BRENDAN KELLY IN DEAD HEAT WITH CONGRESSMAN MIKE BOST
Democrat Brendan Kelly is within one point of two-term Congressman Mike Bost, according to the latest DCCC Analytics poll of IL-12 voters (Kelly 41%, Bost 42%, Auxier 8%, 8% undecided). Even in a two-way matchup between Kelly and Bost, Kelly is within 2 points of Bost, with Kelly at 44% and Bost at 46% (10% undecided). He leads Bost by 5 points in the St. Louis media market (Kelly 44%, Bost 39%, Auxier 8%, 9% undecided), which makes up two-thirds of the district. He also leads among women (42% to 39%, Auxier 8%), voters under 50 (49% to 37%, Auxier 5%), and college graduates (45% to 42%, Auxier 7%).
BOST’S DAMAGED IMAGE MAKES HIM VULNERABLE
Voters’ middling to negative views of Mike Bost and his performance suggest that he is highly vulnerable. Mike Bost is underwater in the St. Louis media market, despite Bost’s campaign and the Congressional Leadership Fund spending heavily on broadcast and cable here. In the St. Louis market, 37% of voters have an unfavorable view of Bost (35% favorable), 39% disapprove of how he is handling his job as congressman (34% approve), and he trails Kelly by 5 points (Kelly 44%, Bost 39%, Auxier 8%). These numbers indicate that Brendan Kelly’s aggressive advertising, which hits Bost for being a career politician who has voted to give a tax handout to his donors and to gut health care protections, has damaged Bost’s image.
The story is similar in the Paducah media market, which should be Bost’s base, where Kelly’s strategy of investing early on broadcast in this area likely helped contribute to Bost’s 32% unfavorable rating and 34% job disapproval.
In a year like this, if you’re the Republican you wanna be ahead by at least 5 points right now (although this Kavanaugh controversy could shake things up, we just don’t know yet). It’s been really ugly in that district, and I’m betting it’s gonna be a lot more so by November.
* This poll for the Illinois AARP is of registered voters 25 or older. It was conducted July 19-30 and has a margin of error of +/-2.8 points…
Two-thirds (65%) of Illinois registered voters ages 25 and older rate their anger about Illinois’ current fiscal situation as a ‘4’ or a ‘5’ on a scale of one to five (‘5’ meaning extremely angry). While at least sixty-two percent of Republican, Democrat, and Independent voters rate their anger as a ‘4’ or a ‘5’, Republican voters are significantly more likely than Democrat voters to express these levels of anger.
Most (84%) of Illinois registered voters ages 25 and older ‘agree’ (strongly or somewhat) that the Governor and state legislature need to make addressing the state’s billions of dollars in unpaid bills,unpaid additional interest, and unfunded pension obligations a top priority in 2019. A notable two-thirds (65%) say they ‘strongly agree’. With at least 63 percent of voters across political parties, Republican, Democrat, and Independent voters alike say they ‘strongly agree’ that the state’s critical debts need to be a top priority in 2019.
Most (73%) of Illinois registered voters ages 25 and older have heard someone they know talk about leaving Illinois to live elsewhere and half (49%) have personally considered relocating. Top reasons for moving elsewhere include lower taxes, lower cost-of-living, and better run state and local government. […]
A recent statewide poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute found that 84 percent of voters felt the state was off track and heading in the wrong direction. A similar sentiment emerges in this survey: nearly three-quarters of all Illinois registered voters ages 25 and older think that Illinois is off on the wrong track, and over half think the state’s economy has gotten worse since 2015. Additionally, few voters think their personal economic situation has gotten better with 78 percent saying their situation has worsened or stayed the same. […]
(M)ost (75%) Illinois registered voters ages 25 and older say they ‘strongly agree’ that the state has serious financial problems, and many are angry about the state’s current financial situation. When asked to rate their anger about this on a scale of one to five, with five being extremely angry, two-thirds (65%) ratet heir anger a ‘4’ or a ‘5’. […]
In June of this year, a bi-partisan Illinois budget agreement was signed into law. While a significant event,registered voters in the state are wary of its impact on the state’s fiscal situation. Data from this survey show that most are not confident at all (73%) that the recent budget agreement will reduce the state’s fiscal problems and most are concerned (73%) that it could negatively influence their personal economic circumstances over the next few years.
