Whew. Lengthy q&a with Madigan. Takeaways: Rauner will lose; Madigan not sure of his opinion on legalizing marijuana and the reason he’s so unpopular is because he hasn’t fought back against Rauner targeting him. pic.twitter.com/m2jVs5DQuJ
* Speaker Madigan was asked about this “Because… Madigan!” thing several times…
The Republicans have been using anti-Madigan rhetoric for close to ten years. So, there’s nothing new with Rauner, he just happens to have some money he could put behind it. I would say again that they really ought to try to find something in their record that they can use to persuade people to vote for Rauner and the Republicans.
They don’t wanna talk about themselves. They don’t wanna talk about their record because they don’t have a record. They always wanna talk about somebody else. Rauner is prepared to spend millions of dollars to propagate that kind of a message. I don’t think the people of Illinois are going to accept Rauner’s propaganda. I think they’re gonna vote against him.
Let me say this. If the amount of money spent on negative advertising against me had been spent against you, your poll numbers would be in bad shape too.
Let me make this point. All that money was spent on negative advertising on me without response. Without response… [Rauner’s money has] made a big difference.
* But, he was then asked, wasn’t it political malpractice to not respond? After all, candidates are constantly asked if they support Speaker Madigan and it’s being used against them…
That’s been used by Republicans for about 10 years. It was used by some Democrats in the Democratic primary. The ones in the Democratic primary who used that lost their elections. And Rauner’s gonna lose his election.
…Adding… He’s never leaving…
IL House Speaker Michael Madigan, after winning his 6th term as state Dem chair, just told @BennyJshow he's focused on beating @GovRauner & has no plans to retire: "I'm a very young 76 years old….. So long as I can continue to do a good job, I'm going to continue to do it."
* We’re apparently ripping off our own residents more than usual…
At $30 a ticket, the Illinois Lottery’s World Class Millions instant game was not only one of its priciest offerings — it was also potentially one of the most lucrative for players.
“WIN UP TO $15,000,000! THE HIGHEST INSTANT PAYOUT IN ILLINOIS LOTTERY HISTORY,” shouted a banner across the magenta and silver ticket.
But for the last five weeks the game was on sale this year, none of the three $15 million prizes remained. Yet players purchased an estimated 26,000 tickets during that time, spending about $793,000. […]
From mid-November to mid-March, the lottery sold more than 3 million instant game tickets — costing players more than $20 million — for games that no longer had any top prize available, according to the Tribune’s analysis of lottery records. And at one point in early March, nearly 1 in 6 games on sale no longer had a top prize available.
Personal financial and medical information of more than 4,000 people was mailed to the wrong addresses earlier this year, two state agencies announced Friday.
“Notices containing personal information were mailed to 4,136 individuals at incorrect addresses,” a news release from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and Department of Human Services said. “It has not been confirmed that any of the notices were actually opened, as they were addressed to the correct individuals but had the incorrect addresses.”
The notices went out in February. They could have included some health insurance, medical and financial information, as well as dates of birth, the agencies said.
Detailed medical records and Social Security numbers were not shared, so the risk of identity theft is “very low,” according to a news release from the agencies. They said they’ve moved to prevent future mishaps.
Ugh…
The brand new ( and disastrous) IT system that just did this originally was "only" going to cost taxpayers $134 million but Rauner's people told us this week the cost overruns make the current price $300 million and still counting.
During the Illinois budget crisis, private companies borrowed billions of dollars to pay government vendors on time with the promise that state repayment would come with late fees.
Now the participants in the Illinois vendor-assistance program say they’re not getting hundreds of millions of dollars in late-payment interest they’re owed.
The financiers told legislators Monday that lending banks might discontinue participation.
Let's try this again: I made this map! Thanks @LuisKlein86 for researching it! Discrimination is bad and it should be illegal! Pass HB *4572*! pic.twitter.com/MnY76z4mG7
Legislation requiring a $40,000 minimum salary for teachers would affect some local school districts. […]
Under the bill, the $40,000 includes the pension costs districts pick up on behalf of teachers. For a teacher making $40,000, that amounts to an extra $3,600.
