What: First Family hosts Trick-or-Treaters at the Governor’s Mansion
Where: Governor’s Mansion, 410 E. Jackson St., Springfield
Date: Saturday, October 27, 2018
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Note: No additional media availability
As Tina rightly points out, President Trump’s southern Illinois event begins at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon…
But the governor's public schedule shows he'll be hosting "Trick-or-Treaters at the Governor’s Mansion" at 4 p.m. in Springfield. The rally is at 4:30 p.m. in Murphysboro. https://t.co/jUsiwuVeGj
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has sought to avoid any involvement with President Trump for most of his first term, said Friday he expects to be in Murphysboro IL when the president makes a campaign visit Saturday. Rauner has sought to unify a core GOP base that backs Trump.
* Meanwhile, a dark money groupassociated with Local 150 of the Operating Engineers is running this ad opposing Republican AG candidate Erika Harold on “Chicagoland broadcast and cable markets [in] the last eight days of the election cycle.”
This photo was posted on a private Instagram account and after finding out about it this morning, both individuals were immediately suspended without pay. After further investigation, both staffers have been fired.
* Meanwhile, I asked a handful of folks earlier this afternoon to respond to the Pritzker campaign “blackface” incident. Here’s Secretary of State Jesse White…
The workers used very poor judgement. JB’s campaign has explained the situation and dealt with it appropriately.
* Sen. Kwame Raoul…
This type of behavior is offensive and unconscionable. It shouldn’t be tolerated, and I’m glad to hear that immediate action was taken with those involved
* Legislative Black Caucus Chair Sen. Kimberly Lightford…
This isn’t a joke. There’s nothing funny about it.
If he’s interested in a facial, he should reach out for a spa appointment AFTER the election.
Right now, there’s work to be done, lots of serious work. And I would suggest Democrats everywhere spend every moment doing so.
* Rep. Christian Mitchell, the executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois, chose to post his response on Twitter…
Respectfully, @StatehouseChick, these two things aren't the same. In the case of IPI: the cartoonist in question had a long history of racial caricature involving African-Americans, and the organization was actively involved in voter suppression efforts with a racial tinge. (1/3) https://t.co/Ugg79DJUH2
B/c folks make mistakes, and those mistakes ought to be considered in context of their careers. Pertinent example: I was also silent when a reporter I respect wished for black folks in Chicago to drown in a hurricane in order to impose her desired order on their schools. (3/3)
* Remember when we talked about the non-binding pro-2nd Amendment “sanctuary county” referendums all over Downstate this year? They’re essentially designed to help Republicans get folks to the polls. Madison County is one of the counties having a vote and a rally was held this week…
While local voters have to decide on a referendum to make Madison County a “sanctuary county” for gun owners, speakers at a pro-gun rally at the Madison County Courthouse said candidates’ stance on the Second Amendment makes it a statewide issue.
About 125 people showed up for a pro-gun rally in the courtyard between the Madison County Courthouse and the Administration Building. The rally was sponsored by The Madison County Friends of the Second Amendment, and was followed by another pro-gun event at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199. […]
The referendum reads: “Shall Madison County become a sanctuary county for law abiding gun owners to protect them from unconstitutional gun laws passed by the Illinois General Assembly?” […]
“Pritzker is an F,” [Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association] said. “You know why he’s an F, because we can’t give him an F-. He’s not the guy you want if you’re a gun owner, or if you live anywhere outside the city of Chicago. This is a battle between the city of Chicago and the rest of the state. Anybody that votes for folks from the north end (of the state) are voting for the city of Chicago, it’s as simple as that.”
* JB Pritzker’s Deputy Get Out The Vote Director recently posted this photo on Instagram of a fellow Pritzker campaign worker…
What a stupid thing to do. Your campaign is being sued for racial discrimination and you pose for this photo and a top official posts it online? I don’t care if it was a charcoal face mask. Nobody thinks over there? What’s the opposite of “woke”?
A campaign worker for Democrat J.B. Pritzker was captured earlier this week wearing a charcoal face mask that resembles blackface in an Instagram post by another campaign employee. But the campaign insists the incident was not racial in nature and that the employees in question will be suspended without pay for exercising poor judgment. […]
The post was part of an Instagram story put up October 21. Instagram stories feature photos or videos and last just 24 hours but can be preserved or copied. The Sun-Times obtained the image Thursday night. […]
Asked about the picture, Mehta told the Sun-Times in a Facebook message: “It was a charcoal face mask.” […]
“The individual in the photo had applied and was wearing a charcoal face mask after work hours on the weekend. A fellow employee took a video and posted it on Instagram,” Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Galia Slayen said in a statement. “While it showed poor judgment, neither employee intended to take part in offensive behavior. However, given the poor judgment exercised here, both the individual in the photo and the individual who posted the photo will be suspended without pay.”
In their response, the Pritzker campaign provided a video of the man putting on the face mask, with others nearby laughing. The video was provided on the condition that it not be published.
The reckless ignorance of some white people just boggles my mind.
…Adding… Somebody made a good point in comments about how it wasn’t just these two staffers. Other campaign staffers watched and laughed as this whole thing unfolded. Not one of them said anything? Nobody in that group thought to say, hey, maybe people could think this is racist and we should stop right now?
At Tuesday’s debate at the Kendall County Courthouse in Yorkville, Underwood had a chance to call out Hultgren to his face, in public, because she believes that vote removed protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
“It was really clear in all the press coverage around these repeal-and-replace bills that the American Health Care Act did not create an opportunity for individuals like me with pre-existing conditions to have affordable coverage,” she said. “We must ensure that individuals with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied, and they cannot be charged (more).”
Hultgren said there is language right in the American Health Care Act that states pre-existing conditions cannot be used to reduce insurance or increase costs.
“Either Lauren Underwood hasn’t read it, or she doesn’t understand it,” Hultgren said.
A Washington Post fact-checker last year said that while “people with pre-existing conditions would not be denied coverage” under the Republican health care plan, people who “have a gap in coverage, they still could face higher, unaffordable premiums for a year.”
* And AARP is hopping mad about that bill Hultgren voted for and has been reminding its members of what Hultgren and others tried to do…
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
* Related…
* 14th Congressional District candidate Underwood attends forum alone: Underwood, who defeated six white men in the primary, said race has never been an issue in her run for the 14th District – a swath of Illinois that is about 87 percent white. “The people of the 14th will recognize the choice we have on the ballot, based on the level of representation we’ve had over the last eight years,” Underwood said.
* Lauren Underwood visits McHenry County, rallies supporters: “Randy Hultgren has voted to turn Medicare into a voucher program,” Underwood said. “Those kinds of actions are unacceptable. We need to make sure that the American people have programs like Medicare and Social Security to provide retirement security, to allow folks to have high-quality health care through old age and through the rest of their lives.”
* Watch: NBC 5 Interview With 14th Congressional District Candidates Randy Hultgren, Lauren Underwood
Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Parks are two of the most popular parks not only in the state of Illinois, but also in the entire United States. 3.2 million visitors passed through the parks in 2017, meaning that if they were national parks they would be in the ten most visited parks in the country, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
The parks combine to take up about 4600 acres according the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Today, they grew by about 50 percent.
Governor Bruce Rauner was at Starved Rock to announce the purchase of 2629 acres. The project cost Illinois $11 Million that comes from the Open Land Trust, which can only be used for purchases of land like this one.
The land in LaSalle County was purchased in order to “Preserve natural resources and expand recreation opportunities, tourism and economic development,” said Rauner. The Vermillion River runs through the newly acquired parcel of land, including the only naturally occurring white water rapids in Illinois, according to the IDNR.
Lone Star Industries — along with its predecessor companies — has owned much of the property since the early 1900s. The land originally was mined for coal. It also has been mined for limestone and used as a site for cement manufacturing.
Both Rauner and Rosenthal said, thanks to Lone Star’s mined land reclamation, the existing forested areas, lakes and a stretch of the scenic Vermilion River is ideally suited for development of outdoor recreational uses.
* There are some concerns, however. DNR has been hollowed out over the years, starting with Rod Blagojevich…
A few park supporters, who were locked out of the press conference but then entered when the presentation was concluded, expressed skepticism as to when, if ever, the land would be made available to the public.
Peggy Garner of rural Peru complained that the financially-distressed state cannot properly maintain the parks’ current holdings (a combined 4,800 acres), much less an acquisition nearly the size of Starved Rock itself.
“I can’t see doing it (the expansion) when you can’t take care of it now,” Garner said.
Doug Gift, a retired attorney and Utica planning commissioner, said he wants the state to make an up-front financial commitment to ensure the expanded parks are properly cared for.
“I hope this indicates an increase in budget and personnel as it expands,” Gift said.
Democratic state Comptroller Susana Mendoza, a potential candidate for Chicago mayor, committed to staying in the statewide office — if Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner wins re-election.
Appearing on a candidate forum on WTTW Ch.-11 Thursday night with Republican challenger Darlene Senger, Mendoza restated that she is “focused on being comptroller.”
But she said she’s told those passing around mayoral candidacy petitions with her name that “if Bruce Rauner gets re-elected, I will be comptroller as long as he is governor because I believe that I have been the last line of defense for taxpayers in this state and I will continue to fight for them every step of the way.” […]
Senger, a former state representative from Naperville, said Mendoza was making the commitment because if Rauner defeats principal rival Democrat J.B. Pritzker, the Republican governor would appoint a new comptroller if Mendoza were to win re-election and win as mayor.
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration knew in December that toxic air pollution from the Sterigenics plant in west suburban Willowbrook likely was responsible for some of the highest cancer risks in the nation, according to a letter obtained by the Tribune. […]
In the Dec. 22 letter, sent to a Sterigenics executive, a top official in the U.S. EPA’s Chicago office outlines the results of a preliminary federal analysis linking unusually high cancer risks in the Willowbrook area to the company’s emissions of ethylene oxide, a potent gas used to sterilize medical instruments, pharmaceutical drugs and food.
Copied on the letter is Julie Armitage, chief of the Illinois EPA air bureau.
“EPA has calculated a cancer risk of approximately 1,000 in a million at the nearest residence, exceeding our typical upper limit of cancer risk acceptability,” wrote Ed Nam, director of the regional U.S. EPA air and radiation division. “EPA would like to provide Sterigenics with the opportunity to review our modeling and to suggest improvements for accuracy.” […]
The Illinois EPA responded to the report by quietly giving Sterigenics a permit to voluntarily install new pollution-control equipment, making it more difficult for authorities to pursue legal action against the company unless it can be shown the fix has failed to eliminate health risks from ethylene oxide pollution.
