* Chicago Tribune, July 29, 2003…
A former contractual employee for the state treasurer’s office has pleaded not guilty to charges that he allegedly solicited a child using the Internet.
Bradley Graven, 38, of Downstate Sullivan, is due back in court Aug. 18. […]
According to authorities, Graven contacted a Villa Park police officer who was posing as a teenage boy in an Internet chat room on June 28. During the exchange, which began around 10:30 p.m., the topic of whether the two should meet was raised. Graven allegedly agreed to meet the “boy” in a drugstore parking lot in Villa Park to engage in sexual activities, authorities said.
Villa Park police set up surveillance at the location. Graven arrived in the suburb early the next morning. He was taken into custody and charged with indecent solicitation of a child, a Class 3 felony.
A quick Google search for the perp’s name has that Trib story at the very top of the first page as well as this one from 2005…
A former contractual employee for the state treasurer’s office was sentenced to 40 days in jail and 2 years of probation for solicitation of a child while using the Internet.
Bradley Graven, 40, pleaded guilty in October and was sentenced by DuPage County Judge Perry Thompson Wednesday.
* Politico today…
Andy Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network was in Chicago yesterday to promote the new Illinois Freedom Caucus. “If ever there was a state that needed a Freedom Caucus, it’s Illinois,” he told a group of supporters at Trump Tower Chicago, after acknowledging he’s a die-hard Cubs fan.
State Rep. Chris Miller, chairman of the Illinois group, said, “I’m here to promise you that freedom isn’t a lost cause.” He blamed “Democrats and some squishy Republicans” for problems such as “less morals, less family values and less freedom.”
Congresswoman Mary Miller was expected to be on hand for the press conference (Chris Miller is her husband). Your Playbook host saw her arrive and go into a back room instead. Her husband declined to comment on a report about the congresswoman having taken on a campaign volunteer with a sex-abuse conviction.
“Having taken on”? That’s a passive way of saying it, but there’s no excuse for this. And Graven has apparently played a very significant role in US Rep. Miller’s campaign.
* From the oppo file…
Graven has recently been seen driving the congresswoman’s family’s vehicle to campaign events on three occasions.
In March, Graven was seen driving Miller to a Jacksonville parade in an SUV with state legislative plates, according to pictures obtained by the Washington Examiner.
Photos also show Graven driving Miller and her husband to Lincoln Day fundraising dinners in Schuyler and Bond counties. Another photo shows Graven seated with the congresswoman at the Bond County event.
Graven was also responsible for collecting more than 50% of the signatures Miller needed to get on the ballot, according to documents provided to the Washington Examiner.
* Rodney Davis campaign…
Mary Miller hid in a backroom during a press conference she was scheduled to attend so she could dodge questions about her relationship with a child sex predator.
“Mary Miller likes to say politicians are known by the people they hang around with. If that’s the case, she must explain why a man who served jail time for soliciting sex from a minor on the internet is working for her campaign. Miller’s continued silence on this issue and refusal to address questions from local media speaks volumes about her character and lack of judgement. Voters deserve answers. It’s time for Mary Miller to break her silence.” - Aaron DeGroot, Davis campaign spokesperson
State Rep. Chris Miller, wife of Mary Miller, chairs the Illinois Freedom Caucus and held a press conference yesterday announcing the creation of the Caucus. Chris Miller was asked a question from a reporter about why his wife wasn’t participating in the press conference even though their media advisory said members of Congress would be participating in the presser.
You can watch the full exchange by clicking here or the image below.
Reporter: “The press release talked about members of Congress being a part of this, and I know your wife is in a backroom. Is she not here with you because of that report there’s a sex offender working [crosstalk]?”
Chris Miller refused to answer the question because it wasn’t on-topic, even though other press conference participants answered questions that were off-topic during the question-and-answer period. You can watch the full press conference here.
Andrew Roth, President of the State Freedom Caucus Network, then gave a bizarre excuse as to why members of Congress weren’t able to attend, saying there were logistical issues causing members’ absence, even though Mary Miller was in a backroom at the same location of the press conference, as a reporter earlier noted. Roth previously worked for the DC-based dark money Super PAC Club for Growth, which is single-handedly keeping Miller’s campaign for Congress afloat to the tune of millions of dollars.
Ben Szalinski, Legislative Reporter with The Daily Line, tweeted about how Miller was scheduled to attend the press conference, but didn’t show up.
The report in question: KSDK: “Miller campaign volunteer was convicted for luring young boy for sex; The conservative firebrand quickly made a name for herself in Congress purporting to protect children from ideas she considers offensive”
To watch KSDK’s 6pm news coverage on this story from Wednesday, click here
* That explanation by Roth was classic. And, yes, Club for Growth is going all-in for US Rep. Miller…
- John Lopez - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:11 am:
Turning Point Action is publicly backing Congresswoman Mary Miller, so has anyone in media questioned Charlie Kirk?
- Candy Dogood - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:11 am:
I would have a deep and heartfelt appreciation to anyone who would be able to make it so Rodney Davis’ campaign had to address Matt Gaetz. Especially since he’s hanging on to campaign funds he received from a child sex trafficker.
- JS Mill - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:12 am:
=Interesting how the Illinois press didn’t care much about Brad Graven=
You must struggling with reading, seems it was covered. Your trolling seems to discount that the family values people are clearly pro-pedophile. That doesn’t bother you?
=“less morals, less family values and less freedom.”=
Chris Miller, king of the self own.
Funny how he was begging for softball questions, such a coward.
I hope the media does not let this one go.
- TheInvisibleMan - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:12 am:
“saying there were logistical issues causing members’ absence”
No matter how hard they tried, there was no method they could find to avoid the movement of a foot into a mouth.
