* As I told you earlier this afternoon, Bobby Schilling’s campaign released a recording of what it claimed were racist remarks by a staff member in Congresswoman Cheri Bustos’ Rock Island district office.
From Bustos herself…
“These comments are unacceptable on every front. I heard them for the first time this afternoon on my drive from Peoria to Rockford. The staff member on the recording offered her resignation and I accepted effective immediately. She is no longer employed in my office. I have begun sitting down with the African American leadership in our communities to express my outrage and disappointment over these comments.”
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“Stealing the election” meme strikes again
Monday, Oct 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Several people have sent me this mailer from the IL GOP…
* As a commenter pointed out earlier today, this “stealing” claim not only sets up a “We was robbed!” battle cry after the election, but will also help fire up the base and get them to the polls before those Chicago thieves do their dirty work.
The funniest part for me, though, was that several Democrats received that mailer and then sent it to me. And one guy in a black precinct on the South Side told me over the weekend that several people in his building received the GOP flier.
Seems odd to me.
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* Before we begin, here are the requirements for passing a constitutional amendment come November…
A proposed amendment shall become effective as the amendment provides if approved by either three-fifths of those voting on the question or a majority of those voting in the election.
The math is a bit tricky because people tend to skip over those questions. But anything with over 60 percent support right now is looking good, and both proposals have that.
I’ve pulled out all of the language about registered voters on this Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll memo because I think they’re meaningless. We want to look at likely voters, so I rewrote it a bit. Also, keep in mind that this poll is ancient: September 23 through October 15. However, since there is no well-funded and active opposition to any of these questions, the responses are probably in line with current thought…
• Right to vote. Reflecting the current national debate over voting rights, respondents were asked if they favored or opposed the following provision: “No person shall be denied the right to register to vote or to cast a ballot in an election based on race, color, ethnicity, status as a member of a language minority, national origin, region, sex, sexual orientation, or income.”
Among likely voters, the results were 69.3 percent favored/strongly favored and 21.3 percent opposed/strongly opposed.
• Rights of crime victims. Respondents were asked, “Would you favor or oppose a constitutional amendment that would strengthen the Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights by increasing victims’ access to proceedings and increasing protections against harassment?”
Among the likely voters the results were 69.6 percent favored/strongly favored and 15.6 percent opposed/strongly opposed.
* The ballot questions are merely advisory, so any result over 50 will help it in the GA…
• Higher minimum wage. This question asked if voters would favor or oppose a proposal to raise the minimum wage in Illinois from $8.25 per hour to $10 per hour.
Among likely voters, 68.6 percent favored or strongly favored the proposed increase while 26.8 percent opposed or strongly opposed.
Partisan differences appeared: 89.9 percent of the Democrats favored or strongly favored while 67.0 percent of the Independents favored or strongly favored. Among likely Republican voters, 55.2 percent opposed or strongly opposed.
• Birth control: Tapping one of the most contentious political conflicts in the nation today, the respondents were asked, “Would you favor or oppose an advisory proposal to require all health insurance plans in Illinois to cover prescription birth control?”
Among likely voters, 59.3 percent strongly favored or favored while 32.6 percent opposed or strongly opposed. The most likely Democratic voters favored the measure by an 81.4 percent favor to 11.7 percent margin. The Republicans were nearly the opposite with 64.3 percent opposed or strongly opposed versus 28.1 percent who favored or strongly favored. The Independents were closer to the Democrats with 61.2 percent favorable and 33.0 percent opposed.
• Millionaire tax increase. In an attempt to measure support for the so-called “Millionaire’s Tax,” respondents were asked, “Would you favor or oppose an advisory proposal to add a 3 percent tax on all income above $1 million a year to provide additional funding to public schools?”
Among likely voters, 65 percent who favored or strongly favored and 30.2 percent opposed or strongly opposed.
83.3 percent of the Democrats favored or strongly favored the millionaire’s tax, with only 13.2 percent opposing. Two-thirds [66 percent] of the Independents favored or strongly favored, and 27.2 percent opposed. A strong majority [58.6 percent] of the Republicans opposed or strongly opposed this measure while only 36.2 percent of the Republicans most likely to vote favored or strongly favored.)
691 interviews with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
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General, you made this mess, now clarify it
Monday, Oct 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
The Illinois Republican Party sent a critical “voter fraud alert” robocall this afternoon to Republican voters and election judges, asking for heightened vigilance following a rash of questionable issues at polling locations, including Republican voters watching in shock as their voting machines changed their votes from “Republican” to “Democrat.”
“This election is far too important for anything less than 100 percent transparency and 100 percent fairness. Not a single exception will be tolerated,” said Tim Schneider, Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. “The people of Illinois are demanding a change from the failures of Pat Quinn and the Democrats in charge; we deserve nothing less than a clean and fair election.”
Voters are asked to immediately report any suspicious activity by calling or emailing TIPS@ilgop.org.
The ILGOP takes every report seriously, and is pursuing legal action where required.
Issues in the first week of early voting have included:
Schaumburg, IL: On Monday, Jim Moynihan, GOP candidate for State House, tried to vote for himself and saw the voting machine try to record his vote for his opponent instead. Election officials blamed a mysterious “calibration error.” Several similar errors were reported around the state.
Rockford, IL: On Tuesday, early voting in Rockford was suddenly shut down for hours because of two separate ballot issues.
Rock Island, IL: Congressional Candidate Bobby Schilling reported as many as 20 instances of voting machines changing Republican votes to Democrat, prompting a complaint to the Board of Elections. In the same county, Republicans were forced to take legal action to ensure full transparency and openness for poll watchers.
Danville, IL: Officials illegally began processing absentee votes last week, contrary to election law and a specific advisory from Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
Robocall text:
“Hello this is Tim Schneider, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. I’m calling Republicans today with an important voter fraud alert. Across Illinois, we are getting daily reports of Democrats trying to help Pat Quinn steal the vote so he can stay in office. In some places, when you try to vote Republican, your vote automatically switches to Democrat. It’s outrageous. And I need your help to stop it. When you go to vote — during early voting this week or on Election Day next Tuesday, November 4th — keep an eye out for possible voter fraud. If you see something, say something. Call our voter fraud hotline at 312-201-9000. Again, that’s 312-201-9000. Thank you and this call was paid for by the Illinois Republican Party.”
Man, talk about over-blown. It looks like they’re setting up a “Fraud at Polls!” argument if Rauner loses a close one.
* We’ve talked about the one-off problem in Schaumburg already. It’s really a non-issue. No votes were actually tabulated the wrong way. We discussed Rockford as well. It was a ballot printing error that caused the delay in early voting.