Sterigenics remains committed to the safe use of EO for the sterilization of life-saving medical products at our Willowbrook facility. We work every day to improve patients’ lives. We understand that the materials we use in our processes require diligent stewardship and we take our responsibility very seriously. Our mission, Safeguarding Global HealthTM, begins and ends with the safety of people in mind. We have always worked with the USEPA, ILEPA, OSHA, and the FDA with a commitment to the safety of our employees, the communities and environment in which we operate, and the patients we help to protect. Our employees and their families live in Willowbrook and the surrounding communities and the health and wellbeing of the residents in those communities is very important to us. We outperform the standards set for the safe operation of our facilities and commit to continue to take a leadership role in evolving regulations to reassure residents that they are safe.
*** UPDATE *** State Sen. John Curran…
“It is unacceptable, and beyond comprehension, that the United State Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency failed to inform residents in a timely manner about the elevated cancer risks associated with the emission of ethylene oxide from the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook. From the moment this issue first came to light in late August, I demanded that Sterigenics cease operations immediately, and I reiterate that call today. As elected officials, our number one priority is to the health and well-being of our residents. In light of today’s discovery, I am calling on these two agencies to provide me with a detailed, written explanation on why they waited so long to inform my constituents about this health risk. Time is of the essence, and their joint delay has done a great disservice to my constituents.”
* US Sen. Dick Durbin…
This is a downright disgrace. Once again, the Rauner and Trump Administrations prioritized public relations over a serious public health hazard. Now, the U.S. EPA and Illinois EPA must finally step up its monitoring of this facility and be fully transparent with the public about the information they have about Sterigenics. Additionally, we need more emissions testing at this plant - something I’ve asked the EPA for repeatedly - a timeline for the EPA to set new health-based standards, and a public meeting for Willowbrook residents. Illinoisans deserve better than this.
Today, the Rauner campaign is launching a new digital video titled “Bruce and Diana on Education.”
Governor Rauner signed into law historic education funding reform, providing a more equitable funding formula for all Illinois schools and creating the first ever scholarship tax credit program in the state.
Governor Rauner and First Lady Diana Rauner have been committed to improving education in Illinois for years. They have been strong advocates for providing more access to quality schools for all students in the state.
Governor Rauner: Education is the most important thing we do together as a community and education is a shared passion Diana and I have had for our whole lives.
Diana Rauner: We’re both very lucky because we have had great opportunities in education. We’ve lived the American Dream. But I think our commitment to education, it’s really rooted in a real strong sense of what it’s meant for us to have those opportunities, and how important it is that everyone has the opportunity to reach their potential.
Governor Rauner: Frankly that’s one of the reasons I ran for governor. One of the greatest achievements of our administration has been coming up with a new school funding formula.
Diana Rauner: The education funding formula is something that was broken. Bruce came in and created a bipartisan commission to tackle that problem. He really took it on and that takes a certain level of courage and intentionality I’m just very proud of.
* The Republicans have spent basically nothing on Seth McMillan’s campaign against Sen. Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill). Manar even pulled his ads off of St. Louis broadcast television. And cable isn’t the best way to quickly hammer in a message unless it’s a really big buy, so I have my doubts, but maybe they’re seeing something in the president’s numbers in that area, or maybe they’re just trolling Manar…
The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) today launched a cable television ad campaign against liberal Democrat Andy Manar in Illinois Senate District 48, spotlighting his support of a 32% tax increase and support of sanctuary status for illegal immigrants.
“Working families have it hard enough without being concerned about a massive tax increase to fund the protection of illegal immigrants and special interests allied with Speaker Mike Madigan,” said Matt Walter, President of the Republican State Leadership Committee.
Manar votes with Mike Madigan and stands for the Chicago special interests.
It’s no wonder the Chicago Tribune says Manar voted for a thirty-two percent income tax hike, hurting middle class families, and even voted for a bill that protects those who are here illegally.
That’s Andy Manar, just another politician working for Madigan, not us.
Vote no on Mike Madigan puppet, Andy Manar.
…Adding… Such a class act, that one…
When I walked into their half empty, stale smelling building for my Ed. Board interview, I expected nothing less. The liberal leaning @SJRbreaking has had a love affair with @AndyManar since the beginning. https://t.co/GD68OMGIZg
Setting aside for the moment matters of ethics and legality, stealing yard signs and campaign literature is *tactically* wrong because it does not affect the outcome of elections.
A person whose yard sign is stolen will still vote for your candidate’s opponent. And you know what else they do?
They talk to everybody they know about how their yard sign for your candidate’s opponent was stolen by one of your candidate’s supporters.
D’oh.
A stolen yard sign gives your opponent’s supporter a perfect opening to talk to anybody they come in contact with about who they’re supporting and why.
Don’t give them that opening. Don’t steal yard signs.
Harold said Thursday she won’t meet up with the president.
“We have previously scheduled activities in the suburbs — campaign activities — and so that’s what I’ll be doing,” she said.
Reporters also asked Harold if she would share with the public the presidential candidates she voted for in the past three elections.
“I will not share all of those votes because, as a private citizen, I think I believe in secret ballot,” she said.
…Adding… She was also asked again why she isn’t going to the Trump event by Mary Ann Ahern…
My focus is on some of the suburban campaign activities that I had previously scheduled, and my choice to maintain those commitments doesn’t send a signal of anything other than wanting to keep those commitments.
* Meanwhile…
Today, in a 🌈 rally, many pro-equality, pro-reproductive healthcare, pro-environment advocates said “hate is not an Illinois value!” before #AttorneyGeneral candidate Erika Harold’s City Club speech! Harold has a record of opposing LGBTQ equality. pic.twitter.com/ddLPyf8JwA
“It’s no secret that I’m pro-life,” Harold said. “But I’ve made very clear that the job of the attorney general is to enforce Illinois law and uphold that.
“I would never discriminate against any same-sex couple as it relates to adoption, as it relates to anything,” she added. “The job of the attorney general is to protect all Illinoisans against discrimination, and that’s what I would do.”
Protesters, however, worried that she was just paying lip service to their issues on the campaign trail.
“I can’t trust that she would protect the laws that exist already in Illinois,” [Julie Lynn of Planned Parenthood Illinois] said.
“She says she won’t seek to change marriage, because it’s settled law. The Supreme Court has decided that,” [Michael Ziri of Equality Illinois] added. “But we know court decisions aren’t set in stone. Illinois marriage equality was settled in law when she advocated a constitutional amendment” against it.
* Peoria Journal Star Endorsement: Illinois attorney general: There is a strong chance Democrats could win all the major statewide races, starting with the governor’s office. In the case of the attorney general’s seat today, Illinois needs an attorney general who isn’t part of the clique. That is why Republican Erika Harold gets the Journal Star’s endorsement.
* For as long as I can remember, the Tribune has often put fun little tidbits at the tail end of their political stories. Here’s one…
Hultgren said he’d like to be with Trump for his southern Illinois visit on Saturday but might not make it because he’ll be marching in the Sycamore Pumpkin Fest parade on Sunday.
“The absurdity of two office holders, running for two jobs at the same time and basically raising and spending money for them, is like cheating the public and treating their sacred jobs as a joke,” Daley said. “It’s not like we don’t have problems in the state, the county or the city. C’mon. I’ve been around this business my whole life, OK? And the amount of time people spend on fundraising is ridiculous. And when you’re running for two offices, holding a public job, it’s kind of crazy.”
Part of that family political business Daley didn’t mention: that brother Richard M. Daley launched his successful 1989 bid for mayor just 27 days after safely winning re-election to a third term as Cook County state’s attorney. The chief strategist of that mayoral campaign: Bill Daley.
Attorneys with the Illinois attorney general’s office went before an Adams County grand jury Thursday regarding Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at the Illinois Veterans Home.
After exiting the grand jury, the three attorneys confirmed they were with the attorney general’s office but said that was all they could say when approached by a Herald-Whig reporter.
Attorney general spokeswoman Maura Possley said the office had no comment on the investigation.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office said Oct. 3 that it was investigating to see if Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration broke any laws in the way it handled the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at the Veterans Home.
* From Patty Schuh in the governor’s office…
As the elected chief legal officer of the state, the Illinois Attorney General is charged with fairly and impartially representing the state and providing sound legal advice.
The Attorney General has represented the state and Department of Veterans Affairs in multiple lawsuits that were filed after the tragic deaths of our veterans during the 2015 outbreak of Legionnaires Disease at the Quincy Veterans Home.
After a review of the facts in each of the 11 cases stemming from this outbreak, the Attorney General denied the state has any liability in the deaths.
In the documents filed with the Court by the Illinois Attorney General in each of the cases — the Attorney General denied any state negligence or wrongdoing. The Attorney General also denied the claimants are due damages. The Attorney General’s first court filing stemming from the 2015 outbreak came on June 27, 2016 and the most recent on October 25, 2017.
The Attorney General continues to represent the state and Department of Veterans Affairs in the pending Court of Claims cases.
Unlike a court of claims case where the plaintiff alleges that the negligence of the State or State agency caused injury, a criminal investigation does not look at the liability of the State or a State agency. It looks at whether individuals acted outside the scope of their authority and committed crimes. Every state employee involved in overseeing the care provided by the Quincy Veterans’ Home, including the Governor’s staff, should want to get to the bottom of whether crimes were committed in events that lead to the deaths of more than a dozen people.
“One of the founding reasons I got in this race is because we need to select a new speaker of the House,” Caffrey said. “The speaker has been there for 33 of the last 35 years. And we need to be asking if we’re seeing the results we should be seeing and the answer is no. We’re not, so we need to make that change.”
Mazzochi then accused Caffrey of “perpetuating the Madigan machine.”
“When (Caffrey) says ‘I think I’m going to vote for a Democrat, just not Mike Madigan,’ well the fact of the matter is if you cast that vote, you’re still going to get more Mike Madigan,” Mazzochi said. “Even if you say you won’t vote for Madigan for speaker, if you ultimately wind up voting for all the things Mike Madigan is interested in, such as the graduated income tax, you’re going to wind up in the same problematic position we’ve been in.”
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) President and Illinois State Senator Toi Hutchinson (D) and NCSL President-elect Wisconsin Speaker Robin Vos (R) said:
“The recent news regarding explosive devices being sent to various persons across the country is an outright act of domestic terrorism. Now more than ever, those of us who have dedicated our lives to public service must take a stand against violence intended to damage the very foundations of our great nation. Let us come together–not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans–to reflect on the core values of our nation that include the peaceful and respectful resolution of our differences through debate, discussion, and elections–never violence.”
I just got called by a Capitol staffer and told that the Illinois State Capitol is on lockdown. While on the phone with my source, I heard the message playing out to shelter in place. #twill
…Adding… I’m told a “substance” was found in a second-floor bathroom. A Hazmat team has been called.
Fire department and police are on the scene.
Fire command has arrived…
* Hmm…
Illinois Secretary of State's office says an "unknown substance in a clear bag" was found just after 1 p.m. on the floor of a second-floor men's state Capitol restroom. Springfield Fire Department hazmat unit is investigating. Lockdown continues.
