Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Today, the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter announces their endorsement of Daniel Biss for Illinois Governor.

“Daniel Biss is the bold leader Illinois needs at this crucial time, with Donald Trump taking America backward and Bruce Rauner putting polluters first,” said Jack Darin, Director of the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter. “Daniel Biss knows that clean energy is the right choice for our future, and that clean air and water are a basic right of all Illinoisans. We know Daniel Biss will put people over polluters as our Governor because that is exactly what he has done in the General Assembly. That’s why Sierra Club is mobilizing our members and supporters in this race, to elect a bold champion for our future.”

“I’m proud to receive the endorsement of the Illinois Sierra Club, especially in an election with such drastic consequences for the environment,” said Daniel Biss. “Bruce Rauner, JB Pritzker, and Chris Kennedy all hold personal investments in dirty energy. We’ve seen how this financial stake has guided Bruce Rauner’s decision-making as he’s invited polluters to rewrite emissions standards, jeopardized funding for public resources, and failed to provide economic opportunity for communities that rely on the declining fossil fuel industry. We can’t allow another businessman to line his own pockets at our expense.”

“As a middle-class parent, community organizer, and progressive state senator, I’ve joined with the Sierra Club for years to fight for policies that prioritize our families and the future of our planet above corporate profits. We’ve organized around policies to support wind farm research, help local governments and businesses invest in renewables, and create clean energy jobs, and we’ve fought for the progressive revenue sources we need to do even more. It’s an honor to welcome them to our team.”

In endorsing Daniel Biss, the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter joins other progressive leaders and organizations including National Nurses United, MoveOn, BlackRoots Resistance, Reclaim Chicago, U.S. Congresswoman Robin Kelly, former Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon, State Representatives Kelly Cassidy, Carol Ammons and Will Guzzardi, and many more.

* Celebratory tweet…

That purple and green looks good together, don’t you think? #TeamBiss #ILGov #SierraVotes pic.twitter.com/TlVlAYQ8XQ

— Illinois Sierra Club (@SierraClubIL) February 20, 2018

* Meanwhile, I’ve never heard of this guy, but he has 3.1 million YouTube subscribers and 5.4 million Twitter followers…

New video: When Your Friend Runs for Governor, the story of my 15-year friendship with @DanielBiss. https://t.co/GkYT67T8ie

— John Green (@johngreen) February 20, 2018

* From Monday’s forum…

Kennedy criticized Biss as a “career politician” after the forum, attacking him for taking donations from Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, who recently fired a top aide for making “unwanted advances” with a political consultant.

Kennedy’s comments came minutes after the Biss campaign released a statement that called for Madigan to step down as chair of the Democratic party in Illinois.

Asked what else he wanted Biss to do, Kennedy said he should have been calling for Madigan to resign from the position last week. “To be part of the Springfield elite, to be a part of that system, and to promise change, I don’t think that’s possible,” he said.

Both candidates clarified that they are not necessarily calling for Madigan to step down as speaker.

“We’ve seen now days of evidence of evasion, dodging the question, trying to hide the problem instead of solve the problem. It’s time for him to step down,” Biss said.

* Speaking of which, I’m not totally sure why this never got any traction…

Advocates and domestic violence survivors to ask @DanielBiss to return Blair Hull's $25K saying he has a history of domestic violence (Hull lost to Obama 2004 Senate primary) will hold press conf outside Biss office Tuesday

— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) February 13, 2018

I think it got lost in the shuffle because it happened during the height of the Kevin Quinn scandal.

18 Comments

Question of the day

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Sen. Kwame Raoul has a new TV ad…

* Script…

I grew up right here in this neighborhood.
That’s the apartment we brought our kids home to.
I’ve seen gun violence outside my home.
Like every parent, I worry about my two kids.
So when I was asked to fill Barack Obama’s seat, I started our work.
Tougher laws for reckless gun dealers, keeping kids safe from online predators, and reforming the criminal justice system.
I’m Kwame Raoul.
This is the work of my life…and I’m just getting started.

* The Question: Your rating? Don’t forget to explain.