- Steve Rogers - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:15 am:
Mary Miller’s full Hitler quote was “Hitler was right on one thing – Whoever has the youth has the future. Our children are being propagandized.”
What say you, Rep. Miller, about our children being solicited by members of your staff?
She needs to respond to this, and not hide in the basement, like her buddy Darren Bailey keeps saying about Irvin.
- Mamacita - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:19 am:
No relation
- Larry Bowa Jr. - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:23 am:
“Chris Miller refused to answer the question because it wasn’t on-topic”
Profiles in courage from the Miller campaign.
I expect they’re just stalling for time, working on an eleventy-dimensional explanation for how this was actually a “psy-op” to root out Dem “groomers” infiltrating the republican party. They’ll come up with an explanation that will make total sense to the average republican primary voter and will sound like absolute alien gibberish to everyone else on earth.
- Jocko - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:24 am:
Hitler was right on one thing. He said, ‘Whoever solicits the youth has the future.’” /S
- Southern - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:24 am:
Those darn logistics.
- G'Kar - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:25 am:
“State Rep. Chris Miller, wife of Mary Miller, chairs the Illinois Freedom Caucus”
If that’s not a typo from the Davis campaign, I suspect some of the Millers’ supporters heads will explode./s
- Needs Deleted - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:32 am:
Game, set match. Mary Miller, we hardly knew ya.
- fs - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:38 am:
== logistical issues causing members’ absence==
Was the logistical issue a stuck door handle between the back room and the press conference?
- MisterJayEm - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 11:43 am:
It may be worth revisiting Rep. Miller’s infamous declaration: “Hitler was right on one thing: He said, ‘Whoever has the youth, has the future.’”
Just sayin’
– MrJM
- PublicServant - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 12:11 pm:
Stonewalling? They don’t give information to the enemy. That would be anyone who is non-MAGA.
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 12:14 pm:
==“If ever there was a state that needed a Freedom Caucus, it’s Illinois,” he told a group of supporters at Trump Tower Chicago, after acknowledging he’s a die-hard Cubs fan.==
I always assumed that the Freedom Caucus members would have all been Cardinals fans.
- Long year - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 12:15 pm:
Why should they answer questions? Irvin has proven you can ignore the press and just plow through.
- vern - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 12:32 pm:
It always puzzles me why reporters don’t take it more personally when people lie to their faces. This guy Roth told an obvious, absurd lie. Why not humiliate him for it? Just writing up the juxtaposition and letting readers fill in the word “lie” lets him off the hook. If this had gotten written up with the headline “Illinois Freedom Caucus Kick-Off Marred by Obvious Lie,” wouldn’t newsmakers be disincentivized to lie in the future?
- hisgirlfriday - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 12:32 pm:
If she was just going to hide in a backroom, why go at all? Congresspeople can easily make up excuses to be somewhere else.
Also confused by Club For Growth in this one. What vote did Rodney take that they don’t like? If it’s a Trump endorsement thing, wasn’t Club for Growth at odds with Trump in the Ohio Senate race?
I do not get what Republican primaries are even about.
- Sir Reel - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 12:35 pm:
Freedom caucus: do as I say, not as I do.
- I-72 Blues - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 12:41 pm:
hisgirlfriday -
Rodney voted to certify the election on January 6, 2021. That’s a dealbreaker in Trumpworld.
- OneMan - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 12:42 pm:
== “less morals, less family values and less freedom.” ==
If you are in any way dependent on government policy or action to enforce a set of ‘morals’ they are not ‘morals’.
The same holds true with your ‘family values’
Sounds like a lot of big government to me.
- Highland IL - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 12:44 pm:
Bailey’s name is on that vehicle also. What does he know about this?
- Pot calling kettle - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 12:45 pm:
If Congresswoman Miller cannot manage the logistics of getting out of a room and walking to the podium, what does that say about her ability to do just about anything in DC?
- ChrisB - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 1:10 pm:
It does warm me on this cold and dreary day to watch Club for Growth burn their money on this dumpster fire.
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 1:13 pm:
Just found a Aug. 10, 2006 post from Rich here about JBT’s hiring in the Treasurer’s office. And some of the commenters mentioned Graven. Blast from the past:
https://capitolfax.com/2006/08/10/the-stone-wall/
- Original Anon - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 1:14 pm:
Why didn’t Miller just come out and say the man was convicted, served his time,and reentered society, and we are just good Christians helping him out (and vice versa).
- Bubba Gump Shrimp Emporium and Lasso Factory - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 1:18 pm:
Woops, I completely misread this post. Miller has no excuse for not cutting ties with this person, IMO.
- Ducky LaMoore - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 1:21 pm:
” there were logistical issues causing members’ absence, even though Mary Miller was in a backroom at the same location of the press conference”
I think it would be a mistake for us to presuppose that Mary Miller actually knows how to use a door. /s
- Rudy’s teeth - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 1:42 pm:
Are the Millers—Chris and Mary—short on volunteers? To hang with a sex offender is not a wise choice and indicates a lack of judgment by the Millers.
That the Millers sought Graven’s help with petitions and transportation and continue to rely on his assistance is puzzling. Hiding and ducking questions from media will not make this disappear.
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 2:04 pm:
-Why didn’t Miller just come out and say the man was convicted, served his time,and reentered society, and we are just good Christians helping him out (and vice versa).-
Because then they might have to explain why they are treating him differently than the other offenders and even innocent people they demonize.
- Birdman Tablet - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 2:34 pm:
The consistent depth of reporting on Illinois politics in the St. Louis media is a good reminder that the Metro East is by far the largest population center outside Chicago.
- Anonymous - Friday, May 6, 22 @ 4:07 pm:
Where are QAnon supporters now that we have an actual child molester in our midst?