Today, Biss for Illinois released a new television ad, “Difference.” In the ad, Daniel Biss explains why, as a middle-class public school parent, he understands the stakes of this election in a way his wealthy opponents never will.
“They’ve never had to struggle to afford healthcare or pay off a student loan, so how can we ever expect the billionaires to make Illinois work for the middle class?” says Biss in the ad. “I’m Daniel Biss, and as a former teacher with kids in public schools, I’ll fight for fair taxes, fully funded schools, and healthcare for all because I understand the stakes in a way my wealthy opponents never will. That’s the difference: for me, it’s personal.”
The attorney general should be your lawyer. No conflicts of interests. My opponent Kwame Raoul has taken thousands from big utilities, banks and even red light camera operators. He’s counting on them to win. Me? I’m counting on you.
It’s important that my focus, my focus is on defeating Madigan and Pritzker. A hundred percent, that’s where I spend all my time and my attention. […]
My time is a hundred percent, all of my message, all of my time, my attention is focused on Madigan and Pritzker.
Madigan has officially taken up permanent residence in the governor’s head. Also, that doesn’t leave much time for governing. Just sayin…
* Meanwhile, we have a bit of snarkiness from the Rauner campaign…
Serious Questions for Tonight
After months full of campaign platitudes and liberal pipe dreams, tonight is the final debate for Democratic governor candidates to address voters before Tuesday’s primary election.
However, there are still some important questions the candidates need to answer before voters cast their ballots on Tuesday:
* In which of the three states is Bob “Three State” Marshall watching tonight’s debate?
* Where did JB Pritzker put all those toilets?
* When will Chris Kennedy break his silence on the CNN documentary about his family?
* Is Daniel Biss really just waiting for Dick Durbin to retire?
But seriously, how can JB Pritzker advocate raising taxes on hardworking Illinois families while he himself dodges taxes using offshore trusts?
But seriously, Rauner won’t even debate his own primary opponent. /s
Quinn started the interview, then all of a sudden there’s silence. And then he started talking to someone else. “Can I just come in to… Yeah.” Then he stuttered a bit, collected himself and carried on with the interview.
He hit just about every point in his age-old arsenal of references. Gold Star families, veterans (at least three times), jobs, the Citizens Utility Board, whistle-blowers, Abraham Lincoln, “Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and organize,” term limits, utility companies, “six days to the election but twelve if you don’t sleep” (twice) and how he’s a “fighter for the people.”
Asked who he supported for governor, Quinn said, “They’re all loving sons of loving mothers.”
I think the only Quinn cliche the former governor missed was the Mighty Mississippi River.
* After a governor vetoes a bill and returns it to the originating chamber, the Illinois Constitution requires that chamber to immediately journalize the veto and then take a vote within 15 calendar days.
But the Senate didn’t journalize Rauner’s Tuesday veto of the gun dealer licensing bill yesterday or today. A Senate Democratic spokesperson told me that Rauner didn’t officially return the bill until after the Senate had adjourned, even though the veto message is dated yesterday.
The Senate canceled tomorrow’s session and won’t return until April 10th, so proponents have some time to figure out what to do (and spring break won’t be interrupted).
*** UPDATE 1 *** The governor’s office disagrees…
Rich,
We filed it the same way we filed the vetoes for their out of balance budget and permanent 33% tax increase last summer. Those vetoes were both on the Senate floor within hours of being filed.
Rachel Bold
Press Secretary
Office of Governor Bruce Rauner
Uh-oh. I’m not sure what happens now. I guess the governor could take the Senate to court, which happened with Rod Blagojevich (in his case, it was the House).
*** UPDATE 2 *** Hmm…
The plot thickens: Sen. Harmon says the governor's office was supposed to file the veto paperwork with the Senate, since it was in session, and not the Secretary of State's office, which is where it's filed when the Senate is not in session.
The governor’s office claims, however, that the bill was sent to the Senate.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* Anyway, from the Senate Democrats…
Senate Democrats took the lead in advancing comprehensive gun safety legislation Wednesday. Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton issued the following statement.
“This was an important step forward. Yes, there’s more to do. But today we saw lawmakers come together and support commonsense gun laws. It is my hope that this unity can continue and our efforts will make a difference.”
On Wednesday, the Illinois Senate approved three gun safety proposals, all of which Senate President Cullerton supported.
Here’s a summary of those proposals and their status:
House Bill 1465 - Prohibits the sale or transfer of an assault weapon, .50 caliber rifle or large capacity magazine to an individual under the age of 21.
Status: Senate approved 33-22. Returns to Illinois House for final action on changes.
House Bill 1467 - Ban on bump stocks and trigger cranks. Also restores local governments’ ability to enact local regulations and restrictions regarding assault weapons.
Status: Senate approved 37-16. Returns to Illinois House for final action on changes.
House Bill 1468 - Increases the waiting period to receive an assault weapon after purchase to 72 hours from 24 hours. (Note: This mirrors the existing waiting period for handguns)
Status: Senate approved 43-15, clears the way for it to go to the governor.
* Meanwhile, from the Ives campaign…
Conservative reform gubernatorial candidate Jeanne Ives issued the following statement today on the Chicago Public Schools walkout and the complaint filed by the Chicago Republican Party with the CPS Inspector General:
“Public resources shouldn’t be used for politics. The Chicago Public Schools are behaving like Illinois’ Political Ruling Class by using the taxpayer’s money improperly–and don’t forget Gov. Rauner just committed the entire state to a massive $17 billion bailout of CPS. I’m all for civic education. I’m all for youth participation. I’m not for children being used as tools of political propaganda by Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago Teachers’ Union and Chicago Democrat politicians.
“The Chicago Republican Party and its Chairman, who is the parent of a CPS student, are right to lodge a complaint with the CPS Inspector General. Chicago Democrat politicians like Rahm are wrong to exploit children in advance of their political ends.”
* Sen. Bill Haine (D-Alton) was at a press conference yesterday to discuss the need for action at the state’s veterans’ home in Quincy. This slightly edited audio (it’s, for instance, two comments put together) is from the Senate Democrats. Have a listen…
* You really should listen, but if you can’t because of work or whatever, here’s the transcript…
We’ve been on a political treadmill on this for years and now we have a governor running for election, desperate to win the primary, and I attribute that to the fact that we don’t have a resolution to what seems to be the problem, which is in the pipes! And we have more Legionnaire’s diseases.
The Governor, of course, God love him, went to the home and spent seven days there. So what? Does he have a[n] impaired immune system? Does he have emphysema? Does he have a cancer which would cause a further impaired immune system? The answer is, of course, no!
So, what does it prove going to the home for seven days? What it proves is that he’s somehow empathetic. Empathy doesn’t get it, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a study and the implementation of executive orders. Get the pipes done, is my opinion. We owe these people a great deal, and for us to be on this political treadmill, while there’s no resolution.
There are photo ops, but no resolution. And the Governor drank some water, he said. So what? It’s time for him to get past the primary and get this job done for veterans. The people of Illinois are tired of hearing about it and I think it’s a tremendous dereliction of duty to ignore it any longer with further commissions, further studies, photo ops, whatever it is. Let’s just get it done. He’s the Executive. We are the Legislative Branch. If he needs the money, we’ll get it. Do it.
—–
I’m at a loss to understand why the Governor would not be responsible. The Governor is the Chief Executive Officer of the state. [He] appoints all these officials. Part of the commentary – you referred to it as vitriol – is to try shake him to the point where he acts to bring people in to get it done. It’s three years, the Chairman said, the Senator said. Part of our effort is to get it done.
I know it’s difficult running for office and chewing gum at the same time, but this man was elected the Chief Executive Officer of Illinois. In the old days, it was called the chief magistrate, and it’s up to him to get it done.
And, I’ll give you one example. What’s that phrase, “Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart is”? Drive by the Governor’s Mansion and see how that’s being done. When he came into office that was a wreck. A wreck! Look at it now, it’s being finished, rebuilt. In three years! What’s the difference between the Governor’s Mansion and a home for veterans who risked their lives for the United States and for Illinois? What’s the difference, Governor? There is none! The priority should be the Quincy Veterans Home, not the Governor’s Mansion, for God’s sake.
On the heels of an internal poll showing Pat Quinn’s numbers plummeting and Scott Drury’s rising, Scott Drury’s campaign for Attorney General has begun airing a new statewide campaign ad. Titled “Clean Up Illinois” – which mirrors Drury’s campaign tagline, the ad highlights Drury’s strong work on core Democratic issues such as ending gun violence, women’s healthcare rights and criminal justice reform. The ad also highlights Drury’s experience fighting against and prosecuting public corruption, a strong contrast with Pat Quinn whose history and actions show he will be pushed around by Mike Madigan and not fight corruption.