The Rock Island situation is different because Bobby Schilling is claiming 20 complaints. He’s known for being a bit of an exaggerator, however, so I’m wondering if any of those complaints have been officially filed with the proper authorities. RICO obviously needs to get its calibrations in order, but, again, I seriously doubt that any votes were actually cast the wrong way.
* And that brings us to the Danville case…
Danville election officials opened and processed a number of absentee ballots more than a week before the election, which local Republicans are calling a violation of state law and a threat to the fairness of the process.
Barbara Dreher, director of the Danville Election Commission, said this morning that her office has already put some absentee ballots through the tabulator, an electronic machine that processes the paper ballots. She said she knew it was a violation of a state statute, but absentee ballots were piling up in auxiliary bins in her office, in the Vermilion County Courthouse Annex in downtown Danville.
Putting them through the tabulator opened up space, she said.
Let’s be clear here: This is the way just about all county clerks did things for years. It’s not some new, nefarious plot. Only now that Attorney General Lisa Madigan decided that putting absentee ballots into the tabulator before an election somehow violates a state law passed nine years ago has this become an issue.
Yes, the county clerk election commission was stupid. And, yes, the Republicans will likely try to get those votes thrown out - and since the Democrats have sunk millions into their early voting effort, the GOP knows who will be hurt more.
* I’ve been trying to get some clarification out of Madigan’s office for days about this topic…
Election results in DuPage County could take a day longer than usual for the Election Commission to tabulate after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s recent opinion on the counting process.
Madigan’s statement, issued Oct. 15, said that ballots collected through early voting and absentee balloting cannot be counted before election polls close at 7 p.m. Nov. 4.
Specifically, the opinion said that running the ballots through tabulating equipment is a form of counting.
Joseph Sobecki, the DuPage commission’s assistant executive director, said waiting until 7 p.m. on election day will definitely impede how quickly they can report results.
“Most likely it would be pushed back about a day,” Sobecki said.
* More…
Madigan, a Democrat, issued an opinion last week in response to some “procedural issues” about vote tabulation, spokeswoman Natalie Bauer said. The opinion says state law is clear that no vote-counting should start until 7 p.m. That includes running mail-in and early votes through equipment to prepare them for vote-recording, a process which, Madigan said, “clearly constitutes ‘counting’ as that term is ordinarily understood.”
James Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, which oversees nearly 1.4 million voters, said prohibiting any activity until close of polls would mean the state’s three-largest jurisdictions – Chicago, suburban Cook County, and suburban DuPage County – “would be delayed by multiple, multiple hours before reporting even one vote.”
Allen said the board is seeking clarification from the attorney general on whether its traditional system will suffice. A machine processes and sorts the ballots and puts the results in an encrypted file that can only be ready when linked to accompanying software – something the office doesn’t do until after polls close.
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*** UPDATE *** The Bustos staffer has resigned. Click here for more info.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* From the Bobby Schilling campaign…
A constituent visiting Congresswoman Bustos’ official office in Rock Island last winter received a shocking response to a question about how the Congresswoman’s position on an issue reflect the views of constituents in new areas of the district, particularly Rockford.
The constituent recorded the conversation to reflect on it later. He asked a question on an issue and never expected such derogatory comments about the people of Rockford. He was so disturbed by the callous, cynical response he ended up giving a copy of it to the Schilling campaign. In the audio, which is attached, the constituent is told that Rockford is “very, very urban, very poor, very underprivileged,” and “Not people that spend a lot of time in church—more in jail than church.”
Here is a transcript of the dialogue from the audio clip:
Constituent: But the other areas, like Rockford or Peoria or those areas?”
Bustos’ Office: “You know, I don’t spend a lot of time in those areas. I don’t think–I’ve never heard anything in Rockford. You’ve gotta understand, the part of Rockford we have, though–”
Constituent: “Is pretty rural? Or, pretty, no, urban, isn’t it?”
Bustos’ Office: “Very, very urban, very poor, very underprivileged. Not people that, um, spend a lot of time in church [laughter]. More in jail [laughter] than church.”
Not good at all.
* Audio…
* From Congresswoman Bustos…
“The comments on this audio tape are outrageous and do not reflect my values. In every office and on the desks of every one of my staff members, there is a sign that states: ‘We pledge to provide exceptional service, treat ALL people with dignity and respect, and work every day to improve our community.’ That mission statement is what I expect of all my staff. If someone ever fails to meet that expectation, I will take appropriate action.
“Our office is in receipt of the same audio that was released to the press today, but at present have not been able to validate the audio itself, the parties involved, or where and when it may have been recorded. Once this review is complete, and if it is determined that one of my staff members made these statements, action will be taken.”
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* Big, big bucks are being spent to urge a “Yes” vote on the Crime Victims Bill of Rights constitutional amendment next month. Proponents have now lined up a celebrity spokesman. From a press release…
Kelsey Grammer may be best known for the roles he’s played in the television series Cheers and Frasier; but starting today, you’ll see him on airwaves with a more somber tone encouraging Illinois voters to vote ‘yes’ for the Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights. Grammer’s passionate involvement with this issue stems from the most horrific tragedies of his life. Grammer’s father, Frank Grammer, was murdered in 1968. Seven years later, his sister, Karen Grammer, was raped by four men and murdered in Colorado. […]
Grammer was not paid for his participation in this ad.
* The ad…
* Script…
“I’m Kelsey Grammer. Nearly 40 years ago, my sister Karen was murdered. Since that time, I have done my best to keep the man responsible for her death behind bars. In Illinois, victims and their families don’t always have that right. With the Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights, victims and their families will be informed and heard before criminals can be paroled. I urge you to vote ‘yes’ on the Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights. These people have suffered immeasurable loss. It seems doubly criminal that they might lose their voice as well.”
Thoughts?
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He’s stronger than you may think
Monday, Oct 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WTTW…
Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia is mulling whether or not to take on Rahm Emanuel and run for mayor, according to sources within the Democratic party, and within Chicago’s Latino and progressive communities.
“He’s certainly getting a lot of calls on it,” said one Latino elected official.
Garcia, considered a progressive, has served in City Council, the Illinois General Assembly, and most recently, as Commissioner of Cook County’s 7th District, encompassing largely Latino neighborhoods on the city’s southwest side and parts of Cicero. He was elected to City Council in 1986 as alderman of the 22nd ward and was a top ally of then-Mayor Harold Washington. In 1992, he was elected to the Illinois State Senate and touts himself as the first Mexican-American to hold that office. […]
One top Democratic party official said Garcia could quickly build name recognition if he got the support of Latinos, progressives, and labor unions – a coalition that the mayor is struggling with.
First, I just want to say that Chuy is one of my all-time favorite politicians. Love the guy.