The Herscher district’s starting salary, including pension contributions, is about $35,000.
Herscher Superintendent Rich Decman opposes the legislation, calling it “political gamesmanship.”
“It’s great on the face. Most first-year teachers would be ecstatic with a $5,000 raise,” he said. “I don’t think it would be practical to do this without the funding. I’m a proponent of local control. I don’t think it’s reasonable for the state to dictate salaries. This is what I would call another unfunded mandate.”
Business groups representing employers of all sizes across the state held a press conference today to provide evidence that legislation, allowing third parties hired by local governments to view Illinois businesses and taxpayers’ confidential sales tax information, would codify current illegal behavior of both local governments and a contingency fee-based company called Azavar. Evidence indicates private sales tax information has been already shared illegally with Azavar, and the company explored ways to evade the protections in current law. HB 2717, proposed by Representative Chris Welch (D-Westchester) is poised for consideration in the Illinois House.
Currently, the tax information local governments receive from IDOR is protected by strict confidentiality requirements imposed by IDOR. Allowing access to this information outside a strict chain-of-custody endangers taxpayer information. In 2016, the business community conducted a FOIA of several municipalities’ communications with Azavar and revealed certain local leaders were already sharing confidential sales tax information with the auditing firm. This action violates current state law. This fact was later confirmed at a hearing in May 2017, when the bill’s sponsor and local officials admitted local governments “up and down the state” are engaging in this activity.
The business coalition along with the Illinois Department of Revenue have suggested several changes to the bill, including removal of the contingency fee proposal secured by Azavar (which in some cases is upwards of 45%). These proposals have been rejected.
Near the southwest corner of Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood stands a 30-foot granite monument dedicated to the thousands of Confederate soldiers who died as prisoners of war at Camp Douglas. The monument marks a mass grave containing the remains of more than 4,000 Confederate prisoners, reinterred here from the grounds of the prison camp and the old Chicago City Cemetery.
The differences start in how the burial markers look at Oak Woods Cemetery on the city’s South Side.
One, a Confederate Mound, lists the names of thousands of Confederate soldiers who were captured and died at Camp Douglas in Chicago. It’s topped with a bronze statute of a Confederate infantry soldier. Farther north, a simple gravestone marks where famed African-American journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett was buried. She shares a gravestone with her husband that states, “Crusaders For Justice,” under their names.
On Sunday, two groups held simultaneous but separate ceremonies, putting a spotlight not only on the juxtaposition of the markers in the Grand Crossing cemetery but also on the contrasting opinions of the role Confederate monuments should have in modern America. Both ceremonies remained peaceful, and the opposing groups did not interact with each other Sunday morning.
Matthew Evans, part of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, stood next to five men dressed as Confederate soldiers as he told a small crowd that he wasn’t there to debate the causes of the Civil War. He said he was there to honor the men who died at Camp Douglas who fought on behalf of the Confederacy. […]
But David Robinson, 62, who came from Maryland to attend the Confederate Mound ceremony, said people should think about the families behind the names etched into the monument. He’s been able to trace his great-great-grandfather to the mass grave. His membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans has lapsed, but he said he is considering rejoining.
“There’s a politically correct culture defining right and wrong with no basis on fact,” Robinson said. “For instance, this for me is a grave marker. It’s not a monument to glorify the Confederacy.”
* I didn’t know there was an Illinois chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans until today. If you go to their website, you’ll see this…
All members of the S.C.V. have to provide proof that their ancestor fought for the Confederate States of America armed forces between 1861-1865. We condemn in the strongest terms possible the misuse of our sacred battle flag by any and all groups who use it to promote hate and violence, and promote themselves and their cause by displaying the Confederate Battle flag.