Nearly six in ten (59%) Illinois registered voters ages 25 and older ‘support’ a change in the tax structure from a flat-tax structure to a graduated one as a way to help solve the state’s fiscal problems,with more Democrat than Republican or Independent voters supporting this change.
Most (70%) ‘oppose’ taxing retirement income as a way to help solve the state’s fiscal problems. While at least two-thirds of all registered voters across political parties oppose this proposal, Republican voters are significantly more likely than Democrats to ‘oppose’ applying a state income tax to all retirement income as a way to solve the state’s fiscal problems.
People just hate anything to do with messing with retirement income. It’s one reason why even Gov. Rauner opposes a constitutional amendment to change the pension language. Not enough people wouldn’t support it, he recently told Crain’s.
Data from this survey show that well over half of all registered voters think ‘Illinois needs to do both – raise revenue and make cuts’. Still, just over one in four feel the problem can only be fixed by cutting state services and programs and about one in seven feel it can only be fixed by taking in more revenue through tax increases. […]
When asked to consider seven areas where cuts could be made, voters are most opposed to cutting services in the following four areas: health care services provided at long-term care (LTC) facilities, public safety services such as fire and police protection, state mental health services and health care services provided at home and community based services (HCBS).
Still, roughly half indicate support for cuts to state services such as infrastructure/transportation services, state grants for municipalities or counties for community programs, and higher education funding. For each proposal, about one in six say they neither support or oppose.
At least three in five voters oppose taxing retirement income, increasing property taxes, raising the gasoline tax, and increasing the state income tax above the current rate of 4.95 percent as ways to solve the state’s fiscal problems. Voters are somewhat divided about expanding the state sales tax to include consumer services not currently taxed such as hair salons or dry cleaning services. But, nearly three out of five Illinois registered voters indicate support for a change in the tax structure from a flat-tax structure to a graduated one, expanding legalized gambling, and increasing the income tax on annual incomes of one million dollars or more.
* The JB Pritzker campaign just sent out a statement about Pat Brady’s press conference, but the e-mail also included a background comment saying the candidate is in the process of repaying the $330,000 in property tax refunds he received from Cook County.
Anyway, to the statement…
“This is a politically leaked report without new information. Instead of standing outside of JB Pritzker’s home, Pat Brady should be calling for an investigation into Sterigenics, a company Bruce Rauner owned that is emitting high levels of cancer-causing air pollution that is poisoning Illinois families. It’s time for Rauner to release all relevant Sterigenics records so that we can provide answers to the thousands of families who have been exposed to this poison.”
*** UPDATE *** Rauner campaign…
“A bank robber who gives the money back is still a bank robber. Pritzker’s offer to pay back the money he conned out of Illinois taxpayers is nothing less than an admission of guilt that he committed fraud.” -Will Allison, Rauner Campaign Communications Director
Billionaire Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker improperly received $330,000 in property tax breaks on one of his Gold Coast mansions as part of a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers, Cook County’s top watchdog concluded.
Inspector General Patrick Blanchard’s finding came in a report issued after his office looked into whether Pritzker’s relationship with Assessor Joe Berrios played a role in Pritzker’s property taxes being lowered. […]
Blanchard said the thrust of the affidavits was that there were no working bathrooms from January 2012 to mid-October 2015. However, Blanchard noted, the toilets were removed “per the instructions of M.K. Pritzker” just 10 days before the affidavits were submitted as part of the property tax appeal. Berrios’ office lowered the 6,378-square-foot mansion’s assessed value from $6.3 million to about $1.1 million.
“The county ultimately fell victim to a scheme to defraud, executed in part through the use of the affidavits, and which resulted in the property owner ultimately receiving property tax refunds totaling $132,747.18 for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014, as well as additional tax savings of $198,684.85 for the years 2015 and 2016,” Blanchard concluded in his 33-page report, which was dated Friday.
* From Assessor Berrios’ spokesman Tom Shaer…
An absence of plumbing fixtures, for any reason, would not be enough for the Assessor’s Office to grant vacancy reduction based on the home being uninhabitable. We would not have granted the reduction without evidence of a gut rehab, evidence such as the 24 photos and other items which were submitted with the appeal.
All along, those who suggest the Assessor’s Office determination was based on missing plumbing fixtures are being ridiculous.
