* This quote was buried in a long post below, but here’s WLS Radio…
Gov. Bruce Rauner went on Fox & Friends this morning and accused House Speaker Mike Madigan of running “a Mafia protection racket.”
Rauner took it up a notch against Madigan by trying to link the speaker’s property tax assessment appeal law firm to corruption this way.
“Basically in the political job he raises property taxes”, said Rauner, “We have the highest property taxes in America. And then on the side, he charges millions of dollars in fees to businesses that are afraid of their property taxes. He reduces them for a fee and then he holds the threat that if they ever cross him, he’ll raise their property taxes. It’s just like the Mafia. It’s a Mafia protection racket!”
* One little aside, the host got his name wrong…
Live TV ain’t easy.
- Evanstonian - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:27 pm:
Isn’t this a Proft line?
- Cheryl44 - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:30 pm:
Dan Proft is the Edgar Bergen of the ILGOP.
- Hip O'crasy - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:31 pm:
A racketeering allegation from the person who openly violates a federal court order regarding sealed wiretap tapes……
- wordslinger - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:35 pm:
In a battle of wits cage match, who emerges in a Rauner/Kilmeade matchup?
- WhoKnew - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:36 pm:
“Mike Rauner”???
He’s wearing a tie, no wonder everyone is confused… ! /S
- Arthur Andersen - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:36 pm:
Bruce, or Mike, leave the wacky talk to the Trumpers. They’re doing a bang up job literally as I post this.
- 360 Degree TurnAround - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:37 pm:
Nothing puffs up your ego when your name is announced incorrectly on national tv.
- Dupage Bard - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:37 pm:
Governor Mike Rauner lol
- Lucky Pierre - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:40 pm:
Rauner released sealed FBI tapes? You have a scoop there Hip O’crasy.
Please share your more of your slanderous fabricated story with the group
- Real - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:43 pm:
Rauner is one ugly dude. On the inside and out. Why someone would vote for this man only shows that the people have no clue. Well in this case his biggest voting block white republicans.
- DuPage Saint - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:44 pm:
This guy has lost it. Illinois needs a 25th amendment. Maybe Bruce Madigan can get on it
- Chicago Cynic - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:45 pm:
But what about the Gs. Was he droppin’ em?
- Real - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:45 pm:
This dude can’t even talk with a straight face he lies so much. He blinks just on constant in saying the simplist of things. This man will have a lot of trouble on judgement day.
- Red fish blue fish - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:49 pm:
and Brucie is runnin’ a mafia extortion racket
- Anonymous - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:55 pm:
=Please share your more of your slanderous fabricated story with the group=
Given that has been your area of expertise, I’ll leave that to you.
- Annonin' - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 5:00 pm:
so HANGING
- Annonin' - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 5:03 pm:
So hangin’ Madigan around necks doesn’t work, tying JB to Blagoof misfires and Ives is a Madigan secret agent was a bust.
Clearly GovJunk is reelin’ Bein’ called Mike only serves to demonstrate how bored the host was with this segment or block
- Dave Clarkin - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 5:06 pm:
“There is no reason why good cannot triumph as often as evil. The triumph of anything is a matter of organization. If there are such things as angels, I hope that they are organized along the lines of the Mafia.”
- Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan
- Norseman - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 5:13 pm:
I’m waiting for Rauner’s reference to Madigan as Attila the Hun.
- Quizzical - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 5:29 pm:
Will somebody tell Bruce that local and county governments are property taxes?
- Quizzical - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 5:30 pm:
I meant ‘set property taxes.’
- Mama - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 5:32 pm:
Maybe Bruce has a twin brother named Mike.
- anon - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 5:41 pm:
Wordslinger: Who wins that battle of wits? Neither. They are bith unarmed.
- Real - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 6:01 pm:
It’s just that Rauner talks about Mike Madigan so much he forgot what Rauners full name was.
- Practical Politics - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 6:03 pm:
The Republicans that Rauner purchased have slated no one to stand against Berrios in the general election, so the racket can continue to operate unchecked.
- JS Mill - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 6:06 pm:
=“Basically in the political job he raises property taxes”=
I am not a MJM fan, I have never liked how he operates. So it pains me to defend this guy but MJM is not big on jacking up property taxes given he has patently refused to allow even a conversation about allowing schools to levy for pension cost shift.
I always thought he used his position to keep Cook County taxes lower not higher.
- Ducky LaMoore - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 6:57 pm:
Why is every unpopular Republican doing their best Mussolini impersonation? Seriously, there is just something flat out wrong with the minds of these people.
- HangingOn - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 7:03 pm:
What the Rauner, Rauner?
Seriously, I’m at the point now that I would not be surprised to see a commercial claiming Madigan is a Reptilian working with the Illuminati to destroy Illinois.
- 13th - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 7:06 pm:
I guess need educated how state representatives and senators raise our property taxes???
I taught all local board (county, schools, city, townships, community colleges, etc) voted almost yearly to increase the tax amount up to 4.999%, so they don’t have to have a public hearing about 5.00% or more tax rate increase, but no one locally pays any attention to that tax increase
- wordslinger - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 7:08 pm:
Meh, Rauner picked a bad day to try and get some traction on cable news.
That ex-Trumpster who got subpoenad apparently has been having an all-day nervous breakdown on the TV box. There won’t be any other news out of the cable today.
- Anonymous - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 8:11 pm:
Madigan is all the Rauner has. He’ll spend millions futher demonizing him.
- ugh... - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 8:24 pm:
–Madigan is all the Rauner has. He’ll spend millions futher demonizing him.–
I’ll refer you to Rauners earlier quote about hanging madigan around everyones neck
- Mike - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 9:11 pm:
At least we finally got Rauner to spit the truth for once.
All the attacks on Madigan have been to demonize Democrats at large, but he can’t say that because Illinois is Democratic state.
- Pot calling kettle - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 9:56 pm:
==Basically in the political job he raises property taxes==
Madigan and the school boards he controls.
- XDNR - Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 10:17 pm:
From the guy who bought the IL GOP and trying to make it the Raunerite mafia. Priceless…
- Stand Tall - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 8:15 am:
When the State fails in their job to properly fund schools then the local units have to increase taxes drastically to cover the shortage. One of many reasons for Illinois’ high property taxes.
Madigan wants lower property taxes for those that can afford to pay his fee to get them lowered, I don’t see him fighting to lower taxes for the little guy.
About every tax/fee that Chicago put in place the last few years is a regressive tax that hurts the poor the most but it is fine as long as it is the Democrats that do so.
- Dude Abides - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 8:23 am:
Rauner has sounded so desperate lately with his accusations. If I didn’t know any better I’d think that he was polling in the low to mid 30’s on his job approval.
As previously mentioned this guy sent checks to GOP members in the Legislature. He said there would be more coming if they did what they were told but if they crossed him he’d make trouble for them. That sounds mafia like to me.
- Name Withheld - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 8:33 am:
“Mike Rauner” needs to show up in the political spam I keep seeing in my mailbox. That’s gold right there.
- Stoph - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 8:41 am:
Wow, Rauner needs an intervention he is so obsessed with Madigan that he has people calling him Mike jeeze
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 8:45 am:
When a governor claims that a speaker of the house runs a mafia protection racket - but offers no proof, issues no court orders, files no legislation, writes no executive orders to address what he claims - then we have a governor who needs to be immediately removed from office, just over a deriliction of duty concerning a crime.
- Texas Red - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 8:58 am:
Rauner is stickin(g) to a simple and effective message.