The office of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker asked the editor of a west-central Illinois newspaper in February to unpublish a news story by The Center Square about the governor’s plans to cut spending if voters don’t pass a progressive income tax in November.
In an email to the editor of The Jacksonville Journal-Courier, a spokeswoman for the governor said the article was “flawed” and lacked context.
“This ‘article’ is filled with mischaracterizations and devoid of any context in which the Governor talked about the budget challenges the state faces and how, as he said and is not reported, the state will have to manage through them,” spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh wrote in the Feb. 10 email. “Ultimately, it would be prudent to take down this partisan content masquerading as news.”
A nearly 2-minute video that accompanies the same story on The Center Square’s website shows Pritzker saying what he is quoted as saying in the story. The governor’s office did not alert The Center Square to any errors in the Feb. 7 article, headlined “If voters reject progressive income tax, Pritzker promises to cut state spending,” and no corrections were published.
“We have a clear corrections policy. The Center Square story in question is accurate – both factually and contextually – and the Jacksonville Journal-Courier, which refused to comply with this outrageous request, agrees with us,” Chris Krug – publisher of The Center Square, the national nonprofit, nonpartisan newswire – said Monday. “It’s shameful that Gov. Pritzker and his office would attempt to bully a news media outlet into unpublishing a factual news story – for any reason.”
David Bauer, editor and publisher of the Jacksonville Journal-Courier, has been out of the office and unavailable for comment.
The Center Square obtained the email through a request under the state’s open records laws. At least three other news outlets also published The Center Square story.
In the email to the Jacksonville Journal-Courier, Abudayyeh called The Center Square’s reporting partisan and included a link to a Columbia Journalism Review article that does not mention the nonprofit news organization.
“The governor’s office attempted to mislead an Illinois news outlet by linking to a story that is not about The Center Square,” Krug said. “Media has a responsibility to accurately report the news. This is a blatant attempt to censor the news. The governor has no business policing media for stories with which he disagrees. He owes our team an apology.”
Abudayyeh, who previously worked as a reporter for WICS TV in Springfield, did not respond to a request for comment about her email to the Jacksonville newspaper.
Pritzker has made changing the state’s constitution to allow for a progressive income tax the cornerstone of his first term in office. His $42 billion fiscal 2021 budget proposal includes $1.4 billion in new revenue from a proposed progressive income tax that voters won’t decide on until November.
The Center Square covers state government and statewide issues in Illinois and 24 other states with a focus on government taxing, spending and regulatory issues. It allows other news media outlets to republish its stories.
Sam Fisher, president and CEO of the Illinois Press Association, whose organization operates the Illinois First Amendment Center, declined to comment.
Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, said the governor’s office did nothing illegal but said it smacked of “intimidation.”
“The governor’s office is probably within its right to make this request but it does smack of intimidation for the governor’s office to presume to tell a news outlet what it should and should not publish,” Lueders, who also is editor of Progressive magazine, said. “But the ultimate decision is with the news outlet. I think journalists often get blowback from politicians and they need to defend their rights to publish what they want to publish. I’m glad that the newspaper, in this case, didn’t give in to it.”
Pritzker’s office’s attempt to kill a news story is not the first time staff of a sitting U.S. governor has attempted to have a Center Square story unpublished.
In September, the office of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis asked editors of two Colorado newspapers to unpublish a news story by The Center Square that raised the question of the cost of a new office Polis created and included a comment from a Senate GOP spokesperson criticizing the fact it was the third new office created this year. Both Colorado newspapers also refused to comply with the request.
The Pritzker administration does not respond to any inquiries from Center Square reporters, but the governor does take questions from them at press conferences.
- JB13 - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 10:48 am:
– The Pritzker administration does not respond to any inquiries from Center Square reporters –
Maybe the governor’s obviously super professional press office could publish some guidelines on how it defines “media worthy of a reply.”
- Spiro Agnew - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 10:50 am:
Best-Paid Team in America strikes again.
Attempting to browbeat an editor via email.
