BRENDAN KELLY IN DEAD HEAT WITH CONGRESSMAN MIKE BOST
Democrat Brendan Kelly is within one point of two-term Congressman Mike Bost, according to the latest DCCC Analytics poll of IL-12 voters (Kelly 41%, Bost 42%, Auxier 8%, 8% undecided). Even in a two-way matchup between Kelly and Bost, Kelly is within 2 points of Bost, with Kelly at 44% and Bost at 46% (10% undecided). He leads Bost by 5 points in the St. Louis media market (Kelly 44%, Bost 39%, Auxier 8%, 9% undecided), which makes up two-thirds of the district. He also leads among women (42% to 39%, Auxier 8%), voters under 50 (49% to 37%, Auxier 5%), and college graduates (45% to 42%, Auxier 7%).
BOST’S DAMAGED IMAGE MAKES HIM VULNERABLE
Voters’ middling to negative views of Mike Bost and his performance suggest that he is highly vulnerable. Mike Bost is underwater in the St. Louis media market, despite Bost’s campaign and the Congressional Leadership Fund spending heavily on broadcast and cable here. In the St. Louis market, 37% of voters have an unfavorable view of Bost (35% favorable), 39% disapprove of how he is handling his job as congressman (34% approve), and he trails Kelly by 5 points (Kelly 44%, Bost 39%, Auxier 8%). These numbers indicate that Brendan Kelly’s aggressive advertising, which hits Bost for being a career politician who has voted to give a tax handout to his donors and to gut health care protections, has damaged Bost’s image.
The story is similar in the Paducah media market, which should be Bost’s base, where Kelly’s strategy of investing early on broadcast in this area likely helped contribute to Bost’s 32% unfavorable rating and 34% job disapproval.
In a year like this, if you’re the Republican you wanna be ahead by at least 5 points right now (although this Kavanaugh controversy could shake things up, we just don’t know yet). It’s been really ugly in that district, and I’m betting it’s gonna be a lot more so by November.
* This poll for the Illinois AARP is of registered voters 25 or older. It was conducted July 19-30 and has a margin of error of +/-2.8 points…
Two-thirds (65%) of Illinois registered voters ages 25 and older rate their anger about Illinois’ current fiscal situation as a ‘4’ or a ‘5’ on a scale of one to five (‘5’ meaning extremely angry). While at least sixty-two percent of Republican, Democrat, and Independent voters rate their anger as a ‘4’ or a ‘5’, Republican voters are significantly more likely than Democrat voters to express these levels of anger.
Most (84%) of Illinois registered voters ages 25 and older ‘agree’ (strongly or somewhat) that the Governor and state legislature need to make addressing the state’s billions of dollars in unpaid bills,unpaid additional interest, and unfunded pension obligations a top priority in 2019. A notable two-thirds (65%) say they ‘strongly agree’. With at least 63 percent of voters across political parties, Republican, Democrat, and Independent voters alike say they ‘strongly agree’ that the state’s critical debts need to be a top priority in 2019.
Most (73%) of Illinois registered voters ages 25 and older have heard someone they know talk about leaving Illinois to live elsewhere and half (49%) have personally considered relocating. Top reasons for moving elsewhere include lower taxes, lower cost-of-living, and better run state and local government. […]
A recent statewide poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute found that 84 percent of voters felt the state was off track and heading in the wrong direction. A similar sentiment emerges in this survey: nearly three-quarters of all Illinois registered voters ages 25 and older think that Illinois is off on the wrong track, and over half think the state’s economy has gotten worse since 2015. Additionally, few voters think their personal economic situation has gotten better with 78 percent saying their situation has worsened or stayed the same. […]
(M)ost (75%) Illinois registered voters ages 25 and older say they ‘strongly agree’ that the state has serious financial problems, and many are angry about the state’s current financial situation. When asked to rate their anger about this on a scale of one to five, with five being extremely angry, two-thirds (65%) ratet heir anger a ‘4’ or a ‘5’. […]
In June of this year, a bi-partisan Illinois budget agreement was signed into law. While a significant event,registered voters in the state are wary of its impact on the state’s fiscal situation. Data from this survey show that most are not confident at all (73%) that the recent budget agreement will reduce the state’s fiscal problems and most are concerned (73%) that it could negatively influence their personal economic circumstances over the next few years.
Nearly six in ten (59%) Illinois registered voters ages 25 and older ‘support’ a change in the tax structure from a flat-tax structure to a graduated one as a way to help solve the state’s fiscal problems,with more Democrat than Republican or Independent voters supporting this change.
Most (70%) ‘oppose’ taxing retirement income as a way to help solve the state’s fiscal problems. While at least two-thirds of all registered voters across political parties oppose this proposal, Republican voters are significantly more likely than Democrats to ‘oppose’ applying a state income tax to all retirement income as a way to solve the state’s fiscal problems.
People just hate anything to do with messing with retirement income. It’s one reason why even Gov. Rauner opposes a constitutional amendment to change the pension language. Not enough people wouldn’t support it, he recently told Crain’s.
Data from this survey show that well over half of all registered voters think ‘Illinois needs to do both – raise revenue and make cuts’. Still, just over one in four feel the problem can only be fixed by cutting state services and programs and about one in seven feel it can only be fixed by taking in more revenue through tax increases. […]
When asked to consider seven areas where cuts could be made, voters are most opposed to cutting services in the following four areas: health care services provided at long-term care (LTC) facilities, public safety services such as fire and police protection, state mental health services and health care services provided at home and community based services (HCBS).
Still, roughly half indicate support for cuts to state services such as infrastructure/transportation services, state grants for municipalities or counties for community programs, and higher education funding. For each proposal, about one in six say they neither support or oppose.
At least three in five voters oppose taxing retirement income, increasing property taxes, raising the gasoline tax, and increasing the state income tax above the current rate of 4.95 percent as ways to solve the state’s fiscal problems. Voters are somewhat divided about expanding the state sales tax to include consumer services not currently taxed such as hair salons or dry cleaning services. But, nearly three out of five Illinois registered voters indicate support for a change in the tax structure from a flat-tax structure to a graduated one, expanding legalized gambling, and increasing the income tax on annual incomes of one million dollars or more.
* The JB Pritzker campaign just sent out a statement about Pat Brady’s press conference, but the e-mail also included a background comment saying the candidate is in the process of repaying the $330,000 in property tax refunds he received from Cook County.
Anyway, to the statement…
“This is a politically leaked report without new information. Instead of standing outside of JB Pritzker’s home, Pat Brady should be calling for an investigation into Sterigenics, a company Bruce Rauner owned that is emitting high levels of cancer-causing air pollution that is poisoning Illinois families. It’s time for Rauner to release all relevant Sterigenics records so that we can provide answers to the thousands of families who have been exposed to this poison.”
*** UPDATE *** Rauner campaign…
“A bank robber who gives the money back is still a bank robber. Pritzker’s offer to pay back the money he conned out of Illinois taxpayers is nothing less than an admission of guilt that he committed fraud.” -Will Allison, Rauner Campaign Communications Director
Billionaire Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker improperly received $330,000 in property tax breaks on one of his Gold Coast mansions as part of a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers, Cook County’s top watchdog concluded.
Inspector General Patrick Blanchard’s finding came in a report issued after his office looked into whether Pritzker’s relationship with Assessor Joe Berrios played a role in Pritzker’s property taxes being lowered. […]
Blanchard said the thrust of the affidavits was that there were no working bathrooms from January 2012 to mid-October 2015. However, Blanchard noted, the toilets were removed “per the instructions of M.K. Pritzker” just 10 days before the affidavits were submitted as part of the property tax appeal. Berrios’ office lowered the 6,378-square-foot mansion’s assessed value from $6.3 million to about $1.1 million.
“The county ultimately fell victim to a scheme to defraud, executed in part through the use of the affidavits, and which resulted in the property owner ultimately receiving property tax refunds totaling $132,747.18 for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014, as well as additional tax savings of $198,684.85 for the years 2015 and 2016,” Blanchard concluded in his 33-page report, which was dated Friday.
* From Assessor Berrios’ spokesman Tom Shaer…
An absence of plumbing fixtures, for any reason, would not be enough for the Assessor’s Office to grant vacancy reduction based on the home being uninhabitable. We would not have granted the reduction without evidence of a gut rehab, evidence such as the 24 photos and other items which were submitted with the appeal.
All along, those who suggest the Assessor’s Office determination was based on missing plumbing fixtures are being ridiculous.
Democrat J. B. Pritzker holds a comfortable lead in the race for Governor of Illinois, with GOP incumbent Bruce Rauner and other candidates trailing. The number of undecided voters is relatively small with one month left to go in the campaign for governor. That is the major conclusion of a statewide poll of likely voters released today by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
The poll was conducted September 24-29 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage point for the entire sample. The poll covered a sample of 1,001 registered voters. The election analysis presented here is based on 715 likely voters. The margin of error for likely voters is 3.7 percentage points.
When asked, “If the election were held today…who would you vote for?” Forty-nine percent chose Pritzker; 27 percent chose Rauner with 4 percent who selected the conservative Sam McCann and 4 percent who selected Libertarian Kash Jackson. The remaining 17 percent were undecided.
Pritzker led in Chicago by 65 percent to 22 percent and the five suburban Collar Counties by 53 percent to 23 percent. Pritzker and Rauner were essentially tied downstate with Pritzker at 35 percent and Rauner at 34 percent. Pritzker enjoyed an 81 percent to 6 percent lead among Democrats while Rauner took a 67 percent to 6 percent lead among Republican voters. McCann was taking 7 percent among Republican voters while Jackson garnered 6 percent among Republicans.