“With six days left before the election, there is only one non-machine candidate with the resources and momentum needed to win the Democratic primary for Attorney General – that’s Scott Drury,” said Fabio Fernandez, from Drury’s campaign. “The only way to avoid four years of the scandal and dysfunction that follows Pat Quinn is to elect Drury – a true reformer committed to ending the State’s culture of corruption.”
Drury’s campaign intends to spend up to $1 million running the new ad on broadcast and cable television.
Scott Drury – Democrat for Attorney General. He’s taken on the NRA, protected a woman’s right to choose and reformed Illinois’ criminal justice system.
So why is Mike Madigan attacking him?
Madigan prefers Pat Quinn – someone he can push around and won’t stop corruption.
Drury is different – a former federal prosecutor who has locked up corrupt public officials. He represents a beacon of hope for those sick of Illinois’ culture of corruption.
Democrat Scott Drury – to clean up Illinois.
* This is the only info Drury would release on his poll today…
· Compared to Friends of Scott Drury’s baseline survey (conducted six weeks ago), only Pat Quinn, Kwame Raoul and Scott Drury have shown statistically significant movement.
· Since the baseline survey, Quinn’s support has dropped by almost 20 percentage points. Raoul has gained 9 points. Drury has gained 5 points.
· Drury has double digit support downstate and in the collar counties.
· Raoul has run more than two times as many ads as other candidates.
· Drury’s increased support can be attributed to his unique message among a crowded field of candidates and the publicity from the unsuccessful challenge to his candidacy.
· 1/3 of the electorate is undecided. If Quinn’s soft support is included, the percentage is higher.
· Undecided voters clearly do not like Quinn, given that they likely know him. Similarly, given Raoul’s advertising investment, undecided voters clearly are not sold on him.
· Given Drury’s growth – despite a limited ad spend – if Drury invests heavily in the last 8 days of the election, he can earn the votes of enough undecided voters and soft Quinn supporters to obtain the necessary plurality to win.
· Nancy Rotering and Jesse Ruiz have shown no growth over the last six weeks, despite heavy investments in advertising.
The Illinois Bicentennial Commission today released its first video commercial promoting the state’s 200th birthday. The :30 second spot is the center point of a statewide multimedia campaign named after the theme of the yearlong celebration: BORN, BUILT & GROWN in Illinois.
The campaign, which will run from now until the 200th birthday party on December 3, 2018, will showcase Illinois’ influence on the worlds of music, sports, agriculture, literature, commerce, history, technology and innovation, transportation, art and architecture, among others.
The content for the effort is pre-produced and being distributed statewide for carriage on television, radio, digital and social media. The messages can be run as public service announcements by media outlets or packaged by outlets for sponsorship by local advertisers. The Illinois Broadcasters Association is the distributor.
“We’re delighted with this creativity and the opportunity it now provides our association’s members in seeking local sponsorships,” remarked Dennis Lyle, president and CEO, Illinois Broadcasters Association.
The content was produced by Chicago-based AnswersMedia and paid for with private funds.
The Bicentennial program incorporates material supplied by Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Illinois Association of Museums, Illinois Department of Agriculture, and the Illinois State Museum.
* Zorn writes about Gov. Rauner’s TV ads claiming that his GOP primary opponent Rep Jeanne Ives is somehow in league with Speaker Madigan…
Rauner’s commercials contain “the biggest lies since Rod Blagojevich told us he was for good government and he would always do what was right,” said a social media post by Terry Martin, executive director of the Illinois Channel, a Springfield-based TV outlet that covers state politics.
“The governor is in full Pinocchio mode,” wrote Crain’s columnist Greg Hinz, calling one particular spot “the most inaccurate ad” of this campaign season.
Syndicated conservative columnist Scott Reeder wrote that Rauner’s central accusation, that Ives is a “lackey” of Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, “is a lie, wrapped in a prevarication, enveloped with deception, packaged in falsehood and bound up with a fabrication.”
Opinion editor Jim Slusher of the Daily Herald called that same claim “utterly laughable” and “perhaps the most ludicrous of the accusations being posited this campaign cycle.”
“Hyperbole and exaggeration are commonplace in political ads, but this … struck us as not just over the top but over the moon,” wrote PolitiFact Illinois in an extended examination of the gobs of mud Rauner is hurling at Ives. They “turn credibility and rational argument inside out. That is why we give them our lowest possible credibility rating, Pants on Fire!”
Reporters asked the governor twice about the Ives ads today. You can click here to listen to his responses, which were lacking in honesty, to say the least. But he’s sticking to the script and nobody, but nobody will ever get him off of it.
The truth is, Ives has been so anti-Madigan in the House that it has hurt her ability to get anything done. Her opposition to him is almost comical. Nobody, and I mean nobody who knows even a smidgen about the General Assembly would ever say Ives is “Madigan’s favorite Republican,” as one of Rauner’s ads claims. They’d strap you in a straight-jacket and haul you off if you tried. She’s been battling Madigan since before Rauner first ran for governor.
* But, as I’ve said many times before, this stuff works. The only way out for Ives is if she can foster a backlash, and I don’t see that happening at the moment. I could be wrong, but people don’t pay a lot of attention to state politics and she doesn’t have the money to counter the Rauner attacks. She tried to get a little nuanced in that Tribune debate (chiding Rauner for his Madigan obsession, for instance) and it’s come back to haunt her. Ives never used to do nuance and she never shoulda started. Plus, like I say, voters don’t do nuance.
Along these lines, I don’t care how much Chris Kennedy and Daniel Biss try to distance themselves from MJM during the primary. If either one of them wins then Rauner will do the exact same thing to them that he’s doing to Rep. Ives now. Think he can’t? Sheesh, man. Look at what he’s doing to one of the most avowed Madigan-haters ever!
I’m not saying they shouldn’t be trying to distance themselves. They have their reasons and Madigan is unpopular with Democratic primary voters. I’m just saying it won’t do a lick of good come March 21. This hit is coming if Democrats nominate Winnie the Pooh.
Late yesterday, tens of thousands of Illinois caregivers for people with disabilities received the good news they’ve waited seven months for: Governor Rauner’s move to withhold a $.48-cent raise that the General Assembly approved in last summer’s budget deal was illegal.
Rauner had refused to release the increase to Personal Assistants, who have not seen a raise since December of 2014 with the overwhelming majority earning only $13 an hour. The $0.48-cent raise was supposed to have gone into effect on August 5, 2017 per state law:
*P.A. 100-0023, Article 30, Section 30-20: “Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, the hourly wage paid to personal assistants and individual maintenance home health workers [in the DHS Home Services Program] shall be increased by $0.48 per hour”
The Cook County Circuit Court’s ruling orders that the State implement the $.48-cent raise for all hours worked since August 5, 2017 by March 21, 2018.
SEIU says this case involves 28,000 caregivers. The annual cost of giving all those caregivers 48-cent an hour raises is about $28 million per 8-hour shift.
The state had asked that the case be dismissed and plaintiffs had asked for a ruling of summary judgment. The plaintiffs prevailed and the state then moved for reconsideration. That motion was denied. The order is here.
Illinois legislators and county fair officials gathered at the Statehouse to showcase the positive economic benefit county fairs bring to the state and urge the Governor to release $1.4 million in funding that was appropriated as part of the FY18, which passed last year.
According to a University of Illinois Extension Department of Community and Economic Development study, county fairs bring $170 million annually to the state’s economy and support 1000 non-fair related jobs. Jersey County Fair Treasurer Tom Moore says the county fair is still a hit in this part of the state.
The $1.4 million would be split between more than 100 fairgrounds.
“It’s a small amount of money in the world of state government, but it’s a big amount of money to county fairs and it’s going to go to nearly every county across the state,” Iroquois County Fair president Marvin Perzee said. “And we encourage the governor to look at that area.”
Marvin Perzee runs one of the best county fairs in the entire state, by the way.
The state legislature had initially pledged more than $10 million to help county fair officials maintain fairgrounds and buildings. But Governor Bruce Rauner’s administration held back some of that money in an effort to cut costs.
Margaret Vaughn directs the Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs. She said the governor’s decision sent the wrong message to the state’s rural communities.
