apart was announced thusly…
GTCR, a leading private equity firm, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its portfolio company, ConvergEx Group (“ConvergEx”), to funds advised by CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”). The transaction is an all cash transaction expected to close in the fall following receipt of financing and customary regulatory approvals. ConvergEx is a leading technology company offering software products and technology-enabled services to hedge funds, traditional asset managers, broker-dealers, corporations and plan sponsors. […]
“I’d like to thank GTCR for their unwavering support in helping ConvergEx become an industry-leading company. They have been a true partner,” said Mr. Velli. “We have had a fantastic period of growth with GTCR and look forward to working with CVC as we continue to execute our growth strategy and build out our capabilities to provide unique technologies that today’s marketplace requires.”
Sorenson Communications, an Internet-based Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) provider, has agreed to pay $15.75 million to settle an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau into whether the company billed the TRS Fund for calls made by unregistered, unverified, or ineligible individuals, and for calls that were made by or on behalf of the provider itself.
In case you aren’t aware of it, the Telecommunications Relay Service provides services to people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, or who have a speech disability to communicate via the telephone.
Stung by a fortnight of miserable headlines, GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Rauner is calling in some major media-relations reinforcements.
Joining Mr. Rauner’s communications shop effective next week will be Lance Trover, a longtime veteran of Illinois politics who most recently has worked for U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., the state’s ranking Republican.
In a brief heads-up phone call late yesterday, Mr. Trover wouldn’t say much but insisted that his “leave of absence” to work for Mr. Rauner is not an indication of where Mr. Kirk stands. “The senator has made it clear he’s not endorsing” in the race among Mr. Rauner, Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford and state Sens. Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard, he said.
Trover would be the second Mark Kirk staffer to join the campaign. This is no coincidence.
The Illinois Secretary of State’s office says more than 1,200 immigrants living in the U.S. illegally have received Illinois driver’s licenses since December under a new state law. [The AP updated to correct the number.]
Immigrants can currently take license tests at 14 locations across the state. Secretary of States spokesman Dave Druker says 36 locations will offer license tests by the end of the month.
The licenses are valid for three years and may be used only for driving. They can’t be used as identification for activities like boarding a plane, voting or buying a firearm.
About one-quarter of the 23,000-plus concealed-carry applications received so far by the Illinois State Police have come from Cook County, the agency reported Wednesday. […]
So far, 5,305 applicants come from Cook County, but Bond said the agency did not have a tabulation available breaking down how many came from Chicago or the Cook County suburbs. Likewise, in other counties, no town-by-town breakdowns were available, she said.
Among Illinois’ 101 other counties, Will County had the second largest volume of concealed-carry applications with 1,759, followed by DuPage County with 1,589 and Lake with 1,164.
To round out the collar counties, McHenry County had 822 applications, while Kane County had 761 gun owners wanting permission to carry their weapons in public places.
Two major Illinois institutions today welcomed a unique partnership, as Equality Illinois announced that Chicago-based United Airlines is becoming the Exclusive Airline for the state’s oldest and largest advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Illinoisans.
The partnership makes United the first choice for air travel by Equality Illinois.
“We are the first statewide LGBT equality group in the country to enter into such an Exclusive Airline arrangement,” said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois. “That we are able to do that with United, our own Illinois-based carrier that is also an industry leader in its LGBT workplace initiatives, is especially meaningful.”
“We’re proud to launch this great partnership with Equality Illinois – an organization committed to supporting the diversity that reflects United’s customers, employees and ‘Working Together’ culture,” said Nene Foxhall, the airline’s executive vice president of communications and government affairs.
United was the recipient of the 2013 Equality Illinois Business Leadership Award at the annual Equality Illinois Gala last February, a recognition given to companies that demonstrate remarkable vision, courage, and leadership in the effort to achieve full equality for LGBT individuals in Illinois.