* But I’d like to take this opportunity to point out something to the “progressives” who are so upset at the mayor, particularly over his refusal to support a $15 minimum wage. So, they’re bashing Emanuel for backing a $13 minimum while dumping millions to support Gov. Pat Quinn - who supports a $10 minimum wage?
Kinda screwy if you ask me. [Also, Rahm has given the progressive darling Quinn $225K since March - more than any other Illinois politician.]
The city, like just abut all major US cities these days, has moved far to the Left of where it was 10 years ago. Emanuel belatedly found that out the hard way and is now clearly recalibrating.
* Also, as far as the unions are concerned, Emanuel has considerable union support. AFSCME just got a new contract, and hizzoner is supporting AFSCME’s attempt to unionize taxi drivers. SEIU is backing the mayor on the minimum wage and other issues, and the trades are pretty much universally on board.
That leaves the CTU and some smaller unions on the outs with Emanuel.
* Racially speaking, to oversimplify things, you need two out of the three predominant racial demographics to win Chicago - whites, blacks or Latinos, or a combination of major subgroups within those blocs. I can see a path for Emanuel (as long as he continues the leftward recalibration) more than I can for Garcia (who will likely scare the big money types into ignoring Emanuel’s lurch away from them).
Chuy is one heckuva stump speaker, and I’d love to see him save the city from the cringe-inducing thumping that 2nd Ward Ald. Bob Fioretti will likely receive from Emanuel. I mean, who the heck hires a campaign manager fresh off his humiliating management of the failed remap amendment, for crying out loud?
But Garcia has never impressed me as much of a fundraiser. So, let’s see what kind of team he puts together before anointing him as the Second Coming.
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* Rauner one-upped Quinn on the Ebola scare today. From the twitters…
Rauner also said that the governor’s plan to require a 21-day home quarantine should’ve been done sooner.
The governor’s office says Gov. Quinn does not favor a travel ban.
* Meanwhile…
Illinois Department of Public Health Director LaMar Hasbrouck said Monday the state’s approach strikes the “right balance” by enforcing a home quarantine only for the highest-risk cases.
The Illinois 21-day mandatory home quarantine won’t be used for medical workers if they wore personal protective equipment correctly while treating Ebola patients in West Africa.
Hasbrouck says Illinois wasn’t directly influenced by a New York doctor who went bowling before testing positive for Ebola. But he says that New York case “played into the urgency” for a public announcement.
Illinois has no confirmed Ebola cases and nobody is in quarantine.
*** UPDATE *** Rauner campaign statement…
Gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner today expressed serious concerns over Governor Quinn’s refusal to support a travel ban applied to countries affected by Ebola.
“I support Senator Kirk’s call on the State Department to issue a visa and travel ban on those attempting to travel from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone,” Rauner said. “It is troubling that Governor Quinn would not support a travel ban particularly given that O’Hare is one of the world’s busiest airports. Pat Quinn has failed Illinois on jobs, on education, on taxes, and on crime; we can’t afford another failure on a potentially very serious public health hazard.”
Senator Kirk’s proposal is common sense and supported by the vast majority of people in Illinois and America. It has won bi-partisan support.
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Hopefully, our problems are behind us
Monday, Oct 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We had so many site outages last week, mainly from crushing traffic, that my hosting company recommended some changes. Here’s what they did…
We installed a front-end proxy server called Varnish. It should help with your database load by caching static pages, lowering the amount of database queries your SQL server has to process.
Whatever that is, I hope it works.
Just thought you’d like to know.
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Question of the day
Monday, Oct 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Chicago, IL – Billionaire gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner is opposed to raising the minimum wage “depending on what day you ask him about it,” wrote Gapers Block this morning. Despite Rauner’s clear advocacy for lowering or outright eliminating the minimum wage, Rauner has falsely denied such a position and said he was misunderstood.
On Friday, after having months to reflect on his minimum wage position, Rauner made it clear that he remains strongly opposed to raising the minimum wage. Below is an excerpt of Rauner’s interview with the State Journal Register Editorial Board:
SJR: “You’ve said you were ‘adamantly adamantly’ against raising the minimum wage. You’ve said it here many times.”
Rauner: “Yes. Yes. Exactly because Illinois is not competitive. One of the reasons we have a higher unemployment rate than the states around us is because we have a higher minimum wage than the states around us.”
“Rauner has once again shown his true colors. If he gets his way, he’ll slash taxes for big corporations, defund education, and lower the state’s minimum wage,” said Neal Waltmire, Communications Director for Illinois Freedom PAC. “Rauner’s Wall Street agenda has been tried before and it led to the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Make no mistake, Rauner’s heart is with Wall Street, not the hard-working families of Illinois.”
* Paul Vallas said today that Rauner “doesn’t get it”…
“Bruce Rauner opposes the minimum wage because it cuts into profits,” Vallas said at a news conference outside the state Capitol. “He said a higher minimum wage is bad for the economy. How absurd.”
Vallas said 13 states that raised their minimum wage have seen better economic performance than the country as a whole.
…Adding… More of what Rauner said…
I want an answer, how do we grow, who do we increase our competitiveness? I’ve got the answers, and they’re two darned good answers, that’s what I do, come up with answers. Increase the national minimum wage so it’s above IL. Then we don’t hurt our competitiveness which is the reason I’ve been commenting on the minimum wage. I would support that. Great, then IL companies are now competitive and we can grow our economy. And we can help our working families. Or increase IL’s minimum wage but combine it with pro growth strategy - workers comp, tort, tax, so then businesses aren’t causing more unemployment, shedding workers, and leaving the state, we’re more competitive and then we can raise the minimum wage and have it better for everybody. So there’s answers, there’s solutions, bipartisan, I can get that done. Pat Quinn’s had six years to fix the minimum wage and he hasn’t.
* The Question: Do you believe Illinois’ higher minimum wage has damaged our economic competitiveness? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
surveys & polls
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Possibly flawed poll results
Monday, Oct 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As you know, I’m not a fan of polls conducted via online means. But since the New York Times and CBS News are putting their names on these YouGov polls, I figure we’d better cover them. This poll, like the last one, was taken over an extended period of time - 8 days in this instance, 10/16 - 10/23.
And, like Rasmussen Results, the YouGov poll only asked about “other” candidates, rather than list the Libertarian’s name. That’s not good at all.
With all that being said, the YouGov poll has Gov. Pat Quinn leading Bruce Rauner 45-41. That’s a bit wider spread than last month, when YouGov had Quinn up 46-43.
* Let’s look at some models. HuffPo poll tracker...
* TPM…
* Real Clear Politics…
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* From a press release issued late Friday night…
Governor Pat Quinn today ordered the Illinois Department of Public Health to require a mandatory 21-day home quarantine for high-risk individuals who have had direct contact with an individual infected with the Ebola virus while in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea.
