* Greg Hinz has a pair of poll results on Mayor Rahm Emanuel today. One was taken of Chicagoans in US Rep. Mike Quigley’s district which showed a 57 percent favorable rating and a 41 percent unfavorable rating. Emanuel’s job performance was a net positive, at 52-46. The sample for both polls was of likely Democratic primary voters for next March. So, it doesn’t include the smallish number of Chicagoans who take Republican ballots (about 11 percent last year) and those who may not vote in the mayoral race.
The other survey—actually, results of two polls of 584 likely [Chicago Democratic primary] voters conducted in late October and then late November—was conducted by a national firm that has done previous work in Illinois. The pollster involved asked questions about Emanuel as part of his survey for a statewide candidate and while neither will allow their names to be used, I spoke with the pollster directly.
In this survey, Emanuel citywide got a personal favorable rating of 50 percent positive and 40 percent negative. His rating from African-Americans was slightly better than among whites, 51/37 as opposed to 51/42, due mostly to a strong 56/32 rating from black women.
Emanuel’s rating on the North Side was 53 percent favorable to 38 percent unfavorable, fairly close to the results in Quigley’s district. The split was narrower on the South Side, 49 percent to 40 percent, and almost even on the West Side, 47 percent to 44 percent.
Those numbers collectively “look like the coalition that elected him last time,” said the pollster, asserting that Emanuel’s public efforts to get more state school aid for Chicago Public Schools, hire more police and help immigrants are having an impact. And overall, Emanuel’s numbers probably are stronger than they appear because the survey excludes Republicans, who likely would lean toward the mayor in a challenge from a progressive on the political left such as Garcia, the pollster said.
Take it for what you will.
…Adding… More results on Quigley from the Quigley campaign…
Very Fav 37% Somewhat Fav 34% Somewhat Unfav 7% Very Unfav 3% Name ID 81%
How would you rate the job Mike Quigley is doing in Congress?
Excellent 28% Good 41% Not so good 11% Poor 5%
If the Democratic primary election for Congress were held today, would you vote to re-elect Mike Quigley, or would you vote to replace him with another Democrat?
Definitely re-elect 35% Probably re-elect 26% Total re-elect 61% Probably replace 11% Definitely replace 7% Total replace 18% Undecided 21%
* I was waiting on her letter so I could post it, but yeah, this also happened today…
The Chief Procurement Officer just voided the $12.8 million no-bid consulting contract @GovRauner's administration gave out to McKinsey. HFS Director Norwood said the consultation was exempt from bidding process according to state law.
Illinois’s Chief Procurement Officer has just voided the multi-million dollar no-bid Medicaid consulting contract issued by the Rauner administration that was subject of our hearings last week. This Thursday we will be having hearings on the much larger $60+ billion dollar Medicaid MCO contracts.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Here’s the pertinent part of the letter. Click the pic for a much better image…
Seems pretty clear that the contract was not exempt.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From the comptroller’s office…
As Comptroller Mendoza mentioned the last time she appeared before the Human Services Committee, our office has had these matters under review for some time and we are not surprised by the Chief Procurement Officer’s decision to void the contract. We will watch the committee’s hearings with great interest.
The cancellation of a no-bid consulting contract inked by the Rauner administration in violation of state procurement law raises other red flags about the state’s Medicaid managed care program, Senator Andy Manar said today.
“In my mind, all this does is raise more questions about the Rauner administration’s handling of the overall $60-plus billion managed care contract. I think taxpayers are owed some explanations,” said Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat and chairman of a Senate appropriations committee.
The state’s chief procurement officer on Tuesday voided the multi-million-dollar no-bid consulting contract between the Rauner administration and Chicago-based McKinsey & Co. The contract was for services related to the state’s Medicaid managed care program.
The process of contracting with insurance companies to be part of the state’s Medicaid managed care system has been cloaked in secrecy while costs ballooned without explanation. Manar said he and other state senators will be looking for answers from the administration during a Senate hearing at 11 a.m. Friday in Chicago.
The hearing will be streamed live at www.ilga.gov.
* Today, Gov. Rauner brought up former Rep. Ken Dunkin’s Democratic primary defeat last year after Dunkin sided with Rauner on the AFSCME bill. The governor even bemoaned the fact that House Speaker Michael Madigan convinced President Obama to campaign against Dunkin (without mentioning that Dunkin had foolishly run ads which made it appear as if Obama supported him). Anyway, Rauner then turned his attention to Rep. Scott Drury, who is now running for attorney general…
One member of the General Assembly here recently, just one, voted Present, I think, or abstain in the last election for Speaker Madigan to be Speaker. One. You see he’s not running again for the House. What a coincidence. They made his life holy heck. And, basically, push him out. This is rule by fear. This is not democracy.
This is the example he uses? Seriously?
* Remember this statement from the chairman of the almost totally Rauner-funded Illinois Republican Party moments after Rauner’s tax hike veto was overridden?…
“I am extremely troubled by the decision of 10 Republicans to again stand with Mike Madigan. Republicans in Illinois fought Madigan’s machine in 2014 to elect Gov. Rauner and won. In 2016 we beat Madigan again and made historic gains in the House and the Senate. After all we have accomplished together, it is astonishing that these legislators would now turn their backs on taxpayers across the state. I am confident voters will hold those politicians accountable for choosing Mike Madigan over the people of Illinois.”
* And nine of the eleven retiring House Republicans on this list voted for the tax hike…
Now that the candidate filing window has closed, here’s the updated (final?) list of legislators choosing to leave the ILGA #twillpic.twitter.com/n7ZA6aBEjb
All but one of the 15 who initially voted for the tax hike and stuck around is facing a Republican primary opponent.
* From Rep. Chad Hays’ retirement announcement…
“Legislators who care deeply and have the courage of their convictions and the intestinal fortitude to do what is right regardless of consequences are increasingly silenced. I believe we are in serious jeopardy of independent thought being a relic in our public discourse.”
So, spare me, governor.
…Adding… Wordslinger in comments…
Let’s not forget McCann’s one meaningless vote bucking Rauner that earned him a well-funded primary opponent.
Yep. And it was gonna be two well-funded primary opponents in a row, but he also bailed.
*** UPDATE *** From Rep. Scott Drury…
While Governor Rauner has admitted that Mike Madigan controls him, he incorrectly states that Madigan controls me. To the extent Madigan has unsuccessfully spent time trying to figure out how to thwart me, it merely shows that I am controlling him. As a federal prosecutor and a legislator, I have been working to clean up Illinois at all levels. As Attorney General, I will clean up our state once and for all – which includes putting a stop to no-bid contracts that harm taxpayers, ending the patronage that keeps the Machine in power and prosecuting politicians at every level of government engaged in the corrupt practice of “pay-to-play.”
* I planned to start this yesterday and then forgot. Oops. Our first two categories…
* Best Statehouse-area bartender
* Best Statehouse-area waiter/waitress
As always, keep in mind that this is about the intensity of the nominations, not the number of the nominations, so make sure to fully explain your votes. And, please, do your best to nominate in both categories. When lots of people focus on just one award, I figure it’s an organized conspiracy and discount those votes.
And if you want to see how good a businessman he is, go look up how he did with his New World Ventures, you can really see some truth about how good a businessman he is.
* The Pritzker campaign responded…
JB decided to cap new investments from a New World Ventures fund in the aftermath of the national collapse of the tech industry in the early 2000s. He refunded money that had been invested in the fund by those outside of his family and personally reached into his own pocket to pay them back. Since that time, JB Pritzker and New World Ventures, which is now called Pritzker Group Venture Capital, have invested in startup companies that have created thousands of jobs. JB is running on his record of getting big things done for Illinois families and communities, and unlike Bruce Rauner, he does not believe people should be treated like lines on an excel spreadsheet and when you are the governor of a state, you are actually in charge.
As mentioned above, New World Ventures was later renamed Pritzker Group Venture Capital. Click here for more info.
