31 Comments - Fax Machine - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 9:13 am: When the Speaker speaks, unions listen. - Retired Educator - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 9:17 am: It could be a mistake to rush the endorsement. A few years ago, the IEA went all in for Blagojevich’s gubernatorial re-election and it proved to be an embarrassment. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 9:19 am: ===- Oswego Willy - Monday, Jun 5, 17 @ 2:37 pm If Pritzker says he will fund the Illinois Dems, win or lose in March, then wait. If Pritzker says “I win, I fund. I lose, I walk”, then this week might be a good idea… to proceed as planned. “Yeah, I am that cynical… “=== I stand by this, I understand the “why” by Labor… … the issue for me, it’s an easy one… Two in five Labor households voted Rauner in 2014. How can the marrying of Pritzker and Labor… now… and “now” as Pritzker and Crew aren’t handling oppo dumps particularly too well. Labor needs to drag Pritzker, mathematically in votes, through the finish line in March. That’s first and last right now. The “2 in 5 households”, that’s the long-term working that Pritzker and Crew need to build upon now, and build towards March and if Pritzker wins, beyond March. “If Pritzker says he will fund the Illinois Dems, win or lose in March, then wait. If Pritzker says ‘I win, I fund. I lose, I walk’, then this week might be a good idea… to proceed as planned.” We’ll see how this works. - The Captain - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 9:29 am: If this happens a major source of potential campaign cash for Kennedy, Biss and Pawar is taken off the table, their path gets much harder. Kennedy has been doing well with his national fundraising, but now that becomes more important. For Biss some of his calculation on getting in had to include potential labor money, about half of the $10 million that went into LIFT came from labor, it will be interesting to see if/how this changes his own personal thinking on his viability. He walked away from the Comptroller’s race when viability became an issue, I’m not sure his path in this race is easier or more plausible than the Comptroller’s race. - LiberalInQC - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 9:33 am: @OW If the unions haven’t already beaten it into those 2/5 members heads that “Rauner is the end of our way of life”, they deserve to lose. We all knew this was a problem the day it happened. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 9:37 am: ===If the unions haven’t already beaten it into those 2/5 members heads that “Rauner is the end of our way of life”, they deserve to lose. We all knew this was a problem the day it happened.=== … and yet, I still hear about how a smattering of union members still think beating Quinn, now, was good For Labor’s own sake, I’m sure they hope you’re right. - Thoughts Matter - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 9:39 am: It’s much too early in the cycle for endorsements. Ordinary people( union members, for example), aren’t paying attention to the 2018 election yet. We don’t know who all the candidates even are yet. We definitely don’t know all their positions, qualifications, or dirty laundry. I’m gonna laugh off any endorsement made this early as not credible. - City Zen - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 9:43 am: AFSCME and IFT (via AFT) are all under the same AFL-CIO corporate umbrella as the labor unions that endorsed JB. Bad coordination and organization on union management’s part to have such disjointed endorsements to begin with. - Fax Machine - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 9:53 am: Maybe it’s too early to play this game but I think Biss should run for Assessor instead of Governor. He has enough money in his account for the run and Berrios name is so negative he would very likely win. Plus having a PhD in math is a great story. I just don’t see Biss raising the money or getting the earned media he needs for Governor. - Mason born - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 9:57 am: Willy Since you brought up Pritzkers pocketbook, how much of a risk is going to far attacking him.in the primarie? Obviously they all want to win but if they push past politics into the personal realm do they risk shooting their own feet? Hard to ask a guy you just spent months calling corrupt, etc. For a check. - Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 10:14 am: I say to wait longer and vet more. At the same time, Republican voters rallied around Trump. He ripped off students, possibly stiffed workers, said he forces himself on women and other shortcomings that didn’t dissuade voters. They were like, “He may be a ‘blank’ stain (rhymes with flit), but he’s our blank stain.” Democratic voters and others may need to have that defiance also and not be so “pure.” I still say, be careful, but if they decide, fight like heck. Learn from Republicans. Remember what’s at stake. - Anon0091 - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 10:34 am: Captain, You said, “Kennedy has been doing well with his national fundraising.” That’s actually untrue. As Rich pointed out today, he went to California and only raised 50k instead of 500k. His current quarter fundraising is actually going quite poorly. He’s only reported about 200k on the a1s through yesterday. He needs millions to compete and he ain’t getting it. This inability to raise money on his own could be one of the many reasons the unions ain’t impressed with ck. - Arsenal - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 10:37 am: ==If this happens a major source of potential campaign cash for Kennedy, Biss and Pawar is taken off the table== This money was never gonna be there for Biss. That’s been one of his challenges from jump street. ==If the unions haven’t already beaten it into those 2/5 members heads that “Rauner is the end of our way of life”, they deserve to lose.