Anna McKinley has already done phone banks and canvassed for candidates, walked in parades, and most recently, was named as a Precinct Committee Chairman in Okawville Township. That is not a bad record for someone who has yet to cast a vote.
A senior at Okawville High School, McKinley was appointed to the role of Precinct Committeeman for Okawville #2 by Washington County Democrat Central Committee Chairman Len Piasecki earlier this month.
“For me, this is a hobby and a passion,” McKinley said of her political engagement. “It’s not hard to do something when you love it.”
* The Question: What was your earliest political involvement?
Our campaign has thousands of yard signs throughout the 55th District. We enjoy giving them to supporters so they can show their support. Really, yard signs are more important to my supporters than they are to our campaign.
Today we received countless calls from our supporters saying their yard signs are being stolen. One such call from a voter included a video of the illegal act caught on camera.
Our campaign does not expend resources to engage in sign wars and instead will continue to talk to voters directly about key issues our opponent continues to remain silent on, like her opposition to a ban on AR-15’s and wish to defund Planned Parenthood.
If these acts are being committed with knowledge of the Smolenski campaign, it is sadly not the least bit surprising.
On top of Terra Costa Howard’s repeated lies, her team of 6+ paid “Madigoons” regularly steal yard signs. Now, this video from yesterday proves they’re stealing literature off your front door. Say NO to Terra Costa Howard and her Dirty Politics (paid for by Madigan’s Dirty Money)!
If you had any doubt that there’s been enough campaigning and it’s time to vote, the race for 6th District congressman in the western suburbs now is focusing on who swiped whose yard signs.
From a statement from incumbent Republican Peter Roskam: “Every day, local residents are calling the Roskam campaign office reporting yard signs stolen from their property or destroyed . . . To date, 350 Roskam for Congress yard signs have been reported stolen or lost. The sign theft dramatically increased since Roskam first called on (Democratic nominee Sean) Casten to stop his supporters’ shameful tricks. Casten’s response? Crickets.”
In 30 years of covering politics, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a sitting member of Congress send out a press release talking about yard signs. But back to that breathless release, which continues that an offending sign snatcher actually was caught on tape mumbling about moving the sign 20 miles away. It concludes, what else could be expected from a campaign like Casten’s that seeks not “bipartisanship and engaging constructively” but employs “hateful rhetoric.”
Responds the Casten camp, “We don’t steal signs. Period. And we don’t condone those who do, including those who have been stealing our signs—which have been disappearing as well. Peter Roskam is losing, and these kinds of wild accusations prove it.”
Chicagoans in minority neighborhoods on the West Side and South Side have the greatest exposure to toxic air pollution and other environmental health hazards in the city, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis that community groups are using to fight Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s industrial planning practices.
The findings were compiled by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group that plans to use the document to try to persuade city officials to end the common practice of steering scrap yards, distribution warehouses and other polluting businesses to neighborhoods with large concentrations of Latino and African-American residents.
Among the most dramatically affected communities, the group found, are Little Village, Pilsen and the far Southeast Side.
Activists in those communities say Emanuel’s city planners are pushing dirty industries to majority Latino and black communities, while neighborhoods like Lincoln Park on the more well-to-do North Side are shedding their industrial past for new condo buildings and high-end amenities.
* Meanwhile, you may recall this TV ad last summer from the American Chemistry Council touting US Rep. Peter Roskam…
That $209,000 TV ad buy and $185,050 in chemical industry contributions are coming back to haunt Roskam.
But the ad takes on new meaning now that the Sterigenics sterilization facility just outside Roskam’s west suburban district is under fire for emitting ethylene oxide, a highly potent, cancer-causing gas made by Dow Chemical, Union Carbide, Shell and several other members of the trade group.
Two months after the chemical industry’s pro-Roskam ad began airing, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a report revealing that communities surrounding the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook are among just a few dozen in the country facing alarmingly high cancer risks from toxic air pollution, most notably ethylene oxide emissions. […]
Roskam’s supporters in the chemical industry have a dramatically different view.
Soon after the EPA released its report, the industry trade group quietly urged President Donald Trump’s administration to scuttle a stringent safety limit for ethylene oxide adopted in 2016 after more than a decade of debate. The agency relied heavily on the safety limit when it calculated its worrisome estimates of cancer risks in communities surrounding Sterigenics and other facilities across the nation that either manufacture or use the chemical.
Chemical companies are pushing the Trump EPA to declare that ethylene oxide is far less dangerous than the agency’s career staff and three separate panels of independent scientists determined. Industry-supported scientists have repeatedly downplayed animal research showing the chemical mutates DNA and studies of medical sterilization workers who suffered high rates of breast cancer, leukemia and lymphomas.
Note to Illinois voters: If you think voting for the guy who has Conservative Party next to his name is a vote for conservative values, you’re badly mistaken. You’re being played. Let us tell you the truth about Sam McCann. […]
Why would Local 150 put so much muscle behind McCann? Rauner’s support for allowing right-to-work zones and curbing prevailing wage mandates — issues that would diminish the influence of trade and public employee unions — created a fierce adversary in union halls statewide. So the operating engineers are putting up a candidate who could strip votes from Rauner’s Republican base. Local 150 is in this for revenge.
But McCann is taking it a step further. He’s also helping Madigan by targeting conservative Republicans with misleading mailers in districts Madigan wants to win. Reps. Tom Morrison, R-Palatine, and Lindsay Parkhurst, R-Kankakee, both have been hit with McCann-sponsored campaign mailers that describe them as Republicans “in name only.”
Except that’s not true. Morrison and Parkhurst have solid records of voting against tax hikes, against big government, and with fellow conservatives on social issues.
What these dishonest mailer’s don’t mention is McCann’s own voting record in the Senate. He’s running under a conservative banner — yet he votes in lockstep with the state’s largest public employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. McCann has voted against every version of cost-saving pension reform except one, making his record one of the most liberal in the General Assembly. He voted against streamlining government. He voted against allowing voters to consolidate layers of government.
Is McCann a stalking horse to draw votes away from Rauner and Republican legislators? Of course he is. Nobody is gonna drop that much cash on a candidate who is polling at somewhere around 5 percent unless something else is up.
* But the mailers do not describe those legislators as “Republicans ‘in name only’” as the Tribune claims. The mailers describe the legislators as “Rauner Rinos.” Rauner is called a “fake conservative” because he signed HB40. McCann calls the legislators “fake conservatives” because, after screaming bloody murder about HB40, they have since endorsed Rauner and take contributions from him (laundered through other committees first, of course). McCann told Dan Proft he will send mailers into their districts supporting them if they rescind their Rauner endorsements.
Also, who says conservative Republican legislators have to vote against AFSCME? Plenty voted with public employee unions before Rauner came along, and they may resume doing so whenever Rauner leaves. Heck, lots of AFSCME members are conservative, pro-life Republicans and many reside in Republican-held districts, so why wouldn’t their legislators pay attention to them?
Whatever the case, this isn’t even about the public employee unions. I mean, Local 150 of the Operating Engineers Union was pushing hard for pension reform back when the public worker unions were working their tails off against it. This is, as the Tribune notes, about Rauner’s war on trade unions and the GOP legislators’ complicity with and even active support for that war. They’re just holding Rauner accountable, albeit in a very, let’s say, “unusual” way.
* Meanwhile, the second round of Conservative Party mailers has hit…
Another McCann assault on Morrison arrived in the mail Wednesday, this one accusing Morrison of “betraying” taxpayers in connection with the recent state income tax increase. Morrison actually voted against the tax hike. […]
Not only are the Republican legislative candidates being attacked from the left by their liberal Democratic opponents, they are being attacked from the right by a candidate who is urging conservative voters to vote either for liberals or not vote at all.
It’s a terrific mess, exactly the kind of thing Democratic leaders like House Speaker Michael Madigan would like to see on the GOP side.
Ives speculated that Madigan is trying to tie Republican legislators to the unpopular Rauner in the same way Rauner and Republicans have tried, with some success, to tie Madigan to Democratic legislative candidates.
“I can’t help but think that this is Madigan giving Rauner a taste of his own medicine,” Ives said.
Yep. And some folks are also chuckling that Rauner is just getting back what he dished out to Madigan’s alleged best buddy Ives during the primary.
Thursday, Oct 25, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
It’s simple. Credit unions are member-owned, so any earnings are simply returned in the form of lower loan rates, higher interest on deposits and lower fees. Credit unions create a fair financial alternative for the taxpayers of Illinois. Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives that don’t focus on increasing revenue or paying dividends to outside stockholders. Illinois credit unions are focused on the member-owners we serve. Visit www.asmarterchoice.org to learn more about the benefits of credit union membership.
The ad started airing earlier this week. On Wednesday, Rauner’s campaign team released a new version with the cussing character’s mouth blurred after complaints from TV stations
“The use, or implied use of foul language - was that the right choice to make?” we asked.
“Well, it certainly gets everyone’s attention. I don’t condone the use of foul language but it was deleted or beeped out or whatever the word is. I will use the word screwed. I’ll say, we as a state are screwed if Pritzker and Madigan get in,” Rauner said.
The ad that aired Wednesday evening is actually a toned down version. Originally, the ad clearly showed the mouth of the person using the F-word. A revised version was later sent to WPSD with the person’s mouth blurred. Rauner’s campaign says some stations asked for an edited version, however WPSD never asked for a revised version of the ad.
* That station also sent a reporter to Metropolis to do some person in the street interviews about the ad…
“That’s fine with me,” says Guy Wilcox. “That gives the viewer, they can put whatever they want to in that space.”
Paula Shelton says it’s a low point in a race that was already pretty low.
“Someone with some morals would be nice, but you’re not going to find it in Illinois,” says Shelton.
But what will viewers be talking about — the merits of Rauner as compared to Pritzker or the regrettable use of an incendiary expletive that is only thinly disguised in front of God and everybody.
This is what the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan was talking about when he cited the steady decline in social mores or, as he put it, “defining deviance down.”
Rauner’s advertisement represents another tasteless — and easily avoidable — step down the ladder on the social-deviance scale.
Rauner’s motivation is easily understandable — desperate candidates say and do desperate things. But that does not make it socially acceptable, even if it is deemed by some as necessary for a victory.
In her latest campaign ad, Susana Mendoza calls herself a fearless fighter for the little guy.
That’s partially true. Which means its also partially false. As Chicago City Clerk, Mendoza did fight Mayor Rahm Emanuel on hiking city sticker fees, was a cheerleader for the impeachment of former governor Rod Blagojevich and has been a vocal opponent of current Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner. […]
But Mendoza hasn’t done much standing up to powerful Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, who she has called her mentor. By all accounts, Madigan helped squeeze state senator Daniel Biss out of a 2016 comptroller’s primary, clearing the way for Mendoza.
And even now, out of the 1.7 million dollars Mendoza has in her campaign fund, more than a third, $650,000, is from the Illinois Democratic Party.