“Top Illinois Democrats like Pritzker, Raoul or Mendoza have an opinion on everything, but here’s one thing they don’t like to talk about: Mike Madigan. Today, Madigan will be reelected as Democratic Party chairman for the sixth time, but don’t look to the statewide candidates for an opinion. They are all mum on Madigan’s leadership because they are complicit in his corruption, and they know he is dragging their campaigns down.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot
At 1:00PM today in Springfield, leaders in the Democratic Party of Illinois will be casting their vote for party chairman, and it looks like House Speaker Mike Madigan is set to stay in power.
Madigan has held the Democratic Party chairmanship since 1998 and his tenure has been marked by scandal and corruption, even allegations of sexual harassment from within his political organization.
So are top Illinois Democrats embracing their party leader, Mike Madigan? Nope - far from it. Here’s what the Democratic candidates for statewide office have to say on Madigan leading their party:
J.B. Pritzker: [silence]
Kwame Raoul: [silence]
Susana Mendoza: [silence]
Mike Frerichs: [silence]
Jesse White: [silence]
The Illinois Democratic candidates for statewide office are silent on their support for their party leader, Mike Madigan, because they are complicit in his corruption, and they know he is dragging their campaigns down.
* These guys disagree…
Local operating engineers union shows its support for House Speaker Michael Madigan outside the Statehouse Inn in Springfield, where the election for Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois will soon get underway. pic.twitter.com/0Y6X7aRMTw
Congressman Danny Davis nominates Speaker Madigan as party chairman, saying the way to elect @JBPritzker is to have the strongest Democrat in charge, one who has held off the opposition, who has shown that Illinois can produce, helped state produce Obama as President pic.twitter.com/IJRiDI2WzO
Congresswoman Robin Kelly seconds the nomination; says that Madigan has done well, "in a lot of eras" but particularly in the era of President Trump. That said, she says, "change needs to happen" - a not so subtle nod to sexual harassment issues pic.twitter.com/6wMuNguxIK
An anti-cannabis group estimates legalizing recreational marijuana use will cost Illinois $670 million a year.
But pro-legalization pols say they’re just blowing smoke.
Smart Approaches to Marijuana, in collaboration with Healthy & Productive Illinois, concluded in a report on Thursday that drugged driving, as well as greater levels of workplace injury and absenteeism, would be the biggest contributors to the estimated cost. […]
But state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who helped introduce legislation for legalizing and regulating the substance, was critical of the research.
“To call it a study is overly generous,” Cassidy said. “It relies heavily on data that has been debunked repeatedly, from an organization that has been repeatedly debunked.”
* The Healthy & Productive Illinois “study” conflates state government revenues from pot sales with overall economic costs of legalization. Those are two very different things. Not to mention that their projected economic costs are mostly goofy.
For instance, they claim legalization will cost the economy $210.4 million in increased absenteeism. Wow, that sure is precise. But real studies do no corroborate this projection (click here).
There is no or insufficient evidence to support or refute a statistical association between cannabis use and… Occupational accidents or injuries (general, non-medical cannabis use)
* They claim that increased drugged driving fatalities will cost society $231 million and increased drugged driving injuries will cost $85.2 million. But, while the number of Colorado’s car accidents increased after it ended prohibition, the state’s population increased as well and two studies showed no correlation (one actually showed that deaths fell).
They even project that “Marijuana concentrate lab explosions” will cost $13.3 million a year. Um, OK. Most of those explosions that I could find were in illegal “labs.” Legalization brings regulations.
* So, who’s behind this Healthy & Productive Illinois group? The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, the Illinois Drug Enforcement Officers Association, the Mid-West Truckers Association and the Illinois Association Of Housing Authorities.
In other words, you have two police groups which have members who directly benefit from drug seizure laws. And the Mid-West Truckers Association has operated a drug testing service for well over 20 years, so it may be making a few bucks off of that. The group’s director told me they oppose legalization because “federal law pretty much has zero tolerance for it” and flunking a drug test “will put a transportation worker out-of-service and often out of a job.”