Democrat J. B. Pritzker holds a comfortable lead in the race for Governor of Illinois, with GOP incumbent Bruce Rauner and other candidates trailing. The number of undecided voters is relatively small with one month left to go in the campaign for governor. That is the major conclusion of a statewide poll of likely voters released today by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
The poll was conducted September 24-29 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage point for the entire sample. The poll covered a sample of 1,001 registered voters. The election analysis presented here is based on 715 likely voters. The margin of error for likely voters is 3.7 percentage points.
When asked, “If the election were held today…who would you vote for?” Forty-nine percent chose Pritzker; 27 percent chose Rauner with 4 percent who selected the conservative Sam McCann and 4 percent who selected Libertarian Kash Jackson. The remaining 17 percent were undecided.
Pritzker led in Chicago by 65 percent to 22 percent and the five suburban Collar Counties by 53 percent to 23 percent. Pritzker and Rauner were essentially tied downstate with Pritzker at 35 percent and Rauner at 34 percent. Pritzker enjoyed an 81 percent to 6 percent lead among Democrats while Rauner took a 67 percent to 6 percent lead among Republican voters. McCann was taking 7 percent among Republican voters while Jackson garnered 6 percent among Republicans.
In the other high-profile statewide race for a constitutional office, Attorney General, State Senator Kwame Raoul held a 36 percent to 26 percent lead over Champaign attorney Erika Harold with 39 percent undecided. Raoul led in Chicago by 50 percent to 23 percent with 26 percent undecided. He also led in the Collar Counties by 41 percent to 25 percent with 34 percent undecided; Harold led downstate by 27 percent to 19 percent with 53 percent undecided.
“There is an unusually large percentage of undecided voters in this race perhaps reflecting the low level of attention it has received compared to the high-profile governor’s race”, said Institute Director John Shaw. “This indicates that this race is still very much dependent on the late deciders.”
The voters were also asked “Are you more enthusiastic than usual about voting, or less enthusiastic? The results showed that the Democrats are 19 percent more enthusiastic than the Republicans. Seventy percent of Democrats said they were more enthusiastic while 51 percent of Republicans said they are more enthusiastic about going to vote in the November elections. Independents trailed with 50 percent saying they were more enthusiastic and 26 percent saying they were less enthusiastic about voting this year.
Conservative voters chose more enthusiastic compared to less enthusiastic by 61 percent to 24 percent while liberal voters chose more enthusiastic by 73 percent to 14 percent.
“Illinois Democrats are displaying greater enthusiasm about this midterm election than are Republicans or Independents. The so-called “enthusiasm gap” is comparable to what we have been seeing across the country for some time” said Simon Institute Visiting Professor Charlie Leonard. “If it holds up and is reflected in comparable turnout numbers, it will be a major advantage for the Democrats.
Summarizing these results, John Jackson, one of the directors of the poll said, “While the Democrats clearly have an advantage in both of these high-profile races at this point, November 6th is still one month away. The campaigns and the candidates’ closing arguments and get out the vote efforts can still make a significant difference by then. [Emphasis added.]
A sitting governor polling at 27 percent in late September.
We are requesting your investigation into unlawful use of public property in a political campaign, specifically the use of a laptop computer and a desktop computer, both owned by McLean County, in the campaign to reelect Kathy Michael as McLean County Clerk. Additionally, within 72 hours of a 7/12/18 FOIA request for Michael’s laptop browser history, the device sustained massive water damage. This raises the question of whether an attempt was made to destroy evidence of prohibited political activity on a county-owned laptop.
What in the actual heck? A buddy just said, “It’s like a Coen Brothers movie or something.”
The laptop data was eventually recovered. The county paid an outside company $654 in August for data recovery on the computer, county records show. […]
Michael defended herself pre-emptively in a statement late Wednesday, before Lindenbaum’s ethics complaint became public. Michael didn’t address the specific allegations related to internet browsing and did not return requests for comment Thursday. She said local Republicans needed to “stand together to stop this radical, socialist agenda from taking over our county in their efforts to try to smear not only me, but others who have worked for McLean County for all the right reasons.”
McLean County Clerk Michael is a Republican running against Democrat Nikita Richards, an African-American.
* Among other things, the complainants say Michael’s government computer browser histories show this…
* Searching how and where to buy a car wrap—like a vehicular billboard—after viewing images of Richards’ vehicle wrap.
* Viewing Facebook pages for Richards, Democrats, and Republicans.