Madigan did, indeed, help push Biss out of that primary to benefit Mendoza. But the money stuff is really misleading. A simple search of the Board of Elections shows Mendoza received that Democratic Party of Illinois money in October of 2016 for her first statewide run.
She raised $1.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, spent $2.7 million and had $279K left in the bank. Since that time, she hasn’t reported receiving any DPI cash. So to claim that the 2016 money currently makes up a third of what she has in the bank is just false.
Rev. Thomas J. Chantry, charged with child molestation, will begin a 13-day trial at the Yavapai County Superior Court in Camp Verde Tuesday, July 24.
Chantry, 47, was indicted in Yavapai County Superior Court on eight counts – five counts of child molestation and three of aggravated assault – for offenses committed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when he worked at the Miller Valley Baptist Church.
After two days of deliberations, a jury has found a former pastor accused of multiple counts of child molestation and assault guilty on two of the aggravated assault charges. Jurors determined Thomas Chantry, 47, was not guilty of one child molestation charge and one aggravated assault charge. […]
Yavapai County Deputy Attorney Susan Eazer called Chantry a “sick, twisted pedophile” last week in her closing rebuttal.
Eazer requested the court to change Chantry’s release conditions, citing the hung jury and new evidence she tried to introduce late into the trial.
The evidence concerned a 2004 Illinois police report detailing an incident where Chantry allegedly spanked a child at a school he was teaching at so hard he left bruises. The parents did not end up pursuing charges.
A former Prescott pastor who stood trial less than a month ago on multiple charges of child molestation and abuse faces nine new charges as of Tuesday.
Thomas Chantry, 47, surrendered himself to the Yavapai County Superior Court this week and is being held in the County Jail on a $1 million bond. […]
Charges include four counts of aggravated assault, four counts of child molestation and one count of child abuse. All of these charges occurred between 1998 and 2000, according to the indictment issued by a Yavapai County grand jury Sept. 11.
A Christian teacher and pastor convicted of aggravated assault for severely spanking children in Arizona was accused of doing the same at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights in 2004, though charges were never filed, authorities said.
Republican state Rep. Tom Morrison vouched recently for a teacher/pastor convicted of assault and accused of “unspeakable” abuse of children in Arizona. Morrison was a teacher at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights in the early 2000s at the time Thomas Chantry also taught there.
“I found Mr. Chantry to be a man who was professional, courteous, and caring to students, parents, and fellow staff,” Morrison wrote in a letter to court authorities asking for leniency in Chantry’s sentencing. “In the time we worked together, in a variety of settings, he had his students (sic) best interests at heart.” Morrison signed the letter by name and identified himself as the state legislator representing Illinois’ 54th District.
Christian Liberty Academy plays an important role in Morrison’s life. Along with being a 5th grade teacher there for six years, his parents had helped found the school in 1969. Chantry taught there from 2002 to 2006.
Reached by phone, Morrison said, “I stand by what I wrote. I’m not going to talk about anything beyond the brief time we taught together.” He dismissed the media attention to his letter, saying voters have bigger concerns. “They want to talk about property taxes and the fact that they’re making plans to leave the state. Those are the real issues.”
Voters may be talking about something else now, though.
*** UPDATE *** Rep. Morrison…
To clarify, my statement was reflective of a person I worked with, for a brief period of time over 15 years ago. We have not seen nor spoken to each other since then. At no time did I ask for leniency.
What I learned this morning is not reflective of the person that I once knew. These are the most serious allegations and at the time I was unaware of them - and I wholeheartedly condemn them.
Therefore, I am seeking to withdraw my testimony in the letter, so there is no confusion regarding my position in this issue, after learning of these new allegations.
-
He sent a letter on behalf of someone who was facing sentencing for assaulting a child and… he didn’t know?
…Adding… So, let’s think about this for a moment. Rep. Morrison worked at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights until 2005. The paddling incident at that school, which resulted in a battery report filed with local police, happened in 2004, two years before Morrison left. And the superintendent of the school said the 2004 incident “prompted him to end the school’s long-standing practice of corporal punishment,” according to the Daily Herald.
Seems like he should’ve known something was up long before he wrote that letter to the judge.
A former political rival accusing Mike Madigan of placing “sham” candidates on the ballot wants to “inspect, measure” and photograph the powerful speaker and state Democratic Party chairman’s political offices — a demand Madigan’s lawyers are fighting as a violation of the First Amendment and “a political fishing expedition.”
Lawyers for Jason Gonzales, an unsuccessful primary challenger who is suing Madigan in federal court, are asking to “inspect, measure, survey, and/or photograph the premises” at two of the speaker’s Southwest Side offices — the political offices of Friends of Michael J. Madigan and the 13th Ward Democratic Organization offices.
Madigan’s attorneys are arguing the request violates the U.S. Constitution.
“Defendants have clear First Amendment rights to associate in their offices that would be infringed by Plaintiff being granted court-ordered access to photograph, measure and inspect,” the filing says. “This Court should not permit Plaintiff to engage in a political fishing expedition in the political committees’ offices.”
Today, the Rauner campaign is launching the latest “Back Bruce” testimonial video featuring Kwasi Amoah.
In the video, Kwasi reflects on why he thinks Governor Rauner is the best choice for governor. He knows that Governor Rauner is standing up for taxpayers, fighting to reduce taxes, and working to grow the Illinois economy to create a better future for the state.
Kwasi Amoah, you may recall, appears in another Rauner digital ad saying he was “offended” by what JB Pritzker said on those FBI surveillance tapes.
My name is Kwasi Amoah. I’m from Romeoville, Illinois. I am a safety professional, and I support Governor Rauner. Governor Rauner knows what Illinois needs. People who work in this state work so hard, and to be punished for working so hard, for taking money out of their pockets doesn’t make any sense. People are leaving this state in droves. I think a better future for Illinois is we’ve got to fix the deficit. We’ve got to get a better budget. We’ve got to stop spending. We can’t have social services if we don’t have revenue, if we are a broke state. Governor Rauner is the right choice for the next for years.
Lauren Underwood released her third ad of the General Election Oct. 24, after a dominant performance at her one and only public debate with her incumbent Republican opponent, Randy Hultgren.
The ad, which will run on broadcast, cable and digital platforms, highlights the story of Plainfield residents Carrie and Tom Jackson. The couple’s son, Tyler, was diagnosed with cancer at age 18. Carrie attended Hultgren’s one and only town hall event of 2017, and heard her representative make a promise.
“When I attended Randy Hultgren’s town hall in April 2017, I felt as though he made a personal promise to protect my son Tyler’s health care. He broke that promise,” Carrie said. “Lauren Underwood heard the same promise. I’m voting for Lauren because she will fight for my son.”
Carrie: A few years ago, we found out our 18-year-old son had cancer. Randy Hultgren had a chance to protect people with pre-existing conditions like our son, and he failed us. And that’s when all my activism started. It’s not just about politics. It’s not about Republican and Democrat. It’s about the lack of humanity that’s being shown. The lack of common decency.
Tom: And we need people like Lauren Underwood who will bring us together. And she definitely will do that when she’s in Washington.
A robust six figure buy will blanket the Chicagoland cable markets starting tonight through Election Day targeting sensible conservatives that continue to support our President and candidates with like minded values.
President Trump: This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.
Announcer: With Sam McCann as our conservative governor, he will fight alongside President Trump and the police to protect our borders and this state from illegals. Our nation is being overrun by illegals and our values are being attacked by extremist liberals. Illinois must elect Sam McCann as governor to work with President Trump and our police to rebuild Illinois together.
McCann recently reported a $430K contribution from the Fight Back Fund, a dark money group that appears to be controlled by Local 150 of the Operating Engineers Union.
Please see State Rep. Marty Moylan’s statement demanding that Marilyn Smolenski calls on her benefactor, Dan Proft to remove an unethically obtained advertisement from the airwaves.
Smolenski is a Republican running against Moylan. Rep. Moylan’s press release is here. The president of the Park Ridge League of Women Voters demanded this week that the video clip of the debate be removed from the TV ad, which is paid for by Proft’s Liberty Principles PAC. Apparently, there was an agreement by both candidates not to use any video taken of the debate in advertisements.
* So, what’s everybody all excited about? I asked Moylan’s spokesperson…
The ad is a sad attempt to disparage Representative Moylan’s record of independent leadership by using an unethically obtained sound bite from the forum to deceive and divide voters in the 55th District.
By the way, Moylan leading the “Who do we like? Mike!” chant near the end of the ad was from a union rally ahead of a screening of that Illinois Policy Institute documentary on Speaker Madigan the last election of Madigan as House Speaker. The Illinois Policy Institute had some demonstrators there, so the unions organized a counter-protest. Proft has reported spending a whopping $785,000 on ads attacking Moylan.
An election guide posted on the Communist Party USA’s (CPUSA) website said that the party is “deploying its resources” to unseat U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), as part of a larger effort to flip 24 Republican seats the Democrats need to capture control of the House.
“A plan for staff travel is being worked out with each district (it considers a close race),” the party’s Sept. 20 posting said. […]
Political analyst Chris Robling said that the Communists and other fringe groups in American society have absorbed the message of the Democratic Party, one that’s no longer resonating with a broad national base.
“The Democrats are incapable of appealing to a majority of voters outside the major urban areas,” Robling said. “That’s why the over the past recent elections they lost the presidency, the House and Senate, governorships and state legislatures.”
“They are reaching out to groups, including criminal illegal aliens, that are rightfully marginalized, “ he added. “Don’t underestimate their willingness to do anything for what they perceive as the greater good.”
The linked “election guide” doesn’t actually say which Illinois districts those dastardly commies are trying to flip.
Robling, by the way, predicted two years ago that Donald Trump’s candidacy could help Sen. Mark Kirk and Comptroller Leslie Munger in the suburbs and even in Chicago. Both lost. Trump lost every collar county but one.
Responding to a moderator’s question at a recent political forum in Barrington, Democratic state representative candidate Mary Edly-Allen said campaigns should be limited to $100,000 in contributions and lamented her opponent’s spending on “very expensive” mailers and television commercials.
Edly-Allen is running against appointed Rep. Helene Miller Walsh (R-Mundelein).
* Up until that forum, Edly-Allen had reported raising just $38,845 since getting into the race on June 4th.
Perhaps unbeknownst to her, two days before the forum the House Democrats spent $14,000 on a poll in her district (the in-kind contribution wasn’t actually reported until October 15th).
The HDems must’ve liked what they saw in that poll. Since then, they’ve pumped in close to $270,000. Also since the forum, Personal PAC has spent about $52,000 both for Edly-Allen and against Miller Walsh.
“We need to take a real closer look at finance reform,” Edly-Allen said. “When I spoke on Saturday, that (lack of cash) was the truth. I actually had a conversation with the (House) Speaker (Michael Madigan) on Sunday afternoon. And I was like, ‘I need help. She’s got mailers. I can’t afford them.’ I needed to counterpunch.”
