Randy Dunn is out as president of Southern Illinois University, bookending a wild stretch of controversy and animosity at the two-campus system, the university announced late Friday.
Dunn has agreed to a voluntary separation with the university that will pay him a six-month severance of $215,000. Dunn was hired as SIU president in 2014. SIU’s board will meet on Monday in Edwardsville to finalize his departure, which is effective July 30.
Dunn will be on leave effective Tuesday, before his official termination on July 30. The separation agreement also agrees to hire Dunn as a visiting professor in Edwardsville at an $100,000 annual salary, starting January 1.
Dr. J. Kevin Dorsey, the former dean and provost of the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield, is poised to step in as acting president for a one-year term while the board launches a search for a new leader. Dorsey will receive a base salary of $430,000.
Kwame Raoul, Democratic candidate for Attorney General, issued the following response to news of a federal indictment charging Russian officials for conspiring to interfere with the 2016 election in Illinois:
“With foreign adversaries interfering in Illinois elections, there must be full disclosure and consequences. I fought to get us out of Crosscheck to protect voter privacy. We can’t trust Trump and Rauner to safeguard our elections; as Attorney General, I will investigate any attempts to infiltrate our electoral systems or steal voter data. Our data must be secure, and we must be safe from attack.”
Earlier today, when asked by Crain’s Chicago Business about whether she would sue the Trump administration if elected Attorney General, Republican Erika Harold said she would not enter into lawsuits like those regarding family separation at the border, access to affordable healthcare, or a woman’s right to choose, dismissing efforts to protect our rights as “purely political.”
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan today took a step that has become almost routine in the past year and a half. She sued President Donald Trump’s administration, this time over its decision to withhold $6.5 million in law enforcement funds amid a dispute over how the state deals with illegal immigration.
The action was only the latest in a string of 28 lawsuits Madigan has filed over deportation of DACA recipients, provisions of Obamacare and a lot more. And with the Chicago Democrat retiring this fall after 16 years in office, the question of whether or not to continue such policies has become the sleeper issue in the contest to succeed her between the Democratic nominee, state Sen. Kwame Raoul, and the Republican candidate, attorney and Harvard Law School graduate Erika Harold.
The question shows signs of sparking a sharp debate between Raoul and Harold. […]
“I believe the attorney general’s office should not be using their scarce resources to enter into lawsuits for purely political purposes,” she said in a statement. “As attorney general, I would only sue the federal government if Illinois law has been implicated or the federal government has acted in violation of the Constitution.” she said, adding that she does happen to agree with Madigan on the $6.5 million. […]
Madigan, in her own statement, says she has no second thoughts. She says she’s “sued the federal government over executive orders, rule rollbacks and policy reversals because they pose a threat to our civil liberties, our environment and public safety efforts throughout Illinois.” And she’s also sued over new rules eliminating so-called “net neutrality” charges by telecom and internet providers.
* An old buddy of mine was in Speaker Michael Madigan’s Chicago office not long ago and snapped this photograph…
You may not be able to tell from the pic, but Gov. Rauner’s image is super-imposed on a “bop bag.” You’ve seen those. You punch them and they rock way back and then right themselves.
* The Question: Caption?
Please be careful not to get carried away with the violent imagery. This is supposed to be a fun little Friday thing. Keep it light and funny and harmless. I don’t want any visits from the state cops. Thanks.
* Welcome to the new world. Dan Proft had an on-air scoop this morning that Richard Goldberg is out as Gov. Rauner’s chief of staff and is being replaced with Illinois Policy Institute President Kristina Rasmussen
* Hinz: Rauner signals war with new chief of staff
Andersson, of course, was one of the House Republicans who voted for the tax hike/budget bills and in favor of overriding the governor’s vetoes. He was also “whipping” HGOP votes in favor of both sets of roll calls.
* Michael Lucci, the Vice President of Policy for the Illinois Policy Institute, has been hired as Gov. Rauner’s new policy director, according to a staff e-mail sent today by Rauner’s new chief of staff Kristina Rasmussen. […]
Laurel Patrick is the governor’s new communications director. Patrick was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s spokesperson before eventually moving to the economic-right Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. Patrick replaces Brad Hahn, who was let go today. […]
* Rauner’s chief of staff told her new charges today that “mutual respect paired with radical candor will make this an even greater place to work.”
Rauner spokesperson Catherine Kelly was just fired. What’s so unreal about this is that CK was a loyal Raunerite. She busted her tail for the governor. CK was expected to be leaving perhaps as early as next month anyway because her husband has a job in another state. But this action today was unexpected.
* I told subscribers about these developments earlier today. This evening, Mary Ann Ahern published the full memo sent out today by Gov. Rauner’s new chief of staff Kristina Rasmussen
* I cannot ever remember a time when this much focus has been placed on a governor’s staff changes. But it’s most certainly news and therefore political fodder.
WGN: There’s a sense among some Rauner loyalists that the governor, discouraged by defeat in the Illinois legislature, is now being influenced to go to the right rather than the middle. “It was one thing when nobody cared what they have to say it will be interesting to see how they perform outside the simulator,” an insider said.
* AP: Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman said appointing former organization President Kristina Rasmussen his chief of staff is an “unmistakable signal” that Rauner intends to fulfill a promise to make Illinois “prosperous and free.”
