Notice that she is the one who is responsible for his resignation. Her allegations, not his behavior, are the distraction. Great example of how not to respond to allegations of sexual harassment or revenge porn made against you, esp. when your own friends called on you to resign.
The [police] report doesn’t describe the photos, but says her former boyfriend asked her to “participate in the acts depicted.”
On July 20, a detective was assigned to investigate but doesn’t appear to have done any follow-up yet, a police source said.
The report is currently listed as a “sex offense-obscenity materials (consisting of lewd writing, pictures, pornographic materials, etc. – with a predominant appeal to prurient interest – not involving children.)”
The report is currently not listed under “non-consensual dissemination of private sexual images (e.g., Revenge Porn,” but the report could be re-assigned a classification when it is further investigated.
Gov. Pat Quinn in 2015 signed legislation making that classification a felony offense. Those convicted of the “revenge porn” law could get one to three years in prison with a fine of up to $25,000.
Conservative group @nwsgop planning gathering for union members–tho its biggest donor, Illinois Liberty PAC, was run until May by president of @LJCenter, which helped take #JANUSvsAFSCME case to #SCOTUS to win restrictions on union powerhttps://t.co/7bUAyJ0T9W
Union-Friendly Republican Party
August 11 @ 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Big indoor / outdoor party with a band and tents. Cash bar. $10 cover. Buy tickets at door. Cash only please.
The Northwest Side GOP Club has many card-carrying union members and we want to invite more to join us for a good time. We will have awesome raffles as always.
If you are a card-carrying, independent-minded, right-leaning carpenter, bricklayer, operating engineer, iron worker, electrician, plumber, police officer, firefighter, paramedic, teacher, janitor, auto-mechanic, or truck driver, come hang out and have a great time with friends.
A TBD band will be playing. Come hang out with Ammie Kessem and others.
Illinois Republicans want to take back state road money that’s been dedicated in the budget for former President Barack Obama’s presidential center in Chicago.
The white-tailed deer is so beloved in Illinois that schoolchildren voted to make it the official state animal in 1980. So proposals to mess with the health and habits of the forest-dwelling does and bucks tend to generate ferocious debate.
Such is the case with a bill that would launch a trial program to see what might happen to the state’s wild herd if Illinois lifts a 15-year-old rule that makes it illegal to feed deer. In a five-year experiment, feeding deer would be legal in some parts of the state in a study gauging the health effects of doing so.
Supporters, including the makers and distributors of deer feed, say the test will show whether the wild animals could better fight off some illnesses if they are given a nutritional feed infused with supplements like proteins, vitamins and minerals. […]
Foes fear that establishing feeding stations would attract large gatherings of the animals, making healthy deer vulnerable to catching and spreading a variety of diseases. The most worrisome is chronic wasting disease, often known by the shorthand CWD. It’s an infectious, debilitating condition that wrecks a deer’s nervous system. It is present in deer saliva, urine and feces. And it is fatal. […]
“It opens the door to statewide devastation of the deer herd, and no one knows the human or livestock implications,” said Brent Manning, a leading opponent who formerly served as director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “This is the biggest wildlife bungle the General Assembly could possibly make.”
FYI Rauner said he signed a bill this morning that allows kids to be able to use medical marijuana in schools. Paperwork still being filed, gov’s office says.
* Rauner signs law providing protection for EpiPen prescribers: The original law provided legal liability protection to police officers who administer so-called EpiPen injections to those suffering allergic reactions. The new law protects doctors and others who write standing EpiPen prescriptions for police agencies to carry them.
Third-party candidate Sam McCann reported receiving $550,000 last week from the Engineers Political Education, the Washington-based political arm of the union that’s endorsing both him and Democrat J.B. Prtizker, according to campaign finance records filed Monday.
McCann, who’s running under the Conservative Party banner, previously reported that various entities of the International Union of Operating Engineers have given his campaign $200,000 in direct cash — half coming from Local 150, records show. Local 150 provided $77,692 in assistance, including more than $60,000 on professional petition passers, to help McCann make the November ballot.