“United was one of the earliest U.S. corporations to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and, later, gender identity,” Cherkasov said when announcing the award last February. “The company has also continually earned a perfect score on the annual Corporate Equality Index.”
Cherkasov said that under the “Exclusive Airline” agreement, Equality Illinois staff, board members and key supporters will be turning to United for flights to business meetings, and United will be supporting the ongoing work of Equality Illinois to secure full LGBT equality.
I wonder if the anti gay marriage types could score a similar corporate deal. Probably not.
Here’s a photo of the first 70mph speed limit sign going up this week in Illinois Department of Transportation District 6, which covers west-central Illinois from Springfield to Quincy. Photo courtesy of the Illinois Dept. of Transportation.
Pharmacist Joseph Friedman has a dream to open his own medical marijuana dispensary in Illinois. […]
One problem: Pharmacists’ federal licenses prohibit them from dispensing the drug.
That’s why Friedman, of Lincolnshire, is leading a push in Illinois to have pharmacists run marijuana dispensaries and to reclassify the drug as a “Schedule II” substance for medical use.
After Friedman’s presentation Tuesday before the Illinois State Board of Pharmacy, other leading pharmacists expressed interest in the board getting involved as the rules for medical marijuana distribution are sorted out.
Dan Linn, executive director of NORML Illinois, which works to legalize the drug, said some marijuana advocates fear that the big pharmaceutical industry will take over the potentially multibillion-dollar business, forcing out local growers and retailers.
Oh, please. The more “mainstream” this becomes, the better off everybody is gonna be. I, for one, would love to see Walgreens dispensing med-mar. And if Big Pharma wants to put its massive research facilities to use on this, why stop them? They’ve come up with some incredible medical advances over the years, and they should most definitely be included. This ain’t just a hippie thing any longer.
* Other business news…
* Illinois to see job growth with the help of Magic Johnson: Former NBA superstar Magic Johnson, the new controlling shareholder of Iowa-based EquiTrust, said the company would have 200 workers in downtown Chicago by the end of this year, and planned eventually to have 1,000 here. “You can’t do that in Iowa. If you’re gonna be the kind of insurance company that wants to draw the talent, you gotta look at a state that has 1,200 insurance companies, 28,000 people, a depth of professional capacity and skills that only a city like Chicago has,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel commented.
* Magic Johnson scores Iowa insurer for Illinois: Gov. Terry Branstad vigorously defended Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart on Tuesday when he learned that the EquiTrust move wasn’t just a paper relocation, as was initially believed. “We have a great insurance commissioner and we just had two insurance companies redomicile to Iowa,” Branstad said. Iowa is home to more than 200 insurance companies.
* Quinn seeks statewide petcoke restrictions: KCBX said it has spent $30 million upgrading its storage terminal on Burley Avenue between 108th and 111th streets, including $10 million for new dust-suppression equipment. The company is willing to enclose its petcoke piles but opposes some other requirements Quinn and Emanuel propose, including a provision in city regulations that would force storage terminals to suspend operations when wind speed exceeds 15 mph.
* I received a text message over the weekend from Oswego Willy…
Out & about and look who I have in front of me? lol
That would be Rep. Tom Cross’ car…
As most of you know, Willy wasn’t exactly Cross’ biggest fan back when Cross was the House GOP Leader. In those days, Tom might’ve thought that OW was stalking him, but Willy seems to be supportive of the guy’s statewide bid. However, he did add this…
Tom was on the phone, no hands-free. Just struck me as funny.
* Back in December, the Sun-Times ran a long piece online by Timothy Meegan entitled “Selecting charters in Chicago a rigged game.” Meegan wrote about how Neighborhood Advisory Councils (NACs) were set up to allow communities to review proposals for new charter schools…
[Neighborhood Advisory Councils] are being facilitated by members of Stand for Children, a pro charter school organization. The NW Side NAC is being facilitated by Juan Jose Gonzalez, Stand for Children’s Chicago Director, a fact he refused to reveal in public when asked at a NAC meeting. His wife facilitates the SW Side NAC. This is a glaring conflict of interest.
