* I’m planning to put up three posts before 7 o’clock. One will update you on Republican primary results, one will update you on Democratic primary results and the third will have a list of declared winners as they come in.

My former intern Barton Lorimor will be assisting tonight as well as our great pal Scott Kennedy. It should be fun. So I’ll see you soon!

…Adding… Text from an old friend…

Gal working for Dunkin was passing this today. She thought she was working for Stratton. Lol! Love Chicago.

The flier…

*** UPDATE *** I’m guessing from the somewhat defensive tone of this March 11th memo, there was member blowback to the Chamber’s decision to assist Rep. Ken Dunkin…

Dear Chamber Board Members:

This week, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, through its special independent expenditure committee, launched a large advertising campaign in Chicago on behalf of a key candidate for state representative, Rep. Ken Dunkin. We believe this is the single most important race in this Primary Election, and perhaps the most important in many election cycles. Rep. Dunkin has shown a willingness to vote against the status quo in Springfield and support a better path forward for our state. He is being vigorously opposed by forces of the status quo.

While Rep. Dunkin was endorsed by the Chamber’s regular political committee, Chamber PAC, this independent expenditure was made through the Chamber’s special independent expenditure committee, which requires strict non-coordination with candidates. The restriction greatly limits our ability to communicate intentions before a campaign is launched. In addition, you should know that is was fully funded by a like-minded organization and NO Chamber dues or other revenues were used to pay for the campaign.

The advertisement we are running is primarily positive about Rep. Dunkin, but does highlight that he is independent from the political powers that be in Chicago. Some of you may have received calls from Chicago Mayor Emmanuel’s representatives complaining about the ad. Given the nature of Chicago politics, we believe this is quite an overreaction. However, we apologize if you feel this has put you in an uncomfortable position. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about this issue, please call me directly at one of the numbers below.

Thanks, and I look forward to seeing everyone next week at the Board meeting on the 17th in Normal.

Todd Maisch
President and CEO
Illinois Chamber of Commerce

       