In a statement, Travis Sterling, recently named as the new executive director of the state GOP, sought to paint the operating engineers involvement as revealing that McCann was a “Democratic plant whose sole purpose in this race is to benefit Mike Madigan and J.B. Pritzker.”
* McCann’s campaign released this statement from the candidate today…
Since Governor Rauner took office, he has made union members and middle class workers out to be the “bad guys” in Illinois, constantly blaming them for economic strife and making reduction of their quality of life a central part of his plan to return Illinois to fiscal health. Enough is enough.
Illinois does better when middle class workers are doing well. When workers can earn a living, get benefits, and plan for their retirement through their jobs, it reduces demand for government services. Our state should celebrate those jobs and try to create more of them.
A strong and vibrant middle class adds value to Illinois. I want to grow a middle class economy where workers are moving forward instead of losing ground. And union members won’t have to look over their shoulders if I am elected Governor.
Limiting workers’ rights, reducing wages, and attacking benefits is not the way to economic prosperity. I’ve fought Bruce Rauner’s attempts to weaken unions and hurt workers in Illinois, and I will continue this fight as Governor.
Former President Barack Obama is endorsing Democrat J.B. Pritzker for Illinois governor. He’s also backing Kwame Raoul for attorney general and three Illinois Democrats looking to unseat GOP congressmen.
Obama announced his first midterm endorsements Wednesday and said he expects to campaign for several of them this fall.
The three Democratic U.S. House candidates Obama endorsed are Sean Casten, who’s running against Rep. Peter Roskam; Brendan Kelly, who’s challenging Rep. Mike Bost and Lauren Underwood, who’s trying to unseat Rep. Randy Hultgren.
* One reason Pritzker needs even totally expected endorsements like this is because he’s still a relatively unknown quantity, even after a katrillion dollars in TV ads. His favorability is also low, so he could use as many boosts as he can get…
His endorsement confirms his belief in our mission: that we are committed to fighting for the working families of Illinois and that we will get Springfield back on their side again. We’re so proud to have his support.
I sincerely appreciate the endorsement of my predecessor in the Illinois Senate and a great president, Barack Obama. We have lived in the same neighborhood, represented the same communities and worked to address many of the same challenges. His confidence is meaningful to me as I seek to continue my advocacy as Attorney General.
Mayoral candidate Willie Wilson says he handed out more than $100K in $500 checks today to help Cook Co homeowners pay their prop taxes. Says will keep doing so unless a law gets passed outlawing the practice.
The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) filed a formal complaint with the state today against Willie Wilson’s mayoral committee for failing to disclose money spent by the Dr. Willie Wilson Foundation to promote his candidacy.
Wilson gave away a reported $300,000, including personally handing out a significant amount of cash, at a July 22nd event in Chicago. The money was reportedly provided by Wilson’s foundation, but the giveaway was promoted with a press release from Wilson’s campaign spokesman and the event was streamed live on Wilson’s campaign Facebook page.
ICPR believes the money spent by the foundation at the July 22nd event should have been disclosed as an in-kind contribution to the Wilson campaign because it was of material value to the campaign (the legal standard). Because the contribution was over $1,000, ICPR believes it should have been publicly reported on state campaign finance reports within 5 business days. That has not occurred. The complaint was filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
“We don’t take issue with a charitable foundation helping people, but when such actions are so clearly tied to a political campaign, that has to be disclosed because the public has a right to know how campaigns are spending money and where it comes from,” said ICPR Executive Director Mary Miro. “As the organization in the forefront of fighting the corrosive influence of money in politics, ICPR is compelled to file this complaint where the appearance of impropriety is so obvious.”
ICPR remains concerned about the continued potential for a blurring of lines between charities and politics – as vividly illustrated by a video of a mayoral candidate handing out cash at a campaign-like event. ICPR is also concerned with the apparent legality of Gov. Bruce Rauner contributing to the foundation, attending the money giveaway event and benefiting from it politically.
As Illinois’ leading nonprofit dedicated to addressing the role of money in politics and encouraging integrity, accountability and transparency in government, ICPR will continue to explore ways to make Illinois’ campaign finance laws clearer and more easily enforceable so the public can see how money is influencing their elections.
