* From the Quinn campaign…

On the 2nd anniversary of the date corrupt swindler Stuart Levine went to prison, a new television ad debuted featuring Republican billionaire Bruce Rauner’s direct ties to Levine. The 30-second spot, which went up today, explains how Rauner used pay-to-play to profit from taxpayer dollars with the help of one of Illinois’ most notorious swindlers. Levine reported to prison Sept. 27, 2012.

It all started in 2003 when Rauner’s firm was awarded a deal worth $50 million from the Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS). Later it was revealed that a company owned by Rauner’s firm was secretly paying $25,000 a month to Levine, a TRS Board Member, who helped Rauner get the $50 million deal. And Rauner never disclosed that egregious conflict of interest to the board, a violation of his fiduciary duty.

Levine left the company only after being indicted on federal corruption charges. He later was sent to prison.

According to Levine’s testimony during the trial of Tony Rezko, his job was to get work for CompBenefits Corp., owned in part by GTCRauner, through “whatever means were needed, including payoffs.”

There is no evidence that “Rauner used pay-to-play” here. Yeah, it looks hinky on its face, but that’s a bit of a stretch, to say the least.

* The ad…

* The script…

Narrator: “Billionaire Bruce Rauner was somehow able to wrangle a $50 million contract with the Illinois Teachers Retirement System. Later, an investigation revealed Rauner’s firm was secretly paying $25,000 a month to a board member who helped hand Rauner that $50 million deal. Rauner never disclosed that. Did Bruce Rauner really think, no one would find out?”

* Sun-Times…

The Quinn ad follows by two weeks the release of a Rauner commercial, which ties the governor to his one-time running mate, Blagojevich, and the “corruption, patronage, cronyism, investigations, prison” associated with the ex-governor.

I’ll open comments on Monday.