“It’s important to consider studies like this, that show costs may outweigh revenue the state could bring in, and see the impact of experiments with legalization going on in Colorado, California and other places before making any decision about it in Illinois,” Rachel Bold, spokeswoman for Rauner, said.
The Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin has been sold for $327.5 million.
MGM Resorts International along with its venture partner are selling the casino to Eldorado Resorts.
The cash deal is expected to close within 12 months. […]
The casino, which opened to the public Oct. 6, 1994, was once a bustling venue. However, it has had to contend with competition from Rivers Casino, which opened in 2011 in Des Plaines, and from the video gambling industry.
Grand Victoria Casino posted $168.7 million in revenues last year, up from $163.5 million in 2016, according to data from the Illinois Gaming Board. The casino’s revenues steadily declined since 2007, when they reached a peak of $436.7 million.
Pritzker’s billionaire family has held financial interests in casinos for decades. He now invests in a company that holds a roughly one percent stake in the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, according to financial disclosures and his campaign.
That means Pritzker could reap nearly $3.27 million from the potential $327.5 million sale of the northwest suburban casino to a Reno, Nev.-based gambling company called Eldorado Resorts, Inc. The deal announced this week still requires Illinois Gaming Board approval.
If the deal goes through by the end of 2018, as planned, the transaction eliminates a thorny conflict for Pritzker should he win.
But if the deal collapses or hits a snag and Pritzker is elected in November, he could run into ethical conflicts once he takes office in January. That’s because governors have the authority to appoint members to the state Gaming Board that regulates casinos, and he’d inevitably be drawn into perennial discussions at the statehouse about gambling expansion that could impact his investment.
Such a scenario would make Pritzker the first known Illinois governor to hold an interest in a state casino license. […]
“If elected, JB will divest from any asset he personally owns that does business with the state of Illinois or would receive any kind of government benefit from the state,” [Pritzker spokeswoman Galia Slayen] wrote.
This is a topic I hadn’t really given much thought to over the months. If elected, he’ll appoint Gaming Board members and will undoubtedly have to deal with the gaming issue.
So he’s wise to get rid of that ownership interest, even if it is only 1 percent of the Elgin casino (and his $3.27 million “windfall” is less than a thousandth of his reported net worth). If the sale hits a snag, he’ll have to come up with a new strategy to avoid any appearance of conflict or an actual conflict.
The people of Illinois have to act to make certain we have choices. Download a Walls-Tobin Petition and get your family and friends to sign. Notarize it and mail it to Walls For Gov,47 West Polk St. #152. 60605. https://t.co/F7DRbeEYgThttps://t.co/0j2ASHkWwi
Until now, we’ve offered our online content for free. But we can no longer afford to operate our business this way.
The Alliance of Audited Media, an industry group that monitors the circulation of news publishers, estimates that the percentage of legitimate websites generating relevant, original content is very low, about 3 percent of the world’s 329 million websites, because the economics are brutal.
Google and Facebook dominate digital advertising, together collecting 73 percent of all digital ad revenue, according to a 2017 analysis by the research firm, Pivotal. All other companies compete for rest of the digital advertising pie. As print advertising has declined year-after-year, this has a created an impossible business model for labor-intensive, quality local journalism.
Earlier this month, the Denver Post made a dramatic plea to save that paper from an owner who has financially drained the company and trimmed the reporting staff to the bone. Our story — in many ways — is similar.
We’ve suffered through a series of managers who sold our assets, took money out of journalism and left us hollowed out.
As recently as last summer, some thought the only way forward was to fold the Sun-Times into the competition. That’s when a broad coalition of business and labor leaders stepped up to thwart a takeover by the Chicago Tribune — and made a promise to help us win.
* The paper is also currently running an ad bashing the Tribune. It starts at the 33:34 mark…
If you let the video play after the ad, you’ll see Sun-Times Editor-in-Chief Chris Fusco explain the ad. Fusco also notes that his wife works for the Tribune.