“People forget up north that Illinois is primarily an agricultural state, and since the beginning of the last century the State of Illinois has recognized the importance of this, to keep these fairs going, ” Vaughn said.
The Rauner administration says holding back some of the funding was a “tough decision to make.” Rauner has argued the budget lawmakers approved over his veto spends more than it takes in.
Pritzker is also running a digital ad that contends Kennedy doesn’t support legalization of marijuana. […]
Kennedy has long said he wants more studies on how to legalize marijuana. On Monday he said he would want a state program run by a “broker like the University of Illinois,” not “in the hands of paid lobbyists working for corporate titans, private equity sharks or hedge fund investors.”
Kennedy said he didn’t believe it was a personal attack to go after the Pritzker family.
“I think it goes to somebody’s character and he’s demonstrating his character,” Kennedy said, adding his policy positions are listed on his campaign website.
* If you go to Kennedy’s campaign website you get this…
Chris Kennedy believes that we should legalize marijuana and broaden access to medical marijuana.
So, depending on how you feel about Kennedy, he’s either suddenly seen the light in the past ten days, or he’s flip-flopped to score political points and fend off Pritzker’s online spot…
Either way, they ought to update their Google ad…
That’s not helping.
* This latest Kennedy shift is one of many on this topic. We have been tracking Kennedy’s marijuana positions for a long time. From March 29, 2017…
Chris supports decriminalizing marijuana in Illinois. He believes we should not be prosecuting and crowding our jails over simple possession of marijuana. He is reviewing studies done on the effects of legalization in other states before determining if legalization would be right for Illinois.
“I don’t know whether it’ll get legalized, I don’t know if it’ll get taxed. I mean, I think betting our future that all of that occurs and that somehow that’s gonna cure our budget problem. I think we need thoughtful, real, concrete that operate without … without relying on something that has, you know, tenuous, um possibilities. Sorry. I’ll tell you the truth.”
I’m a big believer in science and the medical profession. I would take my cues from them. I do think we should understand what the long-term outcomes are in places like Colorado before we embrace, say … embrace massive change like legalization of marijuana. But if the studies indicate that we have no worse outcome, then I would follow the science on that. But, you know, we haven’t figured out what to do with the massive opioid epidemic that’s hollowing out our communities, that’s destroying the lives of young people and for which we have no clear answer. There’s no protocol. Every town doesn’t handle this the same way. Every family doesn’t handle it the same way. We have very few beds in Illinois to deal with the opioid crisis or a methodology to put people on the path to recovery, and I think before we introduce yet another drug into the lives of our young people and, I guess the full population as well, we ought to understand what we’re getting ourselves into.
I think it is dangerous to embrace a public health hazard simply because you want revenue.
That’s what I think. And that’s what makes, and I’m not aiming that at anybody. I’m cautious because we haven’t studied this issue thoroughly because the Republicans in the Congress in the House and the Senate have prevented the federal government from doing so. We have great research institutions in Illinois, nothing is going to happen under Gov. Rauner. We should challenge a place like Northern or U of I, UIC to study the effects, make an informed decision, defer to the scientists and the doctors and don’t let politicians make scientific decisions.
* So, he’s gone from favoring decriminalization (which we already had at the time) while putting the legalization issue under review; to saying we should be wary of the “massive change” of legalization; to warning against the dangers of embracing the “public health hazard” of pot; to cautiously putting legalization’s fate into the hands of “reputable scientists and medical professionals” to his latest plan of just letting the U of I run the whole show.
What’s that old saying? When a politician changes his position to one you oppose, he’s a flip-flopper. When he shifts your direction, he’s a statesman.
Do the math. I'm not saying @DanielBiss is not an honest candidate. He is an honest candidate. But if he were not in the race, @KennedyforIL would swamp @JBPritzker. JB knows this. I'm sure Durbin does too.
* The first problem with this conspiracy theory is that Pritzker is thwacking Biss with that retirement income tax ad. Yes, he’s attacking Kennedy, too, but Biss is still in there.
Also, didn’t Mary Schmich just write a Tribune column complaining about how Pritzker was constantly sending out negative mailers against Daniel Biss? Why, yes, she did.
Also, too, if Biss is part of some sort of grand scheme, he’s sure not talking like it…
Primary push has @DanielBiss campaign in Champaign for second time in one week. He responds to @GovRauner’s vow to “blow [@JBPritzker] up and take him down” in November. Biss says “JB Pritzker is Bruce Rauner’s dream.” pic.twitter.com/SR5CoNXdLt
* But just to be on the safe side, I asked the Biss campaign if the candidate was part of a grand conspiracy with Pritzker…
Better question, is this some Kennedy-Kass conspiracy? Or is this just a part of the Kennedy-Rauner partnership?
Then again, if Biss was involved with a nefarious plot like this, he’d undoubtedly deny it. Hmm.
I asked Pritzker’s spokesperson about this and she just laughed. But, it could have been an evil laugh to disguise her inside knowledge. I just don’t know.
* However, Pritzker is most definitely focusing more on Kennedy than Biss…
.@JBPritzker running 4 negative ads in the final week of the election, mostly against @KennedyforIL. Not a sign of confidence.
I counted only three. The one attacking Kennedy and Biss on the retirement income tax, one on marijuana (which we’ll get to in a bit) and one about how Kennedy had raised tuition at the the U of I.
Chris Kennedy: Making college affordable is critical to the success not only to the next generation, but of our entire economy.
Announcer: But what’s Chris Kennedy’s record?
Clip of a Mark Maxwell WCIA TV report: Our review of his time at the University of Illinois shows that he raised tuition several times while African-American enrollment dropped off steadily.
Announcer: That’s right. Kennedy’s five votes to raise tuition caused African-American enrollment to drop 17 percent. Chris Kennedy. Shouldn’t we judge him by his record?
I think what’s going on here is they’re worried that the undecideds will break toward the Kennedy name. There’s also lots of speculation out in the ether that some independent-minded Republicans might opt out of the GOP primary over disgust with both Rauner and Ives and vote for the clear anti-Madigan candidate in the Democratic primary, which would be Kennedy.
…Adding… Good point in comments…
Cook County Independent-minded Republicans might be tempted to pull a Dem ballot to vote against Berrios & Preckwinkle as well.
A Chicago Tribune investigation found several offshore shell companies created between 2008 and 2011 — long after Abram “A. N.” Pritzker’s 1986 death — that are either wholly owned by J.B. Pritzker, his brother and business partner Anthony Pritzker, or list other close associates as controlling executives. […]
One of Pritzker’s offshore companies, Moreau Capital Holdings Ltd., is part of a venture that plans to buy city-owned land along the Chicago River to launch duck boat tours downtown. Pritzker is the sole owner of Moreau Capital Holdings, which was created in Nassau, Bahamas, in January 2011, according to records. […]
In late 2016, Seadog Ventures Inc. entered into an agreement with the city of Chicago to buy a vacant lot along the Chicago River near the Cermak Road bridge. Seadog, a tour boat company, is a subsidiary of Entertainment Cruises Holdings LLC, which is owned by J.B. and Anthony Pritzker. […]
The filing shows that the Pritzker brothers hold nearly 19 percent of the company in two corporations with addresses in the Bahamas — Moreau Capital Holdings Ltd. and Aman 2 Capital Holdings Ltd.
J.B. Pritzker owns all of the stock in Moreau Capital Holdings, according to the city filing. His brother owns all of the stock of Aman 2 Capital Holdings. […]
In all, 11 of the 18 companies on the list sent to the Bahamian registrar — including Moreau, Aman 1 and Aman 2 — share names similar to Pritzker family trusts that hold Hyatt Hotels Corp. stock, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission… It is unclear why shell companies were created with similar names to the offshore Pritzker trusts that held Hyatt stock.
J.B. Pritzker’s philanthropy is largely derived from assets long protected from taxation in two of those offshore accounts, the Moreau Trust and the Cheyenne Trust. Since 2006, those trusts, which while registered in the Bahamas also have mailing addresses in South Dakota, transferred $97 million in cash to his Pritzker Family Foundation, records show.
Moreau Trust and Moreau Capital Holdings Ltd. (which partly owns that duckboat thingy) are different and it’s not clear how money flows between them.
* So, I asked the campaign a simple question: Do all the disbursements from this particular offshore entity go to charity? The answer from his spokesperson Galia Slayen…
Throughout this campaign, JB has been transparent about his finances and today’s article only confirms what he has always said. First, generations ago there were trusts set up offshore by JB’s family and JB does not manage or oversee them. Second, as the Tribune details, any distributions made from those trusts are directed to charity and JB has never received a personal disbursement from any trust located offshore. Finally, JB’s statement of economic interest lists assets held not only by JB personally, but also trusts and the Pritzker Family Foundation.