* OK, with that being said, on to the oppo. All emphasis was in the original document…
J.B Pritzker: Investment Genius
J.B. Pritzker Raised His First Outside Investment Funds In The Late 90s
J.B. Pritzker Launched His First Investment Fund – New World Ventures – In 1998 With $10.8 Million From Outside Investors. “Born with one of the most famous names in business, Jay Robert Pritzker is making a name for himself. Outside investors put up the majority of a $10.8-million high-tech investment fund raised last year by New World Venture Partners LLC, the successor to a private venture capital firm Mr. Pritzker launched in 1996 with a $6-million stake from the billionaire Chicago dynasty.” (Paul Merrion, “Venture Vanguard: Pritzker’s At Head Of Class Of Young Fund Teams,” Crain’s Chicago Business, 5/17/99)
In 1999, Pritzker Partnered With William Blair & Co. To Launch His Second Investment Fund – William Blair New World Ventures – With $100 Million From Outside Investors. “Two prominent Chicago financiers — J. B. Pritzker and William Blair & Co. — are teaming up to invest $100 million in the sizzling technology- startup arena. Mr. Pritzker’s New World Ventures has formed a partnership with William Blair Capital Partners LLC to invest in technology firms at their riskiest but potentially most lucrative stage — often before the companies have rung up any sales. The partners’ fund, William Blair New World Ventures, will target emerging Internet, software, telecommunications and networking companies with initial investments between $2 million and $4 million.” (Barbara Rose, “Blair, Pritzker Launch Tech Startup Fund,” Crain’s Chicago Business, 12/20/99)
By 2003, Both Of Pritzker’s Funds Had Suffered Catastrophic Losses
In 2003, New World Ventures Was Down 90 Percent, And William Blair New World Ventures Given Investors Half Their Money Back To Avoid Additional Losses. “Market bubbles don’t distinguish between new money and old money. Whether your name is Andrew ‘Flip’ Filipowski–a self-made software guru starting an Internet incubator–or J.B. Pritzker–a billionaire scion turned venture capitalist–the results of an investing mania can produce similar results… At Pritzker’s New World Ventures, which held limited partners meetings Tuesday, the Evanston firm’s wealthy private investors have been luckier. One of the firm’s funds is down an estimated 90 percent, according to a report from the meeting, while a second fund is giving investors half their money back rather than risking more losses.” (Barbara Rose, “Divine Considering Chapter 11; Pritzker’s New World Ventures Gives Back Funds,” Chicago Tribune, 2/19/03)
• Pritzker Had Raised $10.8 Million In 1998 For New World Ventures – By The End Of 2002 It Was Down To $1.8 Million. “New World’s first fund open to outside investors launched in late 1998: a modest $10.8 million pool with about 60 limited partners. Like Divine, New World was a pioneer: one of the area’s few firms to focus on start-ups with scant financial histories. But like Divine and some other early-stage venture funds, New World has sustained big losses. The first fund’s value at the end of 2002 was an estimated $1.8 million.” (Barbara Rose, “Divine Considering Chapter 11; Pritzker’s New World Ventures Gives Back Funds,” Chicago Tribune, 2/19/03)
• Pritzker Had Raised $80 Million For William Blair New World Ventures In 1999 – In 2003 He Released His Investors From $40 Million In Funding Commitments To Avoid More Losses. “For his second fund, Pritzker teamed up with an old-line Chicago name–an affiliate of regional brokerage William Blair & Co.–to raise about $80 million. Now, New World is releasing limited partners from about $40 million in funding commitments because of what Pritzker terms a severe market ‘downdraft.’” (Barbara Rose, “Divine Considering Chapter 11; Pritzker’s New World Ventures Gives Back Funds,” Chicago Tribune, 2/19/03)
Pritzker Claimed He Had Gotten A “Good Reaction” From His Investors; His Investors Disagreed
Pritzker Claimed He Had Gotten “A Good Reaction From The Vast Majority” Of His Investors. “I think we’ve gotten a good reaction from the vast majority” of investors about the givebacks, Pritzker said Tuesday.” (Barbara Rose, “Divine Considering Chapter 11; Pritzker’s New World Ventures Gives Back Funds,” Chicago Tribune, 2/19/03)
New World Ventures Investors Disagreed With Pritzker’s Characterization, With One Saying “People Are Very, Very Unhappy…They’ve Lost Almost All Their Money. “An investor in the first fund offered a different view. ‘People are very, very unhappy,’ he said. ‘They’ve lost almost all their money.’” (Barbara Rose, “Divine Considering Chapter 11; Pritzker’s New World Ventures Gives Back Funds,” Chicago Tribune, 2/19/03)
* Excerpt from a Rauner campaign press release this afternoon..
Today, Governor Bruce Rauner called out JB Pritzker’s spectacularly bad business record and questioned his taxes. When asked by reporters why JB Pritzker only reported $15 million in income despite his $3.4 billion net worth, Governor Rauner responded by saying “he has to be the worst investor on the planet.”
Here’s a history lesson: In 1998, JB Pritzker started New World Ventures. By 2003, that fund had lost 90% of its value.
In 1999, JB Pritzker started William Blair New World Ventures with $80 million in investments. By 2003, Pritzker returned only half that money ($40 million) to investors after the fund produced poor returns.
(“Divine Considering Chapter 11; Pritzker’s New World Ventures Gives Back Funds,” Chicago Tribune, 2/19/03)
House and Senate negotiators will be meeting to resolve differences in the Republican tax overhaul bills, and an outstanding item is whether a tax-free college savings account can be opened for a fetus.
Will this legislation about unborn children and 529 plans — named after a section of the IRS code — survive?
One needs a Social Security number to open up a college savings account. That’s ostensibly all that this is about, letting a fetus be eligible for a Social Security number.
It is really an anti-abortion related ploy in disguise.
* Press release…
Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs today condemned Congressional Republicans for quietly inserting language into tax reform legislation that would allow a fetus to receive a social security number, a long-time goal of anti-choice advocates who believe such an action can help overturn Roe v. Wade.
Frerichs also called upon Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to lobby Illinois’ Congressional delegation to eliminate this attempt to grant personhood to a fetus under the crass disguise that it makes it easier for families to save for college. Rauner has said that he is speaking with unnamed federal officials regarding the tax plan.
“Congressional Republicans hope the barking of a false tax cut will hide their attempts to undermine a woman’s right to choose,” Frerichs said. “Abortion is a deeply personal decision and treating it as a slight-of-hand parlor game diminishes women and disrespects their right to self-determination.”
The House tax plan, written exclusively by Republicans behind closed doors, includes language that would allow a 529 college savings plan to be opened for a fetus at any stage of development inside a woman’s womb. IRS rules currently require a 529 beneficiary to have a social security number. Therefore, if the in utero language stays in the proposal, Republicans will have created a path to grant personhood to the unborn.
“The Republican proposal to assign a social security number to an unborn fetus addresses a problem that does not exist,” Frerichs said.
Currently, an individual can open a 529 college savings account without immediately naming a beneficiary by using their own social security number. Later, the account owner can transfer it to a family member using the newly named beneficiary’s social security number. This has been allowable since its inception in 1997.
Among Frerichs’ duties as treasurer is to manage and serve as the sole trustee of Illinois’ two award‑winning 529 college savings programs. The Bright Start and Bright Directions investments have more than 450,000 beneficiaries with a value exceeding $10 billion. Each is considered among the best in the country, according to an independent analysis by Morningstar.
Bright Start and Bright Directions are investment programs and should not be confused with College Illinois!, a pre-paid college tuition program also under the 529 umbrella that is managed by Gov. Rauner.
Standing with Frerichs today was Terry Cosgrove of Personal PAC and Paula Thornton Greear of Planned Parenthood. Each called upon Gov. Rauner to use his influence with Illinois’ Congressional Republicans to strip the personhood language from the bill.
“This insensitive maneuver is a needless attack on women that not only would threaten reproductive freedom, but also could call into question the legality of commonly used birth controls,” Cosgrove said.
“The only purpose for this language can be to advance a relentless agenda to undermine access to safe, legal abortion by furthering notions of “personhood” through the tax code and other legislative vehicles,” Thornton Greear said. “In fact, this benefit for pregnant, and even non-pregnant, people already exists; they are simply changing the language of a benefit to build a foundation toward their goal of banning abortion. And we aren’t having it.”
* Yesterday, Gov. Rauner said this about House Speaker Michael Madigan, among other things…
He controls, he’s rigged his primary. He has rigged his Democratic primary. He has rigged it, ladies and gentlemen. If you guys won’t report it, shame on you. He has rigged the system, he controls it. It’s a Mafia protection racket. And until he’s gone, we aren’t going to fix Illinois and we aren’t going to have a good future.
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown called the governor’s “mafia” comparison “incoherent.”
“I don’t know how that could be rigged if you got many, many candidates running,” Brown said. “It would seem to be incoherent.”
