* Rep. Jeanne Ives was interviewed by CLTV’s Paul Lisnek yesterday. Audio clip and transcript were not generated by me…
LISNEK: So is this something the state can and should pay for? Durbin [says] we’re going to get federal money. Is it something where we might get the feds? Some have called on the governor to call Trump and say ‘help us.’
IVES: Well that would be me, because I called on the governor months ago to call Donald Trump and ask for assistance immediately and to have that entire structure torn down and rebuilt, and I’m kind of shocked that he has not done that and made that call yet. Maybe he has and it’s being misreported, but I would certainly reach out to the VA [unintelligible] as well.
LISNEK: Before I leave this topic I just wanted to get your reaction to the Darlene Senger— I know you know her well— but that e-mail. Obviously she never intended that to be public, but nevertheless, ‘Hey maybe we can put this back on Tammy Duckworth,’ who you know is a decorated war veteran, served this country. What was your reaction to that?
IVES: Listen, it’s unfortunate that she would ever try to link this Quinn administration that was years before the Rauner administration. Granted, I will give her this though, that for decades both the Democrats and the Republicans have not set aside money to do the maintenance that is required in many of our areas. In fact, I know we’re $21 billion per year behind on infrastructure improvements and much of that goes to our state facilities. So I think there’s some blame to be shared, but you don’t blame-shift when you had 13 deaths and then you failed to actually move those Veterans out of an unsafe condition. Nobody should be blaming that on anybody but the Rauner administration.
* Meanwhile, from that same interview, here’s Politico…
During an interview with CLTV’s Paul Lisnek on Monday, state Rep. Jeanne Ives went on a tear against Gov. Bruce Rauner and Tim Schneider, the Illinois Republican Party chairman the governor is backing. Ives, who narrowly lost to Rauner in the March primary, is supporting Schneider’s opponent Mark Shaw in a heated fight over the GOP throne.
Among the reasons Ives is backing Shaw: she blames Schneider for the Nazi candidate running as a Republican in Illinois’ 3rd congressional district.
“So he’s alienating the base by propping up Schneider again, and Schneider has failed. Look we have 37 state reps, Democrats, unopposed in this coming up election. It is the party chairman’s responsibility to find opponents. We have an avowed Nazi sitting as a Republican in a congressional race, and that’s wrong too. And then on top of it, the entire emphasis from Tim Schneider and Rauner et al over the last campaign cycle is simply to get Rauner elected, and so much of what they did in terms of data collection and everything else did not support our state reps. We need a whole new vision for our party, and a whole new way to attract voters.”
And then there’s this exchange. Ouch: Lisnek: “If polls look close come November and it looks like Pritzker could pull it out, would that be enough of a scare for you to look at your supporters and say it’s ok, vote Rauner?”
Ives: “I can’t predict what the future’s going to look like, umm, in a few months, so we’ll just see what’s going on.”
*** UPDATE *** DGA, with emphasis added by me…
ILGOP Feud Continues - Ives Says Rauner “Never Actually Heard the Message that Was Sent to Him”
While Governor Bruce Rauner claims he’s “unifying” Republicans, state Representative Jeanne Ives blasted the Governor’s lack of rapprochement with the 48% of Republicans that supported her in the primary. Ives went on CLTV and reiterated that they still, a month and a half later, have not spoken:
Reporter: “The Governor says everything is fine between you and him. Let me get your take. Is it all good?”
Ives: “Listen, I have not spoken with the Governor yet. So, he is doing his thing. And I am continuing to do my thing as a state Representative.”
Rauner’s strategy of ignoring Ives is clearly not working as they continue to fight over the party chairman position and the direction of the Republican Party:
Reporter: “…But isn’t supporting somebody besides Tim Schneider an effort to sort of say we still need to shake things up?”
Ives: “No, it’s actually… Governor Rauner supporting Tim Schneider is basically saying he never actually heard the message that was sent to him on March 20th… So, he’s alienating the base by propping up Schneider again, and Schneider has failed.”
Ives finished the interview by refusing to commit to helping Rauner.
Reporter: “If the polls look close come November, and Pritzker could pull it out - will that be enough of a scare for you to look at your supporters and say it is ok to vote Rauner?”
Ives: “I cannot predict what the future is going to look like in a few months. So, we just see what is going on.”