Although Wilson’s campaign argues that the Foundation has regularly given money away in this fashion, the most recent available Form 990 for the Foundation lists only $5,468 in assets on hand. See Exh. 1. In 2016, the Foundation spent approximately $24,500 on bail payouts, but it does not list any payments for property tax assistance, and the amount given away by the Foundation in the entire 2016 fiscal year was less than 10% of the amount given away in the one-day event on July 22, 2018. This is persuasive evidence that the purpose of the giveaway was, at least in material part, to promote Wilson’s campaign for Mayor of Chicago.
Complainant believes this is a potential violation of Illinois campaign finance law. To the extent that Wilson was in fact giving away money from the Foundation and promoting this giveaway through videos on his campaign Facebook page and through his campaign spokesperson, the money from the Foundation should be reported as an in-kind contribution. A “contribution” includes “anything of value, knowingly received in connection with . . . election . . . of any candidate or person to or in public office.” 10 ILCS 5/9-1.4(A)(1). Moreover, the money given away by Wilson at one event should be considered a single in-kind contribution from the Foundation to the Committee of $1,000 or more that has not been reported on an A-1 within 5 business days. An A-1 is required to be filed within 5 business days of receiving a contribution of $1,000 or more. 10 ILCS 5/9-10(c). As such, the Board should fine the Committee for its delinquent A-1 and require it to report the cash giveaway of $300,000 as an in-kind contribution from the Foundation to the Committee.
In addition, Complainant believes that there may be additional campaign finance law violations upon further investigation by the Board. Although Wilson’s campaign states that the money given away came from his Foundation, the most recent filing indicates that the Foundation had just over $5,000 in assets. As such, there is a reasonable question as to whether the money given away was from the Foundation or from Wilson’s personal assets. Moreover, to the extent that Wilson donated money to the Foundation for the express purpose of promoting himself as a philanthropist to further his campaign, this could potentially be a direct contribution to the campaign that has not been reported.
A new report out today from the Illinois Policy Institute concludes that the cost of worker pensions is soaking up a larger and larger share of your property taxes, on average 45 cents of every extra dollar levied by school districts, city halls and other local government statewide between 1996 and 2016.
Except, the state funds teacher pensions, not local school districts. The explanation…
According to its findings, 31 percent of local property-tax increases (on average $3,213 a year) had to be imposed because $3.2 billion a year in state aid was diverted to pay pensions through the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, which pays pensions for all teachers statewide except in Chicago. In other words, if the local districts had received their previous share of state spending, they wouldn’t have had to raise property taxes to pay for operations.
Of course, that assumes that the state would have appropriated as much if pensions weren’t on the table. And it assumes districts would not have raised their taxes had the state aid been available. So, what the institute is measuring here is a bit indirect.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda.
* And as One Illinois notes, the Illinois Policy Institute wants to shift state pension payment responsibilities down to local school district taxpayers…
“The most egregious thing about the article is the IPI wants to have it both ways,” said Bridget Shanahan, spokeswoman for the Illinois Education Association, which of course is in the IPI’s crosshairs as the state’s leading teacher organization, with 135,000 members. “They’re complaining about property taxes being too high on the one hand, but on the other hand the IPI wants to shift more pension costs onto local school districts,” as with language “buried” in the state budget compromise that passed earlier this year.
* Give him points for staying on message, but this is just ridic…
Rauner says Sauer, a House Republican, should resign but says “there’s no culture I created. Madigan in the Legislature created a culture of abuse…what’s clear is Madigan has hidden accusations.”
"There is no culture that I have created," Rauner says in wake of Rep. Nick Sauer story, and calls for Sauer resignation. When pressed on whether incident shows a bipartisan sexual harassment problem, Rauner puts the blame on Speaker Madigan for creating that culture.
Earlier this year, Governor Bruce Rauner appointed Nick to serve as a Director on the Illinois Tollway Board.