* Visiting political yard signs on VictoryStore.com.
* Communicating about political events and fundraisers in McLean County.
Yeah, but it’s the socialists’ fault. You can look at her browser history here and here.
McLean County’s Ethics Commission deliberated for two-and-a-half hours on Monday before deciding to send a complaint against County Clerk Kathy Michael to the county state’s attorney for review. […]
[McLean County Director of Elections Denise Cesario] explained Michael left her laptop outside on her deck while she was working. Michael went inside to do some laundry when a rainstorm hit, damaging the computer, Cesario said.
“There’s no way she tried to destroy her laptop,” Cesario told the commission. “It makes sense that she could have just buried it.”
…Adding… Somebody might want to amend the ethics complaint…
I don’t think anyone monitors her county Twitter acct because there are political tweets that have been up almost 2 months which I have tagged local reporters on more than once. pic.twitter.com/rA8agldhKM
* Lawsuit alleging Tinley Park campaign defamation gets tossed by judge: In delivering a sharp rebuke to Stephen Eberhardt, a Tinley Park attorney who filed the lawsuit last November, Judge John Ehrlich referred to it as a “flimsy complaint” and reprimanded him, suggesting he was slipshod in investigating whether his claims were supported by law before filing the lawsuit.
With just 35 days until Election Day and early voting underway, Lauren Underwood has unveiled her second campaign commercial of the general election. The ad, “It’s On”, tells the story of how the campaign came to be––with a broken healthcare promise from her Republican opponent in the IL-14 congressional race.
“He stood in front of us and promised to protect healthcare coverage for more than 300,000 people in our community with pre-existing conditions. Just a few weeks later, he cast a vote that would have jeopardized coverage for the people who need it most,” Underwood said. “When my congressman made that promise, I believed him. I believed him because it was personal. I’m a nurse who has taken care of patients with chronic illnesses and I have a pre-existing heart condition myself. I’m running for Congress because this community deserves better.”
The ad, released after Underwood closed the final FEC filing quarter of the general election with a community fundraiser in her hometown of Naperville, represents a significant investment for the campaign. The commercial will run on broadcast and cable.
Underwood: “I have a heart condition that’s considered a pre-existing condition. At my congressman’s one and only public event of 2017, he said he was only going to support a version of Obamacare repeal that let people with pre-existing conditions keep their healthcare coverage.”
Hultgren: “Any type of replacement has to have pre-existing conditions.”
Underwood: “That’s what he said. He lied about taking away my healthcare coverage. Randy Hultgren voted against people like me with pre-existing conditions. And I decided, you know what, ‘it’s on, I’m running.’ I’m Lauren Underwood and I approve this message.”
Today Sean Casten, Illinois 6th Congressional District Candidate, announced that his campaign had raised over $2.6 million in the third quarter.
“These numbers confirm what we already knew,” said Casten “People are ready for a change in Illinois’ Sixth District, and the momentum is on our side. I’m humbled by the outpouring of support I’ve seen throughout the campaign from our thousands of volunteers and from the over 79,000 individuals who have contributed to our campaign.”
Sean Casten is running to unseat incumbent Peter Roskam whose campaign is being bankrolled by special interests like the billionaire Koch brothers and Paul Ryan’s allies at the Congressional Leadership Fund.
So far in the general election, Roskam and his allies have spent millions of dollars on mailings, TV and digital ads. Yet, it’s obvious it’s not working as recently Inside Elections moved the race to “Tilt Dem” just as Politico becomes the fifth key political prognosticator to join Cook Political Report, Election Projection, and Larry Sabato all to list this race a toss-up. The Casten campaign poll, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, and the New York Times latest public polling confirms that momentum.
Casten had ended Q2 with $646,750 in his campaign coffers. He faces Republican incumbent Peter Roskam, who ended the second quarter with $2.3 million on hand, according to campaign finance reports.
* The Illinois Economic Freedom Alliance, which has already spent big bucks to help Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign, just filed a $2 million A-1 from the Illinois Manufacturers Association. It also filed an independent expenditure report of $1,528,455 for “advertising” opposing Sen. Sam McCann.
Stay tuned.
*** UPDATE 1 *** And here they are. The quality isn’t the best because they were sent to me via text message. They’re throwing the kitchen sink at him in this one…
* Script…
Shady Sam McCann.
