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Thursday, Oct 18, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* “Mercedes Marxist” is a new one on me…

Governor Bruce Rauner is intensifying his attacks on his Democratic challenger J.B. Pritzker, with less than three weeks to go before the election. Rauner, who trails Pritzker in most polls by double digit margins, referred to the billionaire Democrat as a “Mercedes Marxist”, in an interview on the “The Big John and Ramblin’ Ray Show” on WLS.

“He’s proposing eleven billion in new spending, he’s a Mercedes Marxist, he’s a radical leftist, he’s proposing a massive new income tax hike and it’s gonna crush the middle class as well as job creators in this state.”

I Googled the phrase and it is kind of a thing. Far-right radio host Mark Levin called Barack Obama a Mercedes Marxist once.

* It’s also the title of a song by former St. Louis band Living Things…

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Because… Madigan!

Thursday, Oct 18, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* You may remember that I posted this ad not long ago. Rodney Davis became the fourth embattled Republican congressman to try and tie his opponent to Speaker Madigan in this spot about the possibly fake Abe Lincoln hat…

The ad claims that his Democratic opponent Betsy Dirksen Londrigan lobbied Speaker Madigan for a taxpayer-funded bailout for the Lincoln foundation and calls her a “Madigan crony.”

* Bernie…

Davis is matching the general Republican playbook in Illinois this year, as candidates from Gov. Bruce Rauner on down are linking Democrats to Madigan, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing but has been called corrupt by the governor.

“Anybody that goes to the General Assembly in Springfield … has got to go see Madigan’s team,” Davis said at a recent unrelated news conference. […]

The hat — part of the Taper collection of Lincoln goods bought by the foundation — was bought “years before I ever worked there,” said Londrigan.

“You know that, and you’re paying for that ad. But you’re going to lie about it,” she said. “I never met with Mike Madigan. You’re lying about that too, because you know better.” […]

Davis denied he lied in the ads, and noted that Londrigan for a time handled “major gifts” for the foundation.

* Bruce Rushton…

I don’t know whether Madigan and Londrigan are tight, but the speaker hasn’t exactly been the foundation’s friend. Long before other politicians did the political calculus, Madigan treated Londrigan’s former employer as radioactive. “We have instances where the foundation, which is not elected, not appointed by a governor, is actually making spending decisions for the library,” the speaker tsk-tsk’d in 2015. Madigan also refused to cooperate with a foundation-funded study that – surprise – recommended that the state bail out the foundation and put it in charge of day-to-day operations at the presidential museum. “Madigan to museum foundation: Drop dead” – that was the headline in Illinois Times three years ago.

* More Bruce…

Meanwhile, Davis is ripping Londrigan for not denouncing an ad created by Women Vote that features footage of the congressman’s wife and kids, cribbed from the Republican’s own campaign ads. The congressman’s smiling kids are juxtaposed against Davis’ voting record on healthcare issues. Davis whines that his family is being attacked. “Leave my kids out of it,” Davis complained on Monday. “It’s not acceptable.” Couldn’t agree more. Quit using your family like cheap yard signs, congressman, and stick to issues.

Ouch.

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War of words intensifies between Ives and McCann

Thursday, Oct 18, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Click here for background if you need it. From Rep. Jeanne Ives…

Is Sam McCann just looking for his taxpayer-funded job in the Pritzker Administration?

We don’t know, but it may explain why he sent out attack mailers on a commonsense conservative like Tom Morrison.

Yesterday, mailers from Sam McCann’s campaign hit in the 54th House District portraying State Representative Tom Morrison as a Rauner Puppet. The mailers were funded by union-backed State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann.

These attacks on Morrison demand a response. They are patently false. Tom Morrison is one of the few state legislators in Springfield who stands up for conservative values every time they are under attack in the Illinois House. He is one of the most reliable conservative votes in Springfield on both fiscal and social issues.

Is Sam McCann working for Mike Madigan? Is he hoping to receive favorable treatment under a Governor Pritzker? Is he so clueless that he doesn’t realize how his platform is being used by the state’s vicious public sector unions? I don’t know. And I don’t really care.

McCann is lying about Morrison. Lying is not a conservative value.

Many Illinois Conservatives looking for a candidate who represented their values had found hope McCann’s candidacy. Illinois Conservatives have once again been betrayed.