Sauer is Rauner’s guy.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Rauner campaign called to say that the governor was asked by a reporter about his past remarks that Speaker Madigan had created a culture of harassment. If that’s the case, the governor was asked, then did Rauner create a culture that was responsible for Sauer. And that’s when the governor said he didn’t create a culture.
…Adding… Transcript from Team Rauner…
Pearson: What is your reaction to the Nick Sauer event? And what does that say, you and Lt. Gov. Sanguinetti have attacked Madigan for creating a pervasive culture of harassment. What does that say about Nick Sauer and what he did?
Rauner: I just learned about the allegations against him this morning. He should resign. And my understanding is that he’s going to resign and that’s the right thing for him to do. He should resign.
Pearon: But what about the pervasive culture that you say Mike Madigan created? This is a guy you appointed to the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.
Rauner: There is no culture that I’ve created. Madigan in the legislature has created a culture of abuse. People all around him had to resign because they’ve been caught. What’s clear is that Madigan has hidden accusations. He has pushed back against those who have come forward, and his lieutenants have threatened individuals. He’s created a culture of harassment and of hiding the harassment and that culture has to be brought out and exposed and those responsible should be removed from office.
…Adding… The Rauner campaign left off Pearson’s third question…
Pearson: But isn’t there a bipartisan culture of harassment that exists?
Rauner: The legislature clearly has been existing in a culture of harassment, and that culture is created by Mike Madigan.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Hmm…
Well except for when @GovRauner literally created a culture of sexual harassment at DOC by appointing a known offender as an administrator (who was then caught harassing women on video.) Or when he appointed Ken Dunkin to MWRD. Nothing to see here! #twill#TimesUpIL#metoohttps://t.co/bYxpqncRIX
Oh! I was worried when I read the tweets the Gov was politicizing a sex crime to shift blame to a political rival and in doing so entirely confirmed Pritzker’s point that he will blame Madigan for everything. In reality, the transcript shows the Gov was just politicizing a sex crime to shift blame to a political rival and in doing so entirely confirmed Pritzker’s point that he will blame Madigan for everything.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Sen. Sam McCann…
Nick Sauer’s alleged actions are deeply disturbing on many levels, and they destroy Sauer’s attempt to portray himself as a conservative. Illinois’ Conservative Party has no room for individuals who demonstrate this kind of sick, troubling behavior.
Bruce Rauner and his enablers put Nick Sauer in office, and appointed him to paid leadership positions like the Toll Highway Authority board. Bruce Rauner can’t distance himself from Nick Sauer now. This is just one more example of Bruce Rauner’s bad judgment embarrassing our state.
*** UPDATE 4 *** With a hat tip to a commenter, this is from 2015…
A national women’s organization is challenging Gov. Bruce Rauner’s appointments to the Illinois Tollway, saying he is violating state law by creating an all-male board.
Over the past three months, Rauner has named five male directors and re-appointed another to the nine-member Tollway board, which already included three men.
In addition, Rauner backed Greg Bedalov as the agency’s new executive director. Bedalov replaced Kristi Lafleur, who had held the post under the tenure of former Gov. Pat Quinn.
The National Council of Women’s Organizations is charging that Rauner is violating the Illinois Gender Balanced Appointments Act. The 1991 law is aimed at equalizing representation on state panels “with a good faith attempt to seek gender balance.” It makes no mention of consequences for failing to comply.
Employees at the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Fulton Street office say they are battling a bedbug infestation.
An employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said the 2650 W. Fulton St. location has had bedbugs in the past, but the current problem at the department’s West Side office started a few weeks ago.
The employee filed a grievance with AFSCME Local 2858, which took the matter to management. It took higher ups about four days before a fumigator was called in and only one room was fumigated, union spokesman Anders Lindall said.
“We are not convinced they’re resolved. The local union has requested that management have the fumigators inspect the infested areas before employees are returned to work in them,” he said.
Usually, grievances like this one don’t get filed unless management is failing to do something about the problem. In other words, I’d bet this grievance isn’t the first time management knew of the bedbug issue. That the employees felt the need to take the matter up with the Sun-Times indicates even more management indifference.
