* First she gets Chance the Rapper’s endorsement and now this…
Could be fun to watch this one. And you also gotta wonder if the progressive candidate will be under any pressure to return a big contribution from President Trump’s most visible African-American supporter.
That donation is the exact amount in fines Enyia faces from the Illinois State Board of Elections for failing to properly file quarterly finance reports in connection with her 2015 campaign for mayor, the Chicago Tribune reported last week. Enyia dropped her bid for mayor four years ago after the petition signatures she collected to appear on the ballot were challenged.
However, Enyia never closed her campaign account and was fined by state election officials for not filing quarterly campaign finance reports as required by law.
County Commissioner Stanley Moore, who has endorsed County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for mayor, said Enyia’s decision to accept West’s donation opens up a whole new line of questioning.
“If you accept money from a person like Kanye West, are you also endorsing his stance on Donald Trump?” Moore said.
“Kanye West has made comments in the past about slavery being the slave’s fault. He has talked about abolishing the 13th amendment. This opens the door for Amara to answer questions about whether or not she is embracing these same philosophies. Is she embracing Trump’s policies that hurt African-Americans?”
Enyia did not return phone calls.
Enyia hasn’t answer my e-mailed question, either.
* Related…
* Laura Washington: Young black leaders cool their heels because ‘elders’ won’t move on
I definitely think there will be a change in leadership of the party after Rauner loses
After he loses?
* Ives appeared on NewsTalk 97.1 FM this afternoon and the host said “It seems as though the Republican Party in the state of Illinois is in a massive amount of disarray right now.” Ives’ response…
Oh, no doubt. You have Republicans all over the place… The Republican Party is in complete disarray. Let’s face it, Rauner is going to lose, in my estimation.
“Bruce Rauner spent months cozying up to Donald Trump and adopting his policies, but in the end, he has just wasted time trying to win back a base that wants nothing to do with him,” said DPI Statewide Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner’s lies and failures have proven too much for Jeanne Ives, Allen Skillicorn, and conservative voters across the state to forgive. As Rauner closes out his failed campaign, Republicans are already planning for a future that doesn’t include him.”
Governor Bruce Rauner takes some opposition to a Facebook video posted by his Democratic election opponent JB Pritzker that essentially paints President Donald Trump and Rauner with the same brush.
The video in part refers to Trump as a “misogynist” — and Rauner as Trump’s “local silent partner.” Rauner tells WGIL he’s no “silent partner” — but that doesn’t mean he’s completely anti-Trump.
When asked the percentage of blacks and Latinos working on his campaign or in his administration, Rauner said he didn’t have a figure. Instead, he said rather than focusing on staff, “it’s results for families.”
“I don’t know the exact number. In our campaign we’ve got African-American members of our campaign. We have Latino members. I don’t know the exact numbers,” he said. “Our administration has (a) huge number and I’ve appointed many African-Americans to key boards, key leadership positions in our departments and many Latinos as well.”
* WBEZ took a look at the claimed “huge number” of minorities in his administration…
The vast majority of Rauner’s appointees to state boards, commissions, and task forces were white, while men far outnumber women in those panels. In the three years ending June 30, Rauner made nearly 1,200 such appointments. His picks for those posts were 73 percent white, 10 percent black, 6 percent Hispanic, and 3 percent Asian. No race was given for 7 percent of the Rauner appointees.
Women made up 36 percent of Rauner’s appointees to state board, commission, and task force positions in the last three years.
At the 38 state agencies under Rauner’s control, 30 of Rauner’s department heads are white, four are black, two are Hispanic, and two are Asian. Twenty-seven are men, and 11 are women.
As of July 1, 2017, the people of Illinois were 61.3 percent white, 17.3 Hispanic, 14.6 percent black, and 5.7 percent Asian, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The problem here is that this Rauner info is only available because of a recent state law. So, there’s no way to easily compare Rauner’s hiring/appointment record to his predecessors’ records. Maybe it’s a good record in comparison, maybe it’s not. We just don’t know.