“Bruce Rauner’s sham strategy of claiming that his party was unifying without reaching out to the 48% of Republicans that rejected him is clearly not working,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “It’s been nearly two months since the primary and the only unifying Bruce Rauner has done is getting Independents, Democrats, and Republicans in agreement that he has failed them long enough.”
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 9:32 am:
===Nobody should be blaming that on anybody but the Rauner administration.===
- Jeanne Ives
Bruce Rauner failed.
As candidate Rauner told us daily, “Pat Quinn failed”, the same standard applied… Jeanne Ives is saying what a Candidate Rauner would say about a Governor Rauner.
Right? Exactly right.
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 9:42 am:
“you don’t blame-shift when you had 13 deaths”
Or when you’re one-third of government and refused to agree to any budget compromise offers. Those were nonbudget items that didn’t belong in budget negotiations to begin with, and Rauner still refused to make a deal. But there’s nonstop blamin’ goin’ on.
- don the legend - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 9:45 am:
===So I think there’s some blame to be shared, but you don’t blame-shift when you had 13 deaths and then you failed to actually move those Veterans out of an unsafe condition. Nobody should be blaming that on anybody but the Rauner administration===
That’s served up free of charge. JB only needs to send Ives a thank you card.
- Cray - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 9:51 am:
I’ve never seen a GOP primary race loser get this kind of platform. Interesting.
- Northside City Dweller - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 9:51 am:
==the entire emphasis from Tim Schneider and Rauner et al over the last campaign cycle is simply to get Rauner elected, and so much of what they did in terms of data collection and everything else did not support our state reps==
Wait, it wasn’t Rauner who paid for Durkin’s entire 2016 campaign operation?
- Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 9:52 am:
Grandson what were the budget compromise offers by the Speaker?
Only a 32% permanent income tax increase
- Retired Educator - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 9:55 am:
The thorn is the foot continues. I don’t see Ives or her supporters making nice with Rauner. He is in big trouble. He better save his money, and just buy the villa in Italy. This is not going away, it will only get bigger as we get closer to November.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 9:58 am:
–I’ve never seen a GOP primary race loser get this kind of platform. Interesting.–
Who was the last one to get 48% of the primary vote against an incumbent governor and continue the fight?
You might not have noticed, but there’s a GOP civil war going on between the Rauner and Uiehlein crews.
Uiehlein is the biggest single GOP money bags in the country. After their bromance, he and Rauner had quite a nasty breakup last summer. But like Glenn Close, he will not be ignored.
- Macbeth - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 9:59 am:
Say what you want about Ives — but she’s right here. You don’t blame shift for death. A lot of death.
The fact that Rauner refuses responsibility — in any form whatsoever — is troubling.
It’s cowardly.
- cray - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 10:08 am:
Mixed messages from Ives. She backed Rauner in 2014 and then apologized for it during the primary. She lost the primary and says she is voting for Rauner but she is going out doing interviews to attack him. She knows this is helping JB Pritzker and hurt Rauner. The honorable thing to do is to pick a side not play both of them.
- walker - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 10:14 am:
Ives is almost as good as Mendoza, at attacking Rauner with specifics.
If Dems say the same things about his performance, they are seen as too partisan.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 10:15 am:
===She backed Rauner in 2014 and then apologized for it during the primary.===
Nothing mixed there.
If that confuses you, don’t read the Manifesto that Mr. Breen wrote, then crawled back to Rauner. That’s a head scratcher (it’s actually not, it’s about money)
===She knows this is helping JB Pritzker and hurt Rauner. The honorable thing to do is to pick a side not play both of them.===
How ya think she playing Pritzker? She’s not.
Ives is owning the floor, on one hand not bailing on Rauner, but with the other burying him as she promised, “Kirking” him.
No mixed message. Nope.
- ste_with a v_en - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 10:20 am:
She is selfish and doesn’t care about the party winning.
- Anon - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 10:20 am:
Rauner handled the situation terribly. I assume based off of what’s been discussed about the treatment that the staff responsible for primary care was not made aware of the outbreak when they should have.
However — the decades of neglect towards capital maintenance, like the state’s unfunded pension obligations, like the state’s structural gap between spending and revenues, is not the fault of decades of nameless (or even named) legislators.
We keep electing and re-electing these people and while Rauner played his part in unnecessary deaths of our veterans, the sorry state of our financial affairs is on us.