McCann claimed to serve in the Marine Corps, but the Marines have no record he ever served. Calls himself conservative, but voted with Mike Madigan to raise taxes $3 billion. Got caught using his campaign account as Sam’s Slush Fund. Didn’t even pay his own bills, dodging nearly $200,000 in taxes and taken to court over bad credit card debt.
One of these is a plant. The other a Mike Madigan plant.
Phony Sam McCann is no conservative. McCann repeatedly sided with Madigan and big unions to oppose Gov. Rauner’s conservative reforms. Voted with Madigan to raise our taxes $3 billion. But Shadey Sam got caught dodging nearly $200,000 in his own taxes.
A vote for McCann is a vote to keep the Madigan machine in control. And Illinois can’t afford that.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Sam McCann…
These false and cowardly attack ads are just another example of Bruce Rauner’s desperation as his support evaporates across Illinois. We have seen this tired old move time and time again– when Rauner is in a corner, he shouts “Madigan!” He calls anyone who defies him a Madigan Plant, including Jeanne Ives, who nearly defeated Rauner in the Primary.
The fact is I never claimed to be in the Marines. After sustaining a severe injury, my contract with the Marines was canceled before I had a chance to leave for boot camp.
The fact is I have never voted to raise taxes.
The fact is that like many Illinoisans, my family and business faced hard times due the crippling of the economy by hedge fund managers like Bruce Rauner.
The fact is that I use my campaign account to assist in my official duties as Senator traveling one of Illinois’s largest districts at no cost to the taxpayer.
The fact is that I stand with blue-collar middle class working families when wealthy elites push laws to take food off their tables and money out of their pockets.
I stand by my conservative record. Rauner is a failed Governor and a liar. He has to resort to the politics of personal destruction to hide the fact he is a pro-choice RINO who spits in the face of conservative-minded Illinoisans every chance he gets.”
That’s all well and good, but if the push-back isn’t in TV ads, nobody but us will see it.
* Democrats were asked during a Springfield candidates’ forum last night if they would vote to reelect Michael Madigan as House Speaker…
State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, said she was “totally focused on (her) own election” and that she would have to “look and see what (her) choices are.”
Dillon Clark, the Democratic challenger in the 95th District, said he would “fight for the people in (his) district” and against Bruce Rauner.
And according to [99th House District Democratic candidate Marc Bell], “we really don’t know who’s going to run.”
State Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Raymond, lit into the Democrats on stage for not directly answering the question.
“Every Democrat on this stage like to hem and haw and say they only want to represent their district,” said Bourne, who represents the 95th. “We know who’s running. Mike Madigan has said he’s running. Jim Durkin is running,” Bourne said. “If they’re not willing to nominate someone else for speaker, then the choice is clear. This isn’t a 90-second answer, this is a two-second answer. Are you voting for Madigan or not? Our constituents deserve to know that.”
Clark had the only “right” answer to this question. Everyone presumes Madigan is running again. So, if you’re gonna dodge the question, at least try to turn it on the other party.
How much longer should he remain Speaker, a role he’s held – except for two years – since 1983?
“You’d have to ask him that question.”
* 50th House District Democratic candidate James Leslie, who is up against GOP Rep. Keith Wheeler…
Leslie, 41, an Aurora Democrat and firefighter/paramedic, says it’s laughable to suggest Madigan wields that much power over other lawmakers.
“You’re telling me all of those senators and representatives, and governors were just innocent bystanders? Or is it people that haven’t accomplished anything are looking to blame someone?” he said.
Leslie said he would vote for Madigan to continue on as speaker if there is no other, better candidate. He doesn’t support term limits for Madigan or House leaders.
“Term limits for legislative leaders makes me nervous because, in that scenario, it’s the lobbyists who become the knowledge brokers and they don’t face election,” he said.
* All very predictable. Trot out the former state party chairman who is also a former federal prosecutor at a press conference in front of JB Pritzker’s empty mansion next door to his home with toilets in tow and a mention of Rod Blagojevich…
.@pat_brady says sentencing guidelines for these types of alleged crimes (mail fraud, perjury) is “48 months.” Says “this is how the Blagojevich stuff started.”
Last June, J.B. Pritzker’s campaign for Illinois governor was rocked by an investigative report from the Chicago Sun-Times that detailed how the billionaire removed toilets at his second Gold-Coast Chicago mansion in order to claim the property uninhabitable and receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in property tax refunds and breaks.