I enjoy robust competition, but this level of contempt for the other paper vastly exceeds anything I’ve seen in nearly four decades here. […]
Traditionally, competing papers, like most competing consumer products, tout their virtues in ads and imply or allude politely to their advantages over other brands. Harsh attack commercials are generally reserved for political campaigns, which is why this Sun-Times spot, which alternates praise for itself with whacks at us — the Sun-Times’ “priority is hardworking people”; the Tribune’s “priorities aren’t so clear,” and so on — feels distinctly political.
Not to mention false. Look no further than the massive investigation the Tribune launched into how failures in the Cook County property tax system harm the poor most of all for evidence of our priorities. Look at the extensive analysis of lead in Chicago’s tap water we published earlier this month to see what matters to us. Look at the deep-dive investigation our reporters conducted last fall into children dying from abuse or neglect while under state supervision to see whom we haven’t written off.
* But…
The @Suntimes put into an ad how a lot of us feel about the brand Chicago Tribune. There are good reporters at CT, of-course, some I follow religiously - but the brand ID isn’t that far off from that ad. https://t.co/X0o9l7kaCE
I should have put an asterisk on this post. The statement above does NOT include the Ferro years. To be fair I didn’t see much of the paper back then as the website was made unreadable.
“The truth is, I share really nothing much in common with Sam McCann on the issues,” Pritzker said. “But I think he is a fine human being and certainly a public servant. So I am glad he has decided to run.”
“Pritzker thinks a guy who lied about being in the Marines and scams his campaign donors is a fine person and public servant,” Rauner campaign spokesman Will Allison fired back. “That says a lot about Pritzker and the Chicago Machine’s attempt to use dirty tricks to sway this election.” […]
“Well, Bruce Rauner is a liar,” Pritzker responded on Saturday. […]
But was there a coordinated effort to recruit McCann as a conservative attack dog to hobble Rauner?
As of last week, Gov. Bruce Rauner, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton couldn’t even agree on how much money is available to spend in the state’s upcoming budget year. They’re currently fighting about the starting point.
I asked Indiana officials if they argue over revenue projections. They didn’t quite understand the question because, well, no they don’t squabble. State leaders from both parties spend a few weeks looking at forecasts and seeking outside advice. Then they come to an agreement on how much money is available to spend in the next budget cycle. Weird, right?
Going into FY2019, revenue forecasts by the executive and legislative branches are $99 million apart—less than 0.3% of expected revenues and among the closest they have been in recent years.
So, it turns out that the revenue estimates started out very close. I mean, 0.3 percent is basically a rounding error on a rounding error. And, pre-Rauner, state leaders from both parties in Illinois also routinely spent “a few weeks looking at forecasts and seeking outside advice.”
Also, the budgeteers began meeting last week shortly after the governor requested sit-downs. So this can’t be classified as a “fight” by any measure. Indeed, it’s the most cooperation we’ve seen since Gov. Rauner was sworn into office. If all goes smoothly, they’ll figure out a revenue projection soon and then start hammering out spending details. And remember that Rauner isn’t making any off-topic demands for this budget. No “right to work,” no 5-year property tax freeze, no nothing. Just a full-year budget with agreed-upon revenue estimates.
Of course Indiana pays its bills on time — that means within 35 days — unlike the deadbeat Land of Lincoln, where extreme late payments and costly interest penalties are the norm. We’ve accepted that too.
Um, which newspaper enthusiastically argued for more than two years on behalf of the impasse? Which newspaper to this day continues to editorialize against the 2011 Democratic tax hike which allowed the state to bring its bill payment cycle down to 30 days? And which newspaper continues to rail against the bipartisan 2017 tax hike which will allow the state to get a handle on its latest mountain of unpaid bills?
Research organization Wirepoints recently examined the state’s debts and the state’s taxpayers and concluded that there are not enough “millionaires and billionaires” to raise the revenue to meet Pritzker’s twin goals.