* Sneed: “It’s been tough. The morale is bad. People are afraid. It has been a coup d’etat type of environment. The conservative Illinois Policy Institute has taken charge.”
* Pritzker campaign: “As Rauner staffs up with a radical right-wing team determined to cause more devastation, our most vulnerable communities are still reeling from the damage of round one,”
* You would think the governor’s new crack PR team would be all over this. As the old saying (from Gov. Rauner himself) goes: “Crisis creates opportunity.”
* @illinoispolicy: .@capitolfax tell Steve Brown aka wordslinger that if he cared about the democratic process he’d get his boss to change his House rules
* From a memo sent out Tuesday by Gov. Rauner’s new chief of staff: Please share with me your best ideas for transforming Illinois through better public policy and improved operations by Friday at 3:00 p.m.
* From the governor’s media availability: “We are always trying to recruit and retain the best people in America to serve the people of Illinois. That’s all that matters.”
• Corrections and criminal justice adviser Jennifer Grady-Paswater;
• Jason Heffley, who handled environment and energy and helped cut the recent Exelon nuclear funding deal;
• Brian Oszakiewski who came from the staff of U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Chicago, and who handled transportation;
• Daniel Suess, who made policy recs for smaller state agencies. […]
*** UPDATE 1 *** Rauner spokesperson Eleni Demertzis has just resigned. Unlike some of the others, Eleni walked out on her own terms.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Allie Bovis, who oversees agency communications and was the traveling press secretary today for the governor’s trip to Lake County, has submitted her resignation effective next Friday. She’s also leaving on her own terms.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Jared Dubnow, who is the governor’s Director of Operations, is reportedly leaving and will be going to DCEO. He made the trains run on time, but before that he was the governor’s top advance man and was Rauner’s “body man” during the campaign.
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column: Rauner has always been a big fan of the Illinois Policy Institute’s way of thinking and ways of doing business. He insisted, for instance, that Rasmussen be included in some policy meetings. Rasmussen reportedly voiced support at those meetings for things like shutting down some state universities and prisons, regardless of the consequences, including the possibility of a prison escape during a hastily arranged facility shutdown. That’s just the sort of “bold” thinking that Rauner likes.
* Mike Mahoney, the governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Legislative Affairs, resigned this morning.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Sources close to the governor’s office confirm that the governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Engagement Phil Rodriguez has also resigned. Rodriguez worked for Comptrollers Topinka and Munger and ran both of their campaigns. He’s moving over to the Tollway.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The govenor’s body man, Kyle Haevers, has been told his services were no longer needed and was asked to find an agency to move to. His replacement is Ben Tracy, who has already begun traveling with the governor. Kyle was a loyal Raunerite and has been part of Rauner World since 2014 and helped on the Rep. McAuliffe race last fall.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Digital Director Bridget Davidson and Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Munson also resigned today. Davidson came on board last October from a TV station in Milwaukee. I’m told that under Davidson’s direction “Facebook followers grew organically (no paid or sponsored posts) by 300 percent” in seven months.
*** UPDATE 4 *** Kathy Lydon, who runs the state’s Washington, DC office, has left. I’m told her deputy left as well. Lydon previously worked for Judy Biggert and goes all the way back to the Chuck Percy days.
*** UPDATE 5 *** Bob Stefanski, Director of House and Senate Operations, has departed. The House and Senate Republican leaders both wanted the governor to keep him around.
*** UPDATE 6 *** @IllinoisWorking: TWENTY ONE staffers have left or been fired from @GovRauner’s office since last week#ShakeUpSpringfield
*** UPDATE 7 *** Anyone paying half attention to the RadicalCandorIL Twitter account today could’ve guessed this was coming: @MaryAnnAhernNBC The new “body man” doesn’t last one day! @GovRauner fires him #chaos
*** UPDATE 8 *** Politico: Illinois GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner’s new “body man” — the government staffer who spends long days with governor — has a history of writing racially-charged, homophobic and sexually explicit tweets. “I’d f— her teeth straight,” said one. “To the Indian people in the library: SHUT THE F— UP!,” said another.
* It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what group of people are likely behind the new RadicalCandorIL Twitter account. I followed it closely all weekend and since the resignations are continuing, I thought you might want a ScribbleLive feed
* Press release: Diana Rickert starts today as Deputy Chief of Staff of Communications. Many of you have worked with Diana during her six years at the Illinois Policy Institute
Today, nonpartisan forecasters at Cook Political Report upgraded Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s chances of winning in IL-13, shifting their rating of the race from Likely Republican to just Lean Republican. Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman specifically cited Londrigan’s strong candidacy and her focus on the issue of health care as reasons why the race is becoming more competitive.
“This confirms what we are already seeing on the ground here in central Illinois: Betsy is exciting voters and making this a race through her hard work and her focus on issues that matter to Illinois families every day, like protecting their access to affordable health care,” said Kate Martucci, Londrigan’s campaign manager.
In 2011, Illinois Democrats tried to draw the 13th to elect one of their own by connecting the disparate college towns of Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal and Edwardsville with union-heavy cities like Decatur and the state capital of Springfield. But since 2012, GOP Rep. Rodney Davis has defied that creative cartography, winning reelection by comfortable margins.