In the other high-profile statewide race for a constitutional office, Attorney General, State Senator Kwame Raoul held a 36 percent to 26 percent lead over Champaign attorney Erika Harold with 39 percent undecided. Raoul led in Chicago by 50 percent to 23 percent with 26 percent undecided. He also led in the Collar Counties by 41 percent to 25 percent with 34 percent undecided; Harold led downstate by 27 percent to 19 percent with 53 percent undecided.
“There is an unusually large percentage of undecided voters in this race perhaps reflecting the low level of attention it has received compared to the high-profile governor’s race”, said Institute Director John Shaw. “This indicates that this race is still very much dependent on the late deciders.”
The voters were also asked “Are you more enthusiastic than usual about voting, or less enthusiastic? The results showed that the Democrats are 19 percent more enthusiastic than the Republicans. Seventy percent of Democrats said they were more enthusiastic while 51 percent of Republicans said they are more enthusiastic about going to vote in the November elections. Independents trailed with 50 percent saying they were more enthusiastic and 26 percent saying they were less enthusiastic about voting this year.
Conservative voters chose more enthusiastic compared to less enthusiastic by 61 percent to 24 percent while liberal voters chose more enthusiastic by 73 percent to 14 percent.
“Illinois Democrats are displaying greater enthusiasm about this midterm election than are Republicans or Independents. The so-called “enthusiasm gap” is comparable to what we have been seeing across the country for some time” said Simon Institute Visiting Professor Charlie Leonard. “If it holds up and is reflected in comparable turnout numbers, it will be a major advantage for the Democrats.
Summarizing these results, John Jackson, one of the directors of the poll said, “While the Democrats clearly have an advantage in both of these high-profile races at this point, November 6th is still one month away. The campaigns and the candidates’ closing arguments and get out the vote efforts can still make a significant difference by then. [Emphasis added.]
A sitting governor polling at 27 percent in late September.
We are requesting your investigation into unlawful use of public property in a political campaign, specifically the use of a laptop computer and a desktop computer, both owned by McLean County, in the campaign to reelect Kathy Michael as McLean County Clerk. Additionally, within 72 hours of a 7/12/18 FOIA request for Michael’s laptop browser history, the device sustained massive water damage. This raises the question of whether an attempt was made to destroy evidence of prohibited political activity on a county-owned laptop.
What in the actual heck? A buddy just said, “It’s like a Coen Brothers movie or something.”
The laptop data was eventually recovered. The county paid an outside company $654 in August for data recovery on the computer, county records show. […]
Michael defended herself pre-emptively in a statement late Wednesday, before Lindenbaum’s ethics complaint became public. Michael didn’t address the specific allegations related to internet browsing and did not return requests for comment Thursday. She said local Republicans needed to “stand together to stop this radical, socialist agenda from taking over our county in their efforts to try to smear not only me, but others who have worked for McLean County for all the right reasons.”
McLean County Clerk Michael is a Republican running against Democrat Nikita Richards, an African-American.
* Among other things, the complainants say Michael’s government computer browser histories show this…
* Searching how and where to buy a car wrap—like a vehicular billboard—after viewing images of Richards’ vehicle wrap.
* Viewing Facebook pages for Richards, Democrats, and Republicans.
* Visiting political yard signs on VictoryStore.com.
* Communicating about political events and fundraisers in McLean County.
Yeah, but it’s the socialists’ fault. You can look at her browser history here and here.
McLean County’s Ethics Commission deliberated for two-and-a-half hours on Monday before deciding to send a complaint against County Clerk Kathy Michael to the county state’s attorney for review. […]
[McLean County Director of Elections Denise Cesario] explained Michael left her laptop outside on her deck while she was working. Michael went inside to do some laundry when a rainstorm hit, damaging the computer, Cesario said.
“There’s no way she tried to destroy her laptop,” Cesario told the commission. “It makes sense that she could have just buried it.”
…Adding… Somebody might want to amend the ethics complaint…
I don’t think anyone monitors her county Twitter acct because there are political tweets that have been up almost 2 months which I have tagged local reporters on more than once. pic.twitter.com/rA8agldhKM
* Lawsuit alleging Tinley Park campaign defamation gets tossed by judge: In delivering a sharp rebuke to Stephen Eberhardt, a Tinley Park attorney who filed the lawsuit last November, Judge John Ehrlich referred to it as a “flimsy complaint” and reprimanded him, suggesting he was slipshod in investigating whether his claims were supported by law before filing the lawsuit.
With just 35 days until Election Day and early voting underway, Lauren Underwood has unveiled her second campaign commercial of the general election. The ad, “It’s On”, tells the story of how the campaign came to be––with a broken healthcare promise from her Republican opponent in the IL-14 congressional race.
“He stood in front of us and promised to protect healthcare coverage for more than 300,000 people in our community with pre-existing conditions. Just a few weeks later, he cast a vote that would have jeopardized coverage for the people who need it most,” Underwood said. “When my congressman made that promise, I believed him. I believed him because it was personal. I’m a nurse who has taken care of patients with chronic illnesses and I have a pre-existing heart condition myself. I’m running for Congress because this community deserves better.”
The ad, released after Underwood closed the final FEC filing quarter of the general election with a community fundraiser in her hometown of Naperville, represents a significant investment for the campaign. The commercial will run on broadcast and cable.
Underwood: “I have a heart condition that’s considered a pre-existing condition. At my congressman’s one and only public event of 2017, he said he was only going to support a version of Obamacare repeal that let people with pre-existing conditions keep their healthcare coverage.”
Hultgren: “Any type of replacement has to have pre-existing conditions.”
Underwood: “That’s what he said. He lied about taking away my healthcare coverage. Randy Hultgren voted against people like me with pre-existing conditions. And I decided, you know what, ‘it’s on, I’m running.’ I’m Lauren Underwood and I approve this message.”
Today Sean Casten, Illinois 6th Congressional District Candidate, announced that his campaign had raised over $2.6 million in the third quarter.
“These numbers confirm what we already knew,” said Casten “People are ready for a change in Illinois’ Sixth District, and the momentum is on our side. I’m humbled by the outpouring of support I’ve seen throughout the campaign from our thousands of volunteers and from the over 79,000 individuals who have contributed to our campaign.”
Sean Casten is running to unseat incumbent Peter Roskam whose campaign is being bankrolled by special interests like the billionaire Koch brothers and Paul Ryan’s allies at the Congressional Leadership Fund.
So far in the general election, Roskam and his allies have spent millions of dollars on mailings, TV and digital ads. Yet, it’s obvious it’s not working as recently Inside Elections moved the race to “Tilt Dem” just as Politico becomes the fifth key political prognosticator to join Cook Political Report, Election Projection, and Larry Sabato all to list this race a toss-up. The Casten campaign poll, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, and the New York Times latest public polling confirms that momentum.
Casten had ended Q2 with $646,750 in his campaign coffers. He faces Republican incumbent Peter Roskam, who ended the second quarter with $2.3 million on hand, according to campaign finance reports.
* The Illinois Economic Freedom Alliance, which has already spent big bucks to help Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign, just filed a $2 million A-1 from the Illinois Manufacturers Association. It also filed an independent expenditure report of $1,528,455 for “advertising” opposing Sen. Sam McCann.
Stay tuned.
*** UPDATE 1 *** And here they are. The quality isn’t the best because they were sent to me via text message. They’re throwing the kitchen sink at him in this one…
* Script…
Shady Sam McCann.
McCann claimed to serve in the Marine Corps, but the Marines have no record he ever served. Calls himself conservative, but voted with Mike Madigan to raise taxes $3 billion. Got caught using his campaign account as Sam’s Slush Fund. Didn’t even pay his own bills, dodging nearly $200,000 in taxes and taken to court over bad credit card debt.
One of these is a plant. The other a Mike Madigan plant.
Phony Sam McCann is no conservative. McCann repeatedly sided with Madigan and big unions to oppose Gov. Rauner’s conservative reforms. Voted with Madigan to raise our taxes $3 billion. But Shadey Sam got caught dodging nearly $200,000 in his own taxes.
A vote for McCann is a vote to keep the Madigan machine in control. And Illinois can’t afford that.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Sam McCann…
These false and cowardly attack ads are just another example of Bruce Rauner’s desperation as his support evaporates across Illinois. We have seen this tired old move time and time again– when Rauner is in a corner, he shouts “Madigan!” He calls anyone who defies him a Madigan Plant, including Jeanne Ives, who nearly defeated Rauner in the Primary.
The fact is I never claimed to be in the Marines. After sustaining a severe injury, my contract with the Marines was canceled before I had a chance to leave for boot camp.
The fact is I have never voted to raise taxes.
The fact is that like many Illinoisans, my family and business faced hard times due the crippling of the economy by hedge fund managers like Bruce Rauner.
The fact is that I use my campaign account to assist in my official duties as Senator traveling one of Illinois’s largest districts at no cost to the taxpayer.
The fact is that I stand with blue-collar middle class working families when wealthy elites push laws to take food off their tables and money out of their pockets.
I stand by my conservative record. Rauner is a failed Governor and a liar. He has to resort to the politics of personal destruction to hide the fact he is a pro-choice RINO who spits in the face of conservative-minded Illinoisans every chance he gets.”
That’s all well and good, but if the push-back isn’t in TV ads, nobody but us will see it.
* Democrats were asked during a Springfield candidates’ forum last night if they would vote to reelect Michael Madigan as House Speaker…
State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, said she was “totally focused on (her) own election” and that she would have to “look and see what (her) choices are.”