Want nice veterans homes? Better support raising taxes.
Want nice veterans homes and you’re against raising taxes?
That’s kind of like wanting to be thinner and eating Double Quarter Pounders four times a day.
Wanting to be stronger without going to the gym.
What’s the word I’m looking for? Fantasy? No, it’s delusional.
Services, buildings, maintaining this buildings all have a cost associated with them and if you’re not willing to pay those costs the consequences is that when you elect careless amateurs to govern they’re going to get people killed who didn’t need to die in that fashion.
Rauner owns this failure, but we own Rauner just like we own the last several decades of blatant irresponsibility and fiscal delusions.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 10:22 am:
===She is selfish and doesn’t care about the party winning.===
Ives want to “Kirk” Rauner. There’s no hidden agenda, guessing what is motivating her… Ives wants to “Kirk” Rauner.
That’s it. Right now, it looks like she’s doing her part to be successful.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 10:29 am:
===Grandson what were the budget compromise offers by the Speaker?
Only a 32% permanent income tax increase===
Rauner vetoes that tax increase.
Rauner also vetoed full fiscal yearS funding of the VA.
Rauner refusing to sign budgets, vetoing budgets, hurt his agencies, including the VA.
So… there’s that.
Funding the VA?
Rauner vetoes that.
- ste_with a v_en - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 10:36 am:
“Ives wants to “Kirk” Rauner.”
Which is weird, since he won a majority of self described conservatives in 2016, but lost moderates and independents, which he needed in 2010.
- Pundent - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 10:38 am:
=She is selfish and doesn’t care about the party winning.=
Maybe, maybe not. She’s hedging her bets and playing the long game. There’s a good chance that we won’t hear from Bruce Rauner again come November. There will be a conversation about the relevancy of the Illinois Republican party going forward. My guess is that Ives wants to be part of that conversation.
- A guy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 10:38 am:
Not on purpose of course, but she just may yet turn out to be the Speaker’s favorite Rep. We’re in extra innings. Must have been a tie and we just didn’t know it. Yeesh.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 10:56 am:
===Which is weird, since he won a majority of self described conservatives in 2016, but lost moderates and independents, which he needed in 2010.===
Rauner being “Kirked” is the losing GOP support.
Kirk losing the collars, for example, included losing moderated GOP voters as Kirk seemed “Right” to the winds and the voters.
Rauner’s troubles are far, far, deeper. Can’t go “right”, as Rauber needs to shore up conservatives. Can’t veer too far left than he already is, as 48% of voting Republicans rejected him.
Ives wants Rauner gone as she touts the “Kirking” of Rauber… as it’s seen… Rauber has no base to speak of.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 11:02 am:
===Reporter: “…But isn’t supporting somebody besides Tim Schneider an effort to sort of say we still need to shake things up?”
Ives: “No, it’s actually… Governor Rauner supporting Tim Schneider is basically saying he never actually heard the message that was sent to him on March 20th… So, he’s alienating the base by propping up Schneider again, and Schneider has failed.”===
Raunerism failed the ILGOP.
The conservatives that are “done” with Rauner are controlling the messaging, as Rauner can’t tamp down the rhetoric against him. Add the 48% of the voting GOP casting a ballot against Rauner… ave Rauner touting this “Democrats, Republicans, we must…” baloney…
Who exactly is the Rauner base?
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 11:03 am:
“Grandson what were the budget compromise offers by the Speaker?”
Rauner wouldn’t agree to the senate’s grand bargain. Radogno said she had confidence in it. Rauner could have put Madigan on the spot but he blew up the senate’s attempt at compromise.
Rauner was literally attacking Madigan in TV ads while the state’s most critical budget negotiations were happening last year. What kind of bad faith is that?
Why won’t Rauner stop attacking and blaming Madigan and do what *he* has to do as governor?
There was workers comp legislation that Madigan said he would amend to make more to Rauner’s liking. But nothing is good enough for Rauner. Every offer is insufficient or “phony,” as Rauner puts it.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 11:07 am:
===Rauner wouldn’t agree to the senate’s grand bargain. Radogno said she had confidence in it. Rauner could have put Madigan on the spot but he blew up the senate’s attempt at compromise.