Now, the Cook County Inspector General is investigating the scandal and calling the Pritzkers’ efforts to dodge taxes a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers, and is recommending Cook County seek action to recover over $330,000 from the Pritzkers. Specifically, the IG alleges that Cook County was “the victim of sworn affidavits containing false representations” from the Pritzkers. These affidavits were “part of a scheme for obtaining money by means of false representations.”
In fact, the report found that the Pritzkers had the mansion’s toilets removed just 10 days prior to the inspection, and “lined up” the toilets against the wall.
J.B. Pritzker is trying to force an “immediate increase” in taxes on hardworking Illinois families, but won’t pay his own fair share by defrauding taxpayers. Pritzker should immediately apologize for his efforts to defraud taxpayers and return the money.
* Even Jim Dodge is getting into the act…
Last night, news broke in the Chicago Sun Times that, “Cook County’s chief watchdog has concluded that more than $330,000 in property tax breaks and refunds that Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker received on one of his Gold Coast mansions — in part by removing toilets — constituted a “scheme to defraud.”
Since the news broke, Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs, whose campaign has received sizeable donations from the billionaire Pritzker, has failed to comment publicly on the report.
In response, Jim Dodge, the Republican nominee for Treasurer issued the following statement:
“Over and over again Treasurer Frerichs has failed to show any political courage. He failed to speak up about Madigan and the #MeToo issues, failed to speak out about faulty assumptions in the budget before it passed and now he fails to speak out about Pritzker’s scheme to defraud taxpayers.
“At every juncture silent Mike puts political calculations above doing what is right.
“We need a Treasurer who will speak up and tell the truth, not just when its politically advantageous to do so. I will be that kind of Treasurer.”
…Adding… Oops. I missed this one from the ILGOP…
“This report makes it increasingly clear: JB Pritzker is a hypocrite and a fraud. He’s campaigning on a massive tax hike, calling on everyone to pay their ‘fair share,’ yet he devised a corrupt ’scheme to defraud’ Illinois taxpayers. The Inspector General’s report makes it clear that Pritzker ripped toilets out of his mansion just before tax assessors visited so he could claim it as uninhabitable, and reap a tax break worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. A billionaire willing to cheat Illinois taxpayers to save himself some extra cash clearly lacks the integrity to be governor.” - Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Travis Sterling
…Adding… Sam McCann’s not running as a Republican, but I’m putting his statement here anyway…
The same J.B. Pritzker who wants to raise taxes and make the wealthy pay their share got caught with his hypocritical hand in the cookie jar. Illinois’ history of corrupt governors is the laughing stock of the nation, and the last thing we need is another punchline governor connected with a “scheme to defraud” the system that the rest of us are forced to live by.
There are two tax systems in Illinois – the one that J.B. Pritzker and his billionaire buddies abuse, and the one by which ordinary Illinoisans like you and me pay for their tax breaks. If JB wants to be seen as anything other than just another billionaire, he should stop making excuses, own up to what he did, and pay Illinois back the $330,000 in taxes that he dodged.
Illinoisans deserve a governor who understands the world that normal working families live in and will work to protect the tax system from cheaters who laugh all the way to the bank.
McCann’s largest campaign expense, a total of $90,050 made in two separate payments, went to a relatively obscure company called Professional Circulation, Inc. State records show the company is registered to a two-story house in Oak Park. Its only other clients listed in Illinois are the state senate campaign for Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) and the political action committee for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, a union historically and politically aligned with Speaker Madigan. Professional Circulation may offer services to other small state or local campaigns, but those invoices appear to fall below the state’s required reporting threshold.
Property tax records filed with the Cook County Assessor’s office show the residence belongs to trial lawyer Luke Casson who served as the political director of the Democratic Party of Oak Park for nine years, most recently in 2017, according to his LinkedIn page. All of Casson’s personal political campaign contributions went to Democrats and come from that same home address. Casson could not be reached for comment.
Local 150, of course, is McCann’s biggest supporter by far.
* And then Mark tracked down a couple of circulators whose names you might recall…
At least two of McCann’s petition circulators have long ties to the Speaker and Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Robert Handzik and Terrence Goggin both live in Madigan’s 22nd House District. Both men ran phantom Republican campaigns against Madigan without raising, spending or reporting any campaign funds.