And asked about the speaker being “in charge,” Brown questioned state contracts and Rauner’s role in them, including controversy over the state renting out a Springfield warehouse to store records from the Department of Human Services and a consulting contract the Rauner administration doled out regarding the state’s Medicaid overhaul.
“If he’s not in charge, we got to find out who gave out the kinky contract to the guys who lease the Barney’s furniture warehouse. And who gave out the kinky contract to McKinsey to do God knows what,” Brown said. “If he didn’t do it, there’s someone handing out and spending a lot of money. It’s kind of crazy.”
Um, OK. Maybe it’s not “rigged,” but somebody is most certainly putting his apple-peeling finger on the scale, if not his whole body.
Among the nation’s billionaires, one of the most sought-after pieces of real estate right now is a quiet storefront in Sioux Falls, S.D.
A branch of Chicago’s Pritzker family rents space here, down the hall from the Minnesota clan that controls the Radisson hotel chain. Other rooms are held by Miami and Hong Kong money.
Most days, the small offices of this former five-and-dime are shut. But even empty, they provide their owners with an important asset: a South Dakota address for their trust funds.
In the past four years, the amount of money administered by South Dakota trust companies such as these has tripled to $121 billion — almost all of it from out of state. The families needn’t move to South Dakota, deposit their money at a local bank, or even touch down in the private jet. Little more than renting an address in Sioux Falls is required to take advantage of South Dakota’s tax-friendly trust laws.
States such as South Dakota are “creating laws that are conducive to a massive exploitation of a federal tax loophole,” said Edward McCaffery, a law professor at the University of Southern California. “We have a tax haven in our midst.”
South Dakota’s sudden popularity illustrates how the wealthiest Americans are embracing ever more creative ways to reduce taxes legally. Executives at South Dakota Trust Co., one of the state’s biggest, estimate that one-quarter of their business comes from special vehicles known as dynasty trusts that are designed to avoid the federal estate tax. Creation of such trusts has surged in recent years as changes in federal law have enabled more money to be placed in them.
While the super-rich use various tools to escape the levy, the advantage of dynasty trusts is that they shield a family’s wealth forever. That defies the spirit of the estate tax, enacted almost 100 years ago to discourage the perpetuation of dynastic wealth. […]
In 2010, the Pritzker family, whose members include Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, revealed in a securities filing that one branch had moved $360 million of Hyatt Hotels stock to trusts overseen by a native South Dakotan named Thomas Muenster. Muenster, whose sister married [JB] Pritzker, maintains an office in the Kresge building. […]
Jay Robert [JB] Pritzker, his sister Penny Pritzker and his brother-in-law Muenster didn’t respond to messages seeking comment
By the way, Thomas Muenster, the brother-in-law, was also involved with that hugely controversial and successful attempt to lower JB Pritzker’s property tax bill in part by removing the toilets from an empty mansion…
Pritzker’s name isn’t mentioned in the documents the assessor’s office released for the mansions. Both are owned by a limited liability company managed by Thomas Muenster, whose sister is Pritzker’s wife. But the Pritzker campaign acknowledges that the LLC is owned by a trust for Pritzker. Muenster and the law firm Schmidt Salzman & Moran filed the appeals with Berrios.
In the 1990s, most states limited the duration of family trusts to the lifetime of a living heir, plus 21 years; South Dakota, in contrast, had no limits at all. That made it possible, in theory, for a wealthy benefactor to create a trust that could benefit not only her kids, but her great-great-great-great-grandkids.
Since then, more states have removed their duration limits, but the Mount Rushmore State has stayed ahead of the competition. South Dakota laws go the extra mile to shield trust assets from creditors and spouses, and let families control their own trust investments, rather than hiring trustees. What’s more, the state levies no income tax on investments.
Trusts in the state became particularly popular toward the end of 2012, when wealthier families feared that Congress might make more of their assets subject to estate tax (a fear that wasn’t realized). According to regulatory filings, wealthy folks who have taken advantage of prairie generosity in recent years include the Pritzker family, who moved $360 million worth of Hyatt Hotels Corp. stock to the state in 2010
Most recently, McDowell and his crew persuaded the state legislature to pass laws that make it harder for the former spouses of wealthy people and their children to access assets hidden in South Dakota. That’s just the gravy, however, on laws that attract everyone from the billionaire Pritzker family to the heirs to the Wrigley fortune: They exempt dynastic trusts from federal inheritance taxes and income taxes, allowing generations of heirs to collect money tax-free. South Dakota was one of the first states to make such a law, but now almost a dozen others are following it in a race to the bottom.
The South Dakotans cite around a hundred jobs created by the trust industry, and figure that’s enough. But the state is also a net taker from the federal government, which supplies almost half its budget, even as its trusts drain perhaps billions of dollars from federal coffers and hundreds of millions from states where the beneficiaries of these trusts actually live.
Andy Holmes relocated from Kansas City last year to help his firm, the Great Plains Trust Company, increase its presence in South Dakota after clients, including celebrities and famous athletes, asked about the state’s benefits.
Great Plains worked with SDTC to learn the ropes, but last year leased a windowless office in a brick and glass building for its two employees. Down the hall is Maroon Trust, which manages the money of Chicago’s Pritzker family. Elsewhere on the floor is a roofing company. They share a receptionist.
Mr Holmes estimates that 90 per cent of the registered trusts in the state “are what I call shell companies where you basically have a PO box or an office and somebody will come here twice a year to have board meetings and meet regulatory requirements.”
*** UPDATE *** Pritzker campaign…
JB does not have any dynasty trusts; all of the trusts for his benefit have a rule against perpetuities so the “massive exploitation of a federal tax loophole” that is referenced in the article does not apply to JB.
Mary Ann Ahern: You don’t have any off-shore accounts?
Rauner: I do not.
Ahern: That was reported in your first term.
Rauner: Yes, so, so Mary Ann, here’s the spin. This is, this spin is amazing. So, I have assets, I’ve worked hard, I’ve made all my money. I didn’t inherit money. Um, and, uh, uh, I worked hard for teachers and made teachers a lot of money for their retirement. I worked for police officers, made a lot of money for their retirement, and I made a lot of money. I’m proud of it. I’ve never apologized for it.
I have investments that I do not control. For example, investments in, in banks and insurance companies, etc. They manage some money. And what’s got reported, which is true, some of them, for their accounts, where I’m a tiny piece, I have no voice, I have no control over decision-making, they have investments in some operation in Bahamas, or somewhere. Tiny for me, tiny for them, I don’t control it, I don’t have a voice in it. That’s what got reported and spun.
Um, the candidate Pritzker, inherited over $3 billion. And he and his family has chosen, chosen, on a massive scale to hide hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of their money off-shore in accounts outside of the United States.
That is fundamentally wrong. That is gonna come out and it is outrageous.
Ahern: [Over cross-talk, made a point about how Pritzker made $15 million last year]
Rauner: Exactly. So get this. Mary Ann, great question [laughter]. Great question. So, you inherit, you inherit $3 billion. And if you want to see how good a businessman he is, go look up how he did with his New World Ventures, you can really see some truth about how good a businessman he is.
But, inherits $3 billion and he’s still got $3 billion years later, mostly. And, but he only reports $16 million of income. How do you do that? I mean, you, you have to be one of the worst investors on the planet to only generate $16 million of income on $3 billion of assets.
How do you do that? By hiding from taxes and tax avoidance. That’s how you do that.
* Pritzker campaign…
In response to the Worst Republican Governor in America’s comments at this morning’s press conference, Pritzker campaign manager Anne Caprara released the following statement:
“We’re not going to get in the way of the Bruce Rauner implosion tour.”
Nope. Not good enough. Not by a long shot.
It’s time JB Pritzker answered questions about his assets. Gov. Rauner made some very valid points today. The Democratic billionaire needs to stop hiding behind snarky statements and release the names of his trust funds. Period.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Pritzker campaign…
Bruce Rauner’s accusations are false and he is lying about JB Pritzker. In addition to releasing his personal tax returns, the total taxes paid by trusts benefitting JB, charitable contributions made personally and by his foundation, JB also filed a detailed Statement of Economic Interest that lists personal investments and assets as well as those held by trusts benefitting him. JB and trusts benefitting him have paid a combined $25 million in state taxes and $136 million in federal taxes over the last three years.
There are some trusts that were established by JB’s family a couple generations ago. JB did not set them up, has never received a personal disbursement from them, and he has directed that any disbursements from these trusts be given to charity. Those are facts, and Bruce Rauner’s attempt to distract from his disastrous campaign can’t change them.