State debts, according to Wirepoints, include total unfunded pension liabilities of $250 billion, another $56 billion in unfunded health care obligations for state workers, roughly $11.7 billion in debts from ongoing state budget deficits and, finally, plans to spend $3.5 billion in additional K-12 support over the next 10 years.
The analysis pretty much assumes that only higher income taxpayers will pay for every single dime of pensions, health care, bill backlogs and K-12 support going forward - as if current taxpayers no longer exist. It’s a pretty weak argument against a progressive income tax.
Illinois Policy continues it’s downward spiral this week putting out an article on me that is 100% false. I have never been paid directly or otherwise by Guv’s campaign. Proft and Tillman - fake news, losing elections and wasting donor $. @illinoispolicy@JohnMTillman#twill
The story had nothing directly to do with Tillman and the Illinois Policy Institute. The story ran in one of Dan Proft’s papers. Now, maybe you think that’s all one thing. Fine. But Brady is also misrepresenting the report…
The public affairs firm of Patrick M. Brady, the ex-Illinois GOP Chairman turned lobbyist, received $35,682 in the first quarter of 2018 from Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign, according to a filing with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
In January, Rauner made three payments for “political consulting” to Brady’s River Strategies of Chicago totaling $26,133. He made a fourth payment of $9,550 on March 5, two weeks before Rauner’s primary election with State Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton).
Partner Tracy Slutzkin formerly worked as a news producer at WLS-AM 890, including alongside political activist and radio host Dan Proft, one of the principals of LGIS, which owns Prairie State Wire.
River Strategies describes itself as a “media, public affairs, and corporate communications” firm. But Brady is the only firm member with political experience. […]
Brady acted as a defacto spokesman for Rauner during the primary, making regular media appearances where he would attack Ives, though he was never formally identified as such.
Click here to see the Rauner campaign payments and click here to see the River Strategies website.
Brady is often described as a Rauner surrogate, or a former state party chairman or a Rauner supporter. In reality, his firm got a few buckaroos from the Rauner campaign this year. Whether he received a piece of that is probably irrelevant.
*** UPDATE *** “I receive zero financial benefit” from the firm, Brady just told me. “It’s not my firm, it’s their firm,” with “their” referring to Tracy Slutzkin, Hayley Bierkle Burns and Linze Rice.
So, why is his name on the “our team” page? “My name is on the website as a marketing strategy,” Brady said.
During the last few months, House Speaker Michael Madigan has been assailed by governor candidates in his own party and beset by accusations of sexual harassment in the political organizations he controls.
On Monday, he’s expected to be re-elected leader of the state Democratic Party, 20 years after he first won the job.
The party’s central committee is scheduled to meet at a Springfield hotel near the Capitol to elect its officers, including a party chairman. […]
Madigan’s backers to keep the chairman job now include leading progressive Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who on Friday called the longtime speaker the “clear choice.”
I will support a chair who, above all, knows that our goal as a Democratic Party and as a progressive movement must be to build a broad coalition that can deliver this change. Michael Madigan is the clear choice.
As chairman and as a legislator, Madigan is building an ideologically, racially and geographically diverse coalition, and will turn a statewide majority into progressive action.
And it’s not the first time the two have had each other’s backs. Garcia in 2016 endorsed Madigan over a heavily-funded opponent. Garcia, who was named a Bernie Sanders national delegate, appeared in mailers endorsing Madigan. […]
Garcia said Madigan “puts first the interests of the people of Illinois and the progressive principles of the Democratic party.” […]
If there was any opposition from progressive politicians to Garcia’s decision to endorse Madigan, it was hard to find on Friday. But some social media users voiced their opinions: “Of course, he [Garcia] knows the deal.” Another tweeted: “Chuy falls in line.”
“What the f— is Chuy smoking on 4-20?!?” tweeted one self-described “enlightened free thinker.”