Dillon Clark, the Democratic challenger in the 95th District, said he would “fight for the people in (his) district” and against Bruce Rauner.
And according to [99th House District Democratic candidate Marc Bell], “we really don’t know who’s going to run.”
State Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Raymond, lit into the Democrats on stage for not directly answering the question.
“Every Democrat on this stage like to hem and haw and say they only want to represent their district,” said Bourne, who represents the 95th. “We know who’s running. Mike Madigan has said he’s running. Jim Durkin is running,” Bourne said. “If they’re not willing to nominate someone else for speaker, then the choice is clear. This isn’t a 90-second answer, this is a two-second answer. Are you voting for Madigan or not? Our constituents deserve to know that.”
Clark had the only “right” answer to this question. Everyone presumes Madigan is running again. So, if you’re gonna dodge the question, at least try to turn it on the other party.
How much longer should he remain Speaker, a role he’s held – except for two years – since 1983?
“You’d have to ask him that question.”
* 50th House District Democratic candidate James Leslie, who is up against GOP Rep. Keith Wheeler…
Leslie, 41, an Aurora Democrat and firefighter/paramedic, says it’s laughable to suggest Madigan wields that much power over other lawmakers.
“You’re telling me all of those senators and representatives, and governors were just innocent bystanders? Or is it people that haven’t accomplished anything are looking to blame someone?” he said.
Leslie said he would vote for Madigan to continue on as speaker if there is no other, better candidate. He doesn’t support term limits for Madigan or House leaders.
“Term limits for legislative leaders makes me nervous because, in that scenario, it’s the lobbyists who become the knowledge brokers and they don’t face election,” he said.
* All very predictable. Trot out the former state party chairman who is also a former federal prosecutor at a press conference in front of JB Pritzker’s empty mansion next door to his home with toilets in tow and a mention of Rod Blagojevich…
.@pat_brady says sentencing guidelines for these types of alleged crimes (mail fraud, perjury) is “48 months.” Says “this is how the Blagojevich stuff started.”
Last June, J.B. Pritzker’s campaign for Illinois governor was rocked by an investigative report from the Chicago Sun-Times that detailed how the billionaire removed toilets at his second Gold-Coast Chicago mansion in order to claim the property uninhabitable and receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in property tax refunds and breaks.
Now, the Cook County Inspector General is investigating the scandal and calling the Pritzkers’ efforts to dodge taxes a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers, and is recommending Cook County seek action to recover over $330,000 from the Pritzkers. Specifically, the IG alleges that Cook County was “the victim of sworn affidavits containing false representations” from the Pritzkers. These affidavits were “part of a scheme for obtaining money by means of false representations.”
In fact, the report found that the Pritzkers had the mansion’s toilets removed just 10 days prior to the inspection, and “lined up” the toilets against the wall.
J.B. Pritzker is trying to force an “immediate increase” in taxes on hardworking Illinois families, but won’t pay his own fair share by defrauding taxpayers. Pritzker should immediately apologize for his efforts to defraud taxpayers and return the money.
* Even Jim Dodge is getting into the act…
Last night, news broke in the Chicago Sun Times that, “Cook County’s chief watchdog has concluded that more than $330,000 in property tax breaks and refunds that Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker received on one of his Gold Coast mansions — in part by removing toilets — constituted a “scheme to defraud.”
Since the news broke, Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs, whose campaign has received sizeable donations from the billionaire Pritzker, has failed to comment publicly on the report.
In response, Jim Dodge, the Republican nominee for Treasurer issued the following statement:
“Over and over again Treasurer Frerichs has failed to show any political courage. He failed to speak up about Madigan and the #MeToo issues, failed to speak out about faulty assumptions in the budget before it passed and now he fails to speak out about Pritzker’s scheme to defraud taxpayers.
“At every juncture silent Mike puts political calculations above doing what is right.
“We need a Treasurer who will speak up and tell the truth, not just when its politically advantageous to do so. I will be that kind of Treasurer.”
…Adding… Oops. I missed this one from the ILGOP…
“This report makes it increasingly clear: JB Pritzker is a hypocrite and a fraud. He’s campaigning on a massive tax hike, calling on everyone to pay their ‘fair share,’ yet he devised a corrupt ’scheme to defraud’ Illinois taxpayers. The Inspector General’s report makes it clear that Pritzker ripped toilets out of his mansion just before tax assessors visited so he could claim it as uninhabitable, and reap a tax break worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. A billionaire willing to cheat Illinois taxpayers to save himself some extra cash clearly lacks the integrity to be governor.” - Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Travis Sterling
…Adding… Sam McCann’s not running as a Republican, but I’m putting his statement here anyway…
The same J.B. Pritzker who wants to raise taxes and make the wealthy pay their share got caught with his hypocritical hand in the cookie jar. Illinois’ history of corrupt governors is the laughing stock of the nation, and the last thing we need is another punchline governor connected with a “scheme to defraud” the system that the rest of us are forced to live by.
There are two tax systems in Illinois – the one that J.B. Pritzker and his billionaire buddies abuse, and the one by which ordinary Illinoisans like you and me pay for their tax breaks. If JB wants to be seen as anything other than just another billionaire, he should stop making excuses, own up to what he did, and pay Illinois back the $330,000 in taxes that he dodged.
Illinoisans deserve a governor who understands the world that normal working families live in and will work to protect the tax system from cheaters who laugh all the way to the bank.
McCann’s largest campaign expense, a total of $90,050 made in two separate payments, went to a relatively obscure company called Professional Circulation, Inc. State records show the company is registered to a two-story house in Oak Park. Its only other clients listed in Illinois are the state senate campaign for Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) and the political action committee for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, a union historically and politically aligned with Speaker Madigan. Professional Circulation may offer services to other small state or local campaigns, but those invoices appear to fall below the state’s required reporting threshold.
Property tax records filed with the Cook County Assessor’s office show the residence belongs to trial lawyer Luke Casson who served as the political director of the Democratic Party of Oak Park for nine years, most recently in 2017, according to his LinkedIn page. All of Casson’s personal political campaign contributions went to Democrats and come from that same home address. Casson could not be reached for comment.
Local 150, of course, is McCann’s biggest supporter by far.
* And then Mark tracked down a couple of circulators whose names you might recall…
At least two of McCann’s petition circulators have long ties to the Speaker and Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Robert Handzik and Terrence Goggin both live in Madigan’s 22nd House District. Both men ran phantom Republican campaigns against Madigan without raising, spending or reporting any campaign funds.
* The US Environmental Protection Agency recently declared it will begin air testing around the hugely controversial Sterigenics plant in Willowbrook. As we’ve discussed before, area residents are up in arms about pollution from the plant. Gov. Rauner, whose former firm still owns a chunk of the company, has said that the plant is not a public health crisis. But Willowbrook is represented by House Republican Leader Jim Durkin and he is hot as heck over this.
I received this statement today from the governor’s office…
Out of an abundance of caution, we believe Sterigenics should pause operations until the USEPA can provide more clarity about the potential threat, if there is any.
* That comment was attached to this Illinois EPA press release…
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Alec Messina has referred an enforcement action to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office against Sterigenics US, LLC (Sterigenics) based on the findings of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in its Letter Health Consultation and on information provided by U.S. EPA. The Agency is seeking an order enjoining Sterigenics from continuing operations that result in any emissions of ethylene oxide either until a complete review of additional modeling and risk assessment is completed by U.S. EPA or until U.S. EPA otherwise assures the community that resumed operations would not present an elevated health risk.
Sterigenics is a commercial sterilizer that primarily uses ethylene oxide (EtO) to sterilize medical equipment. It operates in two buildings at 7775 Quincy Street and 830 Midway in Willowbrook.
As part of the process for assessing new cancer risk assumptions nationwide, U.S. EPA chose to evaluate the implications of the recently updated Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) at the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook. U.S. EPA provided that data to ATSDR, and ATSDR concluded, in an August 21, 2018 report, that “if measured and modeled data represent typical EtO ambient concentrations in the air, an elevated cancer risk exists for residents and off-site workers in the Willowbrook community surrounding the Sterigenics facility.”
On September 28, 2018, Illinois officials and local community representatives met with U.S. EPA to discuss the status of U.S. EPA’s ongoing evaluation and testing at Sterigenics. While progress has been made, it is evident that additional weeks or months will pass before U.S. EPA will be in a position to provide an updated risk assessment and propose any resulting changes to relevant regulations. The lack of certainty continues to raise public concern. In addition, the September 28 meeting increased that concern due to information discussed. In particular, the August 21 ATSDR report referenced a “30-fold increase in cancer potency,” but at the September 28 meeting, U.S. EPA referenced a 60-fold increase.
In the referral, the Illinois EPA cited the findings of the ATSDR Letter Health Consultation and information provided at the September 28 meeting with U.S. EPA. In addition to the Agency requesting an order enjoining Sterigenics from continuing operations, the Agency requests , as an alternative, the Attorney General’s Office pursue a violation of Section 9(a) of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act. Illinois EPA also requests Sterigenics pursue EtO emission limits for the Willowbrook facility that would be memorialized in an amended permit.
Shutting down the Willowbrook facility — and all the others in Illinois that emit any EO — will create serious risk for hospitals and medical device manufacturers that depend on EO all in the name of safety for the healthcare industry. This action by Illinois is not justified by the facts and the EPA has communicated directly to the Governor that Sterigenics Willowbrook does not present an imminent threat to public health. We urge reconsideration of the Governor’s ill- considered action, which is based on a misuse of ATSDR data, which the ATSDR has already publically acknowledged.