The mandatory quarantine order includes any high-risk medical personnel who have performed medical services to individuals infected with the Ebola virus. The order will be implemented by local health departments across the state.
Previously these high-risk individuals were subject to a voluntary quarantine.
“This protective measure is too important to be voluntary,” Governor Quinn said. “We must take every step necessary to ensure the people of Illinois are protected from potential exposure to the Ebola virus. While we have no confirmed cases of the Ebola virus in Illinois, we will continue to take every safeguard necessary to protect first responders, healthcare workers and the people of Illinois.”
This directive was issued to every local health department in Illinois earlier today.
* But a similar (although non-home) quarantine didn’t hold up in New Jersey…
An American nurse who has tested negative for Ebola is being released after days in quarantine in New Jersey.
Kaci Hickox, who told CNN the quarantine was violating her rights, is being discharged, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s office said Monday.
New York and New Jersey both followed Illinois’ lead over the weekend and are now allowing for home confinement during the quarantine.
* More…
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has approved an executive order mandating twice-daily 21-day health monitoring for people returning from Ebola-affected Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The order, signed Saturday, gives Florida Department of Health authorities the go-ahead to work alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify people who have recently returned to Florida from those areas so they can be monitored, the governor’s office said in a news release.
Virginia is following suit. The state is implementing an “active monitoring program” for all returning passengers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, “with a special emphasis on returning health care workers,” Virginia governor’s spokesman Brian Coy has said.
* There’s a new federal policy in place, and DC officials think it’s better than the state policy for one big reason…
A top federal health official publicly criticized Christie and Cuomo on Sunday, saying the two states’ quarantine rule could discourage health workers from helping fight Ebola in Africa, which would ultimately endanger the United States.
“I’m concerned of the disincentive for the health care workers,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.
A federal policy starting Monday requires all travelers coming to the United States from Ebola-affected areas to be actively monitored for 21 days.
Your thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** The governor was asked about the new policy today…
“We definitely, definitely honor all of those heroes, men and women who go forward to help the health of others,” Quinn said. “At the same time, upon their return if they have been directly exposed, it’s just common sense that there be this 21-day period in someone’s home, where they are comfortable, in order to make sure everyone is not affected.”
Quinn emphasized that the home quarantine would allow visitors and is different from keeping someone in a designated site as in New Jersey, which he said was “very wrong.”
The governor said no one was in quarantine as of Monday morning.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Another four-point margin
Monday, Oct 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A second poll has Tom Cross leading Mike Frerichs by four points in the state treasurer’s race. This one’s from the Tribune…
* But there’s some good news for Frerichs in the xtabs…
The poll found Frerichs with 59 percent to 11 percent for Cross in Democratic-dominated Chicago, with 23 percent undecided. Cross, meanwhile, held the advantage in suburban Cook County, the traditional GOP-leaning collar counties and in the 96 counties outside the Chicago metropolitan area.
The large percentage of undecided voters in the city was reflected in Frerichs getting only 64 percent support from Democratic voters while 75 percent of Republicans backed Cross. Among independents, Cross held a 42 percent to 17 percent edge over Frerichs with 27 percent undecided.
If and/or when Chicagoans and Democrats come home, that’ll definitely boost Frerichs.
But that indpendent split is not good news for Frerichs.
* Meanwhile, the Illinois State Board of Elections voted 7-1 last week that the Frerichs campaign’s complaint against the Cross campaign “was not filed on justifiable grounds.” Frerichs alleged that Cross, “failed to file required A-1 reports, exceeded contribution limitations, and the political candidate of the committee maintained and established more than one candidate political committee for the office sought by the candidate.” The vote overturned a hearing officer’s recommendation.
* In other news, the Frerichs campaign wants you to know that Treasurer Dan Rutherford has endorsed Tom Cross. They want you to know this because Cross hasn’t yet put the endorsement on his campaign page.
*** UPDATE *** The hearing officer’s report is here…
RECOMMENDATION
For the reasons set forth above, it is the Recommendation of the Hearing Examiner that the Board find as follows:
1) The Complaint has been filed on justifiable grounds as to the 7 expenditures listed above that Respondent indicated should have been attributed to Cross for Treasurer rather than Citizens to elect Tom Cross State Representative.
Strategic Media Services $ 7,095.58
Scientific Flight 2,594.82
Nevins 2,461.15
Quick Signs 340.00
Sheraton 1,120.00
Sheraton 206.65
Enterprise 198.00
TOTAL: $ 14,016.62
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* Gov. Pat Quinn finally received a “real” newspaper endorsement over the weekend when the Rockford Register Star weighed in…
Northern Illinois might have reverted to cornfields if not for unprecedented investment by the state under the guidance of Gov. Pat Quinn.
— At one point, fewer than 200 workers were employed at Chrysler’s assembly plant in Belvidere. The factory was on the verge of closing, but it has bounced back with Quinn’s help and now has three shifts running with 4,500 employees.
— Woodward Inc. could have built its $300 million manufacturing campus on the other side of the state line. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker tried hard to lure Woodward, but Quinn and his team helped the company expand in Loves Park. If Woodward had decided to build elsewhere, we wouldn’t have the Transform Rockford movement, which was created by Woodward CEO Tom Gendron and aims to make this one of the best places to live in the country in the next decade.
— AAR Corp. is building a 200,000-square-foot jet maintenance, repair and overhaul hub at Chicago Rockford International Airport. The MRO is expected to create at least 500 jobs, jobs that pay well. Quinn and his team, along with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, helped make that happen.
— Infrastructure projects like the Morgan Street bridge, South Main Street, passenger rail, and the widening of the Jane Addams Tollway are four examples of what Quinn’s done. Nippon Sharyo in Rochelle and his support of community health centers, such as Crusader Community Health, underscore his commitment to northern Illinois.
* But that’s as far as Quinn got. The State Journal-Register actually endorsed Rauner on Sunday…
This brings us back to the idea of vision. In light of the state’s persistent fiscal challenges, which governor is best suited to jumpstart the economy and has a plan to do so?
We believe Rauner’s ambitious, growth-minded reforms may be the medicine this state needs to revive itself.
But our advice, should he be elected: forget about working the floor of the legislature or being in committee meetings, as he has vowed to do. Instead, he should surround himself with principled, highly regarded aides who know Illinois government and can convey his vision to lawmakers on his behalf.
The Decatur Herald & Review, the Bloomington Pantagraph and the Quad City Times all endorsed Rauner as well.
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* I was hearing from some folks last week that a detectable backlash was growing on the South Side against African-American pastors who are supporting Republican Bruce Rauner for governor. But some idiot or idiots got way out of hand, threatening Rev. Corey Brooks…
“The death threats seem to be related to Bruce Rauner,” Brooks said at the church Saturday. “They say his name as well as mine and most of the references were in response to me in support of him. So it’s really derogatory, real racial, a lot of homophobic words. It’s real life threatening.”