Davis has succeeded in part because he’s an affable, energetic member who eschews heated rhetoric, works diligently on the Agriculture Committee and chairs the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership. He’s also benefited from Downstate Illinois’s drift away from national Democrats: in 2008, the 13th CD gave Barak Obama 55 percent. In 2016, President Trump carried it by six points and Davis won it by 19.
But, this is the kind of seat that could be problematic for Republicans in a wave, and Democrats have a credible candidate in Springfield fundraising consultant Betsy Dirksen Londrigan. Londrigan can’t definitively trace her ancestry to late Illinois GOP Sen. Everett Dirksen, but in March she defeated four primary opponents with 46 percent of the vote and has raised over $1 million to date.
For a first-time candidate, Londrigan has spent an above-average amount of time around politics: she helped her husband ran (unsuccessfully) for state senate over a decade ago and she’s raised money professionally for Sen. Dick Durbin and the Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation. She’ll talk about her grandparents’ farm and opposition to tariffs to try to build appeal in the 13th CD’s soy-heavy rural counties.
It won’t be easy for Democrats to portray Davis as a Trump lackey; he rescinded his support of Trump in October 2016 after Access Hollywood. But Londrigan says Davis’s 2017 vote to repeal the ACA is what motivated her to run against the “Trump/Davis agenda.” She’ll use the personal story of her son’s life threatening tick bite in 2009 to illustrate her commitment to affordable health coverage.
To win, Democrats will need to convince voters that behind Davis’s likable demeanor lurks a voting record out of step with the district. And the more GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner looks doomed to defeat, the more plausible Londrigan’s path could become. Davis remains the favorite, but the race moves from Likely Republican to Lean Republican.
Londrigan’s campaign is gonna have to convince every possible African-American and college student to vote this November. And students, especially, don’t usually vote much during off-year cycles.
Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to stop in O’Fallon next week for a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Mike Bost.
The event is scheduled for 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the O’Fallon Regency Conference Center, said Dustin Rhodes, the campaign manager for Bost, a Murphysboro Republican. The event is closed to the press.
…Adding… Oops. I forgot about this. Bost got pwned…
Congratulations to Steeleville's Lauren Kiehna on representing Southern Illinois on @Jeopardy! Way to go! https://t.co/PKuIYWvf5i
Mike, both my Jeopardy! dream and my writing career were made possible by my ACA insurance plan. Remember when you voted to take affordable healthcare options away from constituents like me last summer? I do. That's why I'll be voting for @Kelly4SouthrnIL in November. https://t.co/qWnK8jieDt
* Election 2018: Story-lines emerging: Now the second-most-expensive congressional race in the state outside of Chicago, the fight between U.S. Rep. RODNEY DAVIS, R-Taylorville, and Democratic challenger BETSY LONDRIGAN has ballooned into a $2.6 million affair. Londrigan has spent about $557,000 of the $779,000 she has raised; Davis has spent $886,571 of $1.8 million.
* Rodney Davis: Keep politics out of Supreme Court confirmation process
Two weeks ago, the Rauner administration, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Janus case, set up a web site to inform unionized workers about how much they are paying in union dues and how they could drop out of union representation.
To date, the administration has not said how many workers who previously were full union members have decided to opt out of union representation as a result of the Janus ruling.
At the same time, the union that represents the bulk of state employees said that “hundreds” of people have joined the union as dues-paying members since the Janus decision. It said only a “handful” have quit. The union said it could not provide specific numbers.
You’d think the Rauner administration would be crowing if lots of folks dumped the union. By the same token, if AFSCME did gain “hundreds” of members, you’d think they’d have some figures to share. Maybe nobody has the numbers collected just yet…
Since the site was set up, however, the state has not said how many full dues-paying members have opted to drop their union membership. Instead, CMS said, it has been busy ensuring that fair share fees are no longer withheld from worker paychecks.
* Meanwhile, the Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, Thomas John Paprocki, explains his support for the Janus decision, even though he has a lot of AFSCME members in his pews…
When the case reached the Supreme Court, the General Counsel for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Anthony Picarello, filed a “friend-of-the-court” brief, known by its name in Latin as an amicus curiae brief, in support of the union. When the case was decided against the union, Bishop Frank Dewane, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, expressed his disappointment with the Supreme Court’s decision, citing “the long-held view of so many bishops” in support of unions.
I respectfully disagree. Let me explain why.
The “long-held view of so many bishops” in support of unions is generally understood to go back to the time of Pope Leo XIII, who issued an encyclical letter in 1891 on the rights and duties of capital and labor, entitled Rerum novarum. While this encyclical voiced strong support for the rights of workers, particularly their right to form unions, this support was never unconditional. Rather, Pope Leo wrote (in paragraph 57) that unions “must pay special and chief attention to the duties of religion and morality, and that social betterment should have this chiefly in view; otherwise they would lose wholly their special character, and end by becoming little better than those societies which take no account whatever of religion. What advantage can it be to a working man to obtain by means of a society material well-being, if he endangers his soul for lack of spiritual food? ‘What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?’ (Matthew 16:26).”
