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Illinois in a must-win rematch vs. Missouri

Monday, Jul 29, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

Beer, hot dogs and sunshine made for a perfect afternoon at the ballpark, but those visiting Busch Stadium on Thursday weren’t there to see the St. Louis Cardinals.

Instead, they watched Missouri lawmakers defeat their legislative counterparts from Illinois, 7-4, in what officials from both sides hope will become an annual softball game. The winning team takes home both a shiny gold trophy and bragging rights to its respective state Capitol. […]

Still, Missouri pulled off the win, thanks to a strong showing in the first few innings that put them up 7-0 by the bottom of the fourth. The Illinois Legislature answered in the fifth inning with two runs to prevent a shutout, and eventually scored two more to tighten the score, but they couldn’t overcome the deficit.

After the game, the lawmakers joked that Missouri’s term limits may have given the Show-Me state the advantage of a younger team.

“We have more seasoned ballplayers,” joked Illinois Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Belleville.

It was hotter than blazes, and the Missouri team… Um, how can I put this politely?… Ignored some ground rules.

And, yes, term limits probably played a role. The average age of the MO squad was like 25. I’m not joking. OK, well, maybe a little. Their House Speaker was only 36 years old at the time. Dude looked like a kid and he may have been the oldest member of the team.

Not to mention that the teams were playing 12-inch softball, not the Chicago-area’s 16-inch, which is what they play during the annual House vs. Senate game. And they used the entire professional field, meaning 90-foot base-paths. One of our players (I won’t say who) hit a triple and I thought he was gonna die by the time he got to third base. He was huffing and puffing and covered in sweat and looked at me with such desperation that I tossed him a water bottle.

I didn’t realize how bitter I still was about that game until they asked me to come back again for the rematch. I “announced” the Illinois half-innings on the stadium’s PA system last July and I’ll be doing it again tonight.

* Illinois team captain Rep. Jay Hoffman recently talked about his team’s prospects with the BND…

Come to think of it, maybe the players should ignore the headline on this post. Let’s just hope nobody gets hurt.

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Pritzker on possible Madigan probe: “It’s hard to tell what it’s really all about”

Monday, Jul 29, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Ahern…

Governor skirts questions on Feds appearing closer to Speaker Madigan, strongly rebukes ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ “should be thrown out of office” ⁦@GovPritzker⁩ pic.twitter.com/Q3pXTInHvs

— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) July 29, 2019

* Pritzker reiterated that he wants to wait and see the process play out before making any public stands. He also said he had not been contacted by the feds. Pressed on whether he still has “confidence in Speaker Madigan,” Pritzker responded…

Well, again, we’re moving forward. Allegations are just that. And, so we’ll see. I haven’t actually seen what those allegations might be. I mean, I think at this point there are a number of people who have been contacted, you know, we’ve read the stories that you all have put out, but it’s hard to tell what it’s really all about.

* Meanwhile…

A GoFundMe page has been set up by the family of Kevin Quinn — a former top political operative to Illinois Speaker Mike Madigan — who has been embroiled in many controversies, including a contentious divorce and federal authorities reportedly looking into payments he received from Madigan-related lobbyists.

The fundraising page, “Help Our Brother Kevin Rebuild His Life,” went up Sunday morning. It was created Quinn’s sisters Katie and Meghan. Quinn on Monday confirmed to the Chicago Sun-Times that the page is authentic.

“Over the last 17 months, we’ve watched our kind hearted brother remain stronger than you could ever imagine as he’s been dragged through the mud by one false and misleading news story after the other,” the page says. “In the midst of a turbulent divorce and insurmountable negative media attention, legal bills have stacked up. We have seen first hand the adversity Kevin has encountered and felt compelled to start this campaign because he needs our help to get the truth out there! The truth is Kevin is honest, sincere, and all around a great person.”

…Adding… ILGOP…

“The Speaker needs to come clean in the #MeToo cover-up of his political organization. Madigan hired a politically connected lawyer to ‘investigate’ sexual harassment when that lawyer’s own family members were funneling money to his top operative who had been fired for sexual harassment. It’s clear Speaker Madigan does not take the mistreatment of women seriously, and he doesn’t intend to sincerely investigate and stop the #MeToo behavior in his political operation.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Joe Hackler

Recently, it was reported by the Chicago Sun-Times that “Kelly Smith-Haley was retained by Madigan in February 2018 to ‘receive and investigate harassment allegations’ regarding the speaker’s political staff…” according to a letter from Speaker Madigan to House Democratic Caucus members and staffers. Smith-Haley is the sister of Bill and Mike Smith, both of whom are senior members of the lobbying firm, Cornerstone Government Affairs.

It was reported by the Chicago Tribune and detailed in an ILGOP release that Cornerstone wrote two $1,000 checks to Kevin Quinn in January 2019. Cornerstone’s Vice President is Will Cousineau, Mike Madigan’s longest serving political director.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that Madigan’s friends and allies have been keeping Quinn on the team’s ghost payroll, the lawyer tasked with investigating Quinn’s sexual harassment is a close relative of individuals financially supporting him. It’s obvious that Madigan’s claim of wanting to change the culture of his boy’s club could not be more disingenuous.

*** UPDATE *** Greg Bishop at Center Square…

Treasurer Michael Frerichs in Springfield on Monday said it was business as usual with Madigan’s office.

“I’m following the news just like anyone out there waiting to see what they discover,” Frerichs said. “[Madigan is] still the Speaker of the House. We work with other elected officials to accomplish our agenda and we’ll follow this case just like other people.”

Messages seeking comment from Madigan’s spokesman were not immediately returned.

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Pritzker shifts on Trump impeachment

Monday, Jul 29, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* April 23…

Democrats across the country may be split about whether President Donald Trump should be impeached following the release of the Mueller report, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday said he has seen nothing to change his mind.

“Well, I was right two years ago when I called for his impeachment, and I’m right today. I’m sticking by that,” Pritzker told the Sun-Times.

* July 27…

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who first called two years ago for Trump’s impeachment, said in an interview that, for tactical reasons, he is no longer certain if Democrats should pursue impeachment.

“I think that we’re now a year and a quarter away from the general election, and so I think there is a question, could you actually accomplish the goal of removing the president by impeachment before he would be removed by virtue of the election,” Pritzker said. “It’s a question of timing: How long would that take, how effective would that be?”

*** UPDATE *** The governor was asked about the above comment today and he appeared to back away from backing away. He talked about the amount of time it took to start the investigative process in the Congress, but then said…

I think he should be out of office as soon as humanly possible. So the only question to me is, is that gonna happen with an impeachment process or is that gonna happen with an election.

…Adding… Bernie…

“It does sound like he’s going all in … on the Illinois is a progressive state thing,” said CHRIS MOONEY, professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

“The way he’s talking is unusual in the state of Illinois,” Mooney added, saying politics has tended to be more middle-of-the-road.

“But he’s taken a different approach,” Mooney said.

“That may be because he sees demographic trends and political trends in this state moving in that direction, and he wants to get ahead of it,” Mooney said. “It may be because that’s just who he is and that’s what he wants to do and he’s been elected and now he’s going to do it. Or it may be because he’s a neophyte.”

Mooney noted Pritzker’s statements on abortion “really got under the nerves of a lot of right-wing Republicans,” and the cancellation of the Confederate Railroad concert could have been done “without the flamboyant rhetoric.”

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