== People define their “ways of life” in a lot of different ways. Downstate trade unionists see cultural issues as pretty central to it. Maybe not enough to combat a well-made dollars-and-cents argument, but enough to make it not-so-simple. - Christopher - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 10:43 am: The ILGOP’s statement is offensive to me, calling Pritzker names. There might be lots of names to call Rauner, but he can clearly fall on the issues alone. - Tough Guy - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 10:52 am: Must be a good thing if the Raunerites are whining about it already. Obviously a Pritzker nomination makes them very nervous. - downstate dem - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 10:54 am: The disconnect between rank and file and labor leadership may be on full display later today. As Chris Kennedy is helping to generate record crowds in areas he visits, proving that he can be a vote-getter up and down the ticket, and on the heels of new revelations about blagojevich and pritzker, labor leaders want to do an early endorsement? - The Captain - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 11:27 am: === You said, “Kennedy has been doing well with his national fundraising.” That’s actually untrue. === If you don’t count the money he’s given to himself he’s actually raised more money from addresses outside Illinois than inside Illinois, so while his fundraising isn’t especially impressive his out of state fundraising has been better than his in state fundraising. - phocion - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 11:29 am: Christopher, you’d better man up. Sorry if name calling in politics hurts your fee-fees. To quote the great Chicago humorist Finley Peter Dunne, “Politics ain’t beanbag.” - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 11:36 am: ===As Chris Kennedy is helping to generate record crowds in areas he visits, proving that he can be a vote-getter up and down the ticket=== As with signs, votes only count when they’re counted, not ny the number of yard signs or crowd sizes. Further, Kennedy hasn’t shown any propensity to raise ANY significant monies (yet… I’m deferring to Mike Kasper, lol) in the 8-10 million needed to get thru a primary. Once again - downstate dem -, you put out there things that are way too easy to knock down. When will Kennedy have legislators’ back, like Pritzker? - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 11:39 am: ===Since you brought up Pritzkers pocketbook, how much of a risk is going to far attacking him.in the primarie? Obviously they all want to win but if they push past politics into the personal realm do they risk shooting their own feet?=== Kennedy is in it for him, Biss won’t be going back to the Senate, Pawar is term limiting himself… No risk, actually, they’re all betting on themselves(?) With respect. - Mason born - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 11:50 am: Willy, Good point. It seems like a Pyrrhic victory to win while handicapping yourself for the General but I get your point. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 12:00 pm: - Mason born - You’re welcome, and here’s why I think what I do, to go next level too… … when you have nothing to lose, and the end game to defeating Rauner too… I don’t see any of these candidates not wanting Rauner gone in the end. The only person, Pritzker, that could have really sour grapes losing, after the ILGOP is done with JB, I can see even Pritzker deciding, “We need Bruce gone” too To the ILGOP, === It’s clear this is an attempt by Mike Madigan to coalesce his insiders and special interests around a crooked candidate who will play ball with his Chicago agenda. After all, J.B. Pritzker is already on tape showing his corrupt colors.=== This “works”, only because the Pritzker Crew hasn’t even come close to putting the Blago tapes to bed. I’d expect MOTS… more of the same. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 12:03 pm: ===the Pritzker Crew hasn’t even come close to putting the Blago tapes to bed=== And how are they supposed to do that? They exist. They can’t be erased. He’s just gotta muddle thru like Rauner did every time he got totally thwacked with oppo in 14. - DuPage - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 12:08 pm: Pritzker is the only one with enough money available to take on Rauner. Rauner used unlimited amounts of money to carpet bomb the airwaves with attack ads, winning the election. The Democrats are going to have to fight fire with fire. (money for attack ads) - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 12:24 pm: ===And how are they supposed to do that? They exist. They can’t be erased. He’s just gotta muddle thru like Rauner did every time he got totally thwacked with oppo=== They could make clear that when quid pro quo was insinuated and pressed, JB didn’t take the bait. Not really discussing this and formulating a counter to the obvious, the purposeful silence, less the two responses, there isn’t much of a feeling of a want to address it to move on. Your point is on point, Rich. Yep, they will have to muddle thru, JB has to eat this, own this, and own the result that Rod was charged, tried, convicted on many counts, numerous counts, but none pertaining to JB, and JB faced no charges as a result of these calls. The tapes ain’t going away. Then, like Rauner, you spend $20 million on ad after ad trashing a failed governor and the others in the primary. The lack of changing the subject with the monies, as Rauner did with just about every possible attack he had… I’d start with that. I’m sure the Pritzker Crew sees the pearls of wisdom I have here, finding it’s value and worth the same as if it were given with $3.50 for coffee and a side of a unasked strategy, lol - Say What? - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 12:31 pm: In gubernatorial contests since 1982, Madigan is 3-6. His two winners were Blagojevich and Quinn. Do you want him selecting the candidate? - Christopher - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 12:55 pm: phocion: A man who was a longtime City Councilman in my hometown, later became its Mayor, and was the father of my best friend in school once told me “always take the high road.” Name-calling isn’t needed. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 1:06 pm: “*** UPDATED x1 - ILGOP blames Madigan ***” The last several years in a nutshell. – MrJM - anonymous - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 1:25 pm: Re: the Blago-Pritzker tape. The question is: who called whom? Blago was calling around seeking deals back then. If Blago initiated the call to JB, sounds like JB did nothing wrong. - phocion - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 1:47 pm: JB initiated the call to Blago. Bank on it. - Arsenal - Tuesday, Jun 6, 17 @ 4:07 pm: ==In gubernatorial contests since 1982, Madigan is 3-6.== How much were any of those nominees his guys, really? Netsch and Poshard came up through the Senate… Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.