ADDED: In regard to the offshore question, there are some trusts that were established by JB’s family a couple generations ago. JB did not set them up, has never received a personal disbursement from them, and he has directed that any disbursements from these trusts be given to charity. Those are facts, and Bruce Rauner’s attempt to distract from his disastrous campaign can’t change them.
They also claim that Pritzker inherited a bit over a billion dollars, not the three billion claimed by Rauner.
…Adding… From another campaign…
That “bit over a billion” is a red herring. That number is from before Hyatt got taken public and a lot of family owned [assets] got sold.
*** UPDATE 2 *** RGA…
Illinois Democrat candidate for governor and billionaire heir to the Hyatt fortune J.B. Pritzker is being called out for refusing to answer questions over reports that he is hiding his income sources from voter scrutiny in offshore accounts.
The multi-billionaire only reported $15 million in state taxable income this year, leading to questions over Pritzker’s use of offshore trusts to shield his income from taxation.
Illinois’ top political blog, Capitol Fax, slammed Pritzker’s campaign this afternoon for refusing to answer questions about his assets, including his refusal to list the names of the offshore trust he benefits from. “The Democratic billionaire needs to stop hiding behind snarky statements and release the names of his trust funds. Period.”
Pritzker’s primary opponent Chris Kennedy has already listed the names of the trusts he benefits from. Previous reports have detailed the Pritzker family’s “legendary use of hundreds of offshore trusts to protect its wealth from taxes and the prying eyes of the Internal Revenue Service.”
J.B. Pritzker’s refusal to answer questions about his offshore trusts shows he may have something to hide.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Biss campaign…
Today, Daniel Biss’ campaign released the following statement in response to Bruce Rauner and JB Pritzker’s astonishing attacks on each others’ financial interests and tax returns.
“Bruce Rauner and JB Pritzker are two sides of the same shiny gold coin,” said Biss spokesperson Tom Elliott. “Both billionaires lacking government experience. Both have private trusts they don’t control, and can’t disclose, and aren’t willing to report how much they’ve made from them. Both use their business acumen as reasons they should be governor, yet neither have released their full tax returns.
“If we’ve learned anything from the failures of Bruce Rauner and Donald Trump, it’s that success in business doesn’t equate to success in government, and that a candidate who isn’t being fully transparent with their financial interests can’t be trusted to have our best interests in mind.
“While Bruce Rauner and JB Pritzker attack each other in an astonishing battle of the billionaires, everyday Illinoisans are struggling to make ends meet. That’s why we need Daniel Biss, the only middle-class candidate with a record of getting things done, who we can trust to make government work for us, not the uber wealthy and the political elite.”
*** UPDATE 4 *** G…
At a press conference today, Bruce Rauner claimed that in his career in business he “worked hard” for teachers and police officers and “made a lot of money for their retirement.”
But the truth is Bruce Rauner tried to strip those same teachers and police officers of their hard-earned retirement money. In 2015, Bruce Rauner proposed massive cuts to benefits for police officers, public-school teachers, and firefighters with “little or no input from organized labor.”
“Bruce Rauner has never ‘worked hard’ for teachers and police officers and is only interested in their benefits when it lines his own pockets,” said Pritzker Communications Director Galia Slayen. “This is a failed governor who has worked to cut benefits and undermine working families to advance his special interest agenda.”
* Related…
* Fact Check: Do Pritzker and Kennedy Have a Tax Transparency Gap?: There is no law in Illinois requiring gubernatorial candidates or governors to release any tax information whatsoever, and Biss is clearly engaging in some campaign hyperbole when he refers to a Rauner standard and a Romney standard. That said, we find the essence of his statements to be True.
Reporter: Governor, do you want to revisit the notion that you’re not in charge? I know there might have been some push-back in the last 24 hours after you indicated that yesterday. It was kind of a strong thing to say. In hindsight, do you want to take another look at that and revise what you said?
Gov. Rauner: Hmm. No. Not really. I think, um, everyone in this state knows what I’m talking about. We’ve had one person in power. One person in charge of the vast amounts of the government for 35 years. And it’s the reason we’re in such big trouble. And I think most people in the state understand that. And, uh, there’s too much concentration of power in one individual. Um, and, uh, the Speaker has been in that position for 35 years. […]
Reporter: You ran on a platform of taking on the Speaker and reducing his power. If you have been unable to do that successfully, and are not in charge now, what is the argument for having four more years if the Speaker isn’t going anywhere?
Gov. Rauner: Ah, but the point is I believe he will be going somewhere. Into, uh, into retirement. And that’s what we’re working on. And this is, people around the state want this, and Democrats want this almost as much as Republicans when you talk with people around the state. And what I’m gratified to see is there is a strong movement from Democrats as well as Republicans to not have one person be Speaker for an extended period. […]
Reporter: So, are you saying that you envision a scenario where you get elected to a second term… and the Speaker is not the Speaker any more?
Gov. Rauner: I think there’s a very, very high probability of that and it would be a wonderful step for the state.
State Sen. Ira Silverstein, D-Chicago, who lost his position with Democratic leadership after having been publicly accused of sexual harassment, faces four primary challengers in the 8th District. His accuser, victim rights advocate Denise Rotheimer of Ingleside, is one of three Republicans hoping to win the Republican nomination for the 62nd House district; Democratic state Rep. Sam Yingling of Grayslake is the only member of his party to have filed.
* From yesterday…
Today, Caroline McAteer-Fournier announces that she will file over 2,800 signatures to be on the March 20 primary election ballot in Illinois’ 8th State Senate District.
Caroline announced her campaign after allegations of sexual harassment against State Senator Ira Silverstein emerged.
In just three weeks, Caroline was able to collect almost triple the number of necessary signatures to get on the ballot.
“I am energized and determined after the outpouring of support I have received in the past few days. If we want to change the culture in Springfield, then we need to elect more women.”
Caroline McAteer-Fournier is building a grassroots campaign that will bring a fresh voice in Springfield. Caroline was endorsed last week by Alison Leipsiger, who was also passing petitions for the IL 8th State Senate District.
* Also yesterday…
Today, Democratic Candidate for State Senate, Ram Villivalam (IL-8) announced the endorsement of U.S. Congresswoman Brad Schneider.
“I proudly and enthusiastically endorse Ram Villivalam for State Senate. Ram has long been a key contributor to my success as a Representative,” said Congressman Schneider. “As my Outreach Director, Ram demonstrated his ability to learn the key-issues and bring proven results to the community. As your State Senator, I know Ram will not only be an outstanding legislator but use those same skills to create a positive impact for hard working middle-class families in our community and throughout Illinois. Ram Villivalam will be an effective advocate for the 8th District and its range of diverse neighborhoods and I wholeheartedly endorse Ram for State Senate.”
“I am honored to have earned the endorsement of U.S. Congressman Schneider,” said Ram Villivalam. “Congressman Schneider has led efforts to protect the Affordable Care Act against Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans, protect and expand the rights of people in the LGBT community, ensure there is a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, and advocate for sensible gun violence prevention measures. If elected, I look forward to continuing the work we have collaborated on.”
Last Monday, Ram filed 2,700 petition signatures, more than 2.5 times the amount needed and which was collected by more than 50 grassroots volunteers to become an official candidate for State Senate in the 8th District of Illinois. Having banked more than $50,000 in donations in the first week of his campaign, Ram also announced the endorsements of U.S Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, State Senator Laura Murphy, State Representative Theresa Mah, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Commissioner Josina Morita, the Illinois State Association of Letter Carriers, and UFCW Local 881.
The other candidates are here. Zehra Quadri placed a distant third to Silverstein’s wife in the 2015 50th Ward aldermanic race.
* Also yesterday, from Denise Rotheimer’s Facebook page…
What an accomplishment! I just filed my petitions to be on the ballot. Remember to vote March 20, 2018. Also I am meeting with Eric Zorn tomorrow and am glad we were able to put aside our differences and move forward on a clean slate. Time for some coffee for the long drive home.
Rotheimer has yet to file any campaign finance disclosures. Also, publicly mixing her case with her campaign is either going to turn out to be a brilliant political move or not. We’ll see.
* Related…
* Don’t Rush New Sexual Harassment Policies, Some Women Lawmakers Warn: [Rep. Kelly Cassidy] herself, never knew who to report violations to. “That speaks to the culture of the building, that it never occurred to me to figure that out. Those complaints are the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg.”