Thanks for clearing that up! /s
* Gov. Rauner’s campaign…
“JB Pritzker wants to raise taxes on hardworking Illinois families but will dodge taxes himself. The Chicago Tribune’s report shows that JB Pritzker cannot be trusted. He will game the system for his own benefit and leave hardworking Illinoisans footing the bill.” - Governor Bruce Rauner
* Sen. Daniel Biss’ campaign…
“Today’s report proves that JB Pritzker is disqualified to serve as governor,” said Daniel Biss. “After years of scamming the system out of much needed revenue and repeatedly lying to the voters of Illinois, it’s clear now why JB Pritzker refused to release his full tax returns. This greedy and repeated manipulation shows that JB believes he’s accountable to no one, including the voters of Illinois. These repeated lies means he lacks the credibility to govern.
“These revelations also include Chris Kennedy’s ownership of offshore funds, and raises serious doubt about his own financial holdings. At a minimum, Chris must immediately release his full tax returns to prove to Illinois votes he isn’t also avoiding paying his fair share in taxes.
“While Illinois families have been nickeled and dimed, JB Pritzker has been lying and cheating. He is choosing to play the same billionaire games as Donald Trump and Bruce Rauner, which allows him to live under a different set of rules than the rest of us. Illinois can’t afford another billionaire businessman who’s scammed the system for his benefit, and who doesn’t respect voters enough to be honest with them. The Democratic Party must set an example about the need for full transparency to restore trust in our government.”
* Chris Kennedy…
JB Pritzker thinks the rules don’t apply to him because he is a billionaire. He rigs the property tax system for his own benefit. He tries to engage in pay to play politics with corrupt former Governor Rod Blagojevich while insulting African American leaders. And now, we find out he lied to the voters about moving his billions offshore to dodge taxes. He has proven himself to be a serial tax cheat.
JB Pritzker’s true character has been on full display in this campaign. His character is one of lying, cheating and using his money to try to buy an election. The voters of Illinois won’t stand for it next Tuesday.
His campaign refused to answer questions about this latest revelation. JB ran away from reporters asking legitimate questions about his finances. Tonight at our final debate, he needs to give voters a full explanation on why he lied to them last December about setting up offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes on his billions of dollars that he is now using to try to buy their votes.
* Pritzker campaign…
Chris Kennedy touts his experience on corporate boards, but a closer look reveals his “experience” actually entails cashing in while hiking executive pay at a company that sent jobs overseas.
In September, Kennedy sold nearly 30,000 shares of Interface stock the same day he contributed $250,000 to his campaign. While Kennedy received over $1.18 million from his time on Interface’s board, he repeatedly voted to hike executive pay while the company laid off workers, shuttered plants, and sent jobs overseas. Kennedy also served on the board of a second company, Knoll Inc., where he voted to hike executive pay despite the objections of shareholders.
“While he touts his experience on corporate boards, Chris Kennedy cashed in after hiking executive pay for a company that shuttered plants and sent jobs overseas,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “From the University of Illinois to for-profit businesses, Kennedy has put compensation for top executives and his own bottom line above students and working families.”
State Sen. Sam McCann on Tuesday said he’s endorsing challenger Jonas Petty of Pittsfield over incumbent Rep. C.D. David Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, in the Republican primary in the 100th House District. […]
“What I have a problem with is, ever since Governor Rauner came to power, Representative Davidsmeyer is one of those people who just totally went along with him,” McCann said. “I’m trying to figure out why the people of the 100th District should send C.D. Davidsmeyer back here just to be a rubber stamp for the Rauner administration.”
Davidsmeyer did vote with Democrats to pass a budget including a tax increase last summer, but then said talks with constituents convinced him that was the wrong vote, and he backed Rauner in opposing an override. Enough Republicans stayed with Democrats to enact that budget over the governor’s objection.
“I think that underscores the fact that once he did finally stand up to the governor, he eventually backed down,” McCann said of Davidsmeyer’s change of heart.
Davidsmeyer is one of McCann’s two state Reps. He had $147K in the bank at the end of last year and has reported raising $21,500 since then.
Gov. Bruce Rauner today announced he has appointed Susan Haling as Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor. Haling has more than six years of experience in the Office of the Inspector General (OEIG).
“A dedicated public servant for many years, Susan’s investigatory expertise makes her an ideal fit to lead the OEIG,” Gov. Rauner said. “She has demonstrated strong leadership and management experience, and I am confident she will be an asset to state employees and the public in this role.”
Haling previously served as the First Assistant Inspector General, where she supervised more than 70 employees in Chicago and Springfield, and managed more than 100 active investigations. She is also a former Assistant U.S. Attorney with more than nine years of experience in the Criminal Division of the Northern District of Illinois.
“I have been in public service my entire legal career and am humbled by this opportunity to serve the people of Illinois as the EIG,” Haling said.
Haling will succeed Maggie Hickey, who is pursuing an opportunity in the private sector.
“Susan Haling is an outstanding attorney, former prosecutor, and extremely knowledgeable about the Office of Executive Inspector General,” Hickey said. “The OEIG is in excellent hands. Susan has a wealth of experience and the utmost integrity. Having had the opportunity to work with her at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the OEIG, I have full confidence in her ability to lead independent and robust investigations.”
Haling earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctorate from DePaul University College of Law. Her husband, Theodore “TJ” Hengesbach, is the Inspector General of the Illinois Toll Highway. The OEIG does not have any statutory authority to direct the Toll Highway IG in its operations or investigations. As in the past, and consistent with general OEIG practice, Haling would be screened from any matters involving the Toll Highway Authority should any come to the OEIG.
* Click here for background. From a press release…
Conservative reform gubernatorial candidate Jeanne Ives today called on Governor Rauner to release all emails from his office that include both his political campaign staff and his state office state after an ethics complaint against Gov. Rauner was filed by the Edgar County Watchdogs to the Office of the Executive Inspector General yesterday.
In the complaint, they cite a series of official emails leaked to their office which logically lead to the conclusion that Governor Rauner had given his campaign staff control over policy making decisions and communications from his official state government office, treating his political and state staffs as “one big team.”
The complaint states, “activities and circumstances outlined above appear to be clear evidence of violation of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, 5 ILCS 430 5-15 (a)-(c). They appear to reveal a governor who violated this law as he was gearing up for his re-election campaign…”
“The Edgar County Watchdogs have produced emails that suggest the Rauners were telling their state employees to do the bidding of his political consultants,” said Ives. “That’s illegal. Two governors have been sent to jail for, in part, erasing the lines between what belongs to the taxpayers and what belongs to their political operations. We should know before March 20 if Rauner is in danger of being the next governor to spend more time in prison than in office.”
* I shared this graphic (minus the extraneous editorial comments) with subscribers yesterday…
Looking at these early turnout numbers it appears that #ILRepublicans are not engaged. Has 3 years of Bruce Rauner hurt the party this much? pic.twitter.com/6DmBPC8H4W
AG candidate Scott Drury reports $1 million from Steven Miller, who has already contributed over $200k to Drury this cycle #twillhttps://t.co/UukveAozVn
Word is that Dury’s new TV ad ties fellow attorney general candidate Pat Quinn to Speaker Madigan. I’ll post it when I get it.
Weirdest year ever.
…Adding… This is an odd poll story because it’s so bereft of numbers, but at the very least it shows Drury believes he’s surging…
DRURY INTERNAL POLL — Attorney General candidate Scott Drury released an internal poll Tuesday that showed big movement for Drury, and challengers Kwame Raoul and Pat Quinn in both directions. Drury’s support has jumped 5 percent, Raoul’s 9 percent. Quinn still leads the full slate of candidates although his support dropped about 20 percent. The poll was conducted by Deep Blue Strategies of Chicago. Thirty-three percent of respondents were undecided.
Jumped 5 percent or 5 points? Big difference. I’ll assume it means points. Also, he’s jumped 5 since when? And where’s he at now? 5? 10? I’ve asked the campaign for an explanation.
Ives also took a swipe at the two big money Democrats vying for the Democratic nomination, comparing them to Rauner.
“We already tried the millionaire, billionaire, no-government experience, no-political experience and I don’t think J.B. Pritzker sells to anybody. Same thing with Mr. Kennedy. He’s the same ilk,” she said.