…Adding… DPI Executive Director Christian Mitchell…
No one should be shocked by Bruce Rauner’s failure to build a diverse administration. Despite Rauner’s Trumpian claim that he’s done more for the black community than ‘any other governor,’ Rauner has completely failed communities of color. Rauner referred to Chicago teachers as illiterate, and schools for minority children as ‘crumbling prisons.’ Rauner replaced nearly his entire senior staff with members of a right-wing think tank who commissioned a cartoon that both Republicans and Democrats condemned as racist. And Rauner’s two-year budget crisis led to cuts TO CeaseFire, child care programs, and education that hurt minority communities. Rauner’s embrace of Trumpian policies is a direct insult to Illinois women, Latinos, African-Americans, and anyone who sees Illinois’ diversity as a strength. This report is merely proof of a fact that Illinoisans already know: Bruce Rauner has failed every community in this state, and none more profoundly than communities of color.
* Rauner was also pressed on the number of minorities in high-level campaign positions by Mike Flannery…
FLANNERY: Let me ask you. Your opponent’s been caught up in controversy about alleged discrimination and racial issues on his staff. How many senior staff in your campaign are African American?
RAUNER: We have many African Americans on our staff. We have many Latinos.
FLANNERY: But not in senior positions.
RAUNER: “Well, we have Rhonda, and a number are very senior. Chauncey’s senior. We have many Latinos. The issue though, Mike, is not staff, it’s policy to drive results.
Rhonda Brown is a consultant and Chauncey Colquitt is his minority outreach person (Colquitt is allied with Maze Jackson). I’m not sure if that qualifies as “senior” staff.
* Meanwhile…
Today, the Rauner campaign is launching a new digital video highlighting JB Pritzker’s pattern of racial discrimination. The video features the news that broke last week that the Pritzker campaign is being sued by its own staff alleging a “cesspool of racial discrimination.” The video then cuts to Pritzker’s conversation with disgraced ex-governor Rod Blagojevich calling Jesse White the “least offensive” African American.
The lawsuit follows a recent IG report stating Pritzker committed a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers and Pritzker’s previous attempts to buy political office from Rod Blagojevich. It’s clear that JB Pritzker lacks the character and integrity to be governor.
Hi, I’m Juliana Stratton, and I’m running for lieutenant governor with JB Pritzker.
I think about my dad who marched in Selma, and it was a March that was really to bring attention to the fact that so many blacks in the south did not have access to the ballot.
If I’m elected, I will be the first ever black lieutenant governor in Illinois history, and when I think about that, it’s an awesome responsibility. I just think about how but for people like my dad and so many others who marched and fought and raised their voices, some of whom even lost their lives, so that I could be a candidate.
I see this as a tremendous opportunity for all people. All people that have often been marginalized. All people who have not been recognized and acknowledged as important voices in our state.
Again, this is Juliana Stratton. Please don’t miss this opportunity to have your voice heard. Make sure you vote.
I told subscribers last week of the rumors connecting the Ricketts family to the IMA contributions and the parallel rumors about Todd Ricketts’ alleged desire to run for governor in four years.
At the center of the story are outgoing Illinois Manufacturers Assn. President Greg Baise, the independent expenditure group he leads and business and political activist Todd Ricketts, the part owner of the Chicago Cubs, finance chair of the Republican National Committee and—if numerous political insiders are to be believed—the potential head of the Illinois GOP and possible candidate for governor if GOP incumbent Bruce Rauner loses that job on Nov. 6. […]
All of this is occurring as Republican chatter builds about what will happen after Rauner and the tens of millions of dollars he’s plowed into the party are gone.
Ricketts reportedly is interested in stepping up his activity, perhaps with Griffin as a partner, insiders say. The Ricketts clan does have quite a political pedigree, with Todd Ricketts’ brother, Pete Ricketts, now the governor of Nebraska, and his sister, Laura Ricketts, a leading national Democratic donor.