Rauner was literally attacking Madigan in TV ads while the state’s most critical budget negotiations were happening last year. What kind of bad faith is that?===
Very well said, - GoM -
The reality is, the feature, not the bug, is refusing to compromise, even if Radogno was the one brokering it. Rauner required leverage, not compromise.
You’re on it.
Indeed, ask Leader Radogno.
Blowing up the senate deal, had it gone thru, the entire weight of that deal would’ve landed in the House… but it never happened… never happened by the undercutting of Leader Radogno
- illini - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 11:16 am:
The Missouri GOP let another outsider into their party and now they are getting ready to impeach him.
Not quite the same, but yet another example of a Governor assuming that he has the total support of those that assume the same party identification.
And both are paying the price for their delusional thinking and assumptions.
- Arsenal - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 11:29 am:
==Grandson what were the budget compromise offers by the Speaker?==
Letting the 2010 tax hike expire, passing a property tax freeze, passing a WC reform bill.
- Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 11:33 am:
After spending 70 million dollars on a primary, 55% of Democratic primary voters preferred a reform candidate, not Speaker
Madigan’s handpicked billionaire with tax issues.
The two other candidates called JB just as many bad names as Ives has called Rauner. Stop with the fantasy that only the Republicans are divided, voters are way smarter than that
Rauner could have put Madigan on the spot?
Like he did with the offer to sign on to Senator Cullerton;s bipartisan pension bill?
Same spot he won’t budge from
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 11:39 am:
===The two other candidates called JB just as many bad names as Ives has called Rauner.===
Difference being, they stopped, Ives didn’t. C’mon. Are you even trying?
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 11:52 am:
===Rauner could have put Madigan on the spot?
Like he did with the offer to sign on to Senator Cullerton;s bipartisan pension bill?===
Rauner then needed to work with Durkin to cobble votes.
You do know “work” is required to get things passed. Actual work. Actual finding votes.
Get 60/71 on the stairs. Why won’t Rauner embarrass Madigan?
Rauner can’t get 60/71… that’s how this works.
Rauner can’t blame others for his own ineptitude.
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 11:53 am:
ILGOP won’t win in November. Ives won’t be losing, but Rauner will be. That leaves Ives and whoever else survives as Rauner replacements. If ILGOP doesn’t want Ives in charge then they’ll need to find a DC congressman willing to return and challenge her. ILGOP statewide was too weak for too long and Ives will have it until she loses it.
ILGOP’s party leaders will also look like losers when Rauner goes down, so Ives isn’t supporting any of them. After November ILGOP should be experiencing a sweeping change. Raunerites will be gone.
Newsflash - Ives won two months ago. She won’t be facing Pritzker while he’s fresh. She’ll face him after he’s blundered through a term in office instead when citizens will have second doubts.
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 11:55 am:
Also Madigan won’t be around four years from now and won’t be an issue.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 11:56 am:
===Also Madigan won’t be around four years from now and won’t be an issue.===
What do you base THAT on…
- wordslinger - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 12:00 pm:
–Newsflash - Ives won two months ago. She won’t be facing Pritzker while he’s fresh. She’ll face him after he’s blundered through a term in office instead when citizens will have second doubts.–
It really doesn’t work that way. There are no sure things 4.5 years from now, for many obvious reasons.
She can, and will, I suspect, hurt Rauner all the way to November.
- Annonin' - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 12:22 pm:
“Also Madigan won’t be around four years from now and won’t be an issue.”
Mr/Ms VanillaMan
Huh?
- ste_with a v_en - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 12:42 pm:
“Newsflash - Ives won two months ago”
Losing is winning
Up is down
Black is white
- A guy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 1:29 pm:
==She can, and will, I suspect, hurt Rauner all the way to November.===
Why would it end in November (either way?) She may follow him to Montana or Italy to keep the flames burning.
- Arsenal - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 1:56 pm:
==The two other candidates called JB just as many bad names as Ives has called Rauner. ==
And then they stopped, while Jeanne is still piecing Rauner up. And I don’t see any Dem legislators launching Indy bids.
Dems certainly have divisions. Always have always will. But ILGOP’s the only one at each other’s necks right now.
- Real - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 2:09 pm:
Obviously Ive’s didn’t hear the messages as she thinks Schneider is directing Rauner and not the other way around. If she heard the message she would not be voting for Rauner.