I guess Garcia and Madigan have to live together. And there is no sign that anyone is about to topple Madigan when Democrats meet soon for this year’s coronation. Why fight when everyone can get together to bash Donald Trump?
Says Madigan spokesman Steve Brown, “Mr. Garcia’s support, like that of other members of the central committee, is appreciated.” I’m sure.
Like the old expression goes, the more things change. . . .
As party veteran Ed Burke likes to say, “As my political idol and political philosopher Edmund Burke once said, in politics there are no permanent enemies, no permanent friends, only permanent political interests.”
*** UPDATE *** Rauner campaign…
In advance of today’s Democratic Party of Illinois’ State Central Committee meeting and state party chairman vote, the Rauner campaign issued the following statement:
“Today, Mike Madigan will be re-elected as Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, but we won’t hear a peep from JB Pritzker. Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike are sick of Madigan’s corrupt system, yet Pritzker’s campaign is based on giving Madigan total control of the state. This November, a vote for JB Pritzker is a vote for Mike Madigan and the same broken system that’s hurt Illinois for decades.”
-Rauner Campaign Spokesman Will Allison
Several months ago, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s chief of staff, Tim Mapes, made copies of candidate nominating petitions for what appeared to be every single candidate in the state, regardless of party or office sought. Madigan’s spokesperson was mum when asked why.
It turns out that a database was constructed of the names of all the people who circulated petitions during the primary.
Here’s why that matters:
Last week, state Sen. Sam McCann, R-Plainview, pulled the trigger on a third-party bid for governor. McCann, an avowed foe of Gov. Bruce Rauner, will have to collect 25,000 valid petition signatures by June 25 to get onto the November ballot.
There’s a catch, however. Under state law, all signatures for McCann gathered by people who also circulated petitions for partisan primary candidates will be invalidated. Now, thanks to the new data base, it is a relatively simple matter of plugging in names of potential McCann petition circulators to weed out the potential problems.
If McCann gets on the ballot, the idea is to establish a new party’s identity with one specific goal in mind. Its name is the Conservative Party. Its mission is to attract conservative Republican voters who are upset with Rauner’s views and actions on abortion, “sanctuary state” and other stuff, including possibly guns.
Four years ago, Operating Engineers Union Local 150 backed the Libertarian Party’s candidate to hurt Rauner, but that candidate also got a number of votes from folks who didn’t like Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. The new Conservative Party will focus on disaffected Republicans and attempt to continue the theme that Rauner is unable to unify his own party after his narrow GOP primary victory over Rep. Jeanne Ives.
If McCann survives the petition process, one challenge will be finding money for this race.
Lots of union leaders and others believe that billionaire Democrat J.B. Pritzker has this race in the bag. They’re convinced Pritzker’s personal fortune along with a strong national Democratic wave will destroy the Republican incumbent.
But the folks behind this Conservative Party idea (including Local 150) firmly believe they need a “Plan B” in case something goes horribly wrong.
Pritzker could be hit with some unforeseen opposition research, for example. The national political climate could suddenly change for any number of reasons. Rauner could somehow get his act together.
And even if the Democrats’ stars remain aligned all the way through November, a McCann candidacy could help the Democrats run up the score on Rauner.
But the plan has its detractors. Democratic legislative candidates in Republican-leaning districts have been hoping that the national “blue wave” that so many see heading this way, combined with Gov. Rauner’s horrible unpopularity, will lead to lower turnout among Republicans and help them squeak through. Putting McCann on the ticket gives disaffected Republican voters a reason to head to the polls and they won’t be voting for Democrats down the ballot.
And while calling it an “interesting play,” a top Republican official with close ties to the governor said Sen. McCann could attract some Democratic votes as well.
Pritzker, after all, has far more liberal stances than Rauner on immigration, guns, abortion, etc. Rauner has repeatedly said in recent weeks that he strongly opposes illegal immigration and flatly denies that a bill he signed into law created a “sanctuary state.” The governor also claims to be a National Rifle Association member and vetoed a bill last month that would’ve regulated gun dealers.