In this regard, then, unions should not expect the unquestioning support of the church when their objectives are contrary “to the duties of religion and morality.” Today, a number of unions actively promote abortion rights. Three of the nation’s biggest unions — including AFSCME — contributed $435,000 to the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, in 2014.
As a matter of policy, the delegates to the AFSCME International Convention, meeting in Chicago in 2014, complained that “health care laws have restricted the places where abortions can be performed” and voted to “oppose legislation that restricts a woman’s basic right to health care and reproductive rights,” by which they mean, of course, abortion. Forcing public employees to subsidize unions that promote such immoral policies and activities is just not right.
* You may have already heard about today’s federal indictments, but there’s at least one and maybe more Illinois angle, including the Russian hacking of the State Board of Elections. From Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein’s statement today…
Today, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment presented by the Special Counsel’s Office. The indictment charges twelve Russian military officers for conspiring to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.
Eleven of the defendants are charged with conspiring to hack into computers, steal documents, and release documents in an effort to interfere with the election.
One of those defendants, and a twelfth Russian officer, are charged with conspiring to infiltrate computers of organizations responsible for administering elections, including state boards of election, secretaries of state, and companies that supply software and other technology used to administer elections.
According to the allegations in the indictment, the defendants worked for two units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian General Staff, known as the GRU. The units engaged in active cyber operations to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. One GRU unit worked to steal information, while another unit worked to disseminate stolen information. […]
In a second, related conspiracy, Russian GRU officers hacked the website of a state election board and stole information about 500,000 voters. They also hacked into computers of a company that supplied software used to verify voter registration information; targeted state and local offices responsible for administering the elections; and sent spearphishing emails to people involved in administering elections, with malware attached.
The object of the conspiracy was to hack into protected computers of persons and entities charged with the administration of the 2016 U.S. elections in order to access those computers and steal voter data and other information stored on those computers. Manner and Means of the Conspiracy
In or around June 2016, KOVALEV and his co-conspirators researched domains used by US. state boards of elections, secretaries of state, and other election-related entities for website vulnerabilities. KOVALEV and his co-conspirators also searched for state political party email addresses, including filtered queries for email addresses listed on state Republican Party websites.
a. For example, on or about April 22, 2016, the Conspirators compressed gigabytes of data from DNC computers, including opposition research. The Conspirators later moved the compressed DNC data using X-Tunnel to a GRU-leased computer located in Illinois.
b. On or about April 28, 2016, the Conspirators connected to and tested the same computer located in Illinois. Later that day, the Conspirators used X-Tunnel to connect to that computer to steal additional documents from the network.
…Adding… From Matt Dietrich at the Illinois State Board of Elections…
I’m going through the indictment now. We have had no contact with the DOJ on this and did not know it was coming.
*** UPDATE 1 *** We’re about to find out if the ISBE knows any details…
llinois State Board of Elections Press Conference (U.S. Dept. of Justice Indictment In 2016 Elections Hacking) Blueroom Springfield 3 PM CST @BlueRoomStream. pic.twitter.com/aYY3zlG0jK
*** UPDATE 2 *** “We think it’s very likely,” Matt Dietrich just told reporters, that the Illinois State Board of Election is the “SBOE 1″ described in the federal indictment. From the indictment…
In or around July 2016, KOVALEV and his co-conspirators hacked the website of a state board of elections and stole information related to approximately 500,000 voters, including names, addresses, partial social security numbers, dates of birth, and driver’s license numbers.
In or around August 2016, KOVALEV and his co-conspirators hacked into the computers of a U.S. vendor that supplied software used to verify voter registration information for the 2016 U.S. elections. KOVALEV and his co-conspirators used some of the same infrastructure to hack into Vendor 1 that they had used to hack into SBOE 1.
In or around August 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued an alert about the hacking of SBOE 1 and identified some of the infrastructure that was used to conduct the hacking. In response, KOVALEV deleted his search history. KOVALEV and his co-conspirators also deleted records from accounts used in their operations targeting state boards of elections and similar election-related entities.
*** UPDATE 3 *** The Board of Elections press release is here.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Bobby Rush (D-IL-01), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), and Bill Foster (D-IL-11) today pressed Governor Bruce Rauner on what steps his Administration is currently taking—or plans to take—to improve maternal and infant health outcomes in Illinois, as well as to reduce the stark racial disparities.
The United States is one of only 13 developed countries in the world where the rate of maternal mortality—the death of a woman related to pregnancy or childbirth either during pregnancy or up to a year after the end of the pregnancy—is worse today than it was 25 years ago. Each year, an estimated 700 to 900 women nationwide now die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth, with black women significantly more likely than white women to die from pregnancy related causes. In 2016, Illinois had more than 150,000 births, with 72 pregnancy-associated maternal deaths and 985 infant deaths. In Illinois, black women have 3.5 times higher mortality rates than white women and black infants have nearly 3 times higher mortality rates than white infants—far worse than the national average.
“The United States is one of the very few developed countries where deaths related to pregnancy or childbirth are increasing—and there is a greater racial gap in infant mortality rates today than there was during slavery in America. This is simultaneously unacceptable and heart-breaking,” the members wrote. “More must be done to help women and infants across Illinois—especially black mothers and babies—and we look forward to hearing what your Administration plans to do to assist in these efforts.”
