54 Comments - Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 12:44 pm: This thing is like the Energizer Bunny. It just keeps going and going and going. - wordslilnger - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 12:47 pm: What’s with the redundancy? All I can think is that the Northern District probably has a lot more staff? - Phenomynous - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 12:51 pm: I’m guessing the Springfield office is bogged down answering Reis questions, so they needed back up. - anon - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 12:57 pm: Why does this seem so ho-hum now? - Steve - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:01 pm: There’s little chance Eric Holder will allow any indictments on this before an election. When you are the corruption goalie: you are responsibilities. - too obvious - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:02 pm: Obviously not good for Quinn, but until there’s evidence anyone died or Quinn tried to personally profit financially, I’ll still yawn. In any case, Quinn has solid alibi that when he was advised of problem, he immediately took action. In Rauner’s case on multiple matters, not so much. Unless you count busting-out the joint. - John A Logan - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:06 pm: This ain’t pretty, but Quinn can weather it as long as there are no indictments issued. - wordslilnger - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:06 pm: –There’s little chance Eric Holder will allow any indictments on this before an election.– Yeah, they’re all in on it. Everyone’s looking to throw away their careers and reputations by committing felonies for Pat Quinn. It’s all upside. Whatever it was that bit you, it had rabies. - Getsold - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:06 pm: So the news is…file transfer. I don’t understand the freakout. - Mike Sadigan - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:08 pm: Nobody cares about IDOT. - Mike Sadigan - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:09 pm: or NRI. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:12 pm: “Man, we would love to continue our own investigation, but it appears TWO US Attorney offices now have a criminal investigation against the Pat Quinn Administration.” Stay on that message, please. - A guy... - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:13 pm: Well this is interesting, isn’t it? Methinks this goes a little beyond “Um, we need the originals”, but hey, that’s just me speculatin’. At the very least, curious. - DuPage Rep - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:14 pm: ==“Man, we would love to continue our own investigation, but it appears TWO US Attorney offices now have a criminal investigation against the Pat Quinn Administration.” Stay on that message, please.== Well said Mr. Willy. Let them take the 5th with the perp walk, and then say that. - Demoralized - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:23 pm: ==There’s little chance Eric Holder will allow any indictments on this before an election.== Oh please. That’s just silly. Any more silly conspiracies you want to peddle? - Judgment Day - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:27 pm: “What’s with the redundancy? All I can think is that the Northern District probably has a lot more staff?” Several possibilities…. First off, investigation responsibility could have been transferred from Central District to Northern District. Northern District had a Public Integrity unit established a while back, if still existing, this case would be tailor made for them to handle. Could be a coordination case between both Districts, with Northern District handing all the legwork up in Chicago. In which case, this is going to get interesting. It’s either going to (a) work well, in which case the Quinn administration will likely find life pretty miserable going forward, or (b) not work at all, because the fed’s won’t be able to figure out how to coordinate across District borders. But as an aside, when a ’special’ federal GJ issues subpoenas, it normally means there is sufficient smoke and fire for a case to have been opened and it’s already reached the GJ (at least on paper). These folks are obviously on the DOJ radar screen…… - VanillaMan - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:27 pm: I keep getting all these scandals and investigations confused - sorry Governor Quinn. I mean, Reformer Pat Quinn. - Nony - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:28 pm: If Quinn loses, he would be the first governor from a sitting president’s home state, and of the president’s party, to lose reelection since 1892. It would be a another big blow for the already embattled President Obama, one he can little afford if he wants to be anything other than a lame duck president for the next 2 years. it wouldn’t be that big of stretch to consider a Holder conspiracy…. - Nony - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:28 pm: **In reply to demoralized - Anon. - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:32 pm: ==Oh please. That’s just silly. Any more silly conspiracies you want to peddle?