Gov. Bruce Rauner says the Republican attempt to overhaul the federal tax code “has a ways to go,” but it might not have as far to go as he thinks.
“I think they’re not there,” Rauner said during a question-and-answer session with reporters Monday. “I think there’s a lot of wood to chop on the tax policy reform, and I hope they get it done in a good way.”
The governor, however, was a few days behind on his news. Over a packed weekend welcoming Illinois National Guard troops home from Puerto Rico, riding his Harley in a Toys for Tots motorcycle run and attending the Illinois Bicentennial bash at Navy Pier, Rauner might have missed that Republican senators had voted for a sweeping tax bill early Saturday morning.
“First of all, the Senate hasn’t passed anything,” Rauner said on Monday when asked to explain what he thought Congress needed to do to get the tax code right. “And what the Senate is talking about is very different than what the House is working on. They have a long, long way to go.”
Indeed, distance remains between the House and Senate tax bills. But Senate Republicans’ approval of their own version was a big step forward and a sign they are willing to approve a tax overhaul even if it adds to the deficit.
Weird.
*** UPDATE *** DGA…
Governor Bruce Rauner has completely abdicated his responsibilities towards Illinois families on federal matters. From health care to tax reform, Rauner has either been complicity silent or openly supportive of President Trump’s policies. Last week, Rauner expressed support for Congress’ tax bill overhaul while acknowledging it did not help the middle-class. Rauner also would not elaborate on what he would change in the bill as he did not like to “negotiate through the media.”
Well, Rauner now has the perfect someone to negotiate with. Last night, the U.S. House Speaker’s office announced that Illinois Republican Congressmen Peter Roskam and John Shimkus named to the “committee to negotiate the differences between the House and Senate tax overhaul bills.” Roskam and Shimkus are two of only nine Republican House members on the committee, giving them, and Rauner, a great deal of influence in the final bill.
Will Rauner keep shirking from his responsibilities? Or will he call up his fellow Illinois Republicans?
“Illinois taxpayers need a fighter but Bruce Rauner won’t answer the call,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Many Illinois middle-class households will see their taxes rise to pay for cuts for the wealthy and Bruce Rauner has cheered Congress on. Time and again, Rauner has failed the people of Illinois and refused to protect them from President Trump’s policies, including this middle-class tax hike. Rauner’s failure to show leadership is exactly why he’s was named the worst governor by his own party.”
…He refused to divulge the tax returns for those trusts (which really would be “complex”) because, his campaign claimed, other members of his extended family also benefit from those trusts. OK, fine. But how about divulging the names of his trusts? Tracking down these trusts is a difficult business because they’re shrouded in such secrecy. Names would help.
When a politician refuses to divulge something, particularly after criticizing others for not doing so, you gotta wonder what that person is hiding.
The Pritzker family all but invented off-shore trusts. “No family in the U.S. can copy the Pritzkers in using offshore entities to gain tax advantages,” claimed Forbes magazine back in 2003.
In an attempt to pry Pritzker’s information loose, I reached out to Chris Kennedy’s gubernatorial campaign and asked if they would release the names of the trust funds Kennedy benefits from. They did.
…JB Pritzker’s sister Penny, who served as President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Commerce, is mentioned in the so-called “Paradise Papers,” a massive ongoing research project into the uber-wealthy and mega-corporations conducted by journalists all over the world. Ms. Pritzker transferred shares from two Bermuda companies to a company owned by trusts that benefit her children after she was confirmed for the Cabinet post. Her family’s myriad offshore trusts were a big issue during her confirmation hearing.
Alas, Kennedy’s decision to reveal his trust funds’ names did not move the Pritzker campaign one iota closer to disclosing the names of Pritzker’s trusts.
Final media stop last night at WTIM Taylorsville. While our Governor says he's not in charge. I am ready to lead the charge. #twill#ilgovpic.twitter.com/ocIaqm7xFz
“Our governorship is a very strong position,” Ives said Monday afternoon. “We have one of the strongest governorship positions because you can veto in several different ways, you run the executive branch, you have access to all sorts of… you have a bully pulpit to get policy through.
“While Mike Madigan runs the Illinois House,” Ives said, “the truth is there were a number of bills that were signed by Governor Rauner that he did not have to sign.”
Still, Ives acknowledged her own role in Springfield has largely been to play spoiler.
“My best work is actually getting traction on killing legislation that is bad, not necessarily passing legislation bad [sic], which is what my role is as a member of both first the super minority (2013-2016) and then the minority (2017-present).
After five years in office, Ives has seen just five of her 134 bills become law, according to the Illinois General Assembly records.
As I noted when petitions were first starting to circulate a few weeks ago, I believe you succeed in politics and in life when you are prepared. With recent political retirements and shakeups, and rumors circulating that Secretary White’s alderman was circulating petitions for the office, I wanted to be ready in case his intention to run for re-election changed.
* In case you missed it, here’s background from September…
“I don’t intend to run against Jesse White, I’ll tell you that right now,” [Hastings] said, adding that he’s only circulating petitions because he’s heard the same rumors we talked about yesterday, that secretary of state petitions are being circulated for Ald. Walter Burnett, who is Secretary White’s guy, and that White would drop out late in the game and Burnett would be ready to go. Secretary White’s office flatly denied those rumors.
I’m told that Sen. Hastings will wait and see what happens the rest of today and through next week before deciding what to do with his petitions.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Sen. Hastings sent me a new statement…
As I noted when petitions were first starting to circulate a few weeks ago, I believe you succeed in politics and in life when you are prepared.
With recent political retirements and shakeups, and rumors circulating that Secretary White may not run for re-election, I wanted to be ready in case his intention to run for re-election changed.
I have great respect for Secretary White and the years of service he has provided this great state. During his tenure, the Secretary has transformed the Office into an efficient and well-regarded Office.
If Secretary White does indeed decide to retire, I am ready to step-up and continue his great work.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Won’t rule it out? Hoo, boy…
Just caught up with Sen Mike @HastingsforIL at the petition filing line. He won't rule out a primary challenge vs SOS White just yet. Says there's room to improve the office. Waiting to see if anyone else files, says he'll talk to White next week.
Jesse left Hastings a voicemail this morning to clearly state that Jesse’s running for re-election. He did not get a return call. As always, Jesse will be running on his record of accomplishments and plans for the future.
* The tallest statewide official and the shortest statewide official filed their nominating petitions today. I did not crop this photo, which was posted on Twitter this afternoon…
* Related…
* Politico Power List: Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza already scored a serious victory after beating Gov. Bruce Rauner’s hand-picked — and handsomely financed — incumbent opponent last year. But winning that election turned out to be the easy part. Mendoza left a position as Chicago’s City Clerk and stepped into a statewide office — and into the morass of one of the longest-running budget battles in the nation’s history.
* From the end of the governor’s press conference this morning…
Reporter: Governor, how long will you continue to blame Mike Madigan for the state’s problems?
Gov. Rauner: ‘Til he’s gone. I mean, I mean, he’s been in charge for 35 years. The guy’s become a millionaire off of high property taxes in this state. It’s not a coincidence that we have the worst property taxes in America. He’s become a millionaire by making them high, and having a tax appeals law firm on the side. And he holds businesses in Chicago hostage to use his law firm. The system is broken.
He controls, he’s rigged his primary. He has rigged his Democratic primary. He has rigged it, ladies and gentlemen. If you guys won’t report it, shame on you. He has rigged the system, he controls it. It’s a Mafia protection racket. And until he’s gone, we aren’t going to fix Illinois and we aren’t going to have a good future.
Reporter: So, who do you think his candidate for governor is?
Rauner: [Laughs] Oh, c’mon. You know what? If you guys are asking that question you’re playing games and you’re not reporting the truth to the people of Illinois. You’d better answer that question yourself. You’ve been around, you know the answer to that question.
Reporter: So, if he’s been in charge for the last 35 years, have you been in charge for the last three?
Rauner: I wish I had. We would have our problems fixed. Illinois would be on a great future. We’d have 200,000 more jobs in this state. We’d have lower property taxes in this state. We would have term limits in this state if I was in charge. I am not in charge. I’m trying to get to be in charge.
[Last question!]
Reporter: How can you say you’re not in charge? You’re the governor of Illinois.
Rauner: The General Assembly can block the major things. What I control, union contracts, we’re incredible, Medicaid reform, incredible, criminal justice reform, incredible. The things that I can control, we’re transforming the state. And I’ve been able to recruit 120,000 net new jobs despite our regulations being bad. If, if I could get the General Assembly to support term limits, property tax relief, red tape reduction on businesses, rolling back that income tax hike, we will kick tails, we will be one of the strongest states in America.