Chairman Schneider, in an interview, said his term has well over three more years to run and “at this point,” he expects to complete it. But he conceded that considerable concern about the future is being raised in a party in which conservative activist state Rep. Jeanne Ives almost defeated Rauner in the March primary, and conservative activist Dan Proft, with help from wealthy businessman Dick Uhlein, has been running millions of ads on behalf of Illinois House candidates he says will be independent of both Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan.
“I definitely think there will be a change in leadership of the party after Rauner loses,” Ives says.
The far-right has always coveted the party chairmanship, so the fight will be brutal and Schneider will need a new bank to back him up if Rauner loses. Ricketts and Ken Griffin could be it.
There’s another race on the ballot that is almost as important. And if political insiders are to be believed, it has gotten much closer than most people realize, with an upset being within the realm of possibility. This is the contest for Illinois attorney general between state Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, and the GOP nominee, Erika Harold, an attorney from Champaign.
* It’s not easy to “define” a young African-American woman as hard-right on social issues because it seems so counter-intuitive to average voters. And Raoul’s Downstate TV ads have been no different than his Chicago TV ads, so he’s talking about LGBTQ issues, abortion rights and “Obamacare.” I’m assured that everything in those ads has tested well, but if that’s the case then these constant rumors about a tightening race might undermine that testing
Can Harold win? The “wave” environment would suggest not, but if voters are looking for a check on JB Pritzker and Speaker Madigan and they can’t bring themselves to vote for Gov. Rauner, she might be a realistic option. At least, that’s what the Republicans are hoping for. It’s probably too bad she can’t just come right out and say that in an ad, but much of her money is coming from Rauner, so it’s unlikely that she can or will.
* Press release…
Today, Democratic candidate for attorney general Kwame Raoul released a new ad - “Scared” - featuring two Illinois voters who speak candidly about their preexisting conditions and fear that Republican Erika Harold will take their healthcare coverage away.
Courtney: I have been living with endometriosis for 20 years.
Linda: I was healthy, except for the MS. Scared to death with the MS.
Courtney: I was having to make choices between groceries or the medication I needed. When people like Erika Harold threaten Obamacare, I can’t believe how little she values people like me with preexisting conditions.
Linda: The threat of Obamacare being taken away is one of those sort of bad dreams. So when I hear that politicians like Erika Harold wanting to repeal Obamacare, I get angry, and honestly get scared.
* As you already know, President Donald Trump is campaigning in southern Illinois this weekend for Congressman Mike Bost.
From Bost’s Democratic opponent…
“On Friday, as speculation around President Trump’s visit began to swirl, the City of Murphysboro issued a water boil order for parts of the city and thousands of acres of farmland near the Len Small levee flooded again,” said Brendan Kelly, candidate for Illinois’ 12th Congressional District. “Mike Bost and his donors control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and still there is no farm bill and no infrastructure bill. Unlike Mike Bost, I will work with any President and members of any party to help Southern Illinois. I welcome the President’s visit so he can see for himself how little Mike Bost has done for Southern Illinois after 35 years in office.
* Gov. Rauner avoided the president the last time he visited Illinois. So this is what we’re going to talk about here…
Rauner says he hopes “to be able to join the president” when Trump comes to Murphysboro on Saturday: “I look forward to getting together with the president if we can - talk about trade, talk about immigration and some of the other policies that are very important for Illinois.” pic.twitter.com/A1LXymrmi4
* The Question: Is the governor’s apparent decision to campaign with the president in southern Illinois a good idea or a bad idea? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Just 15 days ahead of Election Day, Bruce Rauner is hoping to “join the president” in Murphysboro during his visit this Saturday.
Despite still shying away from saying Donald Trump’s name, the failed governor seems to recognize Trump’s -22 net approval rating in Illinois is higher than Rauner’s dismal -37 net approval rating.
“Illinoisans are disgusted by Donald Trump, but Bruce Rauner is so desperate that he’s begging Trump for a photo-op just weeks before the election,” said Pritzker campaign spokesman Jason Rubin. “This is a Hail Mary from a failed governor willing to abandon Illinois families and communities to try and save his flailing campaign.”