* You’ll recall Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign is running a TV ad featuring a “lifelong Democrat” who is supporting the governor’s reelection. The fact that she’s been a paid consultant to the Rauner campaign and has voted in four GOP primaries over the years is of course not mentioned.
Well, the Pritzker campaign is responding with two new ads. The first one features Tom Hughes, who has worked for several Republicans like Comptroller Loleta Didrickson. He also worked at the Illinois Department of Public Health under both a Republican and a Democratic administration. And he served on Bruce Rauner’s transition team…
When I was asked to be on Bruce Rauner’s transition team, I really thought it was an opportunity to advocate for the people, particularly of Downstate Illinois. I wanted to have that impact, but unfortunately I don’t think I did.
Bruce Rauner was determined that it was going to be ‘No budget unless I get exactly what I want,’ not recognizing that that affected so many people in Illinois.
Thirty years from now, I think they’ll be a spot in the timeline that just reads: ‘Disaster.’
I’ve known Tom a long time. He’s currently the executive director of the Illinois Public Health Association. Very respected Springfield guy.
* And here’s the second Pritzker TV ad, which features former Rauner voters and has a somewhat lighter touch…
* Gov. Bruce Rauner has been talking a lot lately about his dream for local “right to work” zones. But as Hannah Meisel at the Daily Line reported this morning, Rauner’s dream took a hit Friday when the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a district court judge that the zones would create “administrative nightmares”…
But in February of 2016, several labor groups sued, saying the NLRA only allows individual states to pass right-to-work laws, not local governments. Early last year, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly agreed with the unions, writing in his opinion that “it is highly unlikely that Congress intended to subject this national policy to the patchwork scheme that would result from city-by-city or county-by-county regulation of such agreements.” […]
“Illinois alone has almost 7,000 local governments,” Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Diane Wood pointed out in the ruling. “Not only are these jurisdictions more numerous than the states by several orders of magnitude, but they are also smaller.”
Wood wrote that workers may have to work in “numerous municipalities every week,” pointed to Lincolnshire’s 7,275 population as of the 2010 Census and very small land mass — only 4.68 square miles.
The idea that businesses operate exclusively within [Lincolnshire’s] borders strikes us as fanciful,” Wood wrote for the panel. “Is an employee subject to an agency agreement one day, when his job takes him to nearby Chicago, and not the next day, when he happens to be working on-site in Lincolnshire? What if neighboring Buffalo Grove has the opposite law?” […]
Jeffrey Schwab, an attorney with the Liberty Justice Center, told The Daily Line on Monday that the Village of Lincolnshire plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, not only to vindicate the policy decision but also to solve a “circuit split” between the Seventh Circuit and the Sixth Circuit, which has ruled that municipalities do have the right to instate right-to-work law after a handful of counties in Kentucky voted to become Right To Work zones in 2014 and 2015.
It’s an October Surprise for Democratic candidate for governor J.B. Pritzker. A leaked confidential report from the Cook County inspector general found Pritzker engaged in a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers, by using a loophole to avoid paying more than $330,000 in property taxes on a Gold Coast mansion.
The Chicago Sun-Times… report the inspector general recommended Cook County try to recover more than $330,000 in property tax breaks Pritzker received by removing toilets to have the mansion declared uninhabitable.
“The County ultimately fell victim to a scheme to defraud, executed in part through the use of affidavits, and which resulted in the property owner ultimately receiving property tax refunds totaling $132,747.18 for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014, as well as additional tax savings of $198,684.85 for the years 2015 and 2016,” Inspector General Patrick Blanchard stated in a confidential memo […]
Pritzker, however, insisted he obtained property tax breaks through a routine appeal process, and followed all the rules.
The ellipses remove credit given to me for this story. I made it very clear yesterday that this was Tina Sfondeles’ scoop.
JB Pritzker is insisting he did nothing wrong after the inspector general for Cook County found the candidate for governor committed a “scheme to defraud” tax collectors.
“We sought it with all the rules in place. We knew what the rules — we followed the rules,” Pritzker said.
The inspector general claims the alleged scheme involved tax breaks worth more than $300 thousand dollars.
The inspector general’s report says that affidavits filed on behalf of Pritzker and his family misrepresent the date when toilets were actually removed from his Gold Coast mansion, rendering it “uninhabitable.”
“We were in the middle of a renovation project on our house. We decided to stop in the middle of it. Then we sought a reassessment on all our properties. That was a tax deduction that we received, but we no longer receive that reduction.”
Marin: “Do you consider that was a manipulation of the tax system?”
Pritzker: “No, we followed the rules. In fact, so many people seek property tax reassessments because the system is so flawed.”
And now the Rauner campaign says, “This wasn’t a standard appeal as Pritzker claimed. Instead, he lied to voters. It’s clear he doesn’t have the character and integrity to be governor.”
Hillary Clinton has campaigned for Democratic Illinois governor candidate J.B. Pritzker during a stop in Chicago.
Clinton joined a round table discussion on leadership Monday with Pritzker, his running mate state Rep. Juliana Stratton and a group of high school women. […]
Pritzker was under fire again for the what a leaked Cook County Inspector General’s report called a scheme to defraud county taxpayers, when his wife ordered toilets be removed from a Gold Coast mansion they owned.
The property was reassessed and deemed uninhabitable. It led to Pritzker getting refunds for several years’ worth of taxes to the tune of about $331,000.
The toilet stuff was way deep into their Hillary story. It didn’t even make it into the story posted online by ABC 7.
Cook County’s chief watchdog has concluded that more than $330,000 in property tax breaks and refunds that Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker received on one of his Gold Coast mansions — in part by removing toilets — constituted a “scheme to defraud.”
Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard also recommends in the confidential report that Cook County should try to recover the money from the billionaire. […]
Blanchard writes in the report — obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times — that the Cook County Assessor’s office was “the victim of sworn affidavits containing false representations.” […]
“The evidence indicates that the use of these affidavits was part of a scheme for obtaining money by means of false representations and, in executing the scheme, the responsible parties caused checks to be issued by the Cook County Treasurer and delivered by U.S. Mail according to the direction thereon. […]
“As a result, the County ultimately fell victim to a scheme to defraud, executed in part through the use of affidavits, and which resulted in the property owner ultimately receiving property tax refunds totaling $132,747.18 for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014, as well as additional tax savings of $198,684.85 for the years 2015 and 2016,” the report states.
Uh-oh.
According to the story, one of the affidavits was signed by Pritzker’s brother-in-law. Another was signed by Mrs. Pritzker’s personal assistant.
Under a header “Evidence of a plan to Defraud Cook County” the report includes a work order email dated Oct. 5, 2015 from a project manager to a plumbing company vice president states M.K. Pritzker, J.B. Pritzker’s wife, wanted the toilets pulled.
“She is going to have the house re-assessed as an uninhabitable structure,” the email says. “To do this, she would like to have us pull all toilets and cap all toilet lines in the house. Then after the assessment, she would like us to put the 1st Floor toilet back in and have this as the one functioning bathroom in the place (she will then be finishing out the front room for JB’s [Jay Robert ‘J.B.’ Pritzker’s] hangout/meeting are].”
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Rauner campaign got this one out quick…
“This Inspector General report proves what we knew all along - JB Pritzker is a fraud. From the very beginning, Pritzker was devising a corrupt scheme to defraud Illinois taxpayers by ripping toilets out of his mansion. This wasn’t a standard appeal as Pritzker claimed. Instead, he lied to voters. It’s clear from Pritzker’s repeated use of fraudulent tax dodging that he doesn’t have the character and integrity to be governor.” - Will Allison, Rauner campaign Communications Director
As I write this (4:46 pm), Pritzker is holding an event with Hillary Clinton and tons of reporters. Click here. Timing is everything.
…Adding… As I’m reading through the report, it appears that one of the problems is that Pritzker’s brother-in-law signed an affidavit claiming the property had “no functional bathrooms” from January 1, 2012 through October 15, 2015. However, the toilets were apparently only removed on October 5, 2015 - ten days prior to the affidavit signature.
…Adding… Reading further, however, it looks like there’s an overstatement on the part of the inspector general. “The property has been vacant and uninhabitable since January 1, 2012.” And then the next sentence is: “There are no functioning bathrooms or kitchen.” So, the Pritzkers didn’t actually claim that there had been no toilets since 2012.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Pritzker…
.@JBPritzker said the report was "leaked for political purposes in this last month of a campaign." When asked if he would return any of the $330,000 he received in property tax breaks and refunds, Pritzker said he would "abide by the law" and "follow the recommendations." pic.twitter.com/WzwB5qrUyg
Governor Bruce Rauner is talking up an expansion of gambling to help pay for a big state construction program.
At the groundbreaking for the CREATE program to eliminate the bottleneck of train traffic through Chicago, Rauner was promising a big construction program if’s he’s reelected.
“Funded not with new taxes but with economic growth, balanced budgets funding infrastructure by making it a priority and expanding the entertainment and the gaming industry in the State of Illinois so we stop losing our revenue to Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa,” said Rauner. “We will have billions of dollars into our infrastructure.”
In May 2017, the Commission estimated that SB0007, as engrossed, (Chicago Casino, 5 new riverboats, 3 racinos, additional positions) could increase [adjusted gross receipts] totals in Illinois by roughly $1 billion per year. While this overall growth in receipts is notably lower than has been estimated prior to the emergence of video gaming, the projected increase of $1 billion still represents a significant increase in new gaming dollars. However, because this proposed expansion would coincide with a reduced tax structure, the Commission’s projection would only increase recurring tax revenue totals from approximately $473 million (under current law) to an estimated $560 million under full implementation – an increase in tax revenues of only $87 million.