While Rauner has executed new collective bargaining agreements with more than a dozen trade unions, he has been unable to reach agreement with the state’s largest public employee union and was barred earlier this year from attempting to impose his own contract terms on the workers.
Rauner’s overhaul of the state’s Medicaid program has been criticized by Democrats as moving too fast and at too great of an expense to the state. And while Rauner has indeed presided over several significant changes to the criminal justice system over the nearly three years he’s been in office, much of that work was made possible by lawmakers who sent bills to his desk for approval.
I will win the general election. I will win the general election. And if we don’t win the general election, nothing else matters. If we go back to being a one-party state that’s controlled by one person, we don’t have a future. We don’t have a future.
You know what will happen? We will get a massive income tax hike. The candidates controlled by Madigan, all of them have said, ‘The answer to our problems is a massive income tax hike.’ And they say ‘Let’s tax the rich. Let’s tax the rich.’ Well, first of all, you watch business owners flood out of this state when that happens, and our unemployment rate’s gonna go through the roof.
But also, there’s no such thing as a ‘just tax the rich’ plan. No such thing. Doesn’t happen. What happens is the middle class gets socked whenever you do an income tax hike. And if you want proof of that, and I need you guys to focus on the truth on this, look at the states that have done a graduated income tax. Ask New Jersey how it’s gone. New Jersey put in a big graduated income tax to try to tax the rich. You know what? Their middle class, you make $40,000. $40,000 is not a high income. It’s a middle class income. You make $40,000 in New Jersey, you pay six and a half percent. OK?
In New York, graduated income tax. They say ‘Let’s tax the rich.’ In New York, you have a middle class income, you make $40,000, you pay seven and a half percent.
And, you look at the numbers. Look at Massachusetts. Look at Minnesota. Some of the folks have said, ‘Minnesota. They’re Midwest. They’re a farm state.’ You know, look at them. They’ve got a, you make $40,000 a year in Minnesota, you pay seven percent income tax.
And they, and those, New Jersey can’t balance their budget. New York can’t balance their budget. California can’t balance the budget. You make $40,000 in California, you pay eight percent income tax. $40,000.
They will sock the middle class with a tax hike that Madigan and his puppets want and it will destroy Illinois.
We need to be a two-party state. We have to win the general election. And Republicans have to have a voice in the remap. There’s gonna be a remap drawn in 2020, and if it’s not a two-party map, we don’t have a future. Then Madigan will consolidate even more control under one person and we will not have a future, ladies and gentlemen. That’s what’s at stake in this election.
…Adding… Hmm…
Today @BruceRauner claimed: “You make $40,000 in New Jersey, you pay six and a half percent” in income taxes. That’s…not true.
For single filers, the NJ marginal income tax rate at $40,000 is 5.525%.
The Worst Republican Governor in America is now claiming he’s “not in charge” of the state he was elected to lead.
Bruce Rauner, the governor and chief executive of Illinois, made the baffling comments at a press conference earlier today. With a record of no accomplishments and countless crises, the failed governor seems intent on running a campaign of attack, blame, and divide while taking zero responsibility for the damage he’s done.
“The Worst Republican Governor in America is running for re-election on a bold strategy of claiming he hasn’t actually been in charge of the state he’s led for the past three years,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Rauner wants credit for imaginary successes, blames everyone else for his failures, and now readily admits he has done nothing to lead Illinois.”
* And Dan Proft tosses in his own two cents…
The buck stops somewhere else. I'll only shake up Springfield if Madigan lets me. Was that Rauner's value prop as a candidate? Feeble. https://t.co/OwSgaQLvMC
…Adding… Two guesses on who’s “in charge” of Rep. Ives’ Twitter account?…
I'll only shake up Springfield if Madigan lets me. Was that the promise? Gov's office is powerful, but a weak man is in it. #twill#ilgovhttps://t.co/LsIGIRWlhR
“Bruce Rauner’s reelection campaign is going in reverse and he’s getting desperate,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner already faces the impossible task of defending his failed record of higher debt and lower job growth. Now facing a primary challenge, Rauner has accepted help from extreme right-wing ideologues and supported Washington Republicans’ tax plan while desperately deflecting blame for his own failures. Rauner started the week as the nation’s most vulnerable incumbent and it seems like it’s only getting worse for him.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Kennedy campaign…
Bruce Rauner is kicking off his re-election campaign by dodging the blame for failing to raise the minimum wage in our state, maintaining an unfair property tax system that burdens working families, and overseeing a two-year budget impasse that cut off social services to more than 1 million people in our state. The people of Illinois can’t afford to suffer through another term. We need to radically change the status quo and not only bring opportunity back to our state — but bring accountability back to the governor’s office.
Anderson represented Illinois' 16th district, including Rockford, from 1961-1981, and ran as a independent in the 1980 presidential campaign, garnering 6.6% of the vote. #twill
Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) released the below statement after learning about the passing of Rockford native John B. Anderson, the former Congressman of the 16th Congressional District of Illinois:
“John Anderson dedicated his life to serving the Rockford community and this great nation – and he served us well.
“Before representing IL-16 in the House of Representatives, John Anderson answered the call to serve as a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army. He served through the end of World War II and was honored with four battle stars for his valor in combat. Upon returning home to Rockford, Anderson finished his law degree at the University of Illinois. He later became Winnebago County State’s Attorney, and then ran for Congress in 1960.
“His servant leadership and love of country led him to serve as Conference Chairman in House Leadership and eventually to run for President. He believed that his job was worth giving up in order to set a better example of realism in politics. We are better for his candor, his focus, and his honesty – and his pragmatic approach and self-awareness continues to inspire me on a daily basis.
“My thoughts and prayers are with John’s wife and the entire Anderson family. We mourn as a community, and as a nation, on the passing of this great American – The Honorable John B. Anderson.”
Rauner says of National Review article calling him worst Republican governor that "it's not journalism, it's a political hit piece." pic.twitter.com/4tIVGsEbvq
.@JeanneIves says she certainly will accept Dick Uihlein contributions. Wants to know about media asking Dems on $ and Al Franken, Conyers. pic.twitter.com/CwJLNN8v6c
"I will win the general election," Rauner says, Illinois can't go back to one-party control after indirectly calling Ives "fringe" candidate https://t.co/ZY3hbJH1jK
* He was facing yet another Republican primary race…
State Sen Sam McCann will not run for reelection. Just a few months ago, he was mulling a challenge to @GovRauner, even said he could beat him. McCann was facing his second Rauner-funded primary challenger in a row.
*** UPDATE 1 *** A commenter thinks this means that McCann may be setting up an independent bid for governor and adds…
Under the election code, if you file petitions for a partisan primary, or vote in an a primary, you legally cannot run as an independent.
Good point. Stay tuned.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Hmm…
Two sources speaking anonymously say Sam McCann DOES plan to challenge @GovRauner as an independent. Third party candidates can't circulate petitions until week after primary election is over in March 2018. McCann hasn't yet responded to request for comment. https://t.co/FUwcXXopti
Reporter: Governor, on your recent trip to Asia, it kind of stood out to me that there was not a strong message or push to talk about strong agriculture exports to Japan and China…
Gov. Rauner: Oh, no, that was part of our conversation…
Reporter: But you didn’t have any ag industry members on the trip, did you?
Gov. Rauner: Well, we had business development folks. And I’m, I’m a, there’s no better ag representative than me. And I’m talking about our agriculture sector wherever I go.
Reporter: But no grain deals signed, no business and farms…
Gov. Rauner: I’m sorry, no business and farms? I did not visit any farms in Japan or China.
Reporter: And buyers or [unintellible]…
Gov. Rauner: Nope. Nope. All government leaders and business leaders about investing in Illinois and me talking to them about how we can expand exports. Obviously, a lot of the export work is done at the federal level. I want to make sure we keep expanding our trade and make sure it’s a two-way benefit. And Japan and China are partners for the state of Illinois.
“Taxes are going to be the essential issue,” Gov. BRUCE RAUNER said during an appearance near Chicago [about the upcoming campaign].
More specifically, it sounds like he’s planning to focus on how bad a graduated state income tax will be for Illinois. The leading Democratic challengers have all embraced the idea of something other than the flat tax currently in force in Illinois.
Rauner wasn’t asked about state tax policy at the event, but he brought up the graduated income tax anyway. His assessment is that it is a “huge mistake.”