31 Comments - Mama - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 3:41 pm: Which party are you attending Rich? - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 3:45 pm: Party? I have no time for a party. I’m working right here all night. - Big Muddy - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 3:47 pm: Mama, Rich is a party wherever he goes! - Ottawa Phil - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 3:49 pm: Classic flyer! - jerry 101 - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 3:50 pm: what are you drinking? - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 3:51 pm: Hopefully the World Headquarters is fully stock with needed provisions. I ran out to get Cannoli for tonight, no snark. - illini - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 3:52 pm: And what would there be to talk about if it were not politics????? Religion - never, Baseball, the Big Dance, Football - maybe. This is where it is. Thank you Rich. - Georg Sande - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 4:00 pm: Oh the games being played. - Wensicia - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 4:01 pm: Can the campaign commercials stop now, please? - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 4:03 pm: ===what are you drinking? === Unsweetened iced tea to start… - Bored Chairman - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 4:24 pm: Rich, You’re the best! - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 4:32 pm: To the Update, Oh, Todd, you just “Hang In There”. ===Rep. Dunkin has shown a willingness to vote against the status quo in Springfield and support a better path forward for our state. He is being vigorously opposed by forces of the status quo.=== Is that code for “Rauner said I better do it”? —————- “Dear Members, Look, I do what I’m told, I shill when I suppose to, and take heat for it when I need to. K? There are forces at work here you can’t possibly fathom. Yours in Chambering, Todd” - Just saying... - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 4:34 pm: Oh the pay back if the Raunerites lose… - The Captain - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 4:35 pm: I’ve always thought Todd Maisch was an effective advocate for his positions, his statements are usually well-crafted and on message, but I’ve also always thought his default position was the political one. I understand his politics for wanting to help Dunkin but it will be interesting to see if he went out a little over his skis with his membership, particularly those in Chicago. Also, the whole thing is a little weird for how unnecessary it was. They used IllinoisGO money to pay for ads that IllinoisGO could have paid for themselves. If that put him in hot water with his members it seems, well, weird. - Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 4:40 pm: Darn it OW, why did you have to mention Cannoli? Now I have to change my dinner plans. Fortunately a good buddy tipped me off to where I can find it 5 minutes from Chez AA. Thanks to Rich, Barton, and Scott! - Big Head Todd - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 4:42 pm: Um, Todd, you also spelled the Mayor’s name wrong in your CYA letter to members. Way to double down on a dumb move! Sounds like someone’s been fielding angry phone calls from his Chamber members. I’ll bet that Board meeting on March 17th is gonna be a real treat! Whether Dunkin wins or loses, I wish you the best of luck getting a meeting with either Madigan or Rahm in the next, oh, two centuries or so. Bravo! - I'm part of the problem - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 4:42 pm: Of course only my opinion and not worth a lot but I’ve long thought Todd needed to go. He was always out of touch in his legislative initiatives and pandered to heavily to the “R” side of things and never have enough thought to the political ramifications to the chambers members. Just simple logic would say not all members are republican. The jump to Dunkin was a clear pander to Rauner and the half hearted rationale was terrible. Just as the Grand Ole Party needs to remember, Rauner won’t be here forever. - 100 miles west - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 5:12 pm: I called my local chamber prez. Not happy. - burbanite - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 5:19 pm: Yea it does kind of make people uncomfortable when you use a name that is associated with them and their business without even so much as a warning to duck, must less a request for a vote of the membership before using the chamber’s formerly good name. - wordslinger - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 5:25 pm: –We believe this is the single most important race in this Primary Election, and perhaps the most important in many election cycles. Rep. Dunkin has shown a willingness to vote against the status quo in Springfield and support a better path forward for our state.– In fact, Rep. Dunkin is key to the governor’s strategy of not paying many of you the millions that you are owed by the state for goods and services already rendered many months ago. And if you’re a member in one of our Downstate university communities, you know how important Rep. Dunkin has been in making sure no state money gets to them. How’s that for supporting your business? As concerned citizens, many of you also are probably on boards of local social service providers. Well, without Rep. Dunkin, the state would be honoring its contracts to those providers and they’d be getting paid. Who in business believes in honoring contracts, anyway? So, as a chamber member, you can see why it’s so important we spend about a million bucks on one of the lowest-rated members on our legislative scorecard. Plus, the governor told us we had to. We work for him, not you. Hang in there. - wordslinger - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 5:36 pm: –Um, Todd, you also spelled the Mayor’s name wrong in your CYA letter to members. – Maybe he was thinking of the title character from one of the first naughty movies they put on HBO by back in the 70s. She’d be a lot more popular as mayor than Rahm. She was really popular in the flick. - I'm part of the problem - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 5:41 pm: Wordslinger….post of the year! - Wensicia - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 5:53 pm: -wordslinger- +100 - low level - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 6:09 pm: Todd- Flunkin has his guys at the wrong polling places where I live. You really want a guy that disorganized? Well, whatever. You’re welcome to him. He will drive you nuts. - Soccermom - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 6:39 pm: Word - I think you mean Emmanuelle (starring Sylvia Kristel…) - Elo Kiddies - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 6:43 pm: If you read Todd’s letter, you’d see that he basically licensed the Chamber’s name to another group, but no Chamber money went into that race, so what’s the big deal? /s - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 6:47 pm: - Elo Kiddies -, Todd, I guess, thinks the Chamber’s rep is his to shill(?) - Wordslinger -, whoa, resturant-quality, what an undressing of Todd. - Soccermom -, I dunno how to react, given that I said to myself, “yep, that’s right”… I going to go say a rosary now…. - Nearly Normal - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 7:18 pm: Does the Normal Fire Department need to be on standby when the Chamber board meets Thursday in Normal? Could be an interesting meeting. - IllinoisBoi - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 7:47 pm: Massive Defeat For Rauner. WINNING. - DuPage Dave - Tuesday, Mar 15, 16 @ 8:24 pm: Good luck getting any of your new friends to return your calls tomorrow, Ken. - WizzardOfOzzie - Wednesday, Mar 16, 16 @ 1:14 am: Great job Todd Maisch! Doug Whitley would have never made such a poor decision. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.