Hilarious. “Money is BAD!!!” *Gets tons of money* “Money is NECESSARY!!!”
“It’s one thing to accept $300,000 from Mike Madigan and his cronies, but it is completely hypocritical for Mary Edly-Allen to announce to the League of Women Voters that she wants to limit her campaign — and all others — to $100,000, then immediately cash every $50,000 check Madigan brings to her campaign coffers,” Miller Walsh said in a statement to the Daily Herald. “If Mary were honest, she would give Madigan his money back and tell him she won’t be bought off and vote for him for speaker of the House.”
Courtney: I have been living with endometriosis for 20 years.
Linda: I was healthy, except for the MS. Scared to death with the MS.
Courtney: I was having to make choices between groceries or the medication I needed. When people like Erika Harold threaten Obamacare, I can’t believe how little she values people like me with preexisting conditions.
Linda: The threat of Obamacare being taken away is one of those sort of bad dreams. So when I hear that politicians like Erika Harold wanting to repeal Obamacare, I get angry, and honestly get scared.
Courtney: I can’t vote for Erika Harold.
Linda: Absolutely not.
* The Champaign News-Gazette editorial board, which endorsed area resident Erika Harold, is spitting mad…
If politics wasn’t such a sleazy business, this advertisement would set a new low for being misleading.
Harold, like Raoul, is running for attorney general of Illinois, not for federal office.
Obamacare — aka the Affordable Care Act — is federal legislation passed during former President Barack Obama’s first two years in office.
Court challenges have been filed against Obamacare and been rejected. There is nothing that Harold could do about repealing Obamacare, even if she wanted to do so.
This is classic scaremongering engaged in by a loser candidate who fears he’ll lose an election if he can’t drive his opponent’s negatives sky high.
* I asked the Raoul campaign for a response…
That’s false. Donald Trump and Republican state attorneys general are in Texas district court trying, yet again, to destroy the ACA and take healthcare away from people with preexisting conditions. Democratic AGs, including Lisa Madigan, have intervened to vigorously defend it. In 2014, Republican Erika Harold said she wanted to “repeal it all,” regarding the ACA. Not only could she do something to destroy Obamacare — we have every reason to believe she would.
The campaign is right about the court case and the News-Gazette is wrong.
* From the Champaign News-Gazette in 2014, when Harold was running for Congress…
Harold said she wanted to “repeal it all and start all over again with consumer-driven” reforms.
“Specifically on the issue of the Affordable Care Act, I don’t think it’s a bill that can be reformed. When we look at the consequence throughout the district, with people losing plans they liked, having to pay increased premiums and I think we’re going to see the full effect of it when the employer mandate goes in effect … I think it’s fundamentally flawed.”
Kwame Raoul is lying about Erika’s record because he can’t run on his own fourteen-year record of failure in Springfield. The truth is Erika supports the Illinois law barring insurance companies from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions, and Erika would not have joined the lawsuit seeking to have the Affordable Care Act declared unconstitutional.
This week Illinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs released his first television ad for his re-election campaign: “Numbers.” This ad highlights how Frerichs’ has been standing tall for Illinoisans by protecting our tax dollars, finding savings through a performance audit, cutting Wall Street fees in half, and modernizing operations to better serve veterans, the disabled, seniors and consumers alike.
“For me, standing tall isn’t just a political slogan. It’s the values I learned growing up in the small farming community of Gifford, Illinois and it’s what I’ve taken to Springfield to stand up for people every day,” Frerichs said. “Being a good steward of taxpayer dollars is vital to bringing stability to our state for generations to come.”
As the state’s Treasurer, Mike Frerichs has been an aggressive watchdog of our tax dollars, using his office to put the public’s money to work through smart and sound investments. Mike, who grew up in the small farming community of Gifford, Illinois, is a Certified Public Finance Officer (CPFO), and he has put those skills to work to cut fees charged by Wall Street banks in half and improve investment returns for Illinois’ college savings program, run his office more efficiently to save tax dollars, and provide opportunities for more Illinois workers to save for retirement.
Frerichs has put his office to work for regular people and will continue to stand tall for all Illinoisans by providing them the tools they need to succeed.
As a Certified Public Finance Officer, I work hard to make sure the numbers add up, but even I won’t try to make sense of these numbers. As Treasurer, I’m always crunching numbers to protect our tax dollars.
That’s how I found savings through a performance audit of my office. I reduced Wall Street fees and improved investment returns. I modernized operations to better serve veterans, seniors, and consumers.
I’ll always help Mom around the house, and I’ll always stand tall for Illinois taxpayers.
Q: You want to roll back the 2017 income tax increase; if so, which programs will you cut to make up for the revenue loss from the income tax reduction?
A: The exciting thing is we don’t have to cut programs. What we need to do is grow the economy faster which we can do very quickly and I’m doing that right now. But also there is about $6-billion in excess spending in our government’s structure itself. Not social programs, not human services or education. The cost of Illinois government, our government in Illinois is much more expensive than it is over in Iowa. We have 7,000 units of local government in Illinois, way more, like double what most states have. And we also have more mandates and restrictions on our schools and requirements on our cities and our counties. And as a result we have the highest property taxes in America. We don’t need to cut human services, what we need to do is make government more efficient and effective.
Sounds like he’s mixing up local property taxes with state spending.
A: We don’t need to cut programs, what we need to do is shrink the government bureaucracy. I’ll give you an example for your viewers, when I got into office, many of our departments didn’t have computers, if you can believe that. And those that did were running software from 1974. Very inefficient. We’ve now, rated Grade A as one of the most innovative technology state governments in America. And we’re saving hundreds of millions of dollars by using computers and using mobile apps to bring down the cost of providing our services and increasing the efficiency. Those are the kinds of things that we can change so we don’t have to raise taxes in fact when you get lower taxes and not cut human services.
Q: But as far as your relationship with Speaker Madigan and others, what will you do differently? How will you recast your, rebuild your relationship?
A: The Speaker is, he’s one of the most corrupt of politicians in America. My relationship with him will be very cordial but it’ll also be very just matter of fact. What we’ve got to do is work sometimes with him but often times around him. We’ve got the balanced budget done even though he didn’t want to, we worked around him on that. We got the new school funding formula done, we had to work around him.
They got the budget done this year by working around Madigan? You mean during all those meetings in Madigan’s office?
Q: Reaction to Pres. Trump’s positive comments yesterday about the Montana congressman who assaulted the news reporter? He said the assault was nothing to be embarrassed about.
A: I have to say I’m appalled, I’m deeply disappointed. There’s no room in our society, in our civil society for physical assault let alone verbal assault. We should respect each other, have direct honest communication that’s appropriate and proper and respectful. No place for those sort of actions.
We should respect each other by running appropriate and proper ads about how Illinois is f-d if Pritzker is elected?
A: The polls are baloney. The polls have been proven wrong many election cycles. In Illinois and in the past and the ones I’ve seen have been way wrong. When I’m talking to people it’s very, a lot of enthusiasm, ‘Governor stay strong, don’t back down.’ I don’t know whether we’re winning at the moment but I wasn’t winning in the polls 4 years ago either. And we’re moving up fast, the truth is getting known and when the truth is known, I’ve had great success, we need to get more progress and we’re going to fight for a better future and do a lot more my second term and I’m fighting against a guy who’s loyal to Mike Madigan, funds the corruption, cheats on his taxes and all he’s running on is raising the income tax more on the people of Illinois. Disaster. Turn out the lights with that guy, we’re going to stay strong, we’re going to win.
I’m Erika Harold. If JB Pritzker is elected governor, he and Mike Madigan will have total control over state government. That much power in the hands of any one political party isn’t good for Illiniois. I’ll be a check on the Pritzker-Madigan agenda and work for you, not them.
Can Harold win? The “wave” environment would suggest not, but if voters are looking for a check on JB Pritzker and Speaker Madigan and they can’t bring themselves to vote for Gov. Rauner, she might be a realistic option. At least, that’s what the Republicans are hoping for. It’s probably too bad she can’t just come right out and say that in an ad, but much of her money is coming from Rauner, so it’s unlikely that she can or will.
Wall: The polls show he’s down, but the governor remains upbeat, but he may politically need to do something this Saturday that he didn’t do in August - go Downstate and stand with President Trump. What do you have to do to overcome the polls that show you trailing?
Rauner: Well first of all, the polls I think, are very wrong. They’ve been wrong the last few election cycles. I don’t know if I’m trailing or leading right now, but I think I’m trailing a bit.
Rauner: We are not a sanctuary. I have blocked sanctuary status for the state of Illinois, and I’m strongly against illegal immigration. And I have fought to elect good conservatives like Mike Babcock, like Dwight Kay, and this guy McCann, he’s a phony. Nobody should vote for him. A vote for him is a vote for Mike Madigan and Pritzker. And Pritzker is a nightmare for the state. Nightmare. Turn out the lights. Job losses. Taxes. Corruption. We’ve gotta stay strong. […]
Host: What the heck is Sam McCann doing?
RAUNER: He’s pure baloney, he’s a fraud, he’s a phony. He’s a plant by Madigan. Madigan does this all the time, he does this so many elections, he did it in his own election two years ago. He brings in phony people who are just there to confuse voters and try to divert votes from the real candidates. McCann – all you need to know about McCann is that his supporters and McCann are sending out mailers attacking good conservative legislators like Dwight Kay, like Sen. Connelly in the western ‘burbs and around the state. They’re working for Madigan and Madigan’s cronies – a handful of union bosses – that’s all they’re doing. McCann is not a true conservative, he’s a Madigan loyalist who’s planted there to confuse voters and try to divert votes.
Today Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza released her second television ad of her re-election campaign: “Champion.” The ad highlights Mendoza’s accomplishments as Comptroller over the past two years featuring editorials and endorsements from around the state.
In their endorsement of Mendoza, the Herald-Whig called Mendoza “a champion for those who couldn’t advocate for themselves.” The State Journal-Register called her an “Agent of change” who “has sought to create a more transparent government” in their endorsement. In September 2017, Mendoza was called “one tough lady” in the Chicago Tribune. And in their endorsement, the News-Gazette wrote “Mendoza has shown herself to be an energetic, thoughtful steward.”
Mendoza loves standing up to big bullies and Politico called her “one of Rauner’s worst nightmares.” She has the strength and determination to keep fighting for the people of Illinois as Comptroller.
Narrator: She’s described as an “Agent of Change” creating “a more transparent government”
“A champion for those who couldn’t advocate for themselves”
Susana Mendoza…“One tough lady”
Who has “transformed the Comptroller’s Office”
“Helping Illinois rebuild”
“Energetic, thoughtful”
Mendoza’s a “fearless financial counterforce”
And one of “Bruce Rauner’s worst nightmares.”
Susana Mendoza: I love standing up to big bullies. It’s who I am. And I’m going to keep doing that as long as voters give me the chance to.
Today, the Rauner campaign is launching a new digital video titled “Bruce and Diana on Illinois’ Future.”