Mr. Gonzalez even offered one of our NAC members a job at Stand for Children, which is wholly inappropriate.
Everything done on the NAC was paid for by New Schools for Chicago, a venture philanthropy organization dedicated to charter proliferation. Their board includes CEO Barbara Byrd Bennett, Board of Education members Deborah Quazzo and President David Vitale, and Noble investor and gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner.
Why? Because charter schools become investment opportunities and tax shelters for the super wealthy. Intrinsic is funded by the Walton foundation, the Broad Foundation, New Schools for Chicago [which has received six-figure funding from the Rauner Family Foundation], and NextGen. Noble investors include Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Bruce Rauner.
New Schools for Chicago spared no expense. They catered all meals, paid for materials and meeting space. They also brought in pro charter “experts” from all over the country to guide us in the process. New Schools hired an organizer named Chris Butler to canvass for the community meetings. On December 7 I asked Mr. Butler how many people were canvassing and for how long, and what specifically they were doing, i.e. passing out flyers, door knocking, etc.
The process was rigged from the start. The NW side [Neighborhood Advisory Council] examined two high school proposals for the Belmont-Cragin area, Intrinsic and Noble. Intrinsic currently does not have location in mind for its proposed charter; Noble wants to locate its charter across the street from Prosser Career Academy.
Immediately upon joining the NW Side NAC, we had to sign a confidentiality agreement. Conversations have been limited by a very narrow criteria, allowing for almost no qualitative analysis of the proposals. Many members were uncomfortable and voiced their concerns about being limited to the CPS rubric. For example, our decisions were limited to whether non- negotiables, such as Noble’s infamous disciplinary fines, were present in the proposal, not whether they were desirable for a school in our community.
Rules seem to be made up as they go along. Our NAC was overseen by CPS officials from the Office of New Schools and Intergovernmental Affairs. After the NAC decided by majority vote to hold a community meeting at Prosser and had made arrangements with Prosser’s principal, CPS’ John Scott and Emily Metz overruled our decision, claiming the need for a more “neutral” space.
* If people believe that the last week of negative stories about Bruce Rauner has dampened the candidate’s enthusiasm, they prolly have another think coming…
Embattled Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner appeared energized and combative at a Republican candidates forum in Oak Lawn on Monday night.
“You know what, there’s an old saying in politics: ‘If you want a friend in politics get a dog.’ You know what, I got a couple of terrific bird dogs, and I’m ready to rumble,” Rauner said. “We’re good to go. This is going to be a very, very fun race.”
Most rich guys hate this sort of crud, but he obviously loves this stuff. More…
[Rauner] said the campaign for governor is going to be “rough and tumble,” adding that, “the Democrats are going to have a ton of money and they’re going to come and bomb us every day.
“You know what, we are going to bomb them right back. Quinn has the worst record of any governor in America, and we’re going to make sure every voter in this state knows it every week,” Rauner said. “We’re going to get him out of office, I promise you that.”
He told the audience that the “government union bosses are coming after us right now. We’re the worst-run state in America for one really powerful reason. The special interest groups that make their money from government and own Springfield.”
* And he was energized and unapologetic on Roe Conn’s show this week…
* Treasurer Dan Rutherford’s gubernatorial campaign filed its D-2 yesterday. Rutherford reported raising $392,583.25 in the quarter and had $1,369,468.52 cash on hand.
Since Rutherford was the first gubernatorial candidate to file ahead of a Wednesday deadline to file quarterly campaign-disclosure reports, it was too early to tell how his warchest stacked up against other funds in the four-way Republican primary, including that belonging to wealthy private equity investor Bruce Rauner.
Rauner has pumped $2.24 million of his own funds into his campaign as of early January.