Brooks said he received the five phone calls on Friday. He recorded one of them, and provided it to police. In that call, which was played for the Sun-Times, a man’s voice is disguised via a high-pitched filter. He is heard calling Brooks a “token n—–.”
“We on you boy, we on you. And you ain’t got nobody that can stop us, nobody. Who you go [to] the deacons? They can’t stop us. We going to beat your fat a– in front of your mama congregation Sunday. Yeah we going to steal the sheep of the hypocrite. You’s a hypocrite we going to beat your fat a– in front of your own congregation. Who you got that…f— we going to beat their a– too. They can’t protect you. You sell out you Uncle Tom a– n—–. You token. You a puppet for Bruce Rauner you puppet n—– a–. P—- a– n—–,” the voice says on the recording.
Brooks said he believes his family is in danger, which prompted him to move to a temporary home until the threats are investigated.
* And Brooks’ church was broken into Friday night…
“I don’t know who did it,” Brooks said. He did, however, say it was quite a “coincidence” that a burglar smashed a glass charity box in his church and stole $8,000 at some point overnight Friday into Saturday, just hours after he received the threatening phone calls.
A maintenance worker found the church’s back doors shattered Saturday morning. The money was being collected to build a community center across from the church. Police said they were notified of the burglary.
Brooks said the burglary isn’t going to stop church services or the fundraising needed to build the community center.
* There will, however, be no more politicians at Brooks’ church for the remainder of the campaign…
Brooks offered prayers for both Rauner and Quinn, but said that after Rauner’s appearance Sunday, politicians will no longer be invited to address his members — declaring that the nasty nature of the campaign has distracted from the church’s main mission.
* Rauner would only answer “We don’t know,” when asked by reporters if he thought the Quinn campaign was involved, but did say this…
“I’m very concerned,” Rauner said. “It seems like right at the time of his involvement and support of our campaign, some very bad things are happening. It’s very upsetting.”
* Gov. Quinn had this to say…
“I don’t believe at any time any threats or intimidation are proper in any election. I’ve said that before,” Quinn said. “I also think it isn’t right for any candidate to go around Illinois trying to cut the minimum wage and take thousands of dollars out of the pockets of people who live from paycheck to paycheck earning $8.25 an hour.”
* Jim Oberweis react…
“No person in America should be threatened for exercising their constitutional right of free expression. I am extremely distressed that courageous pastor Corey Brooks and his family received multiple vile racist threats and their church burglarized for expressing a political viewpoint he believes would best improve his community. I have the privilege of being friends with Pastor Brooks and believe there is no one in Chicago who has done more to stop violence in his community and courageously tell the truth about inner city problems. We all need to stand with him against these unacceptable threats. In addition, we need the Department of Justice to immediately investigate and hold accountable the persons responsible.”
* Dick Durbin react…
“I think it ought to be investigated at every level. There’s no room for intimidation in political campaigns, left, right or center. There’s no room for violence, including property violence. I believe there should be a complete investigation.”
“It’s worthy of taking up with the U.S. Attorney’s office so that they look into it.”
* Related…
* VIDEO: Bruce Rauner and Pastor Brooks talk politics and crime
* VIDEO: $8,000 Stolen from New Beginnings Church
* VIDEO: Pastor Stands With Rauner After Death Threats And Burglary Of His Church
* VIDEO: Rauner vs Quinn per the Preacher
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Appearances do not equal reality
Monday, Oct 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly, syndicated newspaper column…
Perhaps the worst thing to happen to journalism over the years is its simplistic over-reliance on the mere “appearance of impropriety” to justify big, splashy stories.
No actual wrongdoing need ever be found, just something that might look a bit fishy to a reporter’s overly suspicious eyes.
It’s one of the nation’s most antidemocratic trends because it’s solely based on the foundation that everybody is corrupt. There’s no need to “prove” anything, just one or two distant connections is enough to justify destroying somebody’s reputation - which didn’t deserve protection anyway because everybody is so evil.
The most extreme local examples of this troublesome mindset appeared in the Chicago Tribune over the summer. The paper ran two front-page stories about alleged political interference in the teacher certification process.
One of the more egregious examples the reporters used to justify their hype was a legislative constituent who had contributed just a few hundred dollars over the years and then came up with a pretty darned good idea, pitched it to his state Representative, who passed it along to a fellow member. The bill was overwhelmingly approved and signed into law. Only someone who’d never been close to a legislative process for the past 200 years would deem that sequence of events corrupt, but deliberate ignorance is what drives this entire appearance of impropriety movement.
And that brings us to Dave McKinney, who resigned last week as the Statehouse Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times.
McKinney married political consultant Ann Liston in April. Months before, however, McKinney, Liston and her business partner Eric Adelstein constructed a super-strong “firewall” between Liston and Illinois politics. Adelstein formed a new company to handle all Illinois accounts and Liston would not participate in those campaigns nor receive any compensation. The Sun-Times signed off in January.
By all rights, that should’ve been the end of it. The Rauner campaign knew about McKinney’s marriage and never once complained, especially when McKinney was repeatedly and thoroughly gutting Gov. Pat Quinn over his botched 2010 anti-violence initiative.
Rauner’s campaign waited until October to play the “appearance of impropriety” card against McKinney when the Sun-Times ran a big story about how two people swore in affidavits that Rauner had issued threats against a top female executive at one of his investment firm’s companies.
After failing to derail the piece, the Rauner campaign launched an attack on McKinney, who was just one of the story’s three authors.
Rauner’s campaign falsely charged that Liston was directly involved with, and directly profiting from, anti-Rauner efforts in Illinois. McKinney should never have been put on the story, they claimed, even though two other reporters were involved, both from the local NBC TV affiliate, and the paper’s editors had thoroughly vetted and approved the piece.
Instead of just telling the Rauner people to go suck an egg, McKinney’s bosses sidelined the reporter for the better part of the week. Rauner had successfully used the “appearance of impropriety” attack against one of the state’s top political reporters just three weeks before an election. McKinney hired famed former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins, and was quickly taken off his informal suspension.
But the paper balked at putting McKinney back on his own beat. He was offered other positions at the paper, which he considered demotions. And then his editors initially refused to put his byline on a follow-up piece to the Rauner threat story. Appearances, ‘ya know. McKinney quit.
But the Sun-Times has its own “appearance of impropriety” problems. Rauner owned ten percent of the paper until last year. A published report claims Rauner purchased 900,000 shares of a once struggling business controlled by the chairman of the Sun-Times’ parent company.