Bruce and Diana raised their family here in Illinois and understand the promise that the state holds for the future. Illinois is their home, and they know that home is worth fighting for.
Governor Rauner: “I was born and raised in Illinois, we’ve raised six wonderful children here, and I just feel so connected to this place. Illinois is a very special place, it’s a very special home, and I never want to leave. I think Illinois has an incredibly exciting future, and I think we’re at a key inflection point, a key turning point for the state. We’ve had a lot of frustrations. Many of our children have been leaving the state, many residents have been moving, our taxes seem to go up all the time, we’ve had not nearly as many jobs growing in the state as we should. We’ve improved some of that, but we’re at a point where I believe we can achieve dramatic improvements in the next few years. We have such wonderful people in our state. We have such great location and natural advantages.”
Diana Rauner: “The natural beauty and the natural resources of Illinois, our strategic center at the middle of the country, is actually something that is undervalued.”
Governor Rauner: “We can be, and I believe will be, a booming economy with great opportunity for everyone.”
It’s the work of someone who knows he is in deep trouble and is desperate to break through, someone who still thinks he could change the minds of Illinois voters if they just stopped long enough to listen to his message, which is what it always has been:
If you don’t vote for me, you are sooo f—–. […]
Rauner spoke with students Tuesday at Chicago Hope Academy, repeating his oft-told story of how unnamed businessmen convinced him to run for governor to save the state.
And it occurred to me that it’s a shame that Rauner may soon pass from the public scene without ever identifying those public-spirited citizens so that the rest of us could properly thank them.
When he was finished, Rauner joined the students of the Christian high school in prayer, then retreated outside to explain to reporters why he thought it necessary to use “f—–” in a campaign commercial.
* Everybody was yakking yesterday about Gov. Rauner’s new “Unholy union” ad featuring a wedding ceremony between Speaker Madigan and JB Pritzker. This is a screen capture from US Rep. Peter Roskam’s new ad slamming his opponent Sean Casten…
Everybody’s getting into the act.
* And check this out. A buddy took this with his phone. The Roskam ad ran immediately after the Rauner ad this morning…
Beyond President Donald Trump and almost every issue they were asked about, Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam and Democratic challenger Sean Casten during their latest debate also clashed over a sex columnist.
In Monday night’s WTTW forum, Roskam referenced a recent Wall Street Journal story in which Casten cites sex columnist Dan Savage when asked to name a leader who inspires him.
“He bound himself to some people who were advocating political blackmail and political slander,” Roskam said of Casten during Monday’s debate. “And I think he should distance himself from these people.”
Casten didn’t back away from the comments.
“The person I embraced … is Dan Savage, who has been a voice for the LGBT community and particularly for the It Gets Better Project of teens who were considering suicide,” Casten said. “Mr. Roskam has been a horrible advocate for that community, and maybe he doesn’t like that I support them, but I do.”
We’re at peak something right now. I just don’t know what it is.
The Illinois State Labor Relations Board was “clearly erroneous” on several points when it backed Governor Bruce Rauner’s January 2016 claim of an impasse in negotiations between the Rauner administration and AFSCME Council 31—the largest union representing frontline state employees—a unanimous three-judge panel of the Fourth District Appellate Court ruled today.
The appellate court vacated the labor board’s finding of impasse and remanded the case to the board.
“Refusing to negotiate in good faith and trying to impose his extreme demands are part of a pattern of behavior for Bruce Rauner. Instead of doing his job as governor, his overriding goal has been to weaken unions, especially those in the public service,” AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said. “Today the court backs up what we’ve said all along, there never was an impasse. The Rauner administration should immediately come back to the bargaining table with our union instead of wasting more taxpayer money on losing litigation.”
The labor board was wrong to depart from its usual practice in determining the question of impasse and to do so without offering any explanation, the appellate panel found.
If the labor board had followed precedent of the past 30 years, “the parties would not be at overall impasse”, the judges wrote. Thus, “the ILRB’s conclusion … was in error.”
The court also found that the Rauner administration violated labor law by failing to provide AFSCME with information it requested pertaining to subjects of bargaining. “[P]arties may not claim a lawful impasse if they have failed to provide information considered relevant to those issues upon which they disagree because this effectively frustrates the bargaining process,” the judges wrote.
The case stems from contract negotiations between the Rauner administration and the union in which Rauner made an array of extreme demands, including no pay increase for state workers for four years, a 100% hike in employee costs for health care that would cost the average worker thousands of dollars a year, and a free hand to privatize public services without oversight.
The Rauner administration walked away from negotiations on Jan. 8, 2016, declaring that the two parties were at impasse and asking the labor board—whose members Rauner appoints—to give it the power to unilaterally impose the terms of its final offer.
AFSCME strongly disputed that the parties were at impasse and repeatedly sought to restart good-faith negotiations.
The union appealed the board decision to the appellate court, which ruled for AFSCME today.
Today’s ruling follows a unanimous November 2017 decision from the Fifth District Appellate Court which found that Rauner broke the law by blocking pay plan progression for the newest-hired state workers since July 2015. The Rauner administration has still not complied with that ruling.
When CMS declared impasse, AFSCME representatives disagreed and reiterated many times the parties were not at an impasse. The Union was described in both sets of notes as aying it was “shocked and appalled” and had, or was working on, counters in those areas of alleged impasse. The Union went on to say that, earlier that day, it had accepted the State’s $1000 bonus proposal in the “Wages and Steps” package. In both sets of notes, the Union stated at least three times it did not believe the parties were at impasse and it was not done bargaining. This is of particular significance since in most instances where the NLRB has chosen to utilize the “single critical issue impasse test,” both parties have acknowledged their belief they were truly at impasse. Such is not the case here. Moreover, at no point in the negotiations, prior to declaring impasse, did CMS state it was near its bottom line. “The failure of a party to communicate to the other party the paramount importance of the proposals presented at the bargaining table or to explain that a failure to achieve concessions would result in a bargaining deadlock evidences the absence of a valid impasse.” Virginia Holding Corp., 293 N.L.R.B. 182, 183 (1989). For these and other reasons expressed herein, we do not believe the record adequately supports a finding of impasse.
FREY: “What do you think about this migrant caravan that’s coming to our southern border and how does it affect Illinois? And where’s your position on that?”
RAUNER: “That’s very important, that question, Annie. Illegal immigration is very destructive of America. And we’ve have an illegal immigration problem for decades. Illinois in particular has a massive illegal immigration problem. We have hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants here in the state of Illinois and that lowers wages, it hurts union workers. It takes away union jobs, factory jobs, farm jobs. It keeps wages low and causes higher unemployment for American citizens. It’s wrong. I support comprehensive immigration reform. As part of that what we need to do is get E-Verify. I don’t know if you’ve talked about that with your listeners Annie. I’m pushing E-Verify with Congress right now. The way to end illegal immigration is to mandate that in every state across America, I’m working with President Trump and Congress right now on this issue, we need to mandate E-Verify for all employers. So that digitally everybody who is looking for a job can be checked in the federal database whether they’re citizens, or whether they have the proper visas, and so they can be prevented from taking a job that should go to an American citizen. This is something I’ve recommended for a long time. I’m working to get it done in Congress right now and it’s the single best way to stop illegal immigration, to raise American wages, and to protect American jobs for American workers”
REPORTER: “Talking about the migrant caravan. A lot of people coming from Guatemala and Honduras and El Salvador. President Trump has said he plans to close the border if this group continues advancing as a solution to not letting them in. Do you share his views on this particular issue?”
RAUNER: “Well I’ll say this. We have a process to help refugees, evaluate refugees, and understand requests for asylum. We have a process. We should respect that process and pursue it. America is a welcoming place for refugees, who are truly refugees, and who truly are seeking asylum for legitimate reasons. And I hope that anyone who’s seeking refuge in America can be properly evaluated and assisted if it makes sense. I personally believe we need comprehensive immigration reform in America. Our immigration system is broken. We make legal immigration far too difficult, far too difficult. We should streamline it, support legal immigration, as we should end illegal immigration. And I don’t believe that the most powerful way to do that is necessarily at the border. I believe the best way to end illegal immigration is by mandating E-Verify. E-Verify, it’s not high cost. It’s already a program that exists with the federal government. Mandate that in states across America so that we can know who’s really a citizen or has the proper visas to be hired. That will do the most that we can to end illegal immigration.”
REPORTER: “Should the border be closed though?”
RAUNER: “Thanks very much, everybody.”
Since he mentioned E-Verify yet again, I used the “participating employer” search function at the E-Verify website and the only state-related participating agencies I could find were the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (not under his control), the Illinois National Guard, the Illinois State Police Forensic Sciences Command, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (not under his direct control), Illinois State University (not under his control), the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission (not under his control).
Rauner later defended the ad after an event at Chicago Hope Academy, 2189 W. Bowler St., where he ended his visit by praying with students. But the governor declined to repeat the swear word himself, opting to substitute “screwed.”
“I can say very clearly that Pritzker in office with Madigan, the people of Illinois are abused, or screwed, to use that word. I’ll use that word,” the governor said, predicting “massive tax hikes, massive increases in corruption and massive job losses.”
He also denied the commercial has an anti-gay message, saying he supports same sex marriage and has been “very supportive of the LGBTQ community as governor.”
PEARSON: “A character in your new TV ad playing a [inaudible] says that basically the election of JB Pritzker, working with Mike Madigan, that Illinois is F’ed and he uses the word “F’ed.” Can you stand before us today, with this character that your campaign is paying for, and tell us, using the word that the character uses, that that’s the case in Illinois.”
RAUNER: “I can say very clearly that Pritzker in office with Madigan, the people of Illinois are abused. They’re screwed, to use that word, I’ll use that word.”
PEARSON: Why won’t you use the word that’s in the ad that you’re paying for?
RAUNER: “I use my own words. My words are: we are in huge trouble. Turn out the lights in the state of Illinois to Pritzker and Madigan getting power together— massive tax hikes, massive increase in corruption and self-dealing, and massive job losses. We’ve already been losing businesses, too many businesses for decades. The stream of businesses that have been leaving Illinois will turn into a flood if Pritzker and Madigan are in power together.”
PEARSON: “Why won’t you use the word that the character uses of the person you’re paying in that ad to tell that to the people of Illinois? It’s your campaign. Your campaign is saying, ‘Illinois is F’ed.’ Why won’t you use the word?”
RAUNER: “I use my words for myself, and when I—”
PEARSON: “But that is your campaign. That is your words.”
RAUNER: “My word is— I’ll say this, we’re screwed. We’re screwed as the state of Illinois, if Pritzker and Madigan get power, we’ll have gerrymandered districts again after 2020 census— nightmare for our democracy. We’ll have one-power rule with more corruption and domination by Madigan’s political machine that’s been destroying our state for 35 years. We’ll have a massive income tax hike. We’ll have a new vehicle-miles tax. We’ll have $11 billion in new spending that will be in deficit again, very quickly, and we’ll have massive out-migration of businesses and families. We’re all screwed as a state if those two guys get in there. That’s clear.”