* WGN’s Tahman Bradley took a look at some of the more “extreme” candidates running as Republicans in Illinois this year. Here’s one…
In Illinois House District 51, local Republicans chose Helene Miller Walsh to fill the vacant seat. She’s married to conservative firebrand Joe Walsh, a former congressman. Helene Walsh, like her husband, has expressed controversial views, some of which were reportedly posted on Facebook.
“I don’t even know what hate speech is,” Walsh said at a recent League of Women Voters candidate forum. “You’re allowed to say whatever you want in this country. … That’s called free speech.”
When asked whether Walsh represents the values of Illinois Republicans, Schneider said, “The Illinois Republican Party does not put pressure on from the top down. We let the local legislators choose their individuals in those races.”
Saying “I don’t even know what hate speech is,” is kinda like saying “The Mafia doesn’t exist.”
Also, state-level Republicans don’t put pressure on locals when it comes to legislative appointments? Really? That’s a laughably false assertion.
* Anyway, back to Rep. Walsh, who campaigned in Vernon Hills with Gov. Rauner and comptroller candidate Darlene Senger over the weekend…
…Adding… That’s Republican House candidate Ken Idstein just behind Rauner. Idstein is a candidate backed by Dan Proft. Because of Idstein’s tight relationship to Proft, the House Republicans are staying out of the race.
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We simply cannot endorse a candidate who wants to extract even more money from taxpayers. We cannot add more debt. We cannot spend more. We cannot add taxes.
Do that, and our population losses will continue. Students will go elsewhere. It will continue being difficult to do business here. We will suffer.
No deal.
We don’t see a long-term, sustainable vision in Pritzker. The governor has doggedly fought lawmakers, sometimes to an extreme. Rauner will have to adopt a spirit of cooperation if he is to be successful, but he is our best option this election day.
As a Republican, Rauner offers checks and balances to Madigan’s stranglehold over state government. But will some of his recent negotiated bipartisan victories continue in a second term? Pritzker’s wealth nullifies the political grip Madigan has on Democrats. But what arrangements and tax hikes has he made with Madigan heading into the campaign?
Rauner appears to have the best grasp on the magnitude of the state’s overspending and how to fix its structural deficit by flattening or lowering income tax rates, reducing regulations on businesses to allow for their growth and willingness to stay in Illinois and experimenting with counties and cities to allow for no forced union workforces which has been successful in Wisconsin, Kentucky and Michigan, even resulting in an increase in union workers there. […]
But our biggest problem with Pritzker is the strings he pulled to get a $330,000 property tax break on his Gold Coast mansion in Chicago by claiming the property was uninhabitable because the toilets were removed during a renovation. This is something he did knowingly and only recently acknowledged, saying he would repay the $330,000. We asked him who suggested he seek the tax breaks and if he would have sought them if he knew six years ago he was going to run for governor. He didn’t answer the questions.
This move is a dealbreaker, and an investigation is warranted to determine the level of corruption, if any, this demonstrates. It also raises concerns about what kind of a governor he would be.
The bottom line in this election: Does Bruce Rauner deserve another four years?
The short answer is no.
Rauner wasted two years stubbornly refusing to compromise with the legislature. That refusal to budge on principle crippled state agencies, harmed our schools and set back the state’s economic recovery.
For those reasons, we believe J.B. Pritzker is the better choice for Illinois in 2018.
The current and former staffers suing the @JBPritzker campaign plan to hold a press conference tomorrow morning. As of tonight, their attorneys still haven't served the campaign, which limits their ability to seek a swift dismissal in court: Our latest: https://t.co/tluzW4XDUc
I checked this morning and the Pritzker campaign has still not been served.