A former t.v. reporter lecturing one of the state’s oldest newspapers about “lack of context.”
Is this the new ABC sitcom?
- Da Lobsta - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 10:58 am:
Can’t wait to see the IPI cartoon recap.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 11:00 am:
===Attempting to browbeat an editor via email===
LOL
Because that has NEVER happened before. I used to get screaming calls from Team Rauner on an almost daily basis. Part of the job.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 11:01 am:
===… made fun of the liberal governor for warning about 15 percent budget cuts that everybody knows he’ll never willingly make.===
This, all day.
The response, by Ms. Bourne, and others, of “holding school funding hostage” is like the junior high level of political acumen. I was hoping *anyone* would at least get to the collegiate level of political understanding, at it turns out Rich is gonna help y’all.
Governors own.
“… liberal governor for warning about 15 percent budget cuts that everybody knows he’ll never willingly make.“
The lunacy that the minority party folks whine and complain about “tax, tax, tax and spend Pritzker” but wholly ignore the “welp, if Governor Pritzker wants to own that cut, then the Governor can blame the voters and not us (legislators)”
Since Rich gave up the play, I’ll go further. Y’all, the minority party, are off the hook, you have yet to realize it. It’s like your press shops and legislative “thinkers” refuse to take the smart play… purposely.
The reason I kept on “show your cuts” is I was yet to read, hear, see anyone look at what was being said and let the governor “own” it.
Y’all went “hostage”. Why?
A liberal Democratic Governor is talking serious “cuts” and no one wanted to call that bluff?
“Governor Pritzker is looking to raise taxes or own cuts to education. If those cuts come, we’ll see how deep Governor Pritzker will choose to go”
You wanna keep Pritzker busy, have him defend the cuts, not blow off the ridiculousness that is a “hostage” take.
It’s… “Pritzker is holding hostage schools…”
Or… “If it’s up to the Governor, he’s going to cut money for schools”
That’s how you play chicken with “Governors Own”
Ask Bruce Rauner.
- Spiro Agnew - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 11:10 am:
Rich -
A phone call, screaming or not, is atleast a sign of professional respect.
Phone calls atleast offer the possibility you the spot might listen to your “constructive feedback”.
This is a form letter.
Did she send a form letter to the editor because she has never taken the time to actually call the Jacksonville editor?
She put the word article in quotes.
Pritzker ran, in part, on a promise to rise above the pettiness of the Rauner administration.
Her petty feud with Center Square only elevated them.
She should drop The Enemies List.
- Chichi55 - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 11:15 am:
Pritzker has his future at stake, as governor, in the progressive tax. If it doesn’t pass it will be his fault and also the results there of.
- Defend real journalism - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 11:28 am:
It’s clear that shapes based “news outlet” isn’t real news. It’s funded by a bunch of people that have a clear political agenda. Just because you provide free content to struggling small news outlets and they republish your trash because the industry is struggling for content doesn’t make you a legitimate news organization.
- Jacksonville Resident - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 11:34 am:
Pritzker has 0 allies in West Central Illinois, and this will only strengthen that hatred. The JJC publishes in most of the counties west of Springfield. A few were pretty blue last decade, but they have been voting red since Blago.
They truly feel like they are Forgottonia. Despite the governor’s press tour during the Spring flooding last year, he gained no support. No one wants taxes over here and out-migration/population loss has hurt this portion of the state the most. Likely when redistricting happens, this portion of the state will lose one of its congressional seats - likely Shimkus’ seat getting absorbed into LaHood and Davis. As far as General Assembly representation goes, a lot of know-nothing GOPers over here very rarely get anything done and vote “no” on everything. What about West Central IL governor? What have you done for us lately? is the sentiments you’ll hear in about 12 county radius.
- Hard D - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 11:42 am:
Maybe the paper can ask Pritzker why they haven’t started dispersing the money from the Capital Bill? I know a lot of agencies promised money haven’t seen dime one from the big gas tax increase. Or is he holding the money hostage in case his graduated tax increase gets shot down.
- Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 11:46 am:
If newspapers funded by people with a political agenda are “fake news”, are politicians supposed to stop responding the inquiries from the Washington Post , New York Times and CNN et al?
- Thomas Paine - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 11:55 am:
=== . I used to get screaming calls from Team Rauner on an almost daily basis. ===
Judging from the outcome, that was not a very effective approach.
Also, we are supposed to be changing the bullying culture in Springfield, and that ought to apply to both female and male reporters.
Having some flack call you up and yell at you every day is not “part of the job.”
- Anyone Remember - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 11:59 am:
Center Square is partisan. It is rare to find an actual mistake. For instance, Benjamin Yount’s December 2017 story on former State Fair Superintendent Kevin Gordon’s pension, which is $44K, not the $68K Yount reported.
More often what Center Square does manifested itself in December 2018. Greg Hinz wrote a story about some limited good news for state pensions, not so much for Chicago / CPS / Cook County. Rich featured it as “Kinda sorta slightly good news …” Greg Bishop & Cole Lauterbach? As was noted in April 2019 … “The next day on WMAY Greg Bishop only reported the bad news, and on INN Cole Lauterbach breathlessly reported the bad news that Illinoisans are among the worst in the country … at driving in school zones.”
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 12:11 pm:
“As far as General Assembly representation goes, a lot of know-nothing GOPers over here very rarely get anything done and vote “no” on everything.
That describes my representatives.
Come take a drive on 125 from Virginia to Beardstown and then marvel at the condition of the 67/100/125 intersection before you glide across our patch laden Illinois River bridge.
- Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 12:18 pm:
- Hard D - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 11:42 am:
Do you understand how loans and markets work?
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 12:21 pm:
=A phone call, screaming or not, is atleast a sign of professional respect.=
Yeah, I always feel the “professional respect” when some one calls and screams at me. /S
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 12:25 pm:
Has anyone watched the video of Pritzker that is on the Center Square website and read the article that was in the JJ-C?
- 17% Solution - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 12:26 pm:
== Pritzker has 0 allies in West Central Illinois.==
Close to 40% in Morgan County voted for Pritzker last election.
==What about West Central IL governor? What have you done for us lately?==
No infrastructure projects from the 45 billion infrastructure bill?
- Lester Holt’s Mustache - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 12:39 pm:
==No infrastructure projects from the 45 billion infrastructure bill?==
Pike county is getting $70 million to replace the bridge over the Illinois River at Florence. I know there are a lot more projects for W-C Illinois, but that’s the only one I remember off the top of my head. You’ll have to ignore Resident, nothing JB does will ever be good enough because he doesn’t have an R next to his name
- Robert the Bruce - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 12:42 pm:
==The Pritzker administration does not respond to any inquiries from Center Square reporters==
It must be annoying for Center Square to have their questions ignored and then their articles questioned. If you want your version of history to be considered for inclusion, answer reporters’ questions.
- Spiro Agnew - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 12:42 pm:
@JS Mill -
You are right, I was wrong, valid point.
If folks have a problem with something that a journalist wrote or a newspaper published, the appropriate response is a phone call to discuss it professionally.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 12:58 pm:
===the appropriate response is a phone call to discuss it professionally===
Easier to ignore an email.
- Frank talks - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 1:33 pm:
No matter how deep cuts were underRauner and the budget pieces he held hostage he always signed the education piece. Suburban folks, downstate folks, Chicago folks all will be very aware which governor didn’t put funds forward.
Governors own.
- Annonin' - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 2:12 pm:
Is Krug trying to pretend the dark money lobby group called Center Square is somethnig else?
Call an editor is hardly “intimidation”
- Post It Goat - Tuesday, Mar 3, 20 @ 2:29 pm:
I once had a semi serious conversation with a reporter where we discussed the merits of a revolving door ban on journalists going to work for officials/candidates or their opponents.
When Jordan A left the WICS state house beat and then soon join up with Pritzker we both agreed the idea wasn’t so far fetched after all.