Emphasis added.
To be fair, JB Pritzker wants to use expanded gaming revenues to pay for his own capital bill (and for his higher education proposals).
Also, this wouldn’t include sports betting. But that won’t be gigantic.
* The governor and the mayor smiling together? Yep. Been a while I think…
The team of public and private sector partners who came together to develop the #75thStreetCIP is a perfect example of the good that comes when government works with business for the benefit of taxpayers. pic.twitter.com/67ZE9ybSmB
Today I spoke before the EPA, advocating on behalf of the coal industry in my district and voicing my support for the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule proposal. Check out more about this issue & how it will help the coal industry by visiting my website: https://t.co/vUuzFGBk1qpic.twitter.com/DgrhDYX51d
Representing the interest of Illinois’ coal industry, State Senator Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) spoke before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to voice his support for the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule proposal on October 1.
“Those in our coal industry and the individuals who already struggle to afford their power bill need more advocates to stand for their needs at both the state and federal levels,” said Fowler. “Today I’m here to be that advocate and voice, working to remove the bureaucratic red tape that has threatened a major industry in Southern Illinois and the hard earned dollars of the people I represent.”
The ACE rule is the most-recent proposal put forth by EPA to replace the existing greenhouse emissions guidelines, the Clean Power Plan (CPP). Put in place in 2015, the CPP was touted as a means to address growing carbon emissions from power plants.
However, opponents challenged the unprecedented environmental initiative, noting how the EPA’s original proposal was an overreaching mandate that would hurt the coal industry. Voicing their concerns, 150 entities, including 27 states, 24 trade associations, 37 rural electric co-ops, and three labor unions challenged the rule with a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Congress formally disapproving of the CPP.
* Londrigan was the only Democrat in a contested Illinois congressional district to not receive the former president’s endorsement in the first round. That was perceived by some as a snub, or maybe that it would’ve done more harm than good. Either way, Obama has now put her on his list…
Today, I’m proud to endorse even more Democratic candidates who aren’t just running against something, but for something—to expand opportunity for all of us and to restore dignity, honor, and compassion to public service. They deserve your vote: pic.twitter.com/NO5jnhX3XD
New in #IL13: @BetsyforIL reports raising $1.7M over the last three months, more than doubling what she raised in previous 11 months. *translation: prepare for more ads.
Former Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton will campaign in Chicago on Monday for governor candidate J.B. Pritzker, a major supporter of her failed efforts to get to the White House.
Clinton, a 2008 Democratic candidate for the White House and the party’s 2016 nominee, formally endorsed Pritzker during a Chicago visit in April after he won in a crowded Democratic field for governor by a wide margin. […]
Clinton is scheduled to join Pritzker at a roundtable event highlighting social service issues, a frequent point of criticism by the Democrat over Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s record that included overseeing a historic state budget impasse of more than two years. She is not scheduled to speak to the media afterward.
In the 2016 election, Clinton defeated President Donald Trump in Illinois by 17 percentage points. She won all but McHenry of the state’s traditionally Republican-leaning collar counties, giving Democrats hope they can capture additional state legislative seats as well as flip GOP seats in Congress.
National politics always brings out the worst in people. Take a breath before you comment.
If a political canvasser at your door seems as natural as an improv comic onstage, don’t be surprised. This bit of improvisation is utterly planned and completely intentional.
The Blue Beginning chapter of Indivisible Chicago is using improv comedians to help train canvassers before they hit the streets with their clipboards and candidate cards.
Lori McClain, of Chicago’s Second City, said before a “Yes You Canvass” class at the Hideout in Chicago on Wednesday that she’s “teaching some of the basic skills we use that get people engaged right away … so they can kind of make a quick connection while they’re canvassing.”
She paired off about two dozen people attending the class, and put them through exercises such as holding a conversation in which the last word one person says is the first word the other person has to say.
“Skills improvisers use are listening and not shutting down the conversation, but keeping it going by honoring and adding to what the other person is saying,” McClain said.
Other exercises included using the word “should” repeatedly, then replacing it with “could” — “‘Could’ empowers the listener,” McClain said — and listening to someone’s story and repeating it back, first in abbreviated form and then as a headline or hashtag.
These “storytelling aspects,” she said, “keep people involved in the conversation.”
These are also basic sales techniques, which is why I’ve often told young people that their best training for politics, journalism, etc. is a year doing commission sales work for a reputable company. It can often be as soul-crushing as trying to write songs in Nashville, but it gives you valuable life lessons.
* There’s been lots of talk over the past couple of weeks that Chuy Garcia would definitely run for mayor of Chicago. Fran Spielman reports otherwise…
But on Monday, Garcia gathered his kitchen cabinet together to tell them that he had decided not to enter the mayor’s race in spite of the “Draft Chuy” movement launched by retiring U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Chicago).
At least part of Garcia’s reasoning has to do with money.
Last time, nearly all of the $6 million he raised came from progressive unions: the Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU Local 1.
This time, SEIU Local 1 was firmly in Preckwinkle’s corner. And the CTU was non-committal and expected to remain so.
“Without SEIU or CTU, where would his money have come from,” said a source familiar with Garcia’s decision-making.
“He would have been forced to forge a brown-white coalition with the business community. His old friends—the people who have been with him since the `70’s and `80’s—were not comfortable with that. That didn’t want to do that.”
Discuss.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Chuy…
I’ve seen the mustaches projected on the buildings — and I can’t thank you enough for your faith and confidence in urging me to run for mayor of the city we all love. A special thank you to the hundreds of volunteers circulating petitions for me to run. I am truly moved.
The last few weeks have been a time of internal reckoning. My preparation to go to Congress was, for a moment, halted at the news that the city would have a wide-open opportunity to elect a new mayor. I’ll admit I was tempted to make another run — the last run shook things up and I believe led to a major shift in recent city and state elections, namely Aaron Ortiz, Alma Anaya, Beatriz Frausto-Sandoval and Delia Ramirez. I couldn’t be more proud of them.
I love this city. I love its complexity, its diversity, energy and its ever-changing issues and opportunities. It’s also a city in deep crisis with savage inequality and broken relationships between communities and police and of course continuing fiscal problems.
But in the final analysis, I sincerely believe I can do more for my city now in Washington. This decision is not about ascendancy or political positioning; it is about integrity and what I feel I can do for my city in Congress.
Chicago desperately needs federal help to tackle our infrastructure and transportation issues. Our city’s immigration crisis can be solved only by Congress. Guaranteeing the rights of women and gay citizens and other minorities will be secured only through congressional action.
Chicago needs a mayor who is beholden to no one. We need mayors and congressional representatives who are persuaded by one thing: the best idea in the room. And we need lots of best ideas, whether in the form of a Marshall Plan or something better, we need bold ideas that will improve education, public safety, health care, infrastructure, transportation and whatever it takes to bring economic vitality into neighborhoods that are breeding grounds of hopelessness. We can no longer abide hearing a teenage boy say he doesn’t expect to live past 25.
I look forward to the election on November 6. To be in Washington at a time when I can oppose the direction the Trump administration is taking this country is a calling I am compelled and invigorated to take on. Dreamers are waiting for Congress to act; immigrants who have so much to offer our nation are waiting for Congress to act; citizens who have still not recovered from the recession are waiting for Congress to act. I’m ready to get to work.
To Chicago’s next mayor, I say this: you must make bold changes that will unsettle those comfortable with the status quo. Only through a transformational agenda with deep neighborhood investment will Chicago become a city that works for everyone.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Toni Preckwinkle…
“I am very grateful for the good work that Chuy Garcia has done on the County Board as my floor leader advocating for working families. He has been an ally helping enroll over 400,000 people to our County health system. I know that Chuy will continue advocating on behalf of our shared priorities for immigrants, women, and seniors in his new role as Congressman,” said mayoral candidate Toni Preckwinkle. “I continue to look forward to our work on behalf of all Chicagoans.”
In the Illinois Legislature, a handful of GOP members are working with Democrats to produce bipartisan legislation aimed at reducing gun violence.
We say: Keep it up. Keep telling candidates they owe it to their communities to keep people safe. Remind the governor, too.
Next month, a bill that would help to prevent illegal gun trafficking and hold corrupt or careless gun dealers accountable is expected to reach Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk. He has said he will veto it.
We’d like to remind him that a fellow Republican, state Sen. Chris Nybo of Elmhurst, worked with a Democrat, state Sen. Don Harmon of Oak Park, to reach a compromise on the bill. They produced a bill that drew bipartisan support after Rauner vetoed a similar bill earlier this year. Democrats and Republicans came together to address the governor’s concerns. That’s the way the system is supposed to work.
Another Republican, Rep. Peter Breen of Lombard, voted for Nybo’s bill and worked with Democratic Rep. Kathleen Willis of Addison on another, the Firearms Restraining Order Act. It allows guns to be seized from people deemed dangers to themselves or others.
In July, Rauner signed that bill and one that requires a 72-hour waiting period for gun buys. Both bills passed with veto-proof majorities, which gave Rauner an extra incentive to sign on.
“This is exactly the direction we needed to move in,” Kathleen Sances, president and CEO of Gun Violence Prevention PAC in Arlington Heights, told us about the bipartisan efforts.
G-PAC doesn’t have a ton of money, but those Republicans need all the help they can get. All four men have “F” ratings from the NRA.