* Sen. Sam McCann…

I am disappointed by the shallow political rhetoric that Jeanne Ives used in her attack against me. The hard-earned credibility from her primary campaign against Bruce Rauner is all but lost now that she has intervened as his defender, casting principles aside for political grandstanding. Legislators like Tom Morrison who are actively supporting Bruce Rauner are trying to con voters into the same bad deal and empty promises that conservative Illinoisans have suffered under for the past four years. Any legislator who stands with Rauner despite his phony RINO agenda and abandonment of conservative principles deserves to be called out for it.

The Jeanne Ives who so vehemently opposed Bruce Rauner during the primary is now too eager to put him back in the driver’s seat.

When conservatives are crying louder than ever for a change, Jeanne Ives has shown her true colors. She is not a leader, but a politician.

Hilarious.

* From McCann’s Facebook page…

Tom Morrison has been supporting Bruce Rauner for more than 4 years.

Tom Morrison needs to go on the record and state whether he does or does not still support Rauner. As soon as he PUBLICLY states that he does not, I will PUBLICLY thank him for stepping up.

* He also posted this video of Morrison supporting the pro-choice Rauner in 2014…

* And this is pretty darned funny. All four legislative leaders, including House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, attended Operating Engineers Local 150’s annual legislative banquet last night. McCann showed up as well and went live on Facebook to emphasize his point that everybody works with 150, not just him…

Illinois House and Senate RINOS… getting exposed LIVE for ALSO taking money from Local 150. Why is it okay when THEY accept a check from the union, but it’s called “Madigan Money” when Sam McCann gets support from that SAME Union?
Food for thought, folks

Posted by McCann For Governor on Wednesday, October 17, 2018

…Adding… Local 150’s dark money PAC…

Conservative Party gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann collects $539,659 from the Fight Back Fund, which promotes union-friendly candidates. FBF has now provided McCann with $2.3 million this election cycle. #twill https://t.co/tSdasQttlI

— Reform For Illinois (@Reform4Illinois) October 18, 2018

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Republicans demand Madigan speak out, while lead plaintiff tells his story

Thursday, Oct 18, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* ILGOP…

Just three weeks ago, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan published an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune acknowledging his mistakes in handling claims of harassment and retaliation in Springfield and promising to be better in addressing such issues going forward. Madigan asserted that “harassment of any kind and workplace bullying will simply not be tolerated — period.”

Yesterday, news broke that ten African-American and Latino employees of the Pritzker campaign have filed a lawsuit against JB Pritzker for Governor accusing the campaign of discrimination and harassment. Madigan has been silent on the issue.

Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Travis Sterling issued the following in response:

“Much like his hand-picked candidate for Governor, Michael Madigan is a hypocrite. Just three weeks ago, Madigan claimed to the people of Illinois that he was making it ‘a personal mission to take this issue head-on’. Now that a lawsuit has been filed against his Democratic gubernatorial candidate alleging racial discrimination and harassment, where is Madigan?” - Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Travis Sterling

I asked the Democratic Party of Illinois for comment yesterday and didn’t get anything. I also asked all three of the Anti-Harassment, Equality and Access Panel for comment and either didn’t hear back (Sen. Melinda Bush and Comptroller Susana Mendoza) or was told she had no comment (Rep. Carol Ammons).

* The Rauner campaign posted a video this morning of some TV coverage, including a brief interview with one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers…

* And Shia Kapos interviewed the lead plaintiff Maxwell Little…

This is Little’s first foray into political campaigns. He’s otherwise passionate about education and has considered running for alderman of the 18th Ward. In July, he took a job as a field organizer for Pritzker’s gubernatorial campaign, a position that doesn’t require a degree so much as the patience and fortitude to talk to as many people as possible about the candidate. In this job, you don’t get to raise your hand and influence policy. For better or worse, it’s like the Army: you do what you’re told. Little had the added duty of organizing meet-and-greets on the West Side. Over the past three months, he’s been frustrated that his accomplishments have been overlooked. “I felt silence, I was ignored, and I was unfairly treated” compared to white staffers, he said. “Everyone deserves a work environment free of discrimination and harassment.”

A few weeks ago, Little talked to attorney Shay Allen at an event for Level Up & Vote. Little and Allen, a former prosecutor turned private attorney, both support the get-out-the-vote effort. Little vented about his campaign job, and that led to bigger conversations with other campaign staffers and soon a lawsuit was born. Allen and fellow attorney Jeannette Samuels , with plaintiff’s agreement, came up with the demand for $7.5 million. In a civil lawsuit, “there’s no formula” on how you quantify someone’s “self-respect,” Allen told POLITICO. He also cited emotional distress and “missed opportunities to progress in the campaign” as factors in coming up with the damages number.

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