* The US Environmental Protection Agency recently declared it will begin air testing around the hugely controversial Sterigenics plant in Willowbrook. As we’ve discussed before, area residents are up in arms about pollution from the plant. Gov. Rauner, whose former firm still owns a chunk of the company, has said that the plant is not a public health crisis. But Willowbrook is represented by House Republican Leader Jim Durkin and he is hot as heck over this.
I received this statement today from the governor’s office…
Out of an abundance of caution, we believe Sterigenics should pause operations until the USEPA can provide more clarity about the potential threat, if there is any.
* That comment was attached to this Illinois EPA press release…
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Alec Messina has referred an enforcement action to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office against Sterigenics US, LLC (Sterigenics) based on the findings of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in its Letter Health Consultation and on information provided by U.S. EPA. The Agency is seeking an order enjoining Sterigenics from continuing operations that result in any emissions of ethylene oxide either until a complete review of additional modeling and risk assessment is completed by U.S. EPA or until U.S. EPA otherwise assures the community that resumed operations would not present an elevated health risk.
Sterigenics is a commercial sterilizer that primarily uses ethylene oxide (EtO) to sterilize medical equipment. It operates in two buildings at 7775 Quincy Street and 830 Midway in Willowbrook.
As part of the process for assessing new cancer risk assumptions nationwide, U.S. EPA chose to evaluate the implications of the recently updated Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) at the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook. U.S. EPA provided that data to ATSDR, and ATSDR concluded, in an August 21, 2018 report, that “if measured and modeled data represent typical EtO ambient concentrations in the air, an elevated cancer risk exists for residents and off-site workers in the Willowbrook community surrounding the Sterigenics facility.”
On September 28, 2018, Illinois officials and local community representatives met with U.S. EPA to discuss the status of U.S. EPA’s ongoing evaluation and testing at Sterigenics. While progress has been made, it is evident that additional weeks or months will pass before U.S. EPA will be in a position to provide an updated risk assessment and propose any resulting changes to relevant regulations. The lack of certainty continues to raise public concern. In addition, the September 28 meeting increased that concern due to information discussed. In particular, the August 21 ATSDR report referenced a “30-fold increase in cancer potency,” but at the September 28 meeting, U.S. EPA referenced a 60-fold increase.
In the referral, the Illinois EPA cited the findings of the ATSDR Letter Health Consultation and information provided at the September 28 meeting with U.S. EPA. In addition to the Agency requesting an order enjoining Sterigenics from continuing operations, the Agency requests , as an alternative, the Attorney General’s Office pursue a violation of Section 9(a) of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act. Illinois EPA also requests Sterigenics pursue EtO emission limits for the Willowbrook facility that would be memorialized in an amended permit.
Shutting down the Willowbrook facility — and all the others in Illinois that emit any EO — will create serious risk for hospitals and medical device manufacturers that depend on EO all in the name of safety for the healthcare industry. This action by Illinois is not justified by the facts and the EPA has communicated directly to the Governor that Sterigenics Willowbrook does not present an imminent threat to public health. We urge reconsideration of the Governor’s ill- considered action, which is based on a misuse of ATSDR data, which the ATSDR has already publically acknowledged.
* You’ll recall Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign is running a TV ad featuring a “lifelong Democrat” who is supporting the governor’s reelection. The fact that she’s been a paid consultant to the Rauner campaign and has voted in four GOP primaries over the years is of course not mentioned.
Well, the Pritzker campaign is responding with two new ads. The first one features Tom Hughes, who has worked for several Republicans like Comptroller Loleta Didrickson. He also worked at the Illinois Department of Public Health under both a Republican and a Democratic administration. And he served on Bruce Rauner’s transition team…
When I was asked to be on Bruce Rauner’s transition team, I really thought it was an opportunity to advocate for the people, particularly of Downstate Illinois. I wanted to have that impact, but unfortunately I don’t think I did.
Bruce Rauner was determined that it was going to be ‘No budget unless I get exactly what I want,’ not recognizing that that affected so many people in Illinois.
Thirty years from now, I think they’ll be a spot in the timeline that just reads: ‘Disaster.’
I’ve known Tom a long time. He’s currently the executive director of the Illinois Public Health Association. Very respected Springfield guy.