Disturbing graffiti covers the walls of the Winnebago County Republican headquarters in Rockford this weekend.
The vandalism appeared Sunday morning with the words ‘rape’ and ‘shame’ painted on the building.
Local Republicans believe the graffiti is directly connected to the hearings of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. […]
Winnebago County Board Chairman Frank Haney released a statement, saying in part, “This is not who we are. I am extremely disappointed in the individual responsible for the ugliness at our local Republican HQ. Clearly, this person needs help. As a Republican, I am saddened and angry. I am also sad to see other folks in my party unfairly labeled and mischaracterized. Negative generalizations about a group of people has never served us well as a country. This situation is no different. Attacks of this nature aim to silence and destroy, neither of which will occur.”
Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara, a Democrat, also posted a statement about the vandalism on Facebook writing “This type of behavior is unacceptable and certainly does not live up to our community’s values. We all have differences but we must learn to disagree on policy without attacking people.”
* Charlie Laskonis, Chair of the Winnebago Democratic Party…
Regardless of one’s partisan preferences, if any, Winnebago County is first a community. Elected Democrats and Republicans work together to improve our way of life. Our children go to school together, we patronize one another’s businesses and we all want the best for the future. Criminal vandalism is not how we express the differences of opinion in our community.
I’m disgusted at the vandalism and view it as an act at intimidation. Through direct correspondence, I have offered to Winnebago GOP Chair James Thompson the willingness of Democrats to help in the quick clean-up of the damage. In addition, I encourage anyone, with even the smallest bit of information, to take it to law enforcement immediately.
I’m told Laskonis sent a note to the county GOP chairman before issuing the press release.
* Doug House, president of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association…
The act of destruction in Winnebago County is unacceptable and unforgivable.
Whoever is responsible for this callous, cowardly criminal act should know that they will find no welcome mat in our county Democratic parties. What was done in Winnebago County lacks logic or sanity and anyone who has information regarding the criminals should contact the authorities immediately.
I urge all candidates, activists, volunteers, partners or self-affiliated alliances within our party to take a moment to reflect on the very clear line between disagreement and destructive indecency. If your passions lead you to consider the destruction of property or harm to another person, you are unquestionably wrong.
County-level political organizations – Republicans and Democrats alike – rightfully cherish their offices and campaign headquarters with pride. These are places where we come together to exercise the freedoms of our democracy among our like-minded fellows. Destruction and vandalism are acts of senseless intimidation and small-minded intolerance that we condemn on the highest order.
Again, take a very deeep breath and then completely exhale before commenting, please.
Presenting himself as a champion of working families and their needs, Democratic gubernatorial hopeful J.B. Pritzker [Friday] ripped GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner as a failed leader and defended his own plan to impose a graduated income tax as necessary to stabilize state finances and fund priorities from property-tax relief to education.
But with an apparent eye on the upcoming election, Pritzker rejected all attempts to detail how much the tax reform would raise or who would pay more, saying only that “the vast majority” of Illinoisans actually will end up paying less than they do now under his plan. […]
Schools need a steady stream of money, and local property-tax payers need the relief that will come if the state begins to pay its proper, larger share of total costs, he said. That means, “The wealthy should pay more.”
2017 Illinois median household income was $64,609. In order to cut taxes for the “vast majority” of taxpayers who would get a tax cut, you’d have to bump that target level up to… what? And then after cutting those peoples’ taxes he’d fund all those new programs of his and cut property taxes by focusing all the income tax increases on maybe the top 20-30 percent of taxpayers?
Today, the Rauner campaign is launching a new ad titled “Can’t Afford That.”
The latest ad from the Rauner campaign focuses on JB Pritzker as a puppet of Mike Madigan. The puppets in the ad are concerned about the massive income tax hike they would face if Mike Madigan and JB Pritzker got their way. Illinois families can’t afford a Pritzker tax hike.
Billionaire Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker pumped another $20 million into his campaign, extending his record-setting self-funding to more than $146.5 million, a state finance report filed minutes before midnight Saturday showed.
For the record, the latest multimillion cash infusion made last Tuesday brings Pritzker’s total to $146,550,034 since March 2017, state campaign finance records showed.
Pritzker’s campaign also put $1 million into the Democratic Party of Illinois, which is chaired by House Speaker Michael Madigan, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s chief political nemesis. The contribution followed $420,000 Pritzker gave the state party a week earlier.
Rauner, a wealthy equity investor, has not put any of his own money into his campaign fund since a record single contribution of $50 million in December 2016. It’s part of the $95.3 million of his own money he’s placed into his campaign fund since March 2013, when he announced his first candidacy.
Just this morning, Speaker Madigan reported almost $1.9 million in contributions to his personal campaign committee, including $1.3 million from the Chicago Land Operators Joint Labor-Management PAC, $250K from the American Federation of Teachers and $150K from Michael Sacks.
Illinois Republicans are really having a rough year. Their party’s governor, Bruce Rauner, is trailing by double digits. Four U.S. representatives are in real danger of losing their seats. The state House and Senate Republicans are being vastly outspent by the Democrats. And to make matters worse, their candidates include a Nazi, two conspiracy theorists and an accused harasser. A former candidate was caught up in a bizarre sex scandal.
You probably heard about the Nazi. The Republicans couldn’t find anyone to run against Democratic Congressman Dan Lipinski last year, so perennial candidate Art Jones ran in the primary unopposed. “If I really believed the Holocaust had taken place, I wouldn’t have joined the Nazi Party,” Jones explained to the Daily Southtown.
The Republican Party promised to find and support a write-in candidate, and one did emerge. But the candidate, Justin Hanson, is pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ, anti-NRA and against repealing Obamacare. He told a reporter recently that the party hasn’t yet provided him any help.
Then there’s Bill Fawell, who’s up against U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos.
The Anti-Harassment, Equality, and Access panel set up by the Democratic Party earlier this year released its final recommendations last week.
The AHEA panel wants the state’s political parties to make their funding of candidates contingent on campaigns adopting specific policies and training. The panel was created in the wake of numerous sexual harassment allegations at the Statehouse and in campaigns.
Among other things, the panel published a model anti-harassment policy for campaigns as well as a list of some things that can be considered harassment, bullying and discrimination. It recommends that bystanders speak up and says campaigns should adopt strict rules against retaliation and set up procedures for reporting violations.
Comptroller Susana Mendoza, Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, and Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Champaign, held six listening sessions throughout the state and they seem to have put a lot of thought into the final product, which was sent to all party leaders at the state and county level as well as all statewide and state-level campaigns.
The panel’s final report also includes a goal of making sure at least half the members of the General Assembly (and other state and local governments) are women. It wants the state parties to each hire a “director of diversity” to recruit candidates and staff and invest in training women to run for office. The panel also recommends that the parties require diversity in the pool of applicants for every political vacancy and establish an advisory board to oversee the changes.
The panel wants to “attack the culture of silence that keeps sexual harassment and other misconduct shrouded in secrecy” by instituting a ban on the use of non-disclosure agreements or mandatory arbitration clauses in campaigns relating to sexual harassment.
Campaign staffers often spend long hours with each other, both at work and at play. So, the panel is recommending a “one ask” rule for dating, pointing to Facebook’s implementation of the policy. In other words, if a person declines a date invite for any reason, he or she cannot be asked again. The report does acknowledge that “over-regulation” of the dating issue could “discourage the friendship and camaraderie that is a hallmark of a well-run campaign and may be impossible to enforce.”
The panel also wants campaigns to “monitor” alcohol use and prohibit consumption “to the extent it interferes with a campaign worker’s ability to perform his or her job or exercise proper judgment.” The panel also warns that alcohol policies shouldn’t ever be used to “justify harassing and inappropriate behavior or used to discredit a victim.”
But how realistic are some of these policies in high-pressure, non-stop campaign environments that are exclusively focused on winning the race at hand?
The panel’s report included “paraphrased comments” from participants of the listening sessions like this: “Expecting campaigns or parties to handle harassment internally during a campaign may be unrealistic because everyone, including the victims of harassment, is trying to win the election. This desire to win may be a deterrent to reporting because victims may worry it would hurt the campaign.”
I think that’s why House Republican Leader Jim Durkin’s recent decision to abandon Rep. Jerry Long’s (R-Streator) re-election campaign was so important and so under-appreciated by the media and other political observers.
Durkin has said that his best hope in a year like this is to focus lots of resources on picking up and/or holding on to Downstate seats. Long’s Downstate seat was once in Democratic hands, but pro-Trump, anti-Madigan sentiment helped propel him into the General Assembly two years ago (along with a 2016 opponent who reportedly didn’t care to walk precincts). The Democrats were coming after him hard this year.
Yet, when a campaign worker reported allegations of harassment, Durkin ordered an outside investigation and then publicly walked away from the candidate. There was no attempt to sweep it under the rug until after the election, which is pretty much what you’d expect in other times (and, frankly, even now).
What Durkin clearly demonstrated by abandoning Long’s campaign is that some things have to be more important than winning. That’s an all too rare concept in politics.
It was also prudent in the long-term. Covering up the Long situation could’ve seriously endangered his leadership position if the truth emerged.
However you look at it, this was absolutely the right move by Durkin and it took guts, particularly since some House members on his far-right flank are still not condemning Long and the state’s leading newspaper editorial boards have remained silent.