Today’s letter, from members of the Illinois delegation, requests information regarding what steps the Rauner Administration is taking to improve maternal and infant health outcomes in Illinois and reduce the stark racial disparities. The letter asks for information regarding what services are currently, or should be, covered by Illinois’ Medicaid and private insurance plans with respect to maternity and newborn care, and seeks to get commitment from the Governor that, despite President Trump’s efforts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act’s important consumer protections, he will ensure that all health plans in Illinois are required to cover health care services vital to new families. Finally, the letter asks for more information on how Illinois is, or plans to, better tackle implicit bias in medical care for minority women and babies. [Emphasis added.]
The governor’s office did not respond Thursday to a request for comment WAND-TV emailed to them early that afternoon.
I’ll follow up.
* Related…
* How Hospitals Are Failing Black Mothers - A ProPublica analysis shows that women who deliver at hospitals that disproportionately serve black mothers are at a higher risk of harm
Republican governor candidate Bruce Rauner today said he blames Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn for the deaths of child-abuse victims whose families previously had contact with the state’s child-welfare agency.
“Yes,” Rauner said when asked by reporters if the deaths of 95 children with past contact with the Department of Children and Family Services from 2011-2013 were attributable to Quinn.
“Pat Quinn is, in the end, responsible for the failings at the Department of Children and Family Services. If it was a one-year problem or a temporary problem you could say, ‘OK, maybe, there was, it’s not really his responsibility.’ But he’s been governor for six years. He’s had a revolving door of failure at Department of Children and Family Services for years and years,” Rauner said.
A Cook County judge angrily scolded the state’s child welfare agency Thursday over the slow pace of its investigation into the fire death of a 3-year-old boy in foster care, losing his temper when officials refused to provide any details.
“You tell me how he died, OK?” Juvenile Court Judge Patrick Murphy said during an often combative hearing. “I failed a kid because I appointed you as a guardian.’’ […]
In another tense exchange, Murphy demanded to know why the agency hadn’t acted on an earlier complaint about inadequate supervision in the home. The complaint was made to DCFS earlier this year and investigators determined it was unfounded, but an agency attorney could not give any other details.
Man, what a mess.
And as far as Quinn’s “revolving door of failure” goes, let’s look at the history under Rauner. In January of 2015, Rauner appointed Cynthia Tate as interim DCFS director. A month later, he appointed George Sheldon. Director Sheldon abruptly resigned last year during an ethics probe, which turned up some not so savory stuff. After Sheldon resigned, Rauner appointed another interim director, Lisa Spacapan. A month later, he appointed Beverly Walker as acting director. A year into her tenure, Walker had still not been confirmed over concerns that she wasn’t moving fast enough to reform DCFS, so Rauner withdrew her nomination then nominated her again.
* Sometimes, people screw up when they’re being interviewed live. I’ve done it. It’s not as easy as it looks. However, conflating the ongoing trade war with the NATO contribution disagreement is pretty odd…
Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti was interviewed on Bloomington radio Thursday and was asked about fears of a growing agricultural trade war under tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump and counter-tariffs from other nations.
But her answer left some people scratching their heads.
“Well, yeah, yeah. I do believe that at the end of the day, if people are paying less to be part of an organized agreement between nations, they should pay their fair share,” Sanguinetti said on WJBC-AM 1230. […]
Sanguinetti’s response about paying a “fair share” and an “organized agreement between nations” echoes Trump’s recent appearance before NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military-based defense alliance with little to do with trade. […]
When asked if she was “OK” with the president’s trade policy, Sanguinetti said: “Well, I do believe that he needs to look out for us as far as trade is concerned and everybody paying their fair share.”
Maybe there are some special reasons in this case. But for a guy who has kept his distance from Donald Trump, Gov. Bruce Rauner sure seems to be cozying up lately—at least a little bit—to a president the polls say isn’t very popular in Illinois.
U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam is skipping Vice President Mike Pence’s appearance Friday in Rosemont — planning to be in Washington to take votes instead — but Gov. Bruce Rauner will be at the event to introduce Pence, officials confirmed Thursday.
Pence is expected to headline a fundraiser for Roskam and other Republicans in the area
Um. OK. Roskam isn’t showing for a fundraiser for… Roskam?
Usually a Republican governor introducing a Republican Vice President wouldn’t be worthy of highlighting in the first paragraph. In this case it is, because Rauner has gone to some effort – until lately – to distance himself from President Donald Trump.
What’s changed? Rauner needs to repair relations with the Republican base in Illinois as he battles J.B. Pritzker, the Democratic nominee for governor.
But repairing relations with that base comes with consequences.
* DGA…
It’s only halfway through July, but for Governor Bruce Rauner, this summer has all been about President Donald Trump. The Chicago Sun-Times now reports that Rauner will introduce Vice President Mike Pence at a Chicago-area rally promoting Trump’s economic policies and performing “damage control” for the administration’s trade policy.
For Rauner, it’s just another day in his summer of Trump. Over the past few weeks, Rauner praised Trump’s Supreme Court nominee this week and flew to Washington for a “photo op” with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announcing an already-announced infrastructure grant. At the same time, a Super PAC affiliated with Trump’s Illinois backers began running ads propping up the vulnerable incumbent. And all the while, Rauner has kept on praising Trump’s handling of the economy.