Even worse, the paper’s publisher called the Rauner campaign’s allegations against McKinney, “spurious,” as well as “inaccurate and defamatory.” Yet that same publisher reversed his almost three year-old policy of never endorsing candidates and approved an enthusiastic endorsement of Rauner around the very same time, leading many to ask why he would back someone for the state’s top job after the candidate had “defamed” the guy who would be covering Rauner in Springfield if he’s elected.
One would hope that journalists and their editors would learn from this debacle. The appearance of impropriety is always in the eye of the beholder. It’s absolutely impossible to defend against if someone is willing to suspend all disbelief and push that angle hard enough.
But this mindset is just too deeply embedded to be abandoned so easily, even after it unjustly derailed a good man’s career.
* Related…
* Carol Marin: The job of reporters is to report: Though the Rauner campaign claimed the court found Christine Kirk’s lawsuit frivolous and unfounded, that’s simply not true. The judge dismissed the case on technical legal grounds and never weighed in — pro or con — on the truthfulness of the threat allegations. However, in a ferociously close election, a “scorched earth” philosophy is not unusual inside a campaign. And so the Rauner team went over our heads to our bosses at NBC5 and the Sun-Times and, in a last-ditch effort to kill the story, claimed that Dave’s wife, Democratic political strategist Ann Liston, was actively engaged in anti-Rauner efforts. It wasn’t true. Sun-Times management knew it. And so did NBC5. And together they published our joint report on television and in print.
* Rauner Denies Newspaper Accusations: Calling the matter an “internal” issue at the newspaper, Rauner said he had nothing to do with any of it other than routine complaints and comments which he characterized as part of the give-and-take of any campaign and media organization. “I don’t want to get in the middle of that,” he said Thursday in Bloomington. “I’ve had nothing to do with it.”
* Editorial: The Rauner, Sun-Times dust-up
* Editorial: Campaign takes a strange twist
Opinion: Sun-Times Squanders Trust Right When City, State Need it Most
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Reader comments closed for the weekend
Friday, Oct 24, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* If you’re going to the Lutheran Social Services of Illinois event tomorrow, I’ll see you there. If you still haven’t bought a ticket, click here. If you contributed and can’t go, thank you very much. If you can’t go and haven’t contributed, please click here.
* And since I know many readers will continue working on their respective campaigns hours after I shut down comments here tonight, how about we give those folks something to pep them up a bit? Mountain will play us out…
She moved better on wine
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* I received this text last night. I’m getting tons of texts these days, so for whatever reason I didn’t see it until this afternoon…
Just got a text from someone who saw a new Quinn ad on cbs 2 here in Chgo
Said it had a survivor of a nursing home victim talking to camera
I’ve been asking for the ad for the past couple of hours. Anybody seen it?
Hopefully, this post will break it loose from the Quinn campaign.
*** UPDATE *** It’s out. It’s OK. Don’t think it’s a killer punch, though…
I’ll leave comments opened for a while so you can digest this one.
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* The Illinois Chamber’s president sent his members an urgent e-mail today about a poll he’d commissioned…
The poll, completed just last night, shows Rauner receiving 44.9% support to 41.1% for Quinn and 6.4% for Libertarian candidate Grimm. The 3.8% margin is outside of the poll’s 3.36% margin of error.
* The minimum wage referendum result is no surprise, but the millionaire’s tax kinda is…
Please don’t overlook two referendums on the ballot that are intended to show support for proposals that would cause even greater harm to small businesses. One asks voters whether the minimum wage in Illinois should be raised to $10/hour.
Our poll shows that when voters are not educated on this issue - Illinois already has the highest minimum wage in the Midwest - a majority of voters support its surface appeal.
The second referendum asks if voters support a so-called “millionaires’ tax” which would increase income taxes on small business owners and entrepreneurs. Fortunately, it looks as if more voters recognize the negative impact of raising taxes on jobs creators. A majority opposing the tax in our poll.
* Other results…
US Senate: Durbin (D) 48.9%; Oberweis (R) 38.2%; Hansen (L) 5.7%
Attorney General Madigan (D) 50.6%; Schimpf (R) 32.9%; Koyl (L) 5.0%
Treasurer Cross (R) 36.8%; Frerichs (D) 32.9%; Shopek (L) 5.4%
Still lots of undecideds in that treasurer’s race.
* Methodology…
The survey was conducted over three nights from 10/21-10/23 by polling firm Cygnal. It includes 853 respondents for a margin of error of +/- 3.36%. 22% of respondents were contacted on cell phones.
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Last call for tickets!
Friday, Oct 24, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I know some of you can’t make it to the Lutheran Social Services of Illinois’ 33rd Annual Amicus Certus celebration tomorrow night because you’re working campaigns, or it’s out in Arlington Heights, or whatever.
But, hey, how many times is an upstanding institution like LSSI gonna honor me for being a “true friend”? You should go.
Plus, how many times are you gonna see me in a tuxedo? By the way, check out the swank hall…
* So buy a ticket. If you don’t want to use the online form, just contact Ed Newton at 847-635-4656 or Edward.Newton@LSSI.org. You can be a sponsor as well by clicking here.
And if you legitimately can’t make it, click here and donate.
* The folks at LSSI have done a great job with the event and with ticket sales. I just figured I’d try to help out at the end by giving it one little extra push. So click here and get going!
Thanks.
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[The following is a paid advertisement]
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Voters prioritize a clean energy future.
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The survey was completed by a bipartisan research team of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3) and Public Opinion Strategies. More info on this poll is available at ilenviro.org/cleanenergypoll.
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* From the Chicago Newspaper Guild…
Members of the Chicago Sun-Times newsroom have questions for Sun-Times CEO Timothy Knight and its parent company Wrapports board chairman Michael Ferro following the resignation of Chicago Sun-Times political reporter Dave McKinney. McKinney wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times for almost two decades. He co-authored a recent piece about litigation involving a former LeapSource business executive,who alleged that Illinois government candidate Bruce Rauner threatened her, her family and her future job prospects. The story ran with the backing and support of Sun-Times editors, McKinney wrote in his open resignation letter. However, McKinney said after the Rauner campaign pressured his superiors, he was yanked from his beat, placed on leave for a week and then was not allowed back to his political beat. Rauner is reported to be a former investor in Sun-Times Media. This situation raises ethical questions about what happens when politicians and investors interfere with news content.
* The petition…
Mr. Michael Ferro and Mr. Timothy Knight:
We are deeply troubled by the situation leading up to Dave McKinney’s resignation. It raises incredible questions about whether Sun-Times reporters risk retaliation from management after writing stories unfavorable to a politician or our company’s investors.
We have basic concerns about whether we will be able to do our jobs moving forward without interference.
We want to know: did a politician or someone tied to that politician lodge a complaint with Mr. Ferro over a story? If there was indeed a breach in the firewall that is supposed to exist between owners and the newsroom, how do we know that will not reoccur? Would you or Mr. Knight address the newsroom to answers these questions and others?