== How about Holder will quash any move toward an indictment because the president will order him to, and the president is doing this so that the governor can appoint the first lady to a cushy state position after the next presidential election? - Getsold - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:33 pm: The message the feds sent in August was that the LAC could pick up Oct. 8. Wonder if this will push it back. - Angry Republican - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:36 pm: What are the odds of the next governor continuing the indictment streak? Seems like odds are high on both candidates. Only in IL. The Libertarian candidate is starting to look better and better compared to Quinn and Rauner. - Cassiopeia - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:37 pm: This is not going to end well for some people. There becomes a point when the Feds have to indict someone when they spend significant time and resources on an investigation. - Lunchbox - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:38 pm: “This is going great!” -Homer Simpson - Judgment Day - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:39 pm: “There’s little chance Eric Holder will allow any indictments on this before an election. When you are the corruption goalie: you are responsibilities.” ———————– Not something like this. Nope. If there’s federal money involved in this one, and the Quinn administration did their usual set of screwups, there’s going to be a price to be paid. It’s hard to explain unless you actually have seen the process from the inside - but this one is just different. This has more in common with the George Ryan type investigation. We’ll see….. - 47th Ward - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:40 pm: ===How about Holder will quash any move toward an indictment because the president will order him to, and the president is doing this so that the governor can appoint the first lady to a cushy state position after the next presidential election?=== Or else Michelle will release his REAL birth certificate. Mooo hoooo haa haa! - Nony - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:42 pm: Angry Republican- I know things look bad (after all this is Illinois), but we should at least give Rauner a chance, Quinn’s had 6 years and the Democrats 14. Don’t waste your vote by voting for a 30 something Gold’s gym owner. You’d just giving a vote for Quinn by going Libertarian. - Amalia - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:49 pm: Let’s see, why would the case be looked at by the Northern Illinois District, oh, maybe because UIC is located in the District geographic area. That is where the “management” of the project was located. and since there are State Offices located in Chicago, you have both pieces up here. Plus, bigger staff to investigate. just as the Feds tell the state to stand down when they start to investigate, there may be an understanding among the Feds how this will be investigated. - Sue - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:55 pm: If Quinn is re elected this will be 1998 all over again with various people indicted up the food chain and Quinn continually telling everyone that the investigation has nothing to do with him. Do we really want four years of this? - wordslilnger - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 1:58 pm: –How about Holder will quash any move toward an indictment because the president will order him to, and the president is doing this so that the governor can appoint the first lady to a cushy state position after the next presidential election?– koo-koo Seriously, dude, a state job for obstruction of justice? You got bit by the same critter as Steve. Do you have a vague understanding of the book advances and speaking fees former occupants of the White House get? - Getsold - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 2:06 pm: Michelle will never be hard up for a job, not by any stretch of the imagination. - Judgment Day - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 2:10 pm: “If Quinn is re elected this will be 1998 all over again with various people indicted up the food chain and Quinn continually telling everyone that the investigation has nothing to do with him.” —————– There’s going to *potentially* be a lot more to this case then just Pat Quinn. In fact, this case could become more about all the ’supporting cast’ than Pat Quinn. This case gives the feds the opportunity to chase down a substantial number of local players who received money, and from a federal standpoint, it’s “Time to peel the onion”. As to where it all goes, well, kick back and enjoy the parade. IMO, if Pat Quinn wins, and the fed’s go forward with this case, Paul Vallas better be a quick study and be ready in 2 years…… - Louis G Atsaves - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 2:25 pm: Old litigation trick? Subpoena the same records twice? See if you get the same set or if something was deleted or withheld the first time? - Six Degrees of Separation - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 2:26 pm: Paul Vallas better be a quick study and be ready in 2 years… Insert joke here on how long it would take for Vallas to get up to Quinn’s “speed”. - Walter Mitty - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 2:42 pm: You can try and throw all you want about shady business deals and see if you can amass enough to change independent minds toward Quinn. The chance for Illinois to go 3 for 3 on indicted Governors is something everyone can understand. Across both aisles and certainly independents. This is essentially the only Ad that Team Rauner should run along with a positive one. Nothing else. - Anyone Remember - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 2:51 pm: Getsold Exactly! - walker - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 3:03 pm: Competing offices? There must be a prize to be won. - Ducky LaMoore - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 3:09 pm: Good luck connecting all of this to Quinn. When someone from his administration that nobody knows is indicted, and Quinn washes his hands of it, the general public will take it in stride. I mean, they have for all of the people around Rauner who ended up in the fed pen. Am I right? - Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 3:13 pm: Ducky, no. See Blagojevich, Rod or Ryan, George. - Walter Mitty - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 3:17 pm: Ducky… Simple question: Who would you rather be now or which campaign to manage? - dupage dan - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 3:19 pm: Does AG Holder even have the authority to quash a US attorney’s investigation? - Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 3:36 pm: ==- dupage dan - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 3:19 pm:== Why are we talking about Holder? Because some whacko conspiracy nut popped up with some whacko conspiracy theory. Same kind of nonsense like with the request to the LAC. Just because a whacko speaks, doesn’t mean we have to take them seriously. - Redux - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 3:37 pm: Speaking of investigations… hey, whatever happened to that nutty “whistleblower hotline” Rauner set up? Press should circle back for results and benefits to voters, as they spilled enough ink on that stunt. - Memory Loss - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 3:38 pm: I forgot was an investigation in the works when both George Ryan and Rod Blagovich were elected? In other words does it matter? as long as when the dust settles Quinn is not indicted. - madison county missy - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 3:44 pm: It truly is sad, we will soon, very likely have three governors in a row to go to jail, this is serious stuff… we will become the laughing stock above all other states, not that Quinn w8ill be the laughing stock, but because we… the citizens…a great many people are still going to vote for him in November. How do normal intelligent pragmatic people continue in this self destructive overt behavior? it is a self hate thing! We are a “sick society” with a social set of norms I cannot understand, maybe because… thankfully I was not born in Illinois I did not inherit the self destructive gene to vote willingly for destructive representation and assume it would change. I don’t understand the mindset of the majority of voters who place these folks into office repeatedly. BUT ON THE GOOD SIDE: let the jokes begin… we can now, going forward officially call him “three in a row Quinn”! or “hat trick pat” - Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 3:59 pm: == There must be a prize to be won. == Interesting observation, walker. It now looks as though there is a scalp to be claimed and someone higher up wants it for themselves? We will have to wait and see. - WhoKnew - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 4:08 pm: - madison county missy- Personally I like “& Quinn makes 3!!!” - A guy... - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 4:19 pm: Flashback to how insistent these guys were about the Audit Commission ceasing at that moment. Some assurances were made to the LAC. Looks like we might be seeing some of the result of those assurances. Maybe. - Enviros-Anon - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 4:29 pm: The voters remember what Governors Ryan and Blagojevich did to end up in prison, selling drivers licenses to truck drivers and trying to sell a US Senate seat. Nothing that Pat Quinn has been accused of doing is even remotely in the same category as the convicted Governors Ryan and Blagojevich. - Arizona Bob - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 4:30 pm: To quote Zonker in Doonesbury’s comic strip, “GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY”! Of course he was referring to Nixon, but the sentiment still applies… - wordslinger - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 4:56 pm: –I keep getting all these scandals and investigations confused - sorry Governor Quinn.– I assume you’re talking about NRI and IDOT. Two’s a big, confusing number to you? Why am I not surprised? AB, who’s guilty of what? - the koala - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 5:21 pm: Worth noting that Ryan and Blago were actually personally under investigation but Quinn is not. And never has been. - Mighty M. Mouse - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 6:05 pm: ===The voters remember what Governors Ryan and Blagojevich did to end up in prison, selling drivers licenses to truck drivers and trying to sell a US Senate seat. Nothing that Pat Quinn has been accused of doing is even remotely in the same category as the convicted Governors Ryan and Blagojevich.=== ===Worth noting that Ryan and Blago were actually personally under investigation but Quinn is not. And never has been.=== You guys are just stuck in the mud of reality. Let your imagination run wild, maybe pop a few pain killers, and you might want to wait until you have a high fever, then you’ll start to see what PQ is guilty of, in your wildest dreams, of course . . . - Arizona Bob - Tuesday, Sep 16, 14 @ 10:25 pm: Talk about irony. The public unions could go all out to get Vallas/Quinn elected. Quinn is forced to resign after he wins the election, then the public unions will be stuck with someone who DID trounce the unions at CPS, instead of someone who JUST TALKED ABOUT IT in Rauner. That WOULD be SWEET, and definitely poetic justice….. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.