“It’s the summer of Trump for Bruce Rauner,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “All summer, Rauner has been moving from silently supporting Donald Trump’s agenda to outright embracing his administration. For Illinoisans concerned with how Trump’s policies are hurting their families, Rauner’s just finding a new way to fail them all over again.”
The governor’s decision to introduce Pence in Rosemont drew criticism from Democratic challenger J.B. Pritzker, who previously has labeled the Republican governor a “silent partner” to Trump.
“Rauner has spent the last few months cozying up to Donald Trump, praising his policies, and getting support from his top Illinois fundraiser’s SuperPAC, but now he’s taking their partnership to the next level by campaigning with his VP,” the Pritzker campaign said in a statement. The campaign was referring to Pritzker attack ads being run by a PAC formerly headed by Ron Gidwitz, Trump’s Illinois campaign finance chair and now U.S. ambassador to Belgium.
“While Rauner ranges from Trump’s silent partner to his proud, vocal supporter, campaigning with Trump’s VP brings their alliance to new heights,” Pritzker spokesman Jason Rubin said.
* And here’s something brand new in the world of DPI: A protest led by its new interim executive director…
Today, Democratic Party of Illinois Executive Director Christian Mitchell will lead a protest against Mike Pence, Bruce Rauner, Peter Roskam, and their attacks on Illinois communities.
WHO: Democratic Party of Illinois Executive Director Christian Mitchell, Illinois Democratic Women, Citizen Action Illinois, Indivisible Chicago, Indivisible Illinois, Women’s March Illinois, Gather Activism, UFCW Local 881, ATU Local 308, Planned Parenthood Illinois Action, Personal PAC, and SEIU Healthcare.
*** UPDATE *** Sam McCann’s campaign was passing out this flier at the protest today…
Across the country, Democratic and Republican Governors spoke out against their state supporting Trump and keeping children away from their parents. Rauner wasn’t giving it a thought and now we learn why. Rauner has been profiting on Donald Trump’s policy. Rauner is the owner of this company which is paid millions to keep children from their parents. Bruce Rauner, that’s a disgrace.
The ad also quoted Rauner as saying that he hadn’t given any thought to the family separations.
THE FACTS: There is no evidence that Rauner has made money off keeping immigrant children separated, and Rauner did speak out against the Trump policy. […]
Correct Care Solutions does not hold contracts with any facilities that house separated children, said Judy Lilley, a spokeswoman for Correct Care Solutions.
The company treats adult detainees at some Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers and provides a physician for the Karnes County Residential Center in Texas, which houses immigrant families together. The company also provides health care to a correctional center in Milan, New Mexico, where AP reported that a 31-year-old father separated from his child was being housed. […]
As for the assertion that Rauner hadn’t given any thought to Trump’s family separations, the governor called the policy “bad,” ‘’wrong,” and “heartbreaking,” in an interview with the Chicago Tribune in June, just before the practice was abolished.
Rauner did say he had not given “any thought whatsoever” to rescinding his offer to send National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border, as some governors did after the family separation policy generated controversy. No Illinois National Guard troops have been deployed to assist at the border, Major Dutch Grove of the Guard told the AP.
“Taking so long to speak out about the National Guard and on other issues about Donald Trump,” Pritzker said. “This is a guy who is standing up for immoral policies, or at least not speaking out quickly enough against them.” […]
“The fact of the matter is that he is an investor, owns a piece of a company, that is profiting off of the separation of families,” Pritzker said. “That’s all true. So I don’t know why we’d need to pull it. It’s a factual ad.”
(T)he Capitol Fax state politics blog referred to [the ad] as “brutally deceptive” and said hopefully “the Pritzker campaign doesn’t whine when they are lied about.”
“No,” said Pritzker of whether Capitol Fax’s description of the ad bothered him. “It’s a truthful ad. Bruce Rauner is a failed governor who’s unwilling to stand up to Donald Trump. … He’s standing up for immoral policies, or at least not speaking out quickly enough against them.” […]
“(Rauner) has not run a single positive ad. Not one. It’s not shocking because, what has he got to brag about? Three-and-a-half years in office and what has he got to brag about? Nothing,” said Pritzker. “We need real leadership in this state that believes in lifting up working families.”
* Related…
* True or not, expect more mudslinging in race for governor: For the Illinois governor’s race, Mooney said the two major party candidates have “more money than they know what to do with,” so expect to get berated with negative ads, no matter the cost.
Dozens of school districts around the state are scrambling to keep preschool programs intact — or to lay off staff — after learning their preschool funding was reduced or zeroed out.
Illinois lawmakers approved $50 million in additional money for preschool this year, so it was a shock to many of the programs to learn their funding was slashed.
* Mark Maxwell looked at some other schools yesterday…
Abrupt cuts to early childhood education programs like the Prevention Initiative and the Early Childhood For All project caught several school districts off guard, especially because their scores met or exceeded the requirements to maintain funding. pic.twitter.com/9fAMFUK8KJ
The State Board of Education said they simply ran out of money.