“Go to the states who have a graduated income tax. It’s a disaster,” Rauner said. “They can’t balance their budgets.”
He provided a handy checklist of states with a disastrous graduated income tax. They included New Jersey, California, New York and Connecticut. Rauner overlooked a couple of other states with graduated income taxes, like Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. And it seems like he’s had some pretty positive things to say about Wisconsin and the way it operates.
Rauner has, indeed, said nice things about Wisconsin. And, as you’ll recall, the governor of the state directly to the north with a graduated income tax recently said in a TV ad for Rauner that Wisconsin’s economy is “on fire.”
The governor of Missouri, which also has a graduated tax, said in the same ad that his state is “growing good jobs.”
So, on the one hand, Rauner spends big campaign money to tout two neighboring states with progressive income taxes as doing much better than Illinois. And on the other hand, he claims a progressive income tax hike is a “disaster.”
Six months after lawmakers hastily passed their first state budget in two years, transportation advocates are sounding the alarm on a little-noticed item that will take $300 million from road repairs to pay other expenses each year. […]
The result, transportation advocates say, is a fatal blow to the Illinois Department of Transportation’s construction schedule that was already struggling to keep up with deteriorating roads and bridges. After the budget passed, IDOT’s planned highway improvements went from 400 miles of work to 189, a fraction of the more than 3,500 miles of state roads currently in need of reconstruction across Illinois. […]
Most of the diverted money is paying for bonds that were used to make already-completed improvements to the Regional Transit Authority, which serves public transit in the Chicago area.
“The idea for this came from the Senate Republicans on behalf of the Rauner administration,” said John Patterson, spokesman for Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago.
A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady’s office responded in an email. “This was a proposal that Democrats adopted, put in their budget and passed mostly with Democrat votes in the Illinois Senate.”
A spokeswoman for Rauner said Brady’s proposal as the lead Republican budget negotiator included $180 million from the road fund to pay for RTA bond payments. “The Democrats’ enacted FY18 budget, which Gov. Rauner vetoed, increased this cost shift to approximately $300 million,” spokeswoman Elizabeth Tomev said.
* We talked about this a bit on Friday, but the Sun-Times adds some context…
Gov. Bruce Rauner is taking a blunt stance, telling a Downstate TV station that it would be a “mistake” to legalize marijuana in Illinois.
The Republican governor has, in the past, said he wants more studies on the “ramifications” in states that have legalized the drug. On Wednesday, he took it further.
“I do not support legalizing marijuana. I think that’s a mistake. You know there’s a massive, human experiment going on in Colorado, and California, other places. We should see how that’s impacted lives and addiction and hurt young people before we make any decision about it here,” Rauner said in an interview on WSIL in Marion. “I do not support legalizing marijuana.”
In April, the governor called recreational marijuana “a very, very difficult subject.” He said he wouldn’t support legalizing marijuana unless there’s a study of the “ramifications” in states that have legalized the drug.
* Press release…
The sponsors of legislation to legalize recreational cannabis for adults in Illinois pushed back against Gov. Bruce Rauner’s opposition based on a supposed lack of data to support legalization.
“The governor’s statement against legalizing recreational adult-use marijuana is shortsighted and uninformed,” Steans said. “States began legalizing recreational marijuana five years ago. That’s five years of data that show that teen use does not increase when it’s legalized.”
State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) introduced legislation earlier this year to allow adults in Illinois to possess of up to 28 grams of cannabis and allow facilities to sell cannabis products. The measure includes a number of public safety and public health measures, such as funding for alcohol, tobacco and cannabis abuse prevention programs.
“The mistake here is Governor Rauner not taking the time to familiarize himself with the incredible success states are having with this ‘experiment,’” Cassidy said. “The data indicate no increase in teen use, massive reductions in the criminal black market, and the kind of booming economic success he says he wants for Illinois. We are happy to sit down with the governor to discuss this legislation when he is ready to deal in facts, not scare tactics.”
According to Colorado’s health department’s report “Monitoring Health Concerns Related to Marijuana in Colorado: 2016,” past-month marijuana use among Colorado adolescents is nearly identical to the national average and has remained unchanged since legalization occurred.
“There are hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans who are already using marijuana recreationally,” Steans said. “We have an opportunity to regulate the product so that is safe and sold in stores rather than on the streets. It’s time for the governor to realize that this is a public health and public safety measure.”
The sponsors have held several subject matter hearings to gather more information about the potential effects of legalizing cannabis in Illinois and will continue to do so.
“I choose taxpaying Illinois families. Governor Rauner chose the political ruling class. That’s the difference. That’s the choice in this election… Benedict Rauner betrayed us at every turn.”
“We were promised a conservative reform governor. Instead, we got an Ivy League gender studies professor.” - @JeanneIves in announcing her primary challenge to @GovRauner last eve. She joins us at 7:07am. @MorningAnswer
Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton says in remarks released early Monday by her campaign that she’ll side with “taxpaying Illinois families” instead of the “political ruling class.” She notes that she supported Rauner’s campaign in 2014, but says Illinois needs a new path.
* Ives on Rauner: ‘we got an Ivy League gender studies professor.’ “I supported and helped get Bruce Rauner elected governor in 2014. I believed his argument that his personal wealth would free him to do right by Illinois and lead the revolt against the political ruling class. I was wrong. The tough-talking dude on a Harley with no social agenda turned out to an empty Carhartt jacket. We were promised a conservative reform governor. Instead we got an Ivy League gender studies professor. Benedict Rauner betrayed us at every turn.”
State Board of Elections Chairman Bill Cadigan says candidates for the March 20 primary who are in line to file petitions at the end of the day Monday will be part of a lottery for the last ballot position if another person running for the same office is also queued up at that time.
But Cadigan, a Republican attorney from Wilmette, warns that those seeking the final spot need to be cautious.
Appearing on WGN-AM 720, Cadigan recounted the story of an unnamed Republican candidate who chartered a small plane to arrive with his petitions by the closing deadline, only to find the Springfield airport closed off by bad weather.
The candidate’s aide on the ground pleaded with air traffic controllers to allow the plane to fly over a field and drop the bundled petitions to the ground. The idea was nixed.
Still, weather conditions bettered and the candidate was able to make it to the State Board of Elections headquarters by 4:50 p.m. — with only 10 minutes to spare.
* Gutierrez’s departure opens up generational fault line in Chicago Latino politics: And Sol Flores, 43, the executive director of La Casa Norte community organization that helps homeless youth and families, will be looking to tap into the goodwill she has built up through that work. Flores is a first-time candidate who was part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s transition team in 2015. She said she’s out to bring a woman’s voice to the contest, and that her community activism “proves I can get stuff done.” Each is trying to gather enough signatures this weekend to meet Monday’s candidate filing deadline. They’re also each trying to open a new chapter in Chicago’s Latino political history after decades dominated by older players nursing old grudges.
* Candidates Scrambling to File Petitions Ahead of Deadline: Cook County board Commissioner Chuy Garcia, whom Gutierrez endorsed for the primary election, has endorsed 22nd Ward Ald. Ricardo Munoz to replace him on the board. A new development on Sunday perked up ears around the county, as Garcia’s Executive Assistant Alma Anaya will also be filing petitions for the spring election. Munoz dismissed the rumors of a potential showdown with Anaya in the election, calling the move “an insurance policy.” Munoz declined to elaborate on why Garcia would want two candidates that he would support filing for the same position.
* This $5,600 contribution is a pittance, a drop in the bucket, no big deal at all. So, why take these few dollars and be forever branded as a Koch-funded governor?…
Gov. Bruce Rauner is suffering a major conservative backlash — dissed by a leading magazine of the right this week and bracing for a potential Republican primary challenger next week.
But the first-term governor apparently hasn’t ruffled all the feathers of his party’s right wing.
Billionaire Charles Koch donated $5,600 to Rauner’s campaign fund this week. Koch and his brother David are the nation’s top conservative donors.
The left immediately blasted Rauner for accepting the support.
“This donation proves what many have long suspected: Bruce Rauner is the Koch Brothers’ favorite governor,” said Jake Lewis, campaign director for Illinois Working Together, a coalition of labor organizations.
…Adding… Pritzker campaign…
This week, Crisis Creatin’ Rauner introduces RAUNER TOP FIVE, a five-day series highlighting the lasting damage, misplaced priorities, and embarrassing stumbles that led Bruce Rauner to be crowned: ‘The Worst Republican Governor in America.’