“Everything in an ad is a choice,” [said Chris Mooney, who is a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago and is president of the state politics section of the American Political Science Association], including having a white man play the clergyman, having the marriage and the music.
“I do know they chose to do those things and the fact that marriage equality is still a hot issue, and the fact that the governor continues to really try to shore up his right after sort of devastation in the primary, all that suggests that maybe that’s what’s going on here,” Mooney said.
* Some other coverage…
* Rauner Campaign Drops Bleeped F-Bomb In ‘Unholy Union’ Ad Slamming Pritzker - Gay lawmaker slams Rauner for “blatant homophobia”; LGBTQ group Equality Illinois says “Our weddings are not a joke.”
A Democratic state senator says she is sharing her story for the first time about being date-raped in 1991 because she takes issue with statements made several years ago by the Republican candidate for Illinois Attorney General.
“I just shared that for the first time in 27 years. I didn’t expect me to do that.” […]
The 50-year-old Lightford on Thursday said she felt compelled to talk about her rape, after hearing about past comments made by attorney general candidate Erika Harold, that many victims of sexual harassment become “very promiscuous.” Harold, 38, reportedly made the comment when she was 22.
“It did the total opposite for me,” Lightford said.
* I have the transcript of her full remarks. I talked with Sen. Lightford yesterday to make sure she was OK with me posting this here. You can also listen to her tell her story by clicking here…
LIGHTFORD: Yeah, you know I just shared that for the first time in 27 years. I didn’t expect me to do that. But when I just learned of her, I just sat on the couch and I listened to the story that ran on CBS 2, and she was 22 years old when she made those comments. And then what come up to my mind was I was 23 years old when I was date raped. And I wasn’t looking to be date raped.
I had just graduated from Western Illinois University. I came home for the summer and I was celebrating. And I met a guy during Spring Break while I was home. And back then there were no pagers and cellphones and Twitters and emails and all of that. So, either you would get collect calls or calls would come in or you would make collect calls. So he called me a couple times and we became friends over the next 3-4 months. And so he’s like ‘well when you graduate we’re going to celebrate’ you know. So I used some of my graduation money and bought me a great outfit to go out and celebrate. And I met him at a club downtown on Michigan Avenue. We had a great time. There were other people at the club I knew. We danced and drank champagne. It was all a celebration. I was the first in my family to earn a degree.
And so when the party was over he says ‘Well let’s go grab a bite to eat and instead of going in separate cars, just get in the car with me and I’ll bring you back to your car.’ Okay, no problem. So, while I was in the car with him he hopped on the highway and we were going far south and I wasn’t really familiar as much at that age with the South Side of Chicago. I had one relative that lived at 8040 S. Vernon. I remember my uncles’ address, my great uncle.
And so when we passed 95th Street I’m thinking ‘where are we going?’ And then the split happened. I don’t know if I went 57 South or the other way. I don’t know. But we started driving a little bit. So I asked him “Where are going to eat? Why are we going so far from downtown?’ You know there was a lot of eateries down there. So he went ‘oh, well I’ve got to stop by the house.’ And I said ‘oh okay.’
So he drives and wherever we get off, I’ve never been in this area at that time of my life. But when we pulled up to the house, it was a corner house, we just pulled right into the garage, attached garage. So I didn’t expect anything. My feet were hurting and I was taking my shoes off in the car. So I pulled my shoes back on and go on in the house.
And it just looked a little abandoned to me, a little bit to me, like coming through the kitchen. And I thought ‘is this how this guy living?’ You know. His house look a little, you know. So he directed us, I guess it was a kitchen and then a hall. And the bedroom was immediately to the right. And then he directed us in there. And went in there and it’s only a bed and it looked really like doom and gloom and I can see over him a little bit into like what would be the living room I guess, or the dining room, of the house. And it was just an abandoned looking house. And so now the red flag really pops up and we’re in the room and I’m just standing there.
And I say ‘Well are you gonna just go ahead and do whatever you need to do so we can go? Because I’m getting a little hungry.’ And he said ‘Oh, well, oh gee, your feet hurt, have a seat. Take your shoes back off.’ And I was like ‘Oh, I’m fine.’ You know. And he was like ‘Have a seat, you’ll be okay.’ And then I sat down and I kept my shoes on and he says ‘Take your shoes off.’ And I was like ‘Well are we going to be much longer?’
And he did like this call. I don’t know this like ‘whoody who’ call or some kind of call. And this guy appears at the door with a pitbull. And I was afraid from that point. And he had the door open and the guy must have come up from the basement because he left that door open. And I can hear all these male voices. And the first thing that came to mind was ‘I’m in a drug house and I could either be gang raped or he could let the dog out on me. Like would anybody know?’ Because I didn’t have, back then there were no pagers or cellphones, or anything. So I wouldn’t have been able to get any help. And I didn’t know where I was.
And my celebration from graduating from college, I just…. And I thought I knew him. It had been months of friendships and conversations. And so the guy left, and they said some things to each other. And the guy left. And he closed the door and said, ‘Well just lay down and relax.’ And I said,’I just want to leave. I think we outta just go get something to eat and just leave.’ And he said ‘No, be still.’ And he told me to be quiet and he raped me.
And after he raped me, we got back in the car. And I just sat there and cried silently. And then we got back to the car and he drove me back to my car. And I got in my car like, ‘What the hell just happened?’
I had only had two sex partners in my life and I had never been taken advantage of like that before. And it was more of ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have went with him’ but I thought he was my friend and I knew him and we were just celebrating. We were supposed to go to get something to eat. And where was I? And if I go and try to tell law enforcement I can’t tell them where I was. I can’t tell them anything. And at this point is the guy really who he said he was all this time?
I was like really, I was really in a bad space. I remember driving home and saying to myself ‘Thank God I am on birth control so I won’t be pregnant.’ Because I would not be able to look at that situation. And then I went the next day to a clinic and I had an STD test done and I so didn’t have chlamydia or anything.
I can’t tell you right now if he put on a condom or not. I just, once he made me lay down, I don’t know anything beyond that.
But I have never really shared this story. I turned 50 in May this year and I just remember feeling a little free and telling my mother one day. She and I were talking and I said, ‘Mom, I feel a little free.’ I said, ‘You know I was, I experienced date rape the summer of ’91.’ And she was like, ‘What? And you didn’t say anything?’ I was like ‘No, I was just, I think I was too embarrassed and too ashamed. And I didn’t know what to do with it. And I’ve lived with it for 27 years and now I’m finally telling you. And I feel good about it.’
And I didn’t go into any details with my Mom so she’ll hear it now I’m sure. But I never shared it with anybody. But I was moved to share it today because I was truly a victim. I didn’t want to have sex with him and I never became promiscuous. To teach me abstaining from sex would have done nothing for me in this situation. And her views, I don’t know that they go along with being a victim of rape. And I didn’t know that it was date rape. I didn’t learn there was a title to what I had experienced ’til later in life.
REPORTER: The reason you felt compelled to tell your story today is because you’re obviously against Erica Harold. And I would think, if you asked her, she would say ‘I’m opposed to date rape.’
LIGHTFORD: I just think it doesn’t tie in with the suggestions on how to go about it. And if you’re in a position as the attorney general I would think that there should be a little more thought processes in how to address a victim who has been sexually raped. And not come to the conclusion that they liked it. Or that they would become promiscuous. Or a whore as a result. It did the total opposite for me. I actually spent the next six years of my life having very little to no sex. Not trusting men at all. I just began to, I would only go on dates during my lunch, at work, or meet me at the LA Fitness to workout. Or Saturday matinees. Because I just was like so afraid to put myself in that position again. And I didn’t think that I was doing something wrong at that time. I had no idea that this guy was like this. I mean no one could have told me that.
REPORTER: I’m sorry I have to ask you this. And you kind of touched on it a little bit. You didn’t want to report it because you didn’t think people would believe you, or…?
LIGHTFORD: I just didn’t know where I was. I had no idea. I got in the car going. I couldn’t even lead police back there. I didn’t know where I was. Now that I am older and I’ve been all through Chicago I believe I had to be somewhere in the south suburbs. I don’t know that we drove as far as Indiana. But we had to exit off of 147th or Cicero or, I mean we were in one of the communities in that area. And it had to be a community that was experiencing some type of foreclosure or something happening because we were in an abandoned house. And they were selling drugs out of the house. I’m sure. Cause it was just a bunch of guys’ voices, and there were dogs. And I don’t know if they were dog fighting. I didn’t know what it was. But the pitbull was enough for me. But I didn’t report it because I just didn’t. I don’t know if I didn’t think that anybody would believe me. I think I didn’t believe that that had happened to me. I think I was still like ‘Why? Why would he do that to me? And what was that about?’ And I thought I was being a friend and if he wanted to go out on more dates I thought he was a nice guy. I mean maybe we could go out on dates and things. I didn’t think that he saw me as someone, you know, that he wanted to take me to a drug house for my graduation gift. And take advantage of me.
REPORTER: You were how old then?
LIGHTFORD: I had just turned 23.
REPORTER: 23.
LIGHTFORD: Yeah, and for her to say that at 22, it just touched me. I just listened to the story and it just hit me. I was like, I thought right then ‘I was 22′ and then I said ‘No, I had had my birthday. I graduated from Western. I had my birthday May 10th and graduated from Western all in that same week.’ And so it had to be a couple weeks after that when I went out with this guy. So it was either the end of May or early June of 1991.
* Facebook has a search function that allows you to look up how much each candidate has spent on FB ads since the company started keeping track in May of this year. As of today the totals are…
JB For Governor/Rauner Failed Me: $2,120,937
Citizens for Rauner: $168,690
Those totals include a small number of ads that weren’t officially labeled.
* With that in mind…
Today, the Pritzker campaign released a new digital ad, “Blame Game,” highlighting the man who can do no wrong… according to himself.
It stars Bruce Rauner and features the various ways he’s blamed others for his failures. From the dismal state of the state to the school funding crisis to his fatal mismanagement in Quincy, Bruce Rauner claims he’s “not in charge” while Illinoisans pay the price.
St. Clair County prosecutor Brendan Kelly remains one of Democrats’ most prized recruits of the cycle. The Irish-Catholic Notre Dame graduate and Navy veteran has been called the “Conor Lamb of Downstate Illinois” and is exactly the type of moderate Democrat who has done well here in the past. But President Trump’s popularity in this coal and steel-heavy district looks like it might be too much for Kelly to overcome.
A new New York Times/Siena College poll shows Bost leading 48 percent to 39 percent (up from 44 percent to 43 percent a month ago). Trump, who carried the seat 54 percent to 40 percent four years after Barack Obama won it by two points, is coming to Bost’s hometown this Saturday for a rally, and they have a decent story to tell: U.S. Steel announced earlier this year it would add 800 jobs at its old Granite City works as a result of tariffs.