Biss: And the next time perhaps, may the best woman win. Or even, how about this? Just the best person, who quite likely would be a woman.
Cameron: But that’s not to say you just endorsed Jeanne Ives.
Biss: I… have been planning to defeat Bruce Rauner in the general election, but I would be very committed to defeating Jeanne Ives in the general election as well.
* The Question: What would a fall campaign look like between Jeanne Ives and Daniel Biss?
* The Edgar County Watchdogs ran another story the other day about campaign and messaging e-mails between Diana Rauner and others, including then communications director Diana Rickert. Click here to read it. They’ve been publishing other stories on this topic for a while now (Click here, here and here). Well, they’ve taken it to the next level…
In light of the multi-part series we have published recently regarding the activities taking place in the Office of the Governor, specifically, Washington DC campaign figures driving policy with direct communications to state officials in the Governor’s Office, we looked closely at our Illinois State Ethics Act. […]
In this case, we have filed a formal complaint with the Office of the Executive Inspector General (OEIG).
Based on included information and privileged sources, we believe Governor Bruce Rauner has given his campaign staff control over policy making decisions and communications from his gubernatorial, state government office and is, concurrently, forcing state government staff to work, against their will, on his re-election effort. […]
In conclusion, the activities and circumstances outlined above appear to be clear evidence of violation of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, 5 ILCS 430 5-15(a)-(c). They appear to reveal a governor who violated this law as he was gearing up for his re-election campaign, allowing that campaign and those who run it to direct policy and communications for the official governor’s office.
We request an immediate investigation and resolution of this matter and the recusal of Gov. Rauner from appointing the next Inspector General, as they will be investigating this very serious case. That person needs to be independent of the governor.
• July 10, 2017 - Gov. Rauner hires new Chief of Staff, Kristina Rasmussen, new communications director, Diana Rickert and new campaign staff as well as new general consultancy, Coldspark, for his re-election campaign.
• July 27, 2017 -Amidst debate in Congress over repeal of Obamacare, Rauner Campaign Consultant Nachama Soloveichik and First Lady Diana Rauner discuss Gov. Rauner’s public position on the issue, including which groups “can be helpful” to his re-election if he publicly opposed Congressional Republicans. Top State Government Staff, Chief of Staff Kristina Rasmussen and Communications Director Diana Rickert, are cc’d on the email.
• Aug. 3, 2017 - Diana Rauner emails Rasmussen, Rickert, Soloveichik and her partner, campaign consultant Mark Harris, advising that Gov Rauner should agree to support a K- 12 School Funding measure he has long opposed “to rewrite the narrative of the past two and a half years.”
• Aug. 4, 2017 - Gov. Rauner leads a meeting of his new state govt. staff and his campaign staff to discuss their organization structure and reporting. General Counsel Dennis Murashko expresses concerns in the meeting regarding political staff directing official staff.
• Aug. 21, 2017 -Murashko delivers a memo on Rauner’s state government office and how it is ethically and legally required to govern itself with regard to campaign staff and the re-election team. Rauner resists the memo.
• Aug. 23, 2017 Murashko resigns, giving two weeks’ notice.
• Aug. 24, 2017 Rickert and her communications team resign. Rauner’s office publicly says it is about a communications flap; privately, sources say, their departure is actually over
issues related to the memo.
• Aug. 25, 2017 Murashko is escorted out of his state office; The reason given: an anonymous OEIG complaint against him.
• Aug. 30, 2017 Rauner officially sign the K-12 school funding bill, the subject of the Aug. 3 email.
• Sept. 5, 2017 - An anonymous source tells reporter Natasha Korecki of Politico that the Murashko OEIG complaint alleged “he had misused the powers of his office.”
• Sept. 7, 2017 -An anonymous source tells reporter Rich Miller of Capitol Fax that “there’s speculation from inside that the memo Murashko wrote about politics in the governor’s office might have been drafted to somehow protect himself from the OEIG beef.”
• Sept. 20, 2017 Rauner publicly announces his opposition to the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal bill pending in Congress, the subject of the Jul. 27 email. The language he uses in his statement mirrors the language suggested in that email.
• Dec. 8, 2017 Murashko’s memo is leaked to Miller, who publishes it.
• Dec. 11, 2017 Korecki complains publicly that her Freedom of Information requests to the Governor’s office, asking for Murashko’s resignation letter and the memo, have been ignored. Rauner’s office responds by releasing the resignation letter, but not the memo, which is already public on account of the leak.
• Dec. 12, 2017 Rauner tells reporters that the Murashko memo was “created at my urging.”
• Jan 4, 2017 Murashko defends himself on Facebook, suggesting his “professional integrity” was tested in the governor’s office, but he chose to do the “right thing.”
• Mar. 9, 2017 The OEIG exonerates Murashko, who publicly slams the anonymous complaint as “baseless” and restates that the memo he wrote “was necessary.” He does not validate Rauner’s claim that he told Murashko to write it.
I’ve been trying to reach Rickert for weeks to no avail. But if she claims that she left over issues related to the Murashko memo and not because she was fired after all the chaos, things could get interesting.
…Adding… On background, a senior Rauner official said in no uncertain terms that Rickert was fired for releasing that now notorious “as a white male” press release without getting clearance. The official also claimed that Rickert was “clearly” the one leaking these e-mails to the Edgar County Watchdogs “in an effort to rehabilitate her reputation.”
*** UPDATE *** Governor’s office…
Rich,
This is lazy and inaccurate conjecture quoting anonymous sources. This office follows all ethics laws. If there is an investigation, we will fully cooperate.
Rachel Bold
Press Secretary
Office of Governor Bruce Rauner
In one week, Illinois Republicans will weigh in on the direction they want to take the Illinois GOP and thereby Illinois.
Will they nominate a candidate– as FNC Host Tucker Carlson put it, a “Fake Republican Governor”—who doesn’t deserve to be re-elected and will not be re-elected regardless of the Democrat nominee.
Or will they act consistent with their stated desire for new, conservative reform government.
Are Illinois Republicans ready to revolt against the Ruling Class?
Jeanne Ives frames the choice for GOP primary voters in her closing argument TV and radio spots.
* The governor was asked this morning on WJPF: “Aren’t you a member of the NRA?” His response…
I am. I am. I have been for many years.
I have been looking around Google for a while now and I don’t think he’s ever admitted to that before. Not saying he hasn’t said it. I just don’t remember it and can’t find it.
Addressing reporters at a campaign stop in Naperville, the governor insisted his decision had nothing to do with trying to shore up conservative support a week before the primary.
“Not at all,” Rauner said. “What we are focused on is winning in November against Pritzker and Madigan and our message is a unifying message. It’s the right policy that everybody wants.”
“It just took time to study it to determine the right answer was to veto that one.”
“The right thing is to do a package, and I’m still going to push a package. I’m tired of waiting. The General Assembly still hasn’t passed what I think is really going to make sense. That was the only bill that got to my desk. It really wasn’t going to improve anything. It was just going to create a bureaucracy that would be harmful.” […]
“Our team has been working feverishly, studying, talking, doing our due diligence on what other states have done, what’s the law here, and what it would do to our small shop owners,” the governor said after meeting with voters at Hugo’s Frog Bar in Naperville. “And we just decided it was going to create a big layer of burden and bureaucracy, and really not keep our communities safer. And so we decided let’s go ahead and veto the bill.”
Opponents had characterized the regulations as a government overreach, saying sellers are already licensed by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which requires background checks.
They noted that the state agency that would have to oversee licensing opposed it. Officials have raised concerns about the cost of launching the new rules, saying it would require more staff. They also noted that the agency has limited experience in administering and enforcing this type of program, as it typically oversees barbers, dentists, nurses and other professions.
Supporters contend federal regulators are stretched too thin to regulate all the shops operating in Illinois, and cited data that showed a large percentage of weapons found at crime scenes come from a handful of sellers.
* There’s more react here from before the governor actually vetoed the gun dealer licensing bill. But I’ll be updating this post with react from now on, so check back. First up, Sen. Harmon…
State Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) issued the following statement in response to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of the Gun Dealer Licensing Act:
“The governor must be much more concerned about his immediate political prospects than we thought, because he decided to be a lap dog for the NRA today rather than listen to the people he represents.
“Eighty-five percent of Illinoisans support licensing gun dealers. Governor Rauner has decided to be the governor of the nine percent who don’t.