Over a week ago, the chief of staff for prominent Chicago politician Toni Preckwinkle, for whom I once worked, was forced to resign because of alleged “inappropriate behavior,” which he did not deny. Two days later, Preckwinkle declared her candidacy for mayor and, as the current president of Cook County and head of the Democratic Party, is a presumptive favorite. I could never match the bravery of the woman or women who came forward to ensure her chief of staff would no longer have a job. To be clear, I never was physically violated or threatened at work or out of it. But this former chief of staff was dismissive and demeaning to me in ways I am sure other women would find familiar.
When I first arrived for an interview with him for the County job, I was left waiting for two hours only to be told he had no time to speak with me. When I accepted the position, it was on the condition I would be promoted to replace a retiring staff member. The promotion was delayed indefinitely with no explanation. When I voiced countervailing opinions to his, I was shut out of conversations I should have been in, watching him walk past my door to get to my male colleague’s office. And when I finally gave up and gave a full two-weeks notice, he confirmed receipt of my resignation letter to me, but told HR he never received it because he wanted me to stay longer; he thought that if he didn’t send along my resignation, I wouldn’t be able to leave.
To me, he was a run-of-the-mill sexist. But as I’ve seen the headlines and tweets about his resignation, I’ve grappled internally with how, in less than a decade of professional life, I’ve come to this place where I’ve accepted that sexism is a normal consideration in the workplace.
I left that government office relatively quietly because I didn’t think anyone would care about my experience. Instead of trying to fight the sexism I endured, I walked away, even though I knew I was good at my job, leaving the door open for another smart, capable woman to potentially be treated the way I was. It’s an embarrassing pattern I recognize in myself because I walked away from my journalism career in Washington D.C., too, in part, because I was tired of dealing with the kind of men in politics who live there.
He smiled. He cracked jokes, about himself and others at the table. He looked relaxed, rested and at ease with himself—more so than in years. In fact, he looked like a man liberated.
That wasn’t what I expected when Gov. Bruce Rauner, who now is in desperate re-election trouble, stopped by to meet with Crain’s editorial board for an endorsement interview the other day. Lots of people in and around state government have noticed the same thing recently. As one knowledgeable source summarizes, “He’s made his peace with it”—”it” being losing his job in the Nov. 6 election.
I won’t throw dirt on the casket yet; Election Day is still more than a month away. But even if he does somehow pull it out, a Rauner who lately has been ruminating in public about the mistakes he made in the past four long years won’t be the same. It’s not too early to ask how a governorship that began with such promise went so horribly off track. […]
Some Republican governors have thrived in blue states, including Charlie Baker in Massachusetts and Maryland’s Larry Hogan. Others, such as Florida businessman Rick Scott, made the transition to governing after a bumpy start. Not Rauner. “It all comes down to arrogance. He had to have everything,” says one top insider. Adds another, “I don’t think he ever was willing to try to figure it out.”
Too bad. Illinois needed a good, experienced CEO who could put his ego in check. It still does.
Go read the whole thing. This could explain the governor’s renewed willingness to talk so openly about “right to work” zones.
Or, it could just be that this is his last election win or lose and he’s doing what he wants to do.
The Democratic nominee also appeared to signal the likely death of Rauner’s vaunted Discovery Partners Institute on Related Midwest’s 78-acre property at Roosevelt and Clark.
“It should have partners in private industry,” rather than just rely on a pending state grant of up to $500 million, Pritzker said. “There is no private support as best as I can tell,” despite several months of promises from Rauner, who told Crain’s that investors are willing to step forward if he is re-elected.
As a matter of practical politics, the DPI plan was the creation of Rauner and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Rauner soon could be out of office and Emanuel will retire after his current term ends in April.
So, there are willing DPI investors but the governor is keeping their names a secret because they’re only on board if Rauner is reelected?
…Adding… I posted this Democratic Party of Illinois press release on the live coverage post, but it also fits here…
One year ago to the day, Bruce Rauner said he came back from his trip to China and Japan with “nine projects that have a good chance of success here in the state of Illinois,” but today he’s coming up empty. Rauner was speaking at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce days after returning from what he dubbed a “trade mission.” But where are the jobs governor?
As WCIA and the Chicago Tribune’s Eric Zorn exposed, Rauner’s administration has been unable to show any real success from his Asia trade mission, or his more recent Germany trip. In fact, the only news Illinoisans are seeing is Japanese companies like Takeda and Daifuku Wynright moving 1,500 jobs OUT of Illinois. Zorn connected Rauner’s overseas flop to his overall jobs record – Rauner had blasted his predecessor as a “miserable failure on jobs” and promised to “get results,” but job growth has slowed during his tenure.
“After 1,500 jobs disappeared in six days, it’s clear why Bruce Rauner is a ‘miserable failure on jobs’ by his own measure,” said DPI Statewide Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Over promising and under delivering is a recipe for disaster, and it seems to be the only one Rauner has perfected.”
It’s kinda weird that the acronym for Rauner’s project and Madigan’s party are the same.
* I sent this e-mail to all Democratic and Republican statewide campaigns and both state parties earlier this week…
As you may know, the Illinois Anti-Harassment, Equality and Access panel’s report recommends that campaigns not use non-disclosure agreements and mandatory arbitration. A panel spokesperson told me, however, that the report “isn’t calling for campaigns to not sign NDAs at all, but just when it comes to settling sexual harassment issues.” https://capitolfax.com/2018/09/26/panel-recommends-not-using-non-disclosure-agreements-and-mandatory-arbitration/
1) Does your campaign (or state party, as the case may be) utilize non-disclosure agreements that would in any way preclude, hinder or discourage campaign staff, volunteers etc. from reporting or speaking out about instances of sexual harassment? Please provide any NDA language to support your claim.
2) Does your campaign (or state party, as the case may be) utilize mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment complaints, reports, claims? Please provide any mandatory arbitration language to support your claim.
The deadline was today at noon. Responses listed in the order they were received.
* Aviva Bowen from the Kwame Raoul campaign…
1. Nothing in our NDA (attached for background) would discourage someone from speaking out or reporting sexual harassment, particularly when coupled with our sexual harassment policy (also attached) and requirement that all campaign staff take anti-harassment training, for which they receive a certificate of completion.
2. No, we do not have any mandatory arbitration provisions.
Further, as you know I am on leave from the IFT, where I serve as the Ethics Officer. I bring to the campaign my additional training and experience in this role.
The campaign’s harassment policy (which she included along with the NDA) ensures that anyone speaking out will not be subjected to retaliation. That, she explained, would negate the NDA.
* Jason Helland…
My campaign does not use any NDAs and we do not utilize mandatory arbitration.
* Will Allison at the Bruce Rauner campaign…
1. No.
2. No.
* Kara Highfill at the Michael Frerichs campaign…
All full-time staff on the Frerichs campaign including Frerichs have signed the framework policy provided by the AHEA panel. I added a clause to that policy that outlines that the Frerichs campaign does not utilize NDA agreements or mandatory arbitration clauses.
* Aaron Degroot at the Erika Harold campaign…
That’s a no on both questions for Citizens For Erika Harold.
* Travis Sterling at the Illinois Republican Party…
1. The Illinois Republican Party from time to time utilizes confidentiality agreements that seek to preserve the confidentiality of sensitive political information (plans, processes and the like) that may be disclosed to an intern or employee. In no way would (or could) such an agreement be interpreted to hinder any person from speaking out against or reporting an instance of sexual harassment.
2. No, the Illinois Republican Party does not utilize mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment complaints.
* Christie Lacey at the Susana Mendoza campaign…
No & no.
* Sam Salustro at the Democratic Party of Illinois…
Under our current policies, DPI does not use non-disclosure agreements or utilize mandatory arbitration.
* Rocco Claps at the Jesse White campaign…
No.
No.
* Galia Slayen at the JB Pritzker campaign…
1. Like most political campaigns, our campaign does have staff sign a privacy agreement to protect strategic campaign information. There is no expectation or mention of keeping information about sexual harassment private. All staff are required to receive sexual harassment training and our campaign has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment or retaliation of any kind.
2. No.
* Darlene Senger…
1) No, we don’t use NDAs.
2) No, we don’t use mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment complaints
I never heard back from Jim Dodge.
…Adding… There was an internal mixup, so here’s Dodge’s response…
We don’t use NDAs. We do not require mandatory arbitration.
* Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign reset speech was ready-made for editorial board meetings. Here he is with the Pantagraph…
He admitted, however, he might have pursued “smaller wins” rather than push so hard that the state went more than two years without a budget — and said he’s now better equipped to handle Madigan, a Chicago Democrat.
“What’s different is two things. One, I’ve learned to work with him and also around him. That’s how we got a lot of things done in the last year, 18 months,” said Rauner. “Two, he’s weaker in his strength in the General Assembly than at any time I’m aware of. … There are now so many more legislators who will stand up and say, ‘I’m doing this because it’s right.’”
Rauner said that approach will help grow businesses and address the state’s budget problems. He said that’s a better approach than a graduated income tax, which makes the wealthy pay more — a proposal Pritzker has made central to his campaign but Rauner opposes.
“We can all have our dreams, but we’ve got to deal with reality,” said Rauner. “More taxes are not going to give us a better future.”
As we clearly saw during the impasse, less taxes won’t balance the budget.
Also, what did he get done in the past 18 months by going around Madigan? I can’t think of anything offhand. Just the other way around, in fact. Also, those Democratic legislators who are standing up to say they’re doing something “because it’s right” are mainly liberals who have few policy agreements with the governor.
He also talked extensively about “right to work” and even claimed that the Toyota plant we lost to Mississippi will be staffed by union workers. I seriously doubt that. He claimed, as well, that factory workers in Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin make more than factory workers in Illinois. Not true.