But, hey, no worries. The union isn’t needed, right? The administration cares for the workers much more than that awful Afscammy.
Employees of an Illinois Department of Human Services office on Tuesday called on Gov. Bruce Rauner to create a “rapid response and comprehensive” bedbug protocol after a recent infestation at one of the department’s Chicago offices.
The group, brought together by the Alliance for Community Services, brought a letter listing their demands to Rauner. […]
One room was fumigated, even though the bugs were found in other areas of the office. Edwards says employees were told to catch the bedbugs as proof of their existence for other rooms to be fumigated.
“This is just another example of the Rauner administration’s neglecting the staff,” Edwards said. “As one of the staff representatives told me, ‘you shouldn’t have to catch Cujo in order to prove he has rabies.’ I think it’s quite telling that the Rauner administration has neglected staff, and it’s a sad tale of the continued neglect from downstate.”
A couple friends of mine suffered through a bedbug infestation after staying at a nice hotel. The nasty things were everywhere in their house. You can’t just fumigate one room because they move. And those bites will drive you crazy.
* And yet, according to Rep. Skillicorn, this is “comedy gold”…
This is comedy gold. Bureaucrats who are responsible for running our lives can’t handle #bedbugs in their office.
Employees of bedbug infested state office take letter of demands to Gov. Rauner https://t.co/hhPgkmpexv
I don’t get the joke. Are the workers supposed to hire an exterminator? Are they just supposed to tough it out and deal with the bedbugs forever? Also, how does the Department of Human Services run our lives?
Leave the comedy to comedians.
*** UPDATE *** From IDHS…
The IDHS facility in question was treated for bed bugs within 1 business day of the initial report of bed bugs. Staff were removed from the area immediately after the bugs were spotted. Bed bug monitoring devices have been installed at the facility and pest control has consistently visited to treat the area and monitor the situation. Only one additional bed bug has been seen after the initial sighting and there has been no other bed bug activity reported at this office since.
Like any other public office, bed bug activity is a result of many different people visiting our offices every day. We take the health and safety of our staff and customers seriously and are happy to have dedicated local staff that acted so promptly in response to this situation. We encourage all staff or customers to report any sightings of bed bugs to our management immediately so we can act as quickly as possible.
If you’ve seen one bug, there are definitely lots more. Just sayin…
1) Puppies! So cute! Very nice deflection and thanks for the positive ad;
2) “Because… Madigan!” must really be working if they’re using puppies;
3) Who puts Mike Madigan in their own ads?
Narrator: Mike Madigan hates puppies. Mike Madigan hates sunshine. JB Pritzker and Mike Madigan are Democrats, so JB Pritzker must hate puppies and sunshine.
JB Pritzker: It’s ridiculous. Bruce Rauner is a failure and he blames everyone but himself. As a businessman, I’ve helped create thousands of jobs by bringing people together to solve problems and get results, and that’s what I’ll do as Governor. And, for the record, I love puppies.
An early and combative campaign for governor has used millions of dollars of the candidates’ wealth to focus on symbols: House Speaker Michael Madigan. President Donald Trump. Toilets and taxes. And now puppies.
Democratic candidate J.B. Pritzker is launching Wednesday a new ad to show he likes puppies — a largely humorous and mocking rebuttal to more than a year of attacks by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
In the ad, a narrator says, “Mike Madigan hates puppies. Mike Madigan hates sunshine. J.B. Pritzker and Mike Madigan are Democrats. So J.B. Pritzker must hate puppies and sunshine.” […]
While lighthearted in nature, the ad underscores the success of Rauner’s well-funded attempts to tarnish Madigan and link a host of Democratic candidates to the veteran House speaker and state Democratic Party chair.
And it turns out Madigan doesn’t hate puppies or sunshine, the speaker’s spokesman said.
“He thinks they’re very important parts of society,” Steve Brown said.
“And there’s no real record of him hating puppies and sunshine.”
Brown also disputed Rauner’s portrayal of the speaker.