- littleton - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 2:29 pm:
== That leaves Ives and whoever else survives as Rauner replacements. ==
Ives and others that backed Rauner have been doing cartwheels to prove they aren’t Raunerites. The reality is they hitched themselves to his train for four years. They can deny it all they want but they really can’t.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 2:45 pm:
===The reality is they hitched themselves to his train for four years. They can deny it all they want but they really can’t.===
It was 3 years, they ran a whole primary against him, wounded him, and are still not giving quarter, with a goal to defeat Bruce Rauner, as Ives made clear, by stating that “Kirking” Rauner is the long term plan.
I dunno if what Ives is doing now would be called helpful to Rauner in any way, but…
- littleton - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 2:58 pm:
== It was 3 years, they ran a whole primary against him, wounded him, and are still not giving quarter, with a goal to defeat Bruce Rauner, as Ives made clear, by stating that “Kirking” Rauner is the long term plan. ==
Ives and the other former Raunerites were late to this party. I guess for some it’s just fine that they hung out in Rauner’s back pocket for three years. Others don’t quite see it that way.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 3:03 pm:
===Ives and the other former Raunerites were late to this party. I guess for some it’s just fine that they hung out in Rauner’s back pocket for three years. Others don’t quite see it that way.===
lol, you go with that.
Psst. You need their help to take out Rauner. One at a time. Rauner. Then, have at the others, but know… they’re helping defeat Rauner, keep up.
- littleton - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 3:31 pm:
== psst. You need their help to take out Rauner ==
No, we don’t need people who have let us down. The people will decide. It has nothing to do with Ives or anyone else. Only the inside baseballers care about the infighting. The people made up their minds already. It doesn’t look like Rauner can change that and Ives wasn’t a factor but a result.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 3:45 pm:
- littleton -
Well, “good luck with all that”
I’m done feeding you.
- Board Watcher - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 3:46 pm:
Ives is so far to the right that JB would beat her by 65-35 if she is lucky. Miss Ives is Allan Keys but younger. The woman has a Zero chance of ever winning a state wide race. And she will never be the face of the IL GOP in 2022.
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 4:06 pm:
Some of you guys are more interested in trolling than looking ahead.
When Rauner is gone, every dynamic changes. Madigan can spend time with Lisa’s family and enjoy himself. Pritzker can figure out how he wants to govern. Ives can lay out plans for 2022.
It’s best for Ives to torch the losing Raunerites and build on her protest voters from March. Doing so separates herself from the losers. Few want Rauner around after November. ILGOP needs to be completely rebuilt. In 2020 the President will want to see signs of life in Illinois, so some funding will be available for ILGOP in another year. It can keep Ives alive.
ILGOPers who are opposed to her will have slim pickings to choose from. They’ll have to get a homesick congressman to return to challenge her. There are a few good future candidates currently in DC.
Bashing Ives is a fool’s game until she tries to run again. Besides, it’s sexist as well. Find new arguments.
- Pundent - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 4:39 pm:
=ILGOPers who are opposed to her will have slim pickings to choose from.=
If Ives is the best that the ILGOP can do it will be a long, long, time before they’re back in the governors office.
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 4:49 pm:
The pendulum swings both ways. If Governor Pritzker flames out and ILGOP gets someone more attractive, things will change again.
- littleton - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 7:39 pm:
Don’t need nor want to be fed. I do think I have a right to speak my mind and express my disappointment like everyone else.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 7:42 pm:
===Don’t need nor want to be fed. I do think I have a right to speak my mind and express my disappointment like everyone else.===
Actually, that’s very well said. We’re all disappointed.
We need to find reasonable and possible solutions too.
Keep up the good fight.
OW
- BlueDogDem - Tuesday, May 8, 18 @ 9:07 pm:
Prediction..JB wins governors race handily. JB raises both income taxes and sales tax on services. JB raises state motor fuel tax. Ives definetly waiting in the wings in 2022.
- Pundent - Wednesday, May 9, 18 @ 8:10 am:
=If Governor Pritzker flames out and ILGOP gets someone more attractive, things will change again.=
Agreed. But the ILGOP is going to have to do much better than Ives. But I don’t think that will be a problem next time around. The rise of the Ives candidacy was directly tied to the unpopularity of Rauner within his own party. Those dynamics won’t exist in 2022. Ives, much like Alan Keyes, will be an interesting footnote.