* Anyway, speaking of editorial boards and Madigan, the Kankakee Daily Journal’s editorial board pressed former Rep. Lisa Dugan (D-Bradley) about whether she’d be voting for Madigan for House Speaker. Dugan is trying to regain her former seat after her 2013 retirement. She’s running against freshman Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst (R-Kankakee)..
Asked whether she would vote for Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, to remain as speaker, Dugan made no commitment. She noted that much of the GOP’s advertising ties her to Madigan. And she acknowledged she voted for Madigan four times during her nearly decade as a lawmaker.
“I worked with Michael Madigan for nine-and-a-half years and fought with him for nine-and-a-half years,” Dugan said.
As an example, she said she worked against Madigan’s transit bill because it took money away from the local transit district.
“What you have to do in Springfield is work with 117 other legislators and one of them is Michael Madigan. You have to work with leadership on the Democratic and Republican sides,” Dugan said.
Parkhurst, however, said her first vote in Springfield was against Madigan. She said Dugan voted for Madigan’s proposed tax increase and pension holidays, meaning the state delayed payments into the pension systems.
“(Dugan) will vote for Mike Madigan. Don’t let her fool you,” Parkhurst said.
Dugan was no shrinking violet when she was in the House. But she was also very popular with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle. The Republicans claim the Madigan stuff is damaging this year, though. We’ll see.
Also, the process is the two caucuses privately choose their candidates for House Speaker and then there’s a formal public election between a Democrat and a Republican. I’m not sure the Daily Journal gets that.
Voters don’t do nuance. Pritzker fully understood that concept in the primary when he went after Chris Kennedy and Daniel Biss over their nuanced and limited kinda/sorta support for a maybe/possible tax on retirement income. He zapped them both with harsh TV ads and now he’s getting zapped by Rauner on the mileage tax.
* The Daily Herald, by the way, is not pleased that Pritzker is running away from the mileage tax that he suggested he could look at as a pilot project…
There’s a great irony in Pritzker calling Rauner a liar. It is Pritzker who, with our Editorial Board earlier this year, raised the possibility of a tax on vehicle mileage — and now denies that he mentioned it. Even though it’s fully recorded. Denied it outright Thursday night even when Carol Marin gave him a chance to acknowledge but downplay what he’d said.
Hours before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday said the process should be delayed after Thursday’s testimony of Christine Blasey Ford.
“Dr. Ford’s allegations are very serious and they seem very credible. I believe they deserve to be investigated and I believe a vote should be postponed until they are fully investigated,” Rauner said on WBEZ-FM’s “Morning Shift” program. […]
On Thursday morning, Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker was asked about anti-harassment policies proposed this week by a panel of women formed in the wake of allegations in longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan’s organization. In answering, he also raised the Kavanaugh case.
“I happen to think that in Washington, D.C., that the Judiciary Committee in the Senate should be handing over to the FBI the investigation of the allegations that have been made about Kavanaugh,” Pritzker said. “That’s the way to do it. I’m not sure that here in Illinois that things have been handled the way they should have, but under our administration, they will be.”
OK, everybody take a deeeeeeeeeeeep breath and then exhale fully before commenting, please. Leave your DC talking points out of the comment section. Something you saw on Facebook is also not an acceptable fact source here, so do an honest Google search.
In other words, don’t get banned for life.
...Adding… Speaker Madigan…
“Yesterday, we saw Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s courage in standing before United States senators and a criminal prosecutor to tell her story. The allegations against Judge Kavanaugh are extremely serious, and his belligerent testimony failed to address the concerns of women and men across our country. In fact, it confirms the concerns we’ve expressed about Kavanaugh’s fitness to serve on our nation’s highest court.
“Now, even conservative newspapers, the American Bar Association and Governor Rauner have joined us in calling on senators to stop this nomination on the floor and open an FBI investigation into the very serious allegations facing Judge Kavanaugh.
“I urge senators to do the right thing and allow for a full investigation.”
*** UPDATE *** Sen. Sam McCann…
In response to Governor Rauner siding with Senator Feinstein and the Democrats Sam McCann issued the following statement:
I am following the lead of the President of the United States, and the strong conservative leadership of Senator Grasley, who are intimately involved in the details of the allegations and hearings regarding Kavanaugh. I would not base any decisions on the slanted media and conjecture. Rather, I put my faith in our commander and chief who was duly elected by our electoral process of the United States of America. Unfortunately, Bruce Rauner has shown time and again, as highlighted this morning, when he sided with Diane Feinstein and the Democrats, that he has no faith in President Trump and the Republican controlled Senate. I call on the American people to put faith back in Government.
* Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich writes about prison reform, but of course he makes it mostly about himself…
Before my arrest and retrial, my life was the American dream.
Growing up, I had shined shoes, worked in a slaughterhouse, worked on the Alaskan oil pipeline, and delivered pizzas. I went to law school, I was a prosecutor for two years, I served in the Illinois House, the U.S. Congress, and was twice-elected governor. I won 14 elections in a row.
My gubernatorial administration made historic progress in Illinois on women’s and children’s healthcare. We opened free preschool to every 3- and 4-year-old. We also reduced repeat crimes by ex-offenders. My initiative, “Inside Out,” provided better access to education, job training, substance abuse treatment and counseling services to inmates and parolees. This led to the lowest conviction rate among parolees in Illinois history; a reduction in arrests among the parolee population; and reductions in repeat incarceration among parolees with substance abuse issues. The dramatic drop in recidivism even saved the state of Illinois $64 million in incarceration costs over a four-year span from 2004 to 2008.
Today however, I am living the reverse American dream – a bad dream that I share with other inmates at a prison in Colorado where I am currently serving a 14-year sentence. So what happened?
He got caught. That’s what happened. Anyway, he does make a few good points, so click here if you’re inclined.
* Terra Costa Howard is running against Rep. Peter Breen (R-Lombard). This is a Tier 1 race and as I’ve been telling subscribers, tons of money is being pumped into it. Personal PAC is also heavily involved because Breen is totally against abortion rights…
Statement from Terra Costa Howard
Democratic nominee for 48th District State Representative
Several weeks ago, I accepted the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board’s invitation to attend an endorsement session today.
Many friends and advisors warned me that I had no chance of getting a fair hearing, much less an endorsement. However, I thought it was important to give voters in the 48th District this opportunity to hear from me directly about my positions on the issues that matter most to us.
Then on Monday, I read Kristen McQueary’s column, which insulted every Democratic woman running for office in Illinois.
Ms. McQueary said the women running in DuPage County and other suburbs were “put up” by House Speaker Michael Madigan because we “poll well.” That’s offensive.
I’ve worked as an attorney in DuPage County for two decades, standing up for people who are vulnerable and in need. I’ve worked beside my husband to build a successful small business. I spent eight years on the Glen Ellyn school board, making sure our community’s excellent public schools serve the needs of our children – while keeping our budgets balanced, every year.
By any standard, I am more than qualified to run for State Representative – and to serve. Yet Ms. McQueary makes it sound like I’m some generic “woman candidate,” a pawn in a skirt whose name was randomly pulled from a hat.
She also claimed that any candidate who accepts support from the Illinois Democratic Party has to “give up control” of her campaign and winds up “subservient” to Madigan. That is absolutely untrue.
I’m proud to be a Democrat, and I’m proud that the Democratic Party of Illinois is supporting me.
I’m up against an incumbent who is backed by billionaires Bruce Rauner and Dick Uihlein (the top donor for Roy Moore, the Republican Senate candidate in Alabama who was accused of sexually assaulting several teen girls.) Without the support of my party, I would have no chance to unseat an entrenched politician who has turned his back on our communities in favor of the wealthy special interests that support him.
But let me be clear: I am in full control of my campaign, and I am “subservient” to no one. When I get to Springfield, I will vote my district first, no matter what.
As for Ms. McQueary’s statement that Democratic women “have become adept at looking the other way” when women are abused or harassed, I will just say this: For 20 years, judges in DuPage County have chosen me to act as guardian ad litem for children, seniors, and people with disabilities. Those judges trust me to protect those vulnerable people to the absolute best of my ability – and they know I will never “look the other way” if my clients are in danger of harm or abuse. My integrity has never been for sale, and it never will be.
Every day, I grab a clipboard and walk from door to door in my district, talking to people about the issues that matter most to them and their families. I see no reason to waste precious hours of this campaign fighting to be heard in a room full of people whose minds were made up long before I walked in the door.
For these reasons, I am withdrawing from today’s meeting with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board.
The column in question is here. I’ve asked McQueary via e-mail for comment and will post it if she sends one.
Did she do the right thing, or should she have attended the forum anyway?
Today, the Betsy Dirksen Londrigan for Congress campaign called out the Congressional Leadership Fund, Paul Ryan’s Super PAC, for lying about her record on healthcare, and sent a letter to TV stations in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District demanding that their false ad be pulled. For a detailed explanation of why the ad is blatantly false, read the Londrigan campaign’s letter HERE and attached below.
“It’s clear that Paul Ryan’s super PAC knows Rodney Davis’s disastrous healthcare record has landed him in real trouble in Central Illinois. This ad is a desperate, fraudulent attempt to distract voters from that truth,” said Emma Brown, campaign manager for Betsy Dirksen Londrigan. “While this group lies about Betsy, here are the facts about Rodney Davis: he voted for a health care repeal bill that would have left tens of thousands of his own constituents without health care, weakened protections for those with pre-existing conditions and charged older Americans more for their care. This is who Rodney Davis has shown himself to be, a career politician who will say anything to distract from his record and try to get re-elected.”