* And here’s the second Pritzker TV ad, which features former Rauner voters and has a somewhat lighter touch…
* Gov. Bruce Rauner has been talking a lot lately about his dream for local “right to work” zones. But as Hannah Meisel at the Daily Line reported this morning, Rauner’s dream took a hit Friday when the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a district court judge that the zones would create “administrative nightmares”…
But in February of 2016, several labor groups sued, saying the NLRA only allows individual states to pass right-to-work laws, not local governments. Early last year, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly agreed with the unions, writing in his opinion that “it is highly unlikely that Congress intended to subject this national policy to the patchwork scheme that would result from city-by-city or county-by-county regulation of such agreements.” […]
“Illinois alone has almost 7,000 local governments,” Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Diane Wood pointed out in the ruling. “Not only are these jurisdictions more numerous than the states by several orders of magnitude, but they are also smaller.”
Wood wrote that workers may have to work in “numerous municipalities every week,” pointed to Lincolnshire’s 7,275 population as of the 2010 Census and very small land mass — only 4.68 square miles.
The idea that businesses operate exclusively within [Lincolnshire’s] borders strikes us as fanciful,” Wood wrote for the panel. “Is an employee subject to an agency agreement one day, when his job takes him to nearby Chicago, and not the next day, when he happens to be working on-site in Lincolnshire? What if neighboring Buffalo Grove has the opposite law?” […]
Jeffrey Schwab, an attorney with the Liberty Justice Center, told The Daily Line on Monday that the Village of Lincolnshire plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, not only to vindicate the policy decision but also to solve a “circuit split” between the Seventh Circuit and the Sixth Circuit, which has ruled that municipalities do have the right to instate right-to-work law after a handful of counties in Kentucky voted to become Right To Work zones in 2014 and 2015.
It’s an October Surprise for Democratic candidate for governor J.B. Pritzker. A leaked confidential report from the Cook County inspector general found Pritzker engaged in a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers, by using a loophole to avoid paying more than $330,000 in property taxes on a Gold Coast mansion.
The Chicago Sun-Times… report the inspector general recommended Cook County try to recover more than $330,000 in property tax breaks Pritzker received by removing toilets to have the mansion declared uninhabitable.
“The County ultimately fell victim to a scheme to defraud, executed in part through the use of affidavits, and which resulted in the property owner ultimately receiving property tax refunds totaling $132,747.18 for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014, as well as additional tax savings of $198,684.85 for the years 2015 and 2016,” Inspector General Patrick Blanchard stated in a confidential memo […]
Pritzker, however, insisted he obtained property tax breaks through a routine appeal process, and followed all the rules.
The ellipses remove credit given to me for this story. I made it very clear yesterday that this was Tina Sfondeles’ scoop.
JB Pritzker is insisting he did nothing wrong after the inspector general for Cook County found the candidate for governor committed a “scheme to defraud” tax collectors.
“We sought it with all the rules in place. We knew what the rules — we followed the rules,” Pritzker said.
The inspector general claims the alleged scheme involved tax breaks worth more than $300 thousand dollars.
The inspector general’s report says that affidavits filed on behalf of Pritzker and his family misrepresent the date when toilets were actually removed from his Gold Coast mansion, rendering it “uninhabitable.”
“We were in the middle of a renovation project on our house. We decided to stop in the middle of it. Then we sought a reassessment on all our properties. That was a tax deduction that we received, but we no longer receive that reduction.”
Marin: “Do you consider that was a manipulation of the tax system?”
Pritzker: “No, we followed the rules. In fact, so many people seek property tax reassessments because the system is so flawed.”
And now the Rauner campaign says, “This wasn’t a standard appeal as Pritzker claimed. Instead, he lied to voters. It’s clear he doesn’t have the character and integrity to be governor.”
Hillary Clinton has campaigned for Democratic Illinois governor candidate J.B. Pritzker during a stop in Chicago.
Clinton joined a round table discussion on leadership Monday with Pritzker, his running mate state Rep. Juliana Stratton and a group of high school women. […]
Pritzker was under fire again for the what a leaked Cook County Inspector General’s report called a scheme to defraud county taxpayers, when his wife ordered toilets be removed from a Gold Coast mansion they owned.
The property was reassessed and deemed uninhabitable. It led to Pritzker getting refunds for several years’ worth of taxes to the tune of about $331,000.
The toilet stuff was way deep into their Hillary story. It didn’t even make it into the story posted online by ABC 7.