Pritzker’s vast holdings include several companies that have really bad records when it comes to their employees.
In other words, it’s more than conceivable that the Rauner campaign could use targeted media to try and drive conservative, pro-union Democrats and independents to McCann.
It’s also very possible that Rauner will go all-out negative against McCann. A far-right group aired a very nasty radio ad during the March primary about the governor and his wife. So, the Rauner folks may feel free to go just as negative on McCann.
Operating Engineers Union Local 150 contributed $50,000 to McCann’s campaign fund just a few days before McCann’s announcement and will be very involved in his effort. The union is known for its unorthodox political moves, like working with conservative activist Dan Proft during the primary against House Republican Leader Jim Durkin.
But the involvement of Local 150 also gives Rauner the ability to use the “Madigan issue” against McCann because the union local has close ties to the House Speaker.
If you thought the weirdness ended on primary day, it’s actually just beginning.
A Secret Service agent says the suspect in a fatal Tennessee restaurant shooting who was arrested last July outside the White House complex had hoped to talk to President Donald Trump.
Special Agent Todd Hudson in Nashville says Travis Reinking “wanted to set up a meeting with the president.”
Hudson says Reinking tried to cross bike racks near the White House grounds that were part of security barriers. Reinking was asked to leave the restricted area, and when he declined, Hudson says he was arrested on a charge of unlawful entry.
In May 2016, police were called to a CVS parking lot, where Reinking was threatening to kill himself. Family present at the time said that Reinking had delusions since 2014 involving singer Taylor Swift, whom he believed was stalking and harassing him.
Reinking told officers that Swift had told him to meet her at a Morton Dairy Queen and had hacked his phone and Netflix account. Reinking also believed that his family and police were involved in the harassment, officials said.
At the time, Reinking’s family informed police that he was in possession of firearms, but there is no record of any action being taken to remove the guns from Reinking’s possession at the time.
In June 2017, Reinking exposed himself at a pool while wearing a pink woman’s house coat, according to a police report. Earlier the same day, Reinking had gotten into a shouting match with a crane company employee, who said Reinking was wearing the house coat and holding an AR-15 rifle, the report said.
At the time of the White House incident, Reinking lived in an apartment above his father’s business, a crane rental company in Tremont, Illinois, according to the sheriff’s office incident reports. After his arrest at the White House for trespassing and being in a restricted area, the FBI and the Secret Service coordinated with local law enforcement to investigate Reinking and remove firearms from his possession, Matthew Espenshade, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of FBI’s Nashville office said Sunday.
On August 24, the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office seized four firearms and ammunition from Reinking’s apartment along with his state firearm owners identification, according to an incident report. The seizure came less than two weeks after a Tazewell County sergeant said that Reinking drove up to his squad car and asked about filing a report.
Reinking told the sergeant that people were “tapping into his computer and phone” and barking like dogs outside his home, according to an August 11 incident report. He said he felt like he was being watched and that people were baiting him into breaking the law, the report states. He told the officer that it all started after he started writing to Taylor Swift, according to the report.
Sheriff Robert Huston in Tazewell County said deputies allowed Reinking’s father to take possession of the weapons on the promise that he would “keep the weapons secure and out of the possession of Travis.” Huston added that, based on past deputies’ encounters with Reinking, “there’s certainly evidence that there’s some sort of mental health issues involved.”
While Huston said it was unclear how Reinking reclaimed the firearms, Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said that his father “has now acknowledged giving them back to his son.”
Under Illinois law, the weapons can be released to a family member, but Reinking could not lawfully possess the firearms there, Anderson, said.
I figure there will be an immediate temptation to blame the father for allegedly breaking the law by returning those guns to his son.
But is this really a surprise? Parents give in to their children, even their adult children, all the time.
So, perhaps we should revisit the Illinois statute allowing guns to be released to a family member when a FOID card is revoked.