“Tomorrow, students across the country will stand up and beg elected officials to do their job and protect schools from gun violence. By issuing this veto on the eve of those demonstrations, the governor is telling them that he has no intention to live up to that responsibility.”
The bill passed with just 30 Senate votes and 64 House votes, so I kinda doubt it’ll be overriden. We’ll see.
* Speaking of the walkout…
Senator Melinda Bush will stand in solidarity with students across the country by leading a walkout against gun violence on Wednesday at the Capitol.
“We’re standing in solidarity to honor gun violence victims and let students across Illinois know that their voices matter and that we hear them,” said Bush (D-Grayslake). “The voices of these students have broken though partisan politics, and their actions have brought about commonsense conversations on gun safety.”
Who: Senators, staff, lobbyists, advocates and anyone who wishes to participate. Speakers will include Senator Bush, Senator Chris Nybo (R-Elmhurst) and Senator Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago)
What: A 20-minute Capitol walkout and short program: 17 minutes for the Parkland victims, one minute for Chicago Police Commander Paul Bauer and two minutes for all victims of gun violence
Where: Participants will walk from east Capitol doors to the Abraham Lincoln statue for the program
When: 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 14
Why: To stand in solidarity with students across the country and in our districts who are calling for honest, bipartisan conversations about gun safety and to honor the victims in Parkland, Commander Paul Bauer and all victims of gun violence
* Gov. Pat Quinn…
Gov. Rauner’s veto of common-sense regulation of Illinois firearms dealers is appalling but not a surprise. Coming one week before our state’s primary election, it’s a reminder of the governor’s abdication of leadership, regardless of the harm done to all Illinois citizens.
I have worked tirelessly, in and out of office, to make our communities safe from gun violence. As Attorney General, I will challenge efforts by the Trump administration to weaken state regulations of firearms. There is no higher or more urgent calling for an office that must be the lawyer for everyday people and the guardian of their well-being.
* According to published reports, the NRA has contributed to Democratic Rep. Sam Yingling in the past and he’s been given an “A” rating. Here’s his statement…
I’m disappointed in Bruce Rauner’s veto of the common-sense gun safety reform measures outlined in SB1657. In a press release following his veto, the governor tried to offer “starting points” for having “serious conversations,” leading me to question whether the governor has been paying attention to the urgent national and local dialogues following the tragedy in Florida.
The conversations I have had with students, mothers, law enforcement officials, and community members in my district over the last few weeks have brought one fact into focus for me: reasonable gun safety measures promote responsible gun ownership and keep our schools and communities safe.
I will continue working with my colleagues in the legislature to send the governor common-sense gun safety bills. I hope he learns to listen to the people in my district and across Illinois who are demanding that we do better when it comes to protecting our children.
* Kathleen Sances, President and CEO of the Illinois Gun Violence Prevention PAC (GPAC)…
“This veto is a punch in the gut to victims of gun violence and their families who dedicated years of their lives to get this bill passed. The Gun Dealer Licensing Act had the potential to save thousands of lives and instead of following suit with cities like the Village of Lyons, which passed its own version of this legislation catching 51 guns in the first year and a half alone, the governor instead decided to stand shoulder to shoulder with the NRA. And now, thousands more lives might be lost because of his inaction.”
* Rep. Scott Drury…
“It is a sad day for Illinois when a governor puts his political interests ahead of the public interest. Yet, in vetoing the Gun Dealer Licensing Act, Governor Rauner did just that. Illinois is in the midst of a gun violence epidemic. The NRA constantly says that criminals – not guns – kill others. The Gun Dealer Licensing Act will keep guns out of the hands of criminals. As a co-sponsor of the Gun Dealer Licensing Act, I know this legislation could save lives. Governor Rauner failed Illinois today.”
* Jesse Ruiz…
Governor Rauner’s veto of the gun measure that would have required the state of Illinois to license gun dealers shows his complete lack of courage and failed leadership. With the number of mass shootings affecting our country, this measure was a step in the right direction by requiring dealers and employees to be trained to conduct background checks, stop thefts, properly store guns and prevent straw purchasing - all urgently needed reforms in Illinois. With the primary election upon us, let’s hope this frustration turns into action at the polls.
Governor Bruce Rauner today vetoed Senate Bill 1657 saying that the bill created onerous, duplicative bureaucracy that does little to improve public safety. He noted that Illinois gun dealers are already licensed by the federal government and that 2,700 small businesses in the state would be jeopardized by the unnecessary new layer of state regulations.
As part of his veto message, Rauner was clear that the state is in desperate need of thoughtful, bipartisan public safety solutions to the larger more pervasive problems of crime prevention, school safety and mental health.
“The core issue is not which guns to legally ban or regulate,” he said. “We have ample proof that such narrowly focused legislative responses make for good political cover, but they do little to stop the illegal flow of guns into Illinois or prevent people from committing thousands of crimes in our state each year with illegal guns.”
The Governor said that to focus solely on guns exaggerates the divide in society over constitutional rights, when there is actually substantial common ground on which to build comprehensive solutions. He cited two common universal concerns: guns in the hands of criminals; and guns in the hands of the mentally ill.
“These are starting points that ought to bring us together for serious conversations about how to secure our schools, combat crime, and make everyone in Illinois safer,” Rauner said.
Since the tragedy in Parkland last month, Rauner insisted that bipartisan collaboration is the best hope of finding common sense solutions to gun violence.
He acted on that hope this afternoon by calling on the leaders of the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate to each appoint four members of their caucuses to a Legislative Public Safety Group. The Group would work with the administration to develop legislative proposals to support the following initiatives already underway in various agencies and units of the administration:
School Safety – The Illinois Terrorism Task Force has convened a working group of officials from schools, police and fire agencies and they are developing strategies to protect against mass shootings. The Public Safety Group ought to be ready to suggest legislative actions to implement their recommendations.
Mental Health – The Illinois Terrorism Task Force is also working to learn more about the complex intersection of mental health and gun violence, so parents, teachers, professionals and others can more effectively assess, detect, and report threats. The Public Safety Group will be valuable in ensuring the mental health community is fully engaged and legislation is sensitive to the complexities of dealing with diagnosis and treatment.
Interstate Crime Prevention Network – A wide ranging law enforcement partnership with surrounding states is being explored to clamp down on illegal cross border trafficking and straw purchases, provide enhanced data collection and sharing, and establish protocols for threat detection, surveillance, and criminal apprehension. The Group should be in position to evaluate the arrangements as necessary.
Repeat Gun Offenders – We must closely examine sentencing and bonding practices that allow repeat offenders to be released rather than incarcerated. Legislative remedies ought to be part of the Public Safety Group’s effort.
Concentrated Crime Force Deployments – The state needs to expand its program of deploying law enforcement resources in high crime areas so that they can mobilize for all-out attacks on the crime industry. The Public Safety Group ought to be ready to endorse funding requirements for a larger force of state police officers.
Economic Revitalization – The state’s most violent neighborhoods are also commercial deserts where the only discernible “business” is crime. As expanded force deployments push crime out of these neighborhoods, the state can direct focused business development resources on legitimate enterprise and job creation. The Group can accelerate the adoption of incentives to attract needed economic development programs.
“We have to work together to develop public safety solutions that truly make a difference,” Rauner said.
“Safety is not a partisan issue. It is an obligation, and we owe it to our citizens to come together to ensure their protection. I urge our legislators to join with me so we can get to work on this critical mission.”
“Well, we’re not going to reveal the specifics, but I will tell you that we believe we’re within 10 points of Gov. Rauner, which is phenomenal considering where we started,” [Rep. Jeanne Ives] said.
Rauner’s campaign declined to comment about Ives’ claims about polling.
That might explain some things (including maybe the gun bill veto threat) if it’s true, but I’ve called around and can’t confirm it. We’ll see if this smokes anyone out.
* Lots of chatter this week that undecideds are leaning Chris Kennedy’s way…
Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker in a new TV ad continues to hound rival Chris Kennedy for once praising Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner — as Kennedy in his own ad highlights his father and his “ideals.” […]
Kennedy, in January, opined that Rauner “should be applauded” for running attack ads against Pritzker before the Democratic primary. But then he took a step further in his praise for the embattled governor. […]
“We are running a positive campaign while J.B. Pritzker continues to run a negative campaign,” Kennedy spokeswoman Rebecca Evans said on Tuesday. “Chris has said repeatedly that Bruce Rauner threw a million people out of social services. That means he is inhumane. He went two years without a budget. That means he’s incompetent. He is running to defeat Bruce Rauner and his awful leadership.”
