* Press release…

Today, on day 691 without an Illinois budget, the JB Pritzker for Governor campaign launched “Crisis Creatin’ Rauner.” This multimedia campaign will highlight the budget crisis of Bruce Rauner’s own making and the families, schools, and social service agencies that continue to pay the price.

The campaign kicks off with the launch of CrisisCreatinRauner.com, a website with a count up clock that tracks the 691 days and counting without a state budget. The website also highlights the new twitter feed, @RaunersCrisis, which will track and report on Bruce Rauner’s daily devastation on Illinois.

In 2015, Bruce Rauner made it clear that creating a crisis in our state was his goal. As some may recall:

“Crisis creates opportunity. Crisis creates leverage to change … and we’ve got to use that leverage of the crisis to force structural change.”
- Bruce Rauner, 4/6/15

In his own words, Bruce Rauner describes what has been clear all along: Illinois’ budget crisis—a record 691 days long—is no accident. Rauner wanted a crisis and so a crisis he made. In the past few weeks alone, Rauner put his staggering recklessness on full display as he:

Hiked Illinois’ unpaid bills $1 billion overnight, bringing total state debt to a record $14.3 billion.
Accepted $20 million from Trump supporter Ken Griffin, who is bent on destroying public schools as our education system continues to suffer.
Lost the support of business leaders and bondholders who are fed up with Rauner’s economic devastation.
Remained silent as Donald Trump tried to strip healthcare from over a million Illinoisans.
Spread fake news to a politically linked outlet to prevent compromise on school funding reform.

“It’s been 691 days without a state budget and one thing is clear: this is a crisis of Bruce Rauner’s own creatin’ and Illinois families continue to pay the price,” said Pritzker campaign communications director Galia Slayen. “Rauner didn’t mince words when he presented his plan to create a crisis and force his agenda on Illinois – so neither will we. Bruce Rauner is a failed governor who is wreaking havoc on Illinois, decimating the economy, holding schools hostage, and leaving the most vulnerable communities behind. Stay tuned in the coming days and weeks as ‘Crisis Creatin’ Rauner’ holds BruceRauner accountable.”

Not a whole lot there yet. I mean, it’s basically just the above press release, which you kinda have to hunt for.

* Meanwhile, from Sam Hobert on the Pawar campaign…

Hey Rich -

Busy weekend for Pawar on the trail. Wanted to send a quick recap your way.

Covered 900+ miles in 36 hours on the road this weekend. Chicago to Springfield to Cairo to Carbondale to E. St. Louis and back to Chicago (Anybody have a plane we can borrow?). As you know, these visits are part of Pawar’s One Illinois tour, announced last week, to speak to the common inequalities communities face around the state, address the intersection of race/class/ and automation, and work to unite people around a new deal that invests in people and public institutions once again. Quick highlights below. Video recaps online here.

Cairo - Ald. Pawar met with Mayor Coleman to discuss the need for port authority funding, the shrinking revenue base that’s threatening to halt city services this fall, and the crises at the public housing authority.

Carbondale - Visits to Southern Illinois University to talk about how the budget crises is destroying the university, the region’s dominant economic engine, Shawnee National Forest - to highlight one of Illinois’s many state treasures, and a well-attended meet & greet. Highly recommend the bison burger at Carbondale’s Fat Patties when you’re down there next.

East St. Louis - Ald. Pawar’s second trip to East St. Louis (First in April). Local teachers hosted an outdoor meet & greet in a downtown park that was well attended. Pawar spoke about the need for state government to reinvest in communities like E. St. Louis to reverse decades of disinvestment and the budget crises, close loopholes that allow chemical corporations to skirt E. St. Louis taxes, combat institutional racism and reform Illinois’s criminal justice system.

In the coming months, Pawar will be taking the One Illinois tour to Sauk Village, Harvard, Kankakee, Charleston, Jacksonville, Macomb, and Galesburg to continue to address the economic inequities that exist as a result of decades of disinvestment.

- Sam