To kick off the week, we turn to the two men behind it all: the Koch brothers. Late Friday, Rauner reported his first direct check from Charles Koch to fuel his special interest agenda and beleaguered re-election bid. While Rauner has been pushing Koch brothers’ priorities in Illinois for years, the donation makes it official and puts the Koch-Rauner agenda on full display.
“With few supporters left in his corner, ‘the Worst Republican Governor in America’ is clinging to the only two people he has never let down: Charles and David Koch,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “After three years of pushing this state to the brink with a Koch brother agenda, this failed governor is counting on the support of these anti-union zealots to carry him to re-election.”
Last year, billionaire Democrat JB Pritzker derided Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for not releasing detailed income tax filings.
“The question is who his investors are, and whether there are any in China or Russia that are affecting his personal income,” Pritzker said of Trump, adding that the future president was “obfuscating in order to avoid being discovered as a liar.”
And then last week, Pritzker released only the first two pages of his income tax returns going back three years. Pritzker told reporters for weeks that he hadn’t released the returns sooner because the task was so “complex.” Um, two pages ain’t “complex.”
Pritzker’s real income appears to come from various private trust funds. He disclosed last week that his trusts paid $25 million in state taxes and $129 million in federal taxes between 2014 and 2016. Pritzker’s personal income taxes were a tiny fraction of that amount. During the same time period, he revealed that he paid only $636,000 in state income taxes and $7.7 million in federal income taxes on his personal income.
He refused to divulge the tax returns for those trusts (which really would be “complex”) because, his campaign claimed, other members of his extended family also benefit from those trusts. OK, fine. But how about divulging the names of his trusts? Tracking down these trusts is a difficult business because they’re shrouded in such secrecy. Names would help.
When a politician refuses to divulge something, particularly after criticizing others for not doing so, you gotta wonder what that person is hiding.
The Pritzker family all but invented off-shore trusts. “No family in the U.S. can copy the Pritzkers in using offshore entities to gain tax advantages,” claimed Forbes magazine back in 2003.
In an attempt to pry Pritzker’s information loose, I reached out to Chris Kennedy’s gubernatorial campaign and asked if they would release the names of the trust funds Kennedy benefits from. They did.
George Skakel was Kennedy’s maternal grandfather. He was from Chicago and founded the fabulously successful Great Lakes Carbon Corporation.
But Kennedy’s a pauper when compared to Pritzker. As mentioned above, Pritzker’s paternal grandfather was a pioneer in using trusts to avoid taxation. Pritzker “took the family fortune from $250,000 in the 1920s to an estimated $2 billion at his death in 1986,” according to Forbes. But when he died in 1986, his heirs told the IRS that AN’s net worth was a mere $25,000. The feds didn’t buy it and the Pritzker family ended up paying the government $9.5 million plus interest nine years later, Forbes reported.
JB Pritzker’s sister Penny, who served as President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Commerce, is mentioned in the so-called “Paradise Papers,” a massive ongoing research project into the uber-wealthy and mega-corporations conducted by journalists all over the world. Ms. Pritzker transferred shares from two Bermuda companies to a company owned by trusts that benefit her children after she was confirmed for the Cabinet post. Her family’s myriad offshore trusts were a big issue during her confirmation hearing.
Alas, Kennedy’s decision to reveal his trust funds’ names did not move the Pritzker campaign one iota closer to disclosing the names of Pritzker’s trusts.
This ain’t over.
* Press release…
Today, Daniel Biss released a new video, “Trust,” in which J.B. Pritzker holds Donald Trump to a standard that he himself is unwilling to meet.
“The fact that Donald Trump has not released his tax returns…is an abomination. And we shouldn’t have candidates who don’t.”
“You shouldn’t have anybody on the ballot that’s running for governor, who doesn’t release their taxes,” declares Pritzker on camera.
Pritzker has been consistent in criticism of Donald Trump’s failure to release his taxes to the public. “The question is who his investors are,” said Pritzker in an Associated Press interview in July 2016. “He is obfuscating in order to avoid being discovered as a liar.”
“We have the same questions for Pritzker that he had for Trump,” says Biss spokesman Tom Elliott. “He hasn’t disclosed his income from his private trusts, or even their names, so we have no idea how much he’s making and who’s paying him. All we know is that he says he paid $125 million in taxes on his trust income. What could he be hiding?”
*** UPDATE *** Rauner campaign…
Pritzker continues to say one thing to Illinois voters while doing something completely different.
After seven months of delaying release of his tax returns, Pritzker finally released the first two pages containing information on his income.
Though he has often toted his ‘transparency,’ Pritzker refused to release even the names of the private trusts from which he draws the majority of his income.
Meanwhile, Bruce Rauner has fought for working families in Illinois. Governor Rauner is leading the fight against Madigan’s corrupt system with a reform plan that includes term limits, rolling back the Madigan income tax hike, and provide real and lasting property tax relief. Madigan has built a corrupt system over 40 years, and Governor Rauner is fighting to give power back to the people.
While Pritzker continues to deceive the people of Illinois, Governor Rauner works incessantly on their behalf.
After over 200 days of delay, J.B. Pritzker released a portion of his income tax returns, but his disclosed tax records raise more questions than answers.
Pritzker’s tax returns revealed that the vast majority of his income comes from inherited family trusts, not from salary income, business investments, or interest. Between 2014 and 2016, Pritzker paid $8.236 million in taxes on $29.6 million of declared personal income.
Those taxes pale in comparison to the income Pritzker derived from his inherited family trusts. During that same time period, Pritzker paid $128.97 million in federal taxes and $24.95 million in Illinois taxes on those trusts.
Unlike his opponent Chris Kennedy, why has Pritzker refused to answer questions on his family trusts?
Years of investigation and inquiry have revealed that the Pritzker family famously utilized trusts to protect their wealth from taxes and IRS scrutiny.
It’s clear - J.B. Pritzker is obfuscating on income derived from his inherited family trusts because he’s trying to hide the fact that he’s been avoiding taxes for years.
J.B. Pritzker’s campaign for governor is reaching the height of hypocrisy. Pritzker is advocating for yet another income tax hike on middle class families while cutting corrupt deals to slash his property taxes and using trusts to avoid taxes.
As Rich Miller said about J.B. Pritzker’s use of family trusts in his weekly column, “This ain’t over.”
* Related…
* Fact Check: Do Pritzker and Kennedy Have a Tax Transparency Gap?
Without a doubt, House Speaker Michael Madigan is not an easy person to work with if you happen to be the governor.
Former Gov. Jim Edgar jokingly blamed Madigan for the heart attack he suffered while in office. Former Gov. Pat Quinn often had a devil of a time trying to figure out how to work with Madigan, which may have contributed to his 2014 defeat.
Madigan cooperates when it’s in his interests to do so and doesn’t when it’s not. Figuring out what his interests are or what’s against his interests on any given proposal is often extremely complicated because the man almost never just comes right out and says: “Give me this and I’ll give you that.”
And if you’re not careful, he can take up residence inside your head.
If you have the stomach for it, go back and listen to some of the FBI surveillance audio of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. It’s Madigan this and Madigan that. Madigan, Madigan, Madigan ruined everything he was trying to do in office. Blagojevich was thoroughly obsessed with the House speaker.
At one point, Blagojevich even publicly called out Madigan, chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, for being a “Republican.”
By the end, it was clear that there was something really wrong with Blagojevich’s mental state. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that he had allowed Madigan to drive him a bit mad.
Gov. Bruce Rauner cannot seem to go a day without blaming Madigan for one evil thing or another. And, yes, the governor has actually used the word “evil.”
This has been Rauner’s main talking point since pretty much day one. And it made political sense. Madigan is the most unpopular state-level politician in Illinois. You’re not going to make too many voters unhappy by going after him because so few love the guy.
And by pointing the finger at the wildly unpopular Madigan, Rauner has been able to excuse his own inability to get much of anything done. Madigan has been in charge of the state for 35 years, Rauner regularly says. Everyone else, including the governor, is just a victim helplessly sitting on the sidelines.
*** UPDATE *** Living rent-free in the governor’s head…
Reporter: "How long will you continue to blame Mike Madigan for the state's problems?" Rauner: "'Til he's gone." Agriculture leaders clap. https://t.co/LhDnHNFUs9
Reporter asks governor, "If Madigan has been in charge the last 35 years, have you been for the last three?" Rauner says "I wish I was." https://t.co/gadErC5mIU