Respectfully,
Chicago Sun-Times Newsroom and supporters
Get over there.
Any bets on how many BGA execs will be signing?’
Hat tip: Ahern.
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Same song, different century
Friday, Oct 24, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I couldn’t embed it, so click the pic for a brief video of then Illinois Treasurer Pat Quinn campaigning at Eli’s Cheesecake Factory for then Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton in 1992. Quinn could’ve given that same speech today, right down to the “Make the will of the people the law of the land” line. Today’s speech might be longer, however, since he’s now governor. You can skip the first 45 seconds or so if you want…
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Question of the day
Friday, Oct 24, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois Review…
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Oberweis was interviewed today on Watchdog Radio with Ben Yount. When asked about his position on gay marriage, Oberweis said: “times change” and “attitudes change”. […]
…Oberweis is personally against gay marriage. A campaign spokesman told IR that Oberweis’ quote about times changing “refers to the ability of social conservatives to be able to stop the momentum toward government allowing it
* Tribune…
Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin enters the final days of his campaign for a fourth term holding a substantial advantage over Republican challenger Jim Oberweis, a new Chicago Tribune poll shows.
The survey found Oberweis, a first-term state senator from the far western suburbs, making headway in his home base of the collar counties. But Oberweis is running into a political dynamic that’s been one of Durbin’s strengths over the years — a dual base of support. Not only is Durbin racking up big numbers in heavily Democratic Chicago, but he’s from Springfield and is holding his own downstate.
The math adds up to 50 percent for Durbin and 36 percent for Oberweis. Libertarian candidate Sharon Hansen had 6 percent, while another 7 percent of voters were undecided or supported someone else.
Oberweis is up for reelection in the Illinois Senate in two years.
* The Question: Do you think he’ll run for state Senate again in two years, run for something else or retire? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please. Those of you who choose “something else” should also state your predictions of what that “something else” might be.
survey tools
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Quinn finally wins a newspaper endorsement!
Friday, Oct 24, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’m not sure, however, that touting support from Illinois State University’s student newspaper is gonna look all that convincing in a TV ad…
The Vidette Editorial Board chooses to endorse Pat Quinn for the position of governor of Illinois in the 2014 General Election.
Such crisp enthusiasm!
But, hey, at least the guv finally broke his losing streak… kinda.
* Meanwhile, Bruce Rauner finally chatted with the SJ-R’s editorial board today…
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* Progress Illinois has some oppo on another business relationship between Bruce Rauner and Sun-Times parent company Chairman Mike Ferro…
Ferro and Rauner have a long-standing relationship, having worked on a number of deals together, including purchasing the parent company of Sun-Times Media, Wrapports LLC. Prior to running for governor, Rauner sold his share of the company to Ferro for $5 million.
But what many do not know is that Rauner also invested millions into Merge Healthcare, for which Ferro’s company, Merrick Ventures, paid $20 million for a controlling stake in 2008.
Merge Healthcare was close to going under when Ferro jumped in to save the health records and imaging software firm. By 2010, Rauner owned 900,000 shares of Merge Healthcare. Other notable Chicago-area billionaires who bought into the struggling company, once stewarded by Ferro as chairman, include J.B. Pritzker and Matt Hulszizer.
Rauner has since divested from Merge Healthcare. But the business relationship is still a notable one considering the multi-millionaire once plunged millions of dollars into a struggling company owned by Ferro. And considering many question whether the Sun-Times’ recent decision to endorse Rauner, after the newspaper stayed out of the endorsement game for three years, has to do with the GOP candidate’s former ties to the newspaper and Ferro, one can only logically extend that train of thought to the Merge Healthcare deal.
Gov. Pat Quinn’s camp, along with numerous community groups and organizations in the state, have repeatedly requested that Rauner release his full tax returns and schedules from previous years as a means to ensure that the GOP candidate is clear of business relationships that could be a conflict of interest if he were to take office as governor. […]
Those cries for transparency could be validated and strengthened by the Sun-Times’ McKinney debacle, as Rauner’s ties to Ferro are at the very least questionable when looking at how the endorsement and the veteran reporter’s treatment at the newspaper has played out.
Discuss.
* Related…
* Few legal options for ex-Sun-Times reporter
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Bost’s “anger,” Cook’s ratings, Foster’s ad
Friday, Oct 24, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico has a big profile of Mike Bost today…
He’s preoccupied by the scrutiny into what’s become known simply as “the dog story” — the resurfacing of which, he insists, is the work of Democrats trying to damage him. As he pulled into his driveway on Sunday afternoon, after showing a POLITICO reporter around his neighborhood, his Labradoodle, Betty, darted in front of his car.
“What if I killed a second dog in front of a reporter?” he joked darkly as Betty scampered up the steps to his house.
During a parade in Mt. Vernon on Saturday, nearly a dozen people told Bost they’d seen the ads about his temper. But most of them seemed unconcerned. “I see you on TV,” one man said to laughter from the candidate. “Don’t you be getting mad at me!”
Another voter said the ads made her want to vote for Bost. “About time someone got mad,” she said.
* Let’s move along to Charlie Cook…
IL-10: Brad Schneider (D) - Chicago north suburbs: Lake Shore
Toss Up. Schneider unseated Dold by just a point in 2012 with the help of President Obama’s 58 percent showing in this district, but some voters still think Dold is the incumbent. Unlike in 2012, Schneider has outraised Dold. But this year, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn may not carry the 10th CD. Most polls continue to show the race tied or within the margin of error. It’s a total coin flip once again.
IL-12: Bill Enyart (D) - Southwest border: East St. Louis, Carbondale
Toss Up. Even though Enyart won by nine points in 2012, both parties now consider him the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the state. GOP state Rep. Mike Bost has simply outworked Enyart so far, and Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is about to get clobbered in Downstate Illinois. Enyart benefited from a late surge in 2012, and Democrats have tried to pull out all the stops here once again.
In September, as expected, Democrats launched ads using infamous footage of a Bost temper tantrum on the floor of the Illinois State House. Some GOP operatives believe Bost’s outrage at the legislative leadership is actually shared by most voters in the 12th CD, so Bost tried to spin it to his advantage. Republicans believe Bost is still leading the incumbent, but it’s anyone’s guess.
IL-17: Cheri Bustos (D) - West: Rock Island, parts of Peoria and Rockford
Lean Democratic. Democrats are much more confident about Bustos’s reelection prospects than those of several others in the state. This is a Democratic-leaning seat by design, and Bustos is an energetic campaigner who has styled herself as a Blue Dog. However, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is badly behind in this district, and Bustos got some bad press for failing to forgo her congressional pay during the shutdown as promised.