* Pritzker’s field staff gets Mondays off, so some of them are using that time to hold a press conference this morning. But the press conference was organized about as well as the lawsuit. Two reporters told me that the advisory went out just a few minutes before the presser was about to begin at 2925 S. Wabash, which isn’t all that close to most reporters…
I’m told that there’s a press conference starting right now at the office of the attorney representing the @JBPritzker staffers who accuse the campaign of racism and retaliation. Also told that this text exchange from last week to high-level JB staffer will be in a press packet. pic.twitter.com/yHoKthdp1m
The fact is, there is no basis for the accusations being made. Everything about the way this has been handled, from the threat to sue unless a $7.5 million dollar payment was made to the fact that their lawyer seems far more interested in conducting interviews and holding press conferences than even serving necessary papers that would allow the case to be dismissed, tell you all you need to know. JB and Juliana are proud of the diverse and inclusive campaign they are running.
I’ll let you know what happens.
…Adding… I forgot to include the WMAQ TV story from Friday evening which featured three former Pritzker staffers. Weirdly enough, not one of them made any new allegations, so I’m not sure what the heck that was supposed to be about. Click here to watch it yourself.
Pritzker campaign workers suing over alleged racial discrimination raise their hands to show who still works for the campaign. They did not give details but say the lawsuit is not politically motivated @ABC7Chicago pic.twitter.com/21GcmNaiuX
…Adding… During the press conference, plaintiff Maxwell Little says he sent two specific complaints to headquarters. The Pritzker campaign says that never happened.
But the Republican governor remains critical of the expansion of Medicaid eligibility that took place in 2014 under his Democratic predecessor, Pat Quinn, and continues to be funded in large part through the federal Affordable Care Act.
Rauner, who previously said he would have vetoed the Medicaid expansion, told The State Journal-Register in a recent interview that he is concerned about the impact of the expansion on Illinois taxpayers and disturbed by the trend of more people getting publicly financed health insurance rather than employer-sponsored coverage.
The governor said the expansion “basically has dramatically increased costs for taxpayers, and it has increased the number of folks who are getting health care at the expense of taxpayers rather than through working, and I think that’s a wrong trend.”
Rauner added, “I think we should get folks out working and getting covered in the workplace and the private marketplace rather than through a government program funded by taxpayers.”
JB Pritzker pumps another $15 million to his gubernatorial campaign. Pritzker has now committed $161.5 million to his challenge against incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner. #twillhttps://t.co/sPEekDI9Ew
* From Galia Slayen at the Pritzker campaign last night…
Reporters – as you report on our most recent contribution to JB’s campaign, I wanted to make sure that you were aware that part of this contribution is helping elect candidates across the state. JB is committed to helping turn out voters and making sure Democrats across the state have the resources to support the grassroots, statewide infrastructure necessary to win up and down the ballot and turn every seat blue. We are not just making contributions to Democratic campaigns and committees, but we are investing in field, digital, and messaging that will drive Democratic turnout across the ticket.
For example, IDCCA President and head of the Rock Island Democratic Party Doug House has led efforts at the county level to open 67 offices opened statewide, 41 counties of which haven’t opened an office in the last ten years. 70 counties are running at least one flight of direct mail and 50 counties are running door-to-door canvassing in coordination with state and local campaigns. 70 counties are running at least one night of phone banking each week and 88 counties have established a digital presence, including some counties investing in digital spending. Through their efforts, almost 75% of all Precinct Committeeperson spots have been filled.
Further, the Pritzker Campaign has partnered with Democratic Party of Illinois to run a statewide vote by mail program where applications were sent to 2.5 million voters across the state. So far, 370,000 applications have been returned and our program resulted in almost 200,000 applications being returned, making the joint program responsible for over 50% of all vote by mail applications so far.