* ISBE press release…
Fiscal year 2019 was the first statewide open competition for the Early Childhood Block Grant in a number of years. The process provided funding for 5,000 additional children. However, due to the large number of applicants, the appropriation could not fully meet the need statewide, and not all qualified programs received funding.
The State Board of Education is collaborating with the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development and the Department of Human Services on a solution to fund additional high quality Prevention Initiative and Preschool for All Expansion programs. The agreement will fund programs that met standards (scored 60 or above) and did not initially receive funding for FY 2019 due to the limited funds in the State Board’s appropriation. These programs will receive funding at the same per child cost as other funded programs. The State Board is deeply appreciative of the collaboration to further expand access to high-quality early childhood services.
I’m not sure, though, that the board can find enough. They told Maxwell that they’d need $170 million to make everyone whole. I’m hearing they’re only looking to come up with a fraction of that. We’ll see.
*** UPDATE *** From the Board…
$170 million is the amount we are short for all requests. The $20 million identified will fund all of the eligible programs (those that scored above a 60) at the per child amount - not full requests. So it will put the 60+ programs that qualified for funding at the same level as those that were funded.
* The AP takes a look at bills awaiting gubernatorial action. Here’s one…
Lawmakers also sent Rauner a proposal to raise the limit on damages from $100,000 to $2 million for those who sue the state, a measure that has been billed by Democrats as a way to provide justice for family members of veterans who died of Legionnaires’ in recent years. Republicans, meanwhile, have said the proposed changes are overly broad and would harm taxpayers.
Increases the maximum award for certain claims sounding in tort filed on or after July 1, 2015 from $100,000 to $2,000,000. Provides that the court shall annually adjust the maximum awards to reflect the increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers for the previous calendar year, as determined by the United States Department of Labor.
* Oh, man, was this ever a big mistake by Lori Lightfoot’s comms director. From Think Progress…
It was a Tuesday in late June when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez turned the world upside down. The New York machine shuddered to an unexpected halt. A 28-year-old socialist had taken on the King of Queens in the state’s 14th congressional district and won.
Some 800 miles west, in Chicago, mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot was hoping to replicate that victory. A little more than seven months out from the city’s election, Lightfoot and her campaign have tried to paint her as the next insurgent progressive to knock out a more moderate, white, establishment incumbent in the wake of Ocasio-Cortez’s victory.
Lightfoot, however, is more hesitant to take on the same ultra-progressive stances Ocasio-Cortez made central to her campaign. And, at least at this juncture, Lightfoot hasn’t yet managed to inspire the same activist energy that propelled Ocasio-Cortez to victory — energy crucial to Lightfoot’s bid against incumbent Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the field of nine other challengers.
Two days after Ocasio-Cortez’s primary win, Lightfoot’s communications director reached out to me over email. She noted that I had written about Ocasio-Cortez, New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, and several other women candidates in the past, pitching Lightfoot as the next progressive sensation.
What follows is an evisceration of Lightfoot on just about every possible left-wing purity test level. Not pretty.
For you kids out there, don’t do this.
* Related…
* Emanuel-allied group hires away potential rival’s fund-raiser: Going to work for Progress Chicago, a group backed by Emanuel confidant Michael Sacks and other mayoral associates, is Katelynd Duncan, a fast-rising fund-raiser whose clients have included Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, Illinois Democratic Party Acting Executive Director Christian Mitchell, Chicago Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), and—until recently— [Bridget] Gainer, who insiders say will announce against Emanuel within the next two weeks.
* Columnist George Will essentially endorsed Bruce Rauner for governor in 2014…
Illinois voters can choose Rauner and term limits, or the acceleration of stagnation and the end of the pleasure of complaining.
* And Will was ecstatic about Rauner’s inauguration in February of 2015…
The most portentous election of 2014, which gave the worst-governed state its first Republican governor in 12 years, has initiated this century’s most intriguing political experiment. Illinois has favored Democratic presidential candidates by an average of 16 points in the last six elections. But by electing businessman Bruce Rauner, it initiated a process that might dismantle a form of governance that afflicts many states and municipalities.
* And when the impasse was really hitting home in August of 2016, Will stuck up for his guy…
Seated in his office in Chicago, wearing neither a necktie nor a frown, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is remarkably relaxed for someone at the epicenter of a crisis now in its second year and with no end in sight. But, then, stress is pointless when the situation is hopeless. Besides, if you can ignore the fact that self-government is failing in the nation’s fifth-most populous state, you can see real artistry in the self-dealing by the Democrats who, with veto-proof majorities in the state Legislature, have reduced this state they control to insolvency.
“I love a fight,” says an ebullient Rauner, whose rhetoric cannot get much more pugnacious. He calls Madigan “the worst elected official in the country” and Madigan’s machine “evil.” The nation has a huge stake in this brawl because the “blue model” is bankrupting cities and states from Connecticut to California, so its demolition here, where it has done the most damage, would be a wondrous story enhancing the nation’s glory.
Maseng Communications, which is run by Will’s wife, Mari Maseng Will, was given a contract by the Rauner campaign this past spring.
The Supreme Court is especially admirable when correcting especially deplorable prior decisions, as with the 1954 school desegregation decision rejecting a 1896 decision’s “separate but equal” doctrine. It did so again June 27, overturning a 41-year-old precedent inimical to the First Amendment.