“There’s no real record of the corruption claims that Bruce Rauner makes. Any of them,” Brown said. “It’s a pretty consistent thing. Rauner has consistently hung his hat on it, failing to accomplish anything as governor and blaming it all on Madigan. And it’s all showing in the data and what he’s going through right now that it hasn’t worked.”
* Rauner campaign…
Today, the Pritzker campaign launched a TV ad that tries — and fails — to defend JB Pritzker’s corrupt relationship with Mike Madigan. But Illinois voters know the truth. The Rauner campaign issued the following response:
“JB Pritzker may love puppies, but it’s clear he loves Mike Madigan more. Pritzker and Madigan both want to raise taxes, turn a blind eye to corruption, and put their own political ambition ahead of protecting victims of sexual harassment. JB Pritzker is Mike Madigan’s candidate — and his piggy bank — and the Pritzker-Madigan ticket offers nothing more than higher taxes and more corruption.”
- Rauner campaign spokesman Alex Browning
A former girlfriend of Illinois state Rep. Nick Sauer has filed an official complaint accusing the first-term Republican of creating a fake Instagram account and populating it with nude photos of her to lure men into “graphic” discussions.
According to the complaint filed by ex-girlfriend Kate Kelly with the Office of the Legislative Inspector General and obtained by POLITICO, Sauer used the Instagram account “to catfish other men using my privately shared naked photos. Nick would use this account to direct message men with my photos to engage in graphic conversations of a sexual nature. The men believed they were communicating with me and Nick shared private details of my life.”
In her complaint, Kelly states that she filed a police report with the Chicago Police Department and that there is “an active investigation” into her claims. CPD has not yet complied with POLITICO’s Freedom of Information Act request for the police report. […]
The complaint says Kelly’s employer helped her determine how long the fake Instagram account had been in use based on when messages were sent, which was close to the time they had started dating.
In her complaint, Kelly writes that Sauer admitted as much. “He came to my house & confessed to catfishing men with my photos for 2 years to at least 8 men. He was unable to provide the names and begged that I let it go,” she wrote.
Sauer hasn’t yet been charged with a crime.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From House Republican Leader Jim Durkin…
The allegations that have come forth against Representative Nick Sauer are troubling. He will be resigning from office today. We should allow the proper authorities to conduct their investigations.
…Adding… This is his Senator…
“These are very serious allegations and Representative Nick Sauer has made the right decision to resign his seat in the Illinois House of Representatives,” said State Sen. Dan McConchie (R-26th District).
*** UPDATE 2 *** This is a good explanation of what the real issues are here…
Illinois State Senator Melinda Bush issued the following statement calling for Rep. Nick Sauer to resign after allegations of sexual harassment and violation of Illinois’ “revenge-porn” law by releasing nude photos of an ex-girlfriend without her consent:
“I want to first thank Kate Kelly for her bravery in speaking out against the sexual harassment she endured by Rep. Nick Sauer. This is exactly why I fought for the creation of the Joint Task Force on Sexual Discrimination and Harassment Awareness and Prevention, so we could give victims a safe space to come forward and so we can take the necessary steps to change the culture in Springfield and eliminate sexual harassment.
“The allegations against Rep. Sauer, which I believe are true, goes beyond harassment and crosses the line between predatory and criminal. We passed the so-called “revenge porn” law in 2015 to make these kinds of non-consensual releases of private sexual images a felony offense in Illinois.
“Early this morning, I personally reached out to Sen. Jil Tracy (R - Quincy), the co-chair of the joint task force on sexual harassment to ask for Rep. Sauer to be immediately removed from this task force. And unless Rep. Sauer has credible evidence to address the accusations against him, I believe he should immediately resign from his position as state representative.
“Democrat or Republican - this behavior is inappropriate and unbecoming of someone elected to serve the public. I applaud the Illinois Republican Party for calling for Rep. Sauer’s resignation; I hope he will do the right thing and step down immediately.
Sen. Bush co-chairs the Joint Task Force on Sexual Discrimination and Harassment Awareness and Prevention and serves of the Anti-Harassment, Equality and Access panel formed earlier this year.