In regard to our most recent contribution, almost $4 million will go to:
$1 million to the Rock Island Democratic Party
$1 million to the Democratic Governors Association
$1 million to Raoul for Illinois
$700,000 to the Democratic Party of Illinois
$250,000 Personal PAC
Below is a total breakdown of close to $19 million that has been contributed to candidates and committees across the state:
Rock Island County Democratic Central Committee, $3,600,000
Democratic Majority, $3,000,000
Raoul for Illinois, $2,940,000
Democratic Party of Illinois, $2,120,000
Illinois Democratic Heartland Committee, $1,500,000
Senate Democratic Victory Fund, $1,500,000
Democratic Governors Association, $1,000,000
House Majority PAC, $1,000,000
Cook County Democratic Party, $540,000
Personal PAC, $526,000
St. Clair County Democratic Central Committee, $400,000
Senate Majority PAC, $250,000
Citizen Action / Illinois, $50,000
Citizens for Jesse White, $50,000
Friends of Frerichs, $50,000
Democratic Party of DuPage, $5,000
The more I read it, the more skeptical I became of the racial discrimination lawsuit filed against the J.B. Pritzker campaign by 10 current and former field-level workers last week.
The initial demand for $7.5 million in one business day along with personal recommendations from Pritzker himself in exchange for their silence really hurts their claims in my eyes. The suit itself seemed hastily and sloppily drafted. The lawyers even spelled “Pritzker” wrong. Beyond that, other things look fishy.
Only one of the field organizers who sued has been on the campaign longer than two to five months (one was on staff just a few days). And yet the lawsuit complains about their lack of promotions and advancement in the campaign. That’s really odd. Who gets a job promotion after a couple of months knocking on doors and putting events together? Heck, who even expects one?
A Democratic family in Peoria was apparently so enthusiastic about supporting J.B. Pritzker that they offered to put up a campaign staffer in their home … only to reject that staffer because she was black? That sounds highly unusual.
And then the staffer had to sleep in her car until the campaign found her a hotel in “an unsafe part of town.” The campaign (which has broken a national campaign spending record, mind you) then wouldn’t move her because of a tight budget, so she quit? That appeared improbable to me.
The Pritzker campaign provided receipts to the Peoria Journal Star showing the campaign and a local party official paid for five different hotel rooms for that staffer over just seven days, and more than one room on some days. She then went to a staff retreat for two days in the suburbs, she was provided a room in a Peoria supporter’s home the day after that and she quit the campaign the following day “effective immediately.”
The lawsuit claims that when the plaintiffs “asked why J.B. Pritzker did not visit their office, they were told that ‘he’ll visit when they stop shooting.’ ” The campaign kept records of Pritzker’s 10 Chicago field office visits, however, and they show he visited every one of them a total of 31 times, except the two which opened in September, which his running mate visited. He visited the office listed in the lawsuit four times.
The lawsuit also alleges that a regional field director was “given a shiny new job title and pay raise,” but was “strongly encouraged” to cut off his dreadlocks, “therefore, he no longer comes across as crass and was the least offensive African American that could be put in that spot.”
Recognize that language? It’s a paraphrase of what Pritzker told Rod Blagojevich on those FBI surveillance tapes when he was trying to get him to appoint Secretary of State Jesse White to the U.S. Senate.
The dread-less staffer in question issued a statement on his Facebook account angrily denying that anyone had told him to cut his hair and even denying that he’d received a promotion and a raise.
But aside from all the very real problems and even sketchiness with this lawsuit, something must’ve happened. It’s not every day that 10 campaign staffers sue their employer for discrimination and retaliation a few weeks before an election. In fact, I don’t think anything like this has ever happened before in the history of American elections.
Would these young people really take a drastic step like this over absolutely nothing? I find that hard to believe.
Whatever the case, this should serve as a learning experience for Pritzker if he’s elected governor. A bomb unexpectedly exploded underneath him. As tempting as it is to just hire people, devise goals and metrics and then go focus on other things as long as everybody hits all their marks, he needs to make sure that the manner in which his managers are reaching their goals is also important.
If staff is being mistreated by middle and upper management, the responsibility ultimately falls on the big boss. And this time it fell on the top dog like a megaton of bricks. He’s got a double-digit lead, so he’ll likely survive it, although the plaintiffs’ lawyers are saying more people could be added to the suit.
But not paying close enough attention when you’re a governor can get people killed. Pritzker ought to know this because he’s been blasting Gov. ruce Rauner’s “fatal mismanagement” of the Quincy veterans’ home for months.
