* Chris Kennedy went on WVON this week to talk to Maze Jackson and Charles Thomas. From their off-air chatter..

CHARLES THOMAS: So when you going to put some TV on man? When you going to have some TV ads? They beat you to the punch.

CHRIS KENNEDY: C’mon

THOMAS: They’ve got – JB is all over man. JB’s got that saturation bombing going on.

KENNEDY: I know. Didn’t you ever see Ali?

THOMAS: Yeah I saw him rope-a-dope, I saw him rope-a-dope

KENNEDY: There you go. Who do you think’s watching this race? Do you think anybody’s looking at it Charles? Outside of about 10,000 of us?

THOMAS: Well, I mean he’s got a name thing he’s got to deal with ‘cause nobody knows who he is. I mean, people know who you are, or they have an idea. So he’s got to do it.

KENNEDY: I just don’t know that anyone’s paying attention. Ra and I went down to Peoria, the guy says to me, ‘Hey you announced your lieutenant governor? The race isn’t until 2018, don’t you think it’s a little early to be making decisions like that?’ That’s a reporter. It gives you a sense – I mean we’re all in the mix, this is our day-to-day lives.

Video is here.

* Speaking of which, Sen. Daniel Biss was asked about this very topic the other day…

AUDIENCE MEMBER: I haven’t had a chance to see you in person and I don’t know how to expose you more. It’s like, I feel like you’ve already lost, I’m like ‘oh my God he is still running.’ Because – I don’t mean the election I thought, like, you were dropping out already because it’s like I don’t see your name anymore. It’s like all I’m seeing is Pritzker, Pritzker, Pritzker and Rauner, Rauner and I – the other guy dropped out ‘Aywar?’ And, you know, I kind of wanted to give him an opportunity and it worries me that you’re just going to get lost in the shuffle, not get your message out.

BISS: Alright, so that’s a fair question. Depressing, but fair.

Video is here.

* But Pritzker’s money can also be used as an issue against the candidate. Pritzker and his spouse gave a combined $20,000 a few years ago to a group which backed people like former Rep. Dwight Kay. Oppo…

This Monday was the Personal PAC luncheon, where people applauded when speakers said you know where people stand based on the checks they write and where people booed when there was an image of Dwight Kay that popped up during one of the videos projected at the event.

JB contributed to the “We Mean Business PAC” and media reported about the [anti] union angle of this PAC but no one has mentioned yet that this PAC supported 15 anti-choice candidates - most of whom even oppose rape and incest objections.

Personal PAC President Terry Cosgrove sent an email to supporters on May 8, 2017 titled Meet the Real Diana Rauner, where he blasted Diana Rauner for supporting anti-choice legislator Dwight Kay. The PAC JB helped fund, contributed to Dwight Kay.

* OK, let’s go back to the WVON show…

MAZE JACKSON: Tell me, who are the black elected officials in your estimation that you feel like you can work with that are doing a good job?

CHRIS KENNEDY: I think there’s a huge number of state reps and state senators that

JACKSON: Give me some names

KENNEDY: I put people in jeopardy Maze when I compliment them because—

JACKSON: You’re going to be the governor of the state of Illinois and you can’t say, you can’t name black positive legislators who are doing—how do we expect you to govern for us if you can’t—c’mon man give me some names, who ya know?

KENNEDY: That’s not what I’m saying, let’s not throw me under the bus like that. Let’s say that those state reps and state senators are under incredible pressure from the Democratic Party of Cook County, the Democratic Party of the state of Illinois and their own leadership in the House and sometimes in the Senate and if I say they’re my friends those are the people I admire they get pressure the next day from other campaigns.

JACKSON: So what happens when you’re governor and you’re asking them to do these things that you’re talking about?

KENNEDY: I speak to them all the time, I have a great relationship with a large number of elected officials and I have that relationship

JACKSON: So they’re supporting you behind the scenes?

KENNEDY: They’re supporting me behind the scenes, they’ll take the other fella’s money and they’ll give me their vote.

Video is here. It’s worth a watch. Lots of words.