26 Comments

Rotheimer becomes issue in Rep. Hammond’s primary

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* It started with this Dan Proft TV ad a few weeks ago…

* Script…

Announcer: For Norine Hammond, the “MeToo” movement means me-tooing Chicago Democrats. First, Hammond voted for Mike Madigan’s massive 32 percent increase. Then Hammond tried to protect a Chicago Democrat state Senator from a sexual harassment investigation by refusing to let a whistleblower tell her story.

Denise Rotheimer: There’s nobody in Springfield you can go to.

Announcer: That Chicago Democrat state Senator was later found to have broken the law. Norine Hammond protects the Chicago Democrats who prey on us.

Denise Rotheimer: I know these people don’t care.

Announcer: Isn’t it time we had someone in Springfield who did?

Hammond sits on the Legislative Ethics Commission and Rotheimer believed the commission should’ve allowed her to testify about her case.

* If you watch the ad, Rotheimer’s segments are in black and white, so it might look like the two clips were taken from news footage. Rep. Hammond (R-Macomb) apparently thought so and took to Facebook to denounce her Republican primary opponent Josh Griffith…

“Using the experience of any survivor to get himself closer to winning an election is sickening, and I won’t allow any victim to be used in that manner… No decent human being would use the sexual victimization of another for political gain… The 93rd District needs someone who represents its values, not someone who preys on victims and survivors.

* Well, Proft’s organization then produced this ad featuring Rotheimer talking to the camera…

* Script…

Hi, my name is Denise Rotheimer. I’m a whistleblower who was the subject of a recent statement by Rep. Norine Hammond. Miss Hammond claimed that her opponent is using my experience of being sexually harassed for political purposes.

In fact, it’s Norine Hammond doing that which she accuses her opponent of doing. The ad for Mr. Griffith has given me more of a voice than Norine Hammond ever did.

It was Norine Hammond who left the Legislative Inspector General’s office vacant for three years while dozens of complaints, including mine, went uninvestigated. Hammond is lying about me, she is lying about her opponent and she is lying to you.

Norine Hammond is not in my corner. She never even allowed me to testify before her committee about my case.

Announcer: Time’s up for Norine Hammond.

22 Comments

Ives, Kennedy up with two new ads

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune…

With a month to go before the March 20 primary, several statewide candidates are trying to ramp up their campaigns with a wave of television ads as voters start to tune in to the approaching election.

On Monday, governor hopefuls Jeanne Ives, a Republican, and Chris Kennedy, a Democrat, launched new TV spots […]

On the Republican side, in recent days Rauner has turned his attention away from Pritzker and toward his GOP primary challenger, Ives, a three-term Wheaton representative whom he earlier sought to dismiss as a “fringe” candidate. Now Rauner is employing his most-turned-to political attack, seeking to link Ives to Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, his chief political nemesis.

In response, Ives is up with a new ad in which a narrator calls her the only candidate for governor who “consistently fights for Illinois taxpayers.”

* The Trib linked to an older Rauner ad, but here is a newer one that uses footage of Ives appearing to defend Speaker Madigan…

Ouch.

* Here’s the Ives ad…

* Script…

Only one candidate for Governor consistently fights for Illinois taxpayers.

(Ives): Our economy is too weak for a tax hike, and you know it. You know we need jobs. You complain about it all the time. And you won’t fix our job creation problems.

That’s why the tax watchdog group, Tax Accountability, endorsed Jeanne Ives over Bruce Rauner.

And made her the first State Representative to earn a perfect score from the group.

Jeanne Ives: The consistent conservative for Illinois Governor.

* Here is Kennedy’s new ad…

That’s his best ad yet.

Kennedy gave his campaign another $250K a few days ago. But he still trails the pack.

* Script…

I come from a family that has embraced the notion that we are all in this together. I’m Chris Kennedy. I’m running for governor because I’ve seen the potential of this state. Then I’ve seen the failings of the government.

The state needs to change. We have to make sure that education is paid for at the state level, and not through local property taxes.

I believe in building things up, not in tearing things down. I believe that compromise is not surrender.

I know this is doable, I know that we can do it. Let’s go where we need to go.

24 Comments

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