Narrator: Listen to what Chris Kennedy recently had to say about Bruce Rauner:
Chris Kennedy: Bruce Rauner is trying to do what he thinks is best for the state of Illinois.
Narrator: What?
Chris Kennedy: His willingness to speak truth to power to take on the powers that have been strangling our economy for decades in the state, is something that I think he should be applauded for.
Narrator: Don’t we need a Democrat who can stand up to Bruce Rauner?
Chris Kennedy: That I think he should be applauded for.
* From Gov. Bruce Rauner’s interview on WJPF Radio this morning…
I’m the one person who can beat JB Pritzker and Madigan and I will beat JB Pritzker and Madigan.
Pritzker, I know him. He’s a tax dodger, he hides his money in the Cayman Islands, he rips toilets out of mansions he buys, so he doesn’t have to pay the full property taxes on them. He tried to buy a Senate seat from Blagojevich. We are gonna blow him up and take him down. We are gonna beat him. He’s Madigan’s handpicked candidate.
If Pritzker were to win, it would turn out the lights in Illinois. And I’m gonna pound him, we’re gonna beat him. And I’m excited to do it.
And there’s your fall campaign preview, campers. Somebody better get some smelling salts for a certain Tribune columnist.
Kennedy said “we can’t afford to allow” a portion of the Biss pension bill that he said would “negatively affect” faculty at the University of Illinois. Kennedy chaired the Board of Trustees at the time, and posted a video to YouTube with a message crafted to ease concerns among tenured faculty who had grown worried they would see their pension benefits significantly downgraded.
An error in the legislation would have forced 4,000 university faculty into a difficult corner: either abruptly retire or see their monthly pension benefits slashed by up to 30 percent. As board chairman, Kennedy apologized to faculty for allowing it to reach that point, then promised to engage with the legislature and resolve the issue. The error was corrected soon after, preventing the threat of what he called a “brain drain” — a mass exodus of tenured professors whose exits would have cost the university federal grant dollars too.
At the start of that video message, Kennedy also said that “pension reform was needed.”
Does that mean Kennedy supported the Biss pension bill before he opposed it?
“No way,” the campaign responded. In the same video, Kennedy says “The bill had lots of parts, not all of which were fully vetted.”
In response to our inquiry, Kennedy’s campaign produced emails he sent to colleagues in 2014 where he analyzed the pension changes as destructive to the working poor, an affront to a safety net that people had earned during their careers, and he criticized the state legislature for historically failing to pay the pension obligation, a move he said effectively stripped public schools of state funding and resulted in higher property taxes.
* Pritzker campaign…
As a candidate for governor, Chris Kennedy is attacking Dan Biss for his unconstitutional pension theft bill, but when he was the chair of the University of Illinois’ board of trustees, Kennedy supported that same legislation.
In a 2014 clip, Kennedy said “pension reform was needed,” in context of Biss’ recently-passed bill in Springfield. Pension benefits for 467,000 state workers, including teachers and nurses, would have been cut under the unconstitutional bill that Dan Biss wrote and Chris Kennedy supported.
“Chris Kennedy was all in for a pension bill that slashed retirement for hundreds of thousands of working families,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “But now that Kennedy is running for office, he can’t pretend to be a friend to working families when it’s clear where he stood when it really mattered.”
Quite a bit over the top there, but it’s a week before election day.
On Tuesday through Thursday of last week, Max Temkin and I fielded our second Temkin/Harris Poll.
Much has stayed the same with this poll:
We hired veteran pollster Jill Normington of Normington Petts in Washington, D.C., to conduct the survey. (Jill is Tammy Duckworth’s pollster.) The sample size is 500 (includes cell phones); the error rate is +/- 4.4%.
We polled registered voters versus likely voters. This gives us a sample that is slightly younger, more Hispanic and less African American than people who typically vote. However, we’re also able to say, using this methodology, that the results represent the views of a broader swath of Chicagoans. So please view this as a public opinion poll, and do not use it to predict election winners.
The top-line results are attached to this email; below is a summary of the headlines.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s favorability and re-elect numbers “are still terrible but a little better than before,” Jill said.
The Police Department’s favorability has gone up due to significant improvement among African Americans. In fact, favorability is now net positive among this group (50/29).
Not surprisingly, J.B. Pritzker’s name recognition has shot up to three-quarters of Chicagoans from two-thirds since September. Somewhat surprisingly, his favorability among African Americans and Chicagoans overall has increased since September.
And finally, several new, exciting topics in this poll: the express train to O’Hare; tax breaks for Amazon; legalizing the use of recreational marijuana; and an elected school board.
Chicagoans support an express train to O’Hare, no matter what part of the city they live in, whether they have a college degree or not, or whether they’re conservative or liberal. And note the high intensity of the positive: Nearly half of Chicago registered voters polled are strongly in favor of this idea.
And finally, the answer that most surprised us: Strong support for tax breaks for Amazon (59% in favor; 25% opposed). “There is a little bit of an age pattern with people over 60 more likely to be opposed, but there is no partisan bent. Democrats and Republicans are within six points of each other, and it is rare for them to be that close on anything,” Jill told us.
You can read my full analysis at mharris.com and Max’s at maxistentialism.com, which hilariously chronicles a cease-and-desist letter we received after the last poll. We will conduct our next poll in the fall just prior to the general election.
Would you say things in Chicago are generally headed in the RIGHT DIRECTION or would you say things are pretty seriously off on the WRONG TRACK?
RIGHT DIRECTION 28%
WRONG TRACK 57%
(DON’T KNOW) 15%
If the 2019 general election for Mayor of Chicago were held today, would you vote to RE-ELECT Rahm Emanuel to another term as Mayor or would you vote to REPLACE him with someone else?
President Trump was at 12% favorable, 82% unfavorable. Gov. Rauner was at 17% favorable, 62% unfavorable. Mayor Emanuel was at 36% favorable, 42% unfavorable. And JB Pritzker was at 35% favorable, 24% unfavorable. Lots of undecideds on that last one, which is what we’re seeing in other polls.
Meanwhile, 59% supported “The tax breaks and incentives offered by Chicago to
bring in an Amazon headquarters,” while 25% opposed. Another 66% supported “Making recreational marijuana legal in Chicago,” while 27% were opposed. And 83% supported “Having the Chicago School Board be elected instead of being appointed by the mayor,” while just 10% were opposed.
*** UPDATE *** Text message from a Rahm campaign guy…
Hey Rich, read your post on the Chicago poll. I do not think this poll is grounded in reality. Important to point out that a November GE electorate is fundamentally different than a 2019 municipal electorate. If you look at the demographic makeup of this poll it skews much younger than a typical November electorate let alone a municipal electorate. The racial makeup is also significantly off. Beyond these points, this poll does not reflect what we are seeing with our own internal numbers or numbers that have been reported from other campaigns.
Chris Kennedy’s campaign for Governor released the following ad today, narrated by Martin Sheen. The ad highlights Chris Kennedy’s values and family history. The ad will run statewide, across multiple markets.
…Adding… This is the same ad as last week’s “Ideals” ad with a new narrator, so the headline was changed.
RFK: “Few will have the greatness to bend history …. generation.”
Narrator: Chris Kennedy’s father fought for civil rights, equality and fairness
RFK: of all those acts will be written the history of this generation…
Narrator: Today, the fight lives on in Chris’s campaign for Governor. To take on a broken political system. Endorsed by Newspapers across the State as Authentic and Independent… Kennedy will be an Anti-establishment Governor with a progressive agenda. And the vision to reshape Illinois.
* As I told you yesterday, the Fight Back for a Better Tomorrow PAC, which is administered by top officials at Operating Engineers Local 150, filed a B-1 for $675,000 in spending on a TV ad attacking Pat Quinn. As subscribers know, there was a bit of a glitch with the spot, but it’s fixed now. Have a look…
My own opinion is that this ad isn’t tough enough to move numbers. But, hey, I could be wrong. Let us know what you think.
Berrios’ record of cheating taxpayers in favor of the wealthy and politically-connected is catching up with him. On Monday, the Chicago Tribune and Crain’s reported that Illinois Democrats are fleeing from the Cook County Assessor.
Most Democratic candidates for statewide office — including Chris Kennedy, Daniel Biss, and the Attorney General candidates with the exception of Kwame Raoul, Berrios’ co-chair of the Cook County Democrats — have openly criticized Berrios for his corrupt practices.
