* As I told subscribers the other day, it looks like some really big money is heading Ruiz’s way…
Jesse Ruiz, Democratic candidate for Illinois Attorney General, announced Tuesday that Newton N. Minow – senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree – has agreed to chair the Ruiz campaign.
“I have known Jesse Ruiz for more than 20 years, and I respect him both for his exceptional legal talents and for his fine character,” said Minow, who was a prominent supporter of President Barack Obama. “In these difficult times, I know Jesse has the strength and tenacity to stand up against governmental overreach and successfully defend the rights of the people of Illinois as our Attorney General.”
Kevin L. Freeman, a global M&A attorney in Chicago, will serve as campaign treasurer.
Ruiz also announced his first campaign finance committee co-chairs:
“Jesse Ruiz will be a great Attorney General for Illinois,” Pritzker commented. “In addition to his legal abilities, he has a fundamental sense of decency that shapes everything does. He is absolutely the right choice to serve as the ‘people’s lawyer.’”
“I served on the Chicago Board of Education alongside Jesse Ruiz, and I was always impressed by his fairness and his willingness to listen,” Hines added. “He is a strong leader who is passionate about education and protecting the rights of children.”
Laura Ricketts said she and her wife Brooke support Jesse Ruiz “because he will stand up for all of us. For two decades, he has been a tireless volunteer and community leader. I am so encouraged that he has now decided to run for office at last. Illinois needs elected leaders like Jesse Ruiz.”
Ruiz is a partner at Drinker Biddle & Reath, a nationally renowned law firm, where he has worked for more than 20 years. He also serves as President of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners.
…Adding… His latest A-1 ain’t bad at all. Click here.
- Rocky Rosi - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 1:32 pm:
This race will be a nasty fight on the Democratic side. I hope they keep id politics out of the race.
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 1:34 pm:
Newton Minnow is 91 years old.
Wow. Good that Ruiz has that nonagerian voting bloc locked up.
- Archiesmom - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 1:39 pm:
That is known as getting your ducks in a row!
- JoeMaddon - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 1:39 pm:
LOL - please, Ruiz campaign — keep talking about Chicago board of ed.
- Chicago_Downstater - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 1:43 pm:
Not sure bringing up that he served on the Chicago Board of Education is the greatest idea. Vice President during the years when they closed a ton of community schools? I’ll bet that ends up a negative and not a positive during the Dem primary.
- Soccermom - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 1:43 pm:
Wow. Making fun of a Medal of Freedom honoree. Because he’s old. Just wow.
- Anon0091 - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 1:48 pm:
“This race will be a nasty fight on the Democratic side. I hope they keep id politics out of the race.”
I hope not. Nastiness in a nine way race is not smart. Never know who it winds up hurting or helping.
- Chris Widger - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 1:52 pm:
==Wow. Making fun of a Medal of Freedom honoree. Because he’s old. Just wow.==
I agree it’s not interesting or clever to make fun of old people, but I wouldn’t count on the Medal of Freedom as a load-bearing wall here, given that it was given to Minow by Obama during his lame-duck period when he was throwing Medals of Freedom at dozens of campaign donors. That’s not to call it unscrupulous or immoral or anything; I just think we can easily separate the Minows and Lorne Michaels of the world from the Grace Hoppers and Sally Rides.
- Juvenal - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 2:01 pm:
Newton Minow is best known in recent times of endorsing Bruce Rauner for governor.
Seems like a tone-deaf selection to chair your campaign.
- Chris Widger - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 2:06 pm:
===Seems like a tone-deaf selection to chair your campaign.===
Wouldn’t that give his inevitable support of Pritzker in 2018 more heft, not less? His reasoning for supporting Rauner was published in the Tribune, and it seems more powerful to move away from that than it is to come off as another rank-and-filer.
- A guy - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 2:10 pm:
And here one might think Penny Pritzker was otherwise occupied, no?
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 2:11 pm:
===think Penny Pritzker was otherwise occupied, no? ===
Her brother is entirely self-funding, so no.
- A guy - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 2:24 pm:
I was thinking beyond the money. Shame on me.
- 312 - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 2:26 pm:
Newt withdrew his Bruce support in a later article. He is a great force and typically picks the winning candidate - was one of Chester A. Arthur’s earliest supporters.
- Carhartt Representative - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 2:27 pm:
One former Board of Ed member in Penny backing another one in Ruiz. Maybe he can get Andrea Zopp to endorse too.
- Fax Machine - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 3:38 pm:
Rich - the A1 shows he got $1,000 from Sup Ct Justice Charles Freeman.
That seems like a pretty big appearance of impropriety - unless Freeman anticipates retiring before the next AG takes office (there have been rumors to that effect).
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 3:59 pm:
==I just think we can easily separate the Minows and Lorne Michaels of the world from the Grace Hoppers and Sally Rides.==
It’s arguable that you should separate him from those two women. The work he did at the FCC changed the basic structure of television forever by pushing standard TV signals and communications satellites.
- Joe Bidenopolous - Tuesday, Oct 24, 17 @ 4:29 pm:
There’s some pretty impressive names backing him up there - I find the Steans appearance quite interesting.
Seems that Mr. Raoul may have rubbed some folk the wrong way along the line. Not surprising, he has a well deserved reputation for doing just that.