Moreover, the GOP-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund has been aggressive in attacking Kelly’s prosecutorial record, alleging more than 50 percent of county crimes were pled out. Kelly has said he won’t vote for Nancy Pelosi, but this is one place where Trump’s base appears to have reawakened in the past month. In addition, Bost just won the endorsement of a large teachers’ union. The race isn’t over, but it’s a Democratic frustration.
The Illinois Education Association endorsed Bost last week.
The attorney general of Illinois should be independent, unafraid of special interests, political parties or politicians.
I’m Erika Harold and I’m accountable to you, not the president, not the governor.
And unlike Kwame Raoul, I’ll never take orders from Mike Madigan.
That’s a strong ad.
…Adding… From Aviva Bowen at the Raoul campaign…
It’s a little late for Republican Erika Harold to convince voters she would be independent of Bruce Rauner, who said he’d ‘personally recruited’ her. As for the president, Donald Trump and Republican AGs are in court working hard to take healthcare away from Illinoisans with pre-existing conditions, and Erika has been typically silent. That’s not independence or courage, but it’s consistent with her position to eliminate the ACA and hurt our families.
Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, who barely lost to Rauner in the GOP primary, said McCann is working for Madigan. While some are voting for McCann because he is pro-life on abortion, Ives said, they should know the senator is attacking a few of the most pro-life legislators.
“If you are pro-life or speak up against public sector unions, these mailers are supposed to hurt you,” Ives said in an interview. “Sam McCann is not about winning the governorship. This is about silencing the rest of us. The end game here is doing Madigan’s bidding.”
[Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst’s] campaign spokesman, Timmy Pawula, said he was baffled with McCann’s mailer “with no valid points” to back the claim she is a “Rauner Rino.” […]
Most of Parkhurst’s money comes from Republican organizations largely funded by Rauner.
That’s some good newspaper writing right there, folks.
If it’s fair game for the Republicans to constantly harp on Speaker Madigan’s influence, it’s fair game for McCann.
Nancy Pelosi and Mike Madigan couldn’t be happier. Betsy Dirksen Londrigan is pushing their radical liberal agenda. Londrigan supports Pelosi’s government run health care that would end Medicare as we know it.
To pay for it? They’d have to double everyone’s income taxes.
Now Londrigan is using DC liberals to lie about Rodney Davis. Shameful. Dishonest. That’s liberal Betsy Dirksen Londrigan. Defending Main Street is responsible for the content of this ad.
* For Brendan Kelly, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan and Lauren Underwood…
Progressive Turnout Project expanded its investment in targeted digital advertisements to get out the vote in support of an additional 21 Democratic candidates in competitive U.S. House and Senate races across the country. The organization will spend another $837,000 on top of a previously announced $1.8 million digital GOTV investment in 31 races.
* American Federation of Teachers radio ad attacking Randy Hultgren…
* Script…
Career politician Randy Hultgren has stopped working for us. During his twenty years in Springfield and Washington, he’s taken over half a million dollars from the insurance industry. And voted to gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions like asthma, cancer and diabetes. Hultgren would even allow insurance companies to hike up premiums on older Americans. AARP calls it an “Age Tax.” It’s time to stop Randy Hultgren and start fresh with Lauren Underwood. Lauren is an African American registered nurse who worked for President Obama on public health. She knows and understands health care challenges first hand. That’s why she’ll fight to lower costs and expand access to quality health care for everyone. On November 6, vote for Lauren Underwood, the Democrat for Congress.
* AARP…
Use of the AARP name and logo in a recent political ad in support of Democrat Lauren Underwood in the race to represent Illinois’ 14th Congressional District were unauthorized and do not represent the views of the non-partisan organization that works on behalf of older adults and their families.
The liberal mob pushing their extreme views. Trying to hijack our democracy. And steal seats on the United States Supreme Court.
Despicable lies. Disgusting character assassination. A new low, even for them, falsely accusing an innocent person of being a sexual predator.
Brett Kavanaugh is a faithful husband, loving father and proven public servant and the liberal mob set out to destroy him, and his family, because of their own extreme political agenda.
Now if Nancy Pelosi is put back in charge, they are threatening to impeach President Trump and Justice Kavanaugh. And [Democratic candidate] is on their team.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. The choice couldn’t be clearer.
On November 6th, vote to defeat the liberal mob. Vote against [Democratic candidate].
* My headline sums up what I think about the point of this Tribune oppo piece…
Anyone who’s lived through a major home renovation has a horror story or two, and when J.B. Pritzker embarked on a $25 million remodel of his Gold Coast mansions, more money brought more problems.
Workers wrongly installed a bedroom safe. Expensive imported Italian marble slabs intended for a child’s shower could not be located. There were issues about whether a famed French designer had contributed to delays and cost overruns.
A frustrated J.B. and wife M.K. Pritzker had enough. They blamed the general contractor, and believed he had to go.
“I am 100 percent for firing!” she wrote in a 2010 email.
What resulted was a legal dispute that lasted several years. How it unfolded provides a glimpse into the billionaire Democratic governor candidate’s wealth and the steps he takes to keep it from public view, including asking for confidentiality agreements from contractors and fighting in court to keep the jury from hearing about his riches.
With two weeks remaining until Election Day, the Rauner Campaign is launching a new TV ad titled “Unholy Union.”
The ad highlights the devastating results of giving JB Pritzker and Mike Madigan total control of Illinois. Together, they will bankrupt Illinois with billions in new proposed spending and a massive tax hike.
Pritzker and Madigan – key players in the Chicago political machine – have repeatedly engaged in corrupt behavior to benefit themselves. Madigan has made millions off of high property taxes in his role as a property tax appeals lawyer, helping cronies like Pritzker get reductions on their property taxes. And Pritzker has engaged in a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers by ripping toilets out of his mansion, dodging $330,000 in property taxes.
Since allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation in Madigan’s organizations surfaced, Pritzker has continued to funnel millions into his coffers. When Pritzker’s staffers sued the campaign over harassment and discrimination, Madigan has been notably silent.
It’s clear that Illinois can’t afford the high taxes and corruption of the unholy union between Pritzker and Madigan.
Officiant: Repeat after me. I, Mike Madigan, take you, JB Pritzker, as my unlawful partner in destruction, to raise property taxes, corrupt government, and bankrupt Illinois’ future.
Madigan: Done, deal.
Officiant: And I, JB Pritzker, take you, Mike Madigan, to honor and obey til death do us part.
Pritzker: Always have, always will.
Officiant: By the power vested in me, I now pronounce Illinois [F-bomb partially bleeped].
Voiceover: Mike Madigan and JB Pritzker, an unholy union Illinois can’t afford.
Perhaps as a symbol of how far Illinois and the nation have moved on the issue of same-sex marriage, the fact that the ad depicts a “wedding” of two men is no longer its most provocative part.
In the 2002 Republican primary for governor, the late conservative activist Jack Roeser sent out mailers that thanked Jim Ryan for supporting “special rights for homosexuals” and “opening the door to gay marriages.” The mailing featured two bridegroom figurines atop a wedding cake. Roeser backed then-state Sen. Patrick O’Malley over Ryan, who was then the state’s attorney general.
Still, the ad could prove to be a reminder to social conservatives unhappy with Rauner’s actions as governor that included his signing a law expanding rights for transgender people.
* The Pritzker campaign’s response from Galia Slayen had sort of a marriage theme to it…
It is only fitting that Bruce Rauner would choose to end his campaign by blaming others for his own failures. After four years of seeing their governor more interested in affairs with special interests, badmouthing his own state and refusing to compromise, the people of Illinois are looking forward to their divorce from Bruce Rauner being finalized on November 6th.
*** UPDATE 1 *** With a hat tip to a commenter…
Rauner just vetoed a law to protect LGBTQ Illinoisans from workplace discrimination. Now he is mocking same-sex marriage as an "unholy union". Rauner's blatant homophobia has no place in Illinois. #twill#ilgov@WindyCityTimes#LGBTQhttps://t.co/1UbbhplOe3
*** UPDATE 2 *** From Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois…
We are deeply disappointed by Gov. Rauner’s new campaign ad that mocks marriage equality by tying two of his opponents together in a parody wedding.
We remind the governor that the official platform of the party he leads opposes marriage equality. A recent national poll found that a plurality of Republicans still oppose marriage equality. There is still much work to be done to move the hearts and minds of many Republican voters to value the dignity of same sex weddings. As someone who has officiated same sex weddings, Gov Rauner could serve as a model of inclusivity and use his campaign to vigorously promote full acceptance of LGBTQ Illinoisans. Instead, he chooses to raise the specter of gay marriage to turnout the most extreme elements of his base. We recognize a dog whistle when we hear one.
The governor should be ashamed of using the LGBTQ community for comedic value to make a political hit. Our weddings are not a joke. Gov. Rauner does not represent Illinois’ values with this ad.
*** UPDATE 3 *** The governor was on the Big John and Ramblin’ Ray show today and couldn’t say if this was his ad…
HOST 1: “I love the new ad. And we’ll play it after you leave because we don’t have time right now.”
HOST 2: “The ‘Unholy Alliance.’”
RAUNER: “Oh my goodness, we’re so abused if those two guys go in there.”
HOST 1: “Is that one of yours or is that an outside group?”
The Rauner campaign just confirmed that the "Unholy Union" ad launched today was commissioned by their campaign and @BruceRauner approved it before it was launched. #twill
“Bruce Rauner’s new ad is the last gasp of a failed leader stumbling out of office, willing to co-opt the homophobia of schoolyard bullies to try and divide us one last time. It’s not just offensive, it’s pathetic. Four years ago, Rauner invited voters to throw him out of office if he failed to get results. Without any accomplishments to speak of, Rauner’s re-election campaign has been reduced to cheap jokes, lame dog-whistles to conservatives who never forgave him, and an awkward public courtship of Donald Trump. As Rauner embarrasses himself in these final two weeks, Republicans voters have to ask themselves – are they proud of the campaign Bruce Rauner is running?”
“I thought this ad was so remarkable that I shared I with a couple of listservs – political scientists around the country,” said Chris Mooney, who is a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago and is president of the state politics section of the American Political Science Association. “I’ve received dozens of responses (from) people who can’t believe it. All over the country, they say they’ve never seen anything like it. … It’s an exteme version of a negative ad.”
Mooney said at first blush, he can’t see how the ad will help Rauner. He received lots of snarky comments from colleagues, he said, including one saying the ad belongs in a campaign magazine’s hall of shame. […]
“Everyhing in an ad is a choice,” Mooney added, including having a white man play the clergyman, having the marriage and the music.
“I do know they chose to do those things and the fact that marriage equality is still a hot issue, and the fact that the governor continues to really try to shore up his right after sort of devastation in the primary, all that suggests that maybe that’s what’s going on here,” Mooney said.