But JB Pritzker remains silent. He claims that he won’t ‘foment a war between Democrats,’ and he has refused to criticize Berrios just as he has avoided almost any critique of Madigan.
In the face of outright corruption, Pritzker chooses to remain silent and defend the politicians who have thrown their support behind him in his run for governor.
We talked about the Crain’s story yesterday. The Tribune story, about an attorney general forum, is here.
* ILGOP…
It is undeniable that J.B. Pritzker and disgraced former governor Rod Blagojevich have been “bosom buddies” for decades.
Pritzker fundraised for Blagojevich’s run for Congress in 1996 and Blagojevich helped Pritzker in his failed run in 1998. Pritzker joined Blagojevich’s $25,000 Club with a large campaign check, and Blagojevich later appointed Pritzker to head Illinois’ Human Rights Commission. Then there’s the infamous FBI wiretaps between Pritzker and Blagojevich published by the Chicago Tribune, and that only scratches the surface.
Blagojevich and Pritzker were so close, Blagojevich swooned over Pritzker as early as 1998, talking of his “tremendous future” in politics and comparing him to President Abraham Lincoln.
…He finished third with 20 percent of the vote in a 1998 primary won by Jan Schakowsky, who still holds the seat. Pritzker got campaign help from workers allied with former 33rd Ward Ald. Richard Mell, the father-in-law of future Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Two years earlier, Pritzker had helped Blagojevich win his congressional seat.
“This was a good first start and I think J.B. has a tremendous future,” Blagojevich said in a May 1998 Tribune profile of Pritzker. “Remember, Abraham Lincoln didn’t win his first election, and Mario Cuomo lost several races before he got elected. For J.B., this is only the beginning.”
* Sen. Daniel Biss has been issuing statements of support for graduate student unionization efforts throughout his campaign. JB Pritzker showed up to a picket line at UIUC the other day. WCIA TV’s Mark Maxwell’s report…
Billionaire philanthropist J.B. Pritzker who inherited much of his wealth gave a record $100 million donation to Northwestern University in 2015. A graduate student who teaches there says that gift should have come with conditions that the administration acknowledges the graduate student union.
“I live paycheck to paycheck because graduate stipends are barely sufficient to pay my rent, living expenses, and my student loans,” says Jessica Creery, a Ph.D., candidate who says her medical research on epilepsy and Alzheimer’s yielded five million dollars in grant money for the school.
When an accounting error interrupted her paycheck last fall, she says her life nearly went into a tailspin. […]
Creery, who is supporting Daniel Biss in the Democratic primary race, criticized Pritzker for not publicly supporting the efforts of the Northwestern Union Graduate Workers — a union group the school does not yet recognize in collective bargaining.
Reporter: Your name adorns the campuses at Northwestern and University of Chicago, you’re a donor there. How would you describe your clout on those campuses and how have you used that to support unions, because unionization efforts have been resisted on those two campuses? What would you say about those efforts?
Pritzker: Well, I don’t know about the University of Chicago because I have not been involved at all there. At Northwestern, I’m an alumnus of Northwestern Law School, I’m proud of my own work there and also of the work they do to train lawyers and much of the program that I supported at Northwestern was really aimed at the Center on Wrongful Convictions, at the um… and the organizations that are standing up for our immigrants…
Reporter: But on unionization there?
Pritzker: I have not at all been involved in that.
…Adding… Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Galia Slayen…
J.B. stands firmly on the side of graduate students in their fight to unionize and has put forward real plans in this campaign to put Springfield back on the side of working families. That’s why J.B. is the only candidate endorsed by the IFT, IEA, statewide Illinois AFL-CIO, and over 30 individual unions and he looks forward to standing with them as governor to defend our labor movement and help workers in Illinois thrive.
* The House isn’t in this week. Senate committees started at 9 and the chamber convenes at noon. The House’s Human Services Appropriations Committee meets this afternoon in Chicago. Watch it all in real time with ScribbleLive…
Democratic governor candidate Daniel Biss is exploring ways to help insurgent candidates for the state party’s leadership committee and challenge House Speaker Michael Madigan’s chairmanship.
A Biss aide said the state senator from Evanston has talked with campaign attorneys about what fundraising mechanism could be used to assist challengers to about a dozen members the Democratic State Central Committee.
The 36-member panel elects the party chairman. It’s made up of one man and one woman from each of Illinois’ 18 congressional districts, and the seats are on the primary ballot.
There were no details yet on whether any arrangement had been made. Madigan has been actively backing current committee members seeking re-election.
Many of these candidates haven’t even set up campaign committees. Speaker Madigan just disclosed spending more money against Rockford-area candidates Art Bardsley and Elizabeth Lindquist, but neither have committees. You can’t contribute to candidates if they don’t have official bank accounts. So, either they’ll have to set up committees ASAP, or Biss will have to establish an independent expenditure committee and then do all the work of sending out mailers, or radio ads or whatever else he plans to do.
Anyone else have any ideas what he could do (besides spend any money he raises on himself, of course)?
* So, he goes through that long, dodging dance yesterday and refuses to answer Chicago reporter questions about whether he’ll sign the gun dealer licensing bill, then goes on a southern Illinois radio station early this morning to say he’ll veto it. Here’s Tina Sfondeles…
Despite Democratic pressure from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and gubernatorial rivals just days before the primary election, Gov. Bruce Rauner on Tuesday said he plans to veto a gun measure that would have required the state to license gun dealers.
In an interview with WJPF radio station in southern Illinois, Rauner said he’ll veto the measure, while also calling on the four legislative leaders to appoint members to a public safety commission to talk about mental health and school safety, according to the governor’s office.
The governor’s office said Rauner will veto the bill later Tuesday.
Asked what he’d do about the bill on Monday, Rauner repeatedly said he favored a “comprehensive solution,” without answering what he’d do with it.
Statement from Mayor Emanuel on Governor Rauner Plan to Veto Gun Dealer Licensing Act
With one week left in his campaign, Governor Rauner just put his primary election ahead of his primary responsibility to protect the safety of the people of Chicago and Illinois. The governor’s decision was cruel, it was cold and it was calculated to benefit his own politics at the expense of public safety. This veto is a slap in the face to crime victims, faith leaders and police who have pleaded with Governor Rauner to protect public safety by signing the Gun Dealer Licensing Act. This failure will be his legacy.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Pritzker campaign…
“With daily gun violence ravaging our communities and tragic mass shootings plaguing our country, Bruce Rauner has decided to veto a commonsense bill that will keep children and families safe from gun violence,” said JB Pritzker. “High schoolers are leading a nationwide movement and parents in our state are demanding change, but Bruce Rauner has provided nothing but empty rhetoric and absent leadership. This is a governor who is telling children across the state that he cares more about winning his primary than doing his job to protect them. Illinoisans deserve a governor who will treat gun violence like a public health epidemic and take charge to stop these countless tragedies, and that’s the governor I’ll be.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Sen. Daniel Biss…
“After weeks of waffling on this critical issue, carefully weighing political consequences in the absence of any moral conviction, Bruce Rauner has announced he’ll veto a bill I cosponsored to stem the flow of illegal guns in our communities. After decades of school shootings across the country and decades more of gun violence ravaging the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois, people are coming together to demand change. Except Bruce Rauner, apparently. Instead of standing up to do what’s right, he’s putting his fealty to the NRA first, once again proving himself a coward incapable of governing.”
* Chris Kennedy…
Governor Rauner has again put his own political survival above the safety and security of our schools, our communities and our families. This disgusting veto represents everything that is wrong with Springfield where political preservation comes before the citizens our elected leaders are supposed to serve. Governor Rauner made this decision to win a primary but the consequences of it will cost him in November. Students across Illinois will walk out of class tomorrow to protest this decision and urge our elected leaders to take action to prevent the next shooting. I stand with those students. Springfield has abandoned its leadership role in our state and it’s the students who are showing us the way forward.
*** UPDATE 4 *** Senate President Cullerton…
“I urge Governor Rauner to reconsider his actions. It’s not too late. He’s regretted hasty vetoes in the past. Don’t add to that unfortunate collection. He knows this is a good law, one needed to increase safety in Illinois. I would urge Governor Rauner to think this through and do what’s responsible as opposed to what’s political. At the very least, take the time to do another poll before such drastic action.”
* DGA…
“Bruce Rauner failed as a leader, today,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Families from all over the state have had enough with gun violence and called on Rauner to take a leadership role in protecting them. Instead, they got a stream of empty rhetoric and platitudes, and the confirmation that Rauner will never stand up to the NRA.”