“We have a large number of contributors, unlike Rauner, who has large contributions,” Rutherford spokesperson Brian Sterling said. “We get letters every day from people who support Dan. What he’s doing is certainly more on the grassroots level, so if you look from that perspective, we’re doing good.”
The highest individual contribution among the $392,583 that rolled in to Rutherford’s campaign during the three-month period came from the T-N-T Truck and Trailer Service, a Lincoln-based roadside assistance business, which gave $20,500. One of the company’s bus operators, Paul Smith, also contributed $10,000.
Farren’s, at 308 N. Randolph St., was listed on Rauner’s campaign itinerary as the last of seven Champaign stops Friday.
But no one had checked with Farren’s owner Carolyn Farren. She stopped Rauner from coming into the crowded restaurant.
“I introduced myself. He introduced himself and I said, ‘I’m sorry but you’re not going to be allowed to come in and campaign here. I had no advance knowledge of this event. It wasn’t cleared with me,’” Farren recalled. “I said, ‘It’s not because you’re a Republican or a Democrat. It has nothing to do with a political party. I just said that our restaurant is not a place for political campaigning.’ He was nice.”
All four Republican candidates for Illinois governor said fixing the state’s economic woes would be among their top priorities if they win — an issue they’ll be trying to distinguish themselves on in a state that’s home to one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates and a multibillion-dollar backlog of overdue bills.
In response to a campaign questionnaire from The Associated Press, the four contenders — state Sens. Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard, state Treasurer Dan Rutherford and Winnetka businessman Bruce Rauner — cited the need to cut spending, lower taxes, get people back to work by creating a more business-friendly climate — and “all of the above.” While offering only a few specifics, the four will no doubt be pressed on the issue in a series of upcoming debates leading up to the March 18 primary.
“Jobs. Jobs. And Jobs,” wrote Rutherford, of Chenoa, a former vice president for ServiceMaster Co., in response to an AP question asking for each candidate’s top three priorities if elected. “Illinois government finances are dire and our state is universally considered unfriendly to business. Building an environment that job creators are seeking and putting people back to work will help solve a lot of Illinois’ financial and social ailments.”
* I usually don’t ask our questions this early in the day, but I want y’all to put some thought into this one. I think we ought to send the gubernatorial candidates our own questionnaire. But I don’t think we ought to ask generic questions like the one above.
What I’m looking for here are questions that aren’t often asked, but that will likely be answered, so “gotcha” questions are out of the equation. Don’t bother.
* Here’s one I came up with to get the ball rolling…
What approximate percentage of blame do you believe that longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan deserves for this state’s current fiscal and economic conditions?
That could be fun.
A few more possibles…
Do you support any additional restrictions above and beyond the current Illinois concealed carry law, and/or do you favor rolling back any of the current state restrictions? Please list your proposals.
Now that gay marriage is the law of the land, do you support any further legislation to clarify, restrict or expand the new law, or do you favor total repeal? Please list your proposals, if any.
Would you favor any further pension reforms for the state, above and beyond those which have already been signed into law? Please list your proposals.
* The Question: Your questions for the gubernatorial candidates? And remember, no “gotcha” stuff and no snark. Take it seriously, please. Thanks.
…Adding… I know I asked you to take this seriously, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have any fun with your questions. Most answers so far have been super-serious. You can feel free try to lighten it up a little and add some snap without snark. Thanks.
Tuesday was the first of several forums planned in advance of the GOP primary for Illinois governor.
Three of the candidates, state Sen. Bill Brady, state Treasurer Dan Rutherford and state Sen. Kirk Dillard attended the Will County Tea Party forum in Plainfield, but the front-runner — Bruce Rauner — was a no-show.
An empty chair was placed on stage for Rauner, who asked that a surrogate read an opening statement for him, a request that was denied.
*** UPDATE *** Dillard has first-hand knowledge of being labeled as “not a Republican.” Remember this 2010 ad?…
