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*** UPDATED x1 *** Kelly raises Bost’s Madigan with a Rauner

Tuesday, Sep 18, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I’ve been telling you about this phenomenon since June. Here’s today’s Tribune…

In the closing weeks of his re-election bid, Republican U.S. Rep Peter Roskam is trying to connect his opponent Sean Casten to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, calling his Democratic challenger a tax-happy “Madigan puppet.”

Casten wants to unseat Roskam from Congress, in Washington, D.C., not the Illinois Capitol in Springfield, where Madigan is widely considered the most powerful figure. Nevertheless, Roskam is invoking Madigan in speeches and TV ads, a tactic that aligns with Gov. Bruce Rauner and state-level Republicans as they attempt to position themselves as a counterweight to the Southwest Side Democrat and “the Chicago machine.”

“Do we really want Mike Madigan and his team to do a clean sweep in the suburbs?” Roskam asked the crowd Sunday at a rally for Kane County Republicans in Geneva. “And the answer is, of course, ‘No.’ And so we’ve got an opportunity between now and Election Day to over-perform and to bring through this great economic truth: that is we want things that grow. We want an economy where people can participate actively. And it is those things that are at stake.” […]

The anti-Madigan strategy is so pervasive in Illinois Republican politics that it is being carried out in another hot congressional race more than 300 miles away in the state’s most southern district. There, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost just started airing a TV ad in his race against Democratic challenger Brendan Kelly, tying him to both Madigan and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi using just one sentence.

* But Congressman Bost’s opponent Brendan Kelly has a new ad that ties the incumbent to Gov. Bruce Rauner…

* Script…

When I served in the Navy, I learned it’s not just about service – it’s about who you serve. My opponent, Mike Bost, has been an Illinois politician for almost 35 years, he even voted to raise his own pay. He’s taken thousands of campaign contributions from Big Banks, Big Pharma, and Bruce Rauner. Then he handed them a corrupt tax giveaway — threatening Medicare and Social Security. I’m Brendan Kelly, and I approve this message, because I will only serve Southern Illinois. Not party leaders and not Big Pharma.

You don’t see this a lot, even with Rauner’s low poll numbers.

*** UPDATE *** Check out this Paul Ryan super PAC ad…

Ouch.

The Kelly campaign responded via press release: “The ad uses a misleading cut from a 2015 video filmed by the Belleville News-Democrat, where Brendan Kelly says ‘our goal first and foremost is justice.’” Full response is here.

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Edgar again scolds Rauner about the impasse

Tuesday, Sep 18, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* After telling Mark Maxwell yesterday that he wouldn’t be endorsing Gov. Bruce Rauner, former Gov. Jim Edgar talked to students at Millikin University and other reporters. You don’t have to read too far between the lines here…

“That doesn’t mean we don’t disagree,” said Edgar, who also spoke to students during a political studies class earlier in the day. “But we don’t call people names. We don’t question someone’s integrity because they have another point of view. We don’t call someone a crook because they don’t agree with us.” […]

“I never questioned [Speaker Madigan’s] integrity, because I knew I would have to sit down and work with him,” Edgar said. […]

While the message can sometimes get lost, Edgar said it is important to remember that government is meant to help those who are in need. During the recent budget impasse, or the 793 days when Illinois did not have a complete state budget, politicians and the wealthy were not the ones most affected, he said. Rather, it was the students who depend on MAP grant funding for college and those who relied on social service agencies who felt the pain.

“We have to remember to help people, and if we do not do that, then we’re failing and a lot of people are going to get hurt,” Edgar said.

There’s that “fail” word that Pritzker is so fond of using.

Raw video is here.

* Related…

* Fmr. Gov. Edgar visit inspires students: “Civility. Compromise. Compassion. We need to keep all three of those words in mind,” Edgar said. “We need to be more civil in our dealings. We can disagree with people in an agreeable manner.”

* Barickman On Rauner’s ‘Unorthodox’ Speech, Higher Ed Funding Rewrite: “He does need to reset,” Barickman said. “You look at the polls—what’s clear is that Republicans by and large are going to have a tough time this November. (Rauner) is in a very difficult re-election. Part of the reality of where he is at probably led to his kind of unorthodox speech.”

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Ives claims Diana Rauner is in charge, not the governor

Tuesday, Sep 18, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* First Lady Diana Rauner was on the Big John and Ramblin’ Ray show yesterday…

HOST: Speaking of relationships Diana Rauner, do you think your husband will reach out to Jeannie Ives? We’re actually doing an event with her on Wednesday to try to get her into the fold to help him and perhaps battle Pritzker this November.

DIANA RAUNER: Yeah, I’m sure, I know they’ve certainly, he has certainly tried to reach out to her. I’m sure. The goal here really is I think everyone;s just gotta think about what is - what do we want for the future of our state? And do we want to keep moving forward on a path of reform, of change? You know this has been a really tough road to hoe and all of you guys know that beginning of change is the hardest and the most disruptive time.

Gov. Rauner was on the program the other day and was asked what he’d like to say to Rep. Ives. He said something about how he’d like to thank her for her service both in the military and in the General Assembly. Then he said: “And thank you for saying publicly that you’ll vote for me in this election.”

* Rep. Ives was on the show today and was asked about Gov. and Mrs. Rauner’s comments…

Well you know, I find them somewhat hollow — ‘thank you for your service in the General Assembly’ — because time and time again I went to his administration with great advice, and it was just a bunch of 30-something smart alec kids that run his agencies, basically thought they knew better than people like me who had served at the local level and have been there for a while. So I mean that’s a little hollow, quite frankly.

And as far as Diana goes, really, she’s the one who has created some of the disaster that we’ve seen with Rauner’s administration. She’s the one advising them. And remember, this is a guy who said ‘I’m not in charge,’ and you know who is in charge in that family and it’s Diana.

* Raw audio…

…Adding… Remember this front page?…

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Dem legislator holds “prayer rally” to reopen prison facility

Tuesday, Sep 18, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a robocall last week…

Hello, this is your state Representative Natalie Phelps Finnie. If you are sick and tired of seeing southern Illinois left behind, join me for a prayer rally this Sunday at 3:00pm at Tamms’ Correctional Facility. I am fighting to reopen Tamms to bring back good paying jobs and improve our local economy instead of following Bruce Rauner’s plan to open a new facility in Chicago. It’s time to put southern Illinois first this Sunday at 3 at the Tamms Correctional Facility. Paid for by friends of Natalie Phelps Finnie.

* And, yes, they did pray for the reopening of a state prison…

Reopen Tamms Correctional Facility -My Brother’s Keeper Prayer Rally

Posted by Natalie Phelps Finnie for State Representative on Sunday, September 16, 2018

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