Meanwhile, former GOP Rep. Bobby Schilling is back for the rematch with a new campaign team that includes experienced hands rather than his son, who managed the 2012 race. Republicans aren’t expressing as much enthusiasm for this race as they did a month ago, and a new We Ask America survey showed Bustos leading 55 percent to 39 percent. It’s not one of the GOP’s better opportunities at the moment.
* Lynn Sweet…
Rep. Bill Foster D-Ill., a physicist, is running his first television spot in his race against state Rep. Darlene Senger, an upbeat piece starting Friday that portrays him as a little boy fixing an old TV set — with dials — and as a young scientist studying proton decay.
The two Naperville residents are battling for the 11th Congressional District seat, turf that includes portions of the western suburbs, including large chunks of Aurora, Joliet and Naperville.
The ad goes on to show the adult Foster who says his priorities in Congress are raising the minimum wage and changing the law so student can refinance student loan debt.
* The ad...
Kind of a weird segue to the minimum wage, but whatevs.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
“Exelon Corp. is urging state utility regulators to press for changes in power markets that would boost revenue at the company’s Illinois nuclear power fleet by about $580 million.” [Crain’s Chicago Business, September 24, 2014]
Exelon wants a $580 million rate hike!! $580 million…for what??? Even if ratepayers bail out Exelon’s plants with $580 million every year, they won’t even guarantee to keep the plants open.
Illinois’ businesses and citizens are still struggling and the last thing we need is a massive rate increase to bail out Exelon nuclear plants built during the Nixon administration and already paid for several times by ratepayers.
Even ComEd, Exelon’s own sister company, doesn’t agree with subsidized generation at above-market prices:
“ComEd has long believed that competitive markets will work in the best interests of our customers…so we are concerned about the negative impact on our customers from a requirement that would force utilities to buy subsidized generation at above-market prices.” [Crain’s Chicago Business, November 20, 2013]
Yet now Exelon is demanding an annual 580 million dollar bailout from ratepayers—industrial, commercial and residential—because they don’t want to face the risks of the market they championed when it helped Exelon. So much for the “best interests of our customers.”
Just Say No To Exelon’s $580 Million Rate Hike!!
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Rauner pumping dollars
Friday, Oct 24, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Natasha Korecki…
In two days, Republican candidate for governor Bruce Rauner plowed another $3 million of his personal fortune into his candidacy for governor, bringing the venture capitalist’s total investment in his own campaign to more than $23 million.
So far in October, Rauner has steadily added $1.5 million every week, and now it appears to be ramping up. He’s put $9 million into his own campaign since Oct. 3, state finance records show.
That’s ever closer to onetime U.S. Senate candidate Blair Hull who spent a record $26 million on his failed candidacy. Hull, however, spent all of that money in the primary alone.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** Kent Redfield crunched the numbers for the governor’s race to date. Click here to see his full report, as of 11 this morning.
But the most relevant piece is this…
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Rauner pushing IDOT back into the news stream
Friday, Oct 24, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The IDOT revelations were mostly drowned out earlier this week by other campaign news and (in the Chicago area) by reports on that apparent mass murderer in Northwest Indiana. So, the Bruce Rauner campaign is trying to get the topic back into play, and they are succeeding…
Republican governor candidate Bruce Rauner on Thursday said voters have a “duty” to oust Gov. Pat Quinn, pointing to a federal judge’s ruling that the court should oversee hiring at the Illinois Department of Transportation after allegations that patronage hiring at the agency increased under the Democratic governor.
Rauner maintained Quinn has failed to clean up state government after the impeachment and removal of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and indicated he’s open to the idea of compensating applicants who may have been unfairly passed up for jobs in favor of workers with political connections.
“I think that should be looked into,” Rauner said during a campaign stop in Bloomington as he continues to tour Illinois to promote early voting. “But what we’ve gotta do is change.”
“We’ve had six years now of Pat Quinn’s failure,” Rauner told reporters.
“We have a duty as voters to end that, hold him accountable, get him out of office,” he said.
* Sun-Times…
One day after a federal judge was appointed to monitor hiring at the Illinois Department of Transportation, two state Republican senators raised questions about whether those fired are working in other state positions, and insinuated there may be “corruption” in other state departments. […]
“We have no idea what it’s going to cost, but rack that up with the salaries lost, opportunities, and the court costs, and we’re finally zeroing in on the cost of corruption in this state,” state Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno said. […]
“We know who made those [hires], who indicated these people should be hired. We want to know, are they still doing it? And what about other agencies? We know about IDOT, but state government is a big place. There’s a lot of people who may want to be ‘taken care of’ in the last three months. We want to be darn sure these people are not being seeded through state government who do not belong there. And that is not covered under this particular monitor,” Radogno said. […]
[Quinn administration spokesman Grant Klinzman said] “Leader Radogno has never spoken with the Governor’s Office about this matter and it doesn’t appear that she even reviewed the OEIG [Office of the Executive Inspector General] report because if she had, she would have been informed that the Governor has already ordered a review of Rutan-exempt positions at all state agencies,”
Klinzman said Radogno can file a complaint on the OEIG website should she want a further investigation of other departments.
* AP…
Gov. Pat Quinn says he’ll comply with a court-ordered monitor to review hiring at his administration’s Department of Transportation. […]
Quinn says he made reforms afterward, adding Thursday that the court-appointed monitor should work with the OEIG. […]
Republican Bruce Rauner claims it shows Quinn can’t be trusted to clean up government, which Quinn’s campaign rejects.
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Gov. Quinn runs new TV ad featuring FLOTUS
Friday, Oct 24, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rate it…
* Script…
“I know Pat Quinn.
“His push for the minimum wage is essential.
“If you think women should get equal pay for equal work,
“If you want our kids to have quality pre-school, have a chance to go to college -
“If we want a governor who shares our values, then we need Pat Quinn as Governor of Illinois.
“Remember, you can vote early, starting on October the 20th.
“So let’s just get this done and vote for Pat Quinn.”
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No, your eyes didn’t deceive you
Friday, Oct 24, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We had a massive site crash last night. Yesterday’s posts have disappeared. The crash appeared to be related to the outage from earlier in the week.
And, no, Bruce Rauner did not buy my hosting company.
At least, I don’t think so.
Carry on.
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Good morning!
Friday, Oct 24, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Before the B-52’s were a national sensation, they were a regional band in Georgia. Yes, that New Wave, openly gay-themed crazy-good band was from Georgia - in the 1970’s, man. That couldn’t have been easy. Heck, it wouldn’t be easy now.
But here they are, before they signed their first recording contract, in an Atlanta night club in 1978 performing a song that would earn them musical immortality. This takes almost a minute to get going, so be patient and celebrate..
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