* Gov. Rauner press release today…
Gov. Bruce Rauner today announced the 2019 recipients of the Order of Lincoln, which is the state’s highest honor for professional achievement and public service.
“These distinguished individuals make us proud to be Illinoisans,” Rauner said. “They have honored us with their achievements in medicine, business, the arts, the law and sports, so it is only fitting and proper to bestow upon them the state’s highest honor.” […]
“While the recipients’ work spans many fields, all have the traits of Abraham Lincoln in common,” Rauner said. “They possess tremendous talent. They are great leaders, great community servants and great lovers of Illinois.” […]
George F. Will is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post who also is a regular contributor to NBC News and MSNBC. Will is also a prolific writer of books about national and international relations, politics, government, and the sport of baseball. Titles include “The Pursuit of Happiness and Other Sobering Thoughts,” “Statecraft as Soulcraft,” and “One Man’s America: The Pleasures and Provocations of Our Singular Nation.” Will was named Best Writer by the Washington Journalism Review in 1985 and one of the 25 most influential Washington journalists by the National Journal in 1997. He grew up in Champaign.
…Adding… I changed the headline because the governor has no direct role in naming these awards. From the governor’s office…
The Lincoln Academy of Illinois is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan, and self-perpetuating organization established in 1964 to recognize the outstanding contributions made by living Illinois citizens, whether by birth or by residence.
The laureates are selected at a called meeting of the Regents and General Trustees, a group of no more than sixty distinguished Illinoisans in attendance, from the nominees submitted. There is a vote to determine those most deserving to honor as Laureates of the Academy, thereby conferring upon them the Order of Lincoln.
IMPACT JOURNALISM: SEC regulators bust Illinois GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner over pay-to-play investigation we broke in 2014. Original story here: https://t.co/Cw3GRiEJSg New SEC action here: https://t.co/gYInsxvl8J
Upon further review, SEC actually sanctioned firm that did biz with TRS. Member of the firm gave money to Rauner campaign, but that was refunded upon request. Firm was prohibited from doing biz with TRS for 2 years under pay2play rule. But kept going. Firm penalized $120,000 https://t.co/N33kXCJfct
Illinois Republicans gathered in Tampa for the Republican National Convention, and they’ve designated House Speaker Mike Madigan as their punching bag, launching the website FireMadigan.com dedicated to paraphernalia with the logo seen at right. A Madigan spokesman laughed the Republicans’ gumption off, saying, “Not much success then. No reason to think their luck will change.”
“We need to make a change, people recognize that,” said Illinois GOP Chair Pat Brady. “We’re just going to create awareness about the damage Mike Madigan’s policies — or lack of policies — have done to the state of Illinois. That’s a message that’s really resonating (with voters.)”
Former governor Jim Edgar says the “fire Madigan” campaign is a gimmick.
That’s not necessarily bad — campaigns need gimmicks, he says … but Edgar says Republicans ought to be focusing on winning more elections.
“I’d like to see more Republicans in the legislature, and yeah, I’d like to see Tom Cross as Speaker. I’m not so — [I don’t] think we ought to just concentrate on telling the Democrats they ought to get rid of Mike Madigan. That’s their decision.”
After coverage of our FIRE MADIGAN signs at Republican Day at this year’s Illinois State Fair, we’ve had many people asking for FIRE MADIGAN materials so we’ve created this online FIRE MADIGAN store.
If you think after over 40 years in Springfield and Illinois being ranked as one of the worst states financially that it’s time to Fire Illinois House Speaker/Illinois Democratic Party Chairman/Father of the Illinois Attorney General Mike Madigan, you can have a little fun helping spread the word with any of these FIRE MADIGAN products, including t-shirts, hats, bumper stickers, buttons, and signs. Check back often as more designs and products will be added in the weeks ahead!
“When we started this, it was less about building unfavorables and more about letting people know who he is and how Springfield actually works,” said Pat Brady, former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party who launched a “Fire Madigan” campaign four years ago. “Now they are trying to take that and win seats with it, and I think they are going to have success.”
“It’s ‘Fire Madigan’ on steroids because they have the resources and the funding and a lot of very smart people running these campaigns. It’s a lot more well thought out and a stronger strategy than we’ve ever had,” Brady said. “We are in a state that has been dysfunctional for so long that they are looking for someone to blame, and the speaker is an easy target. If we can get across the point that a vote for an individual Democrat is a vote for Madigan, I think that’s very effective.”
Others are less convinced.
“We’ve made Madigan an issue for years. I mean, when I was running for governor re-election, I had quadruple bypass surgery. I credited one of the bypasses to Mike Madigan,” former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar quipped to a Springfield audience last month before raising doubts about the strategy targeting Madigan.
Together, the people of Illinois can hold their state representatives accountable by asking them to sign The People’s Pledge, putting the people back in charge of state government and ending Mike Madigan’s grip on power once and for all.
Visit www.FireMikeMadigan.com to learn more about The People’s Pledge and get involved.
Illinois politics is rotten at its core. Dominated for decades by one man: Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan.
He’s amassed power at all costs, even as Illinois has suffered under his rule. Madigan will do anything to keep his grip on power, even as scandal engulfs his reign.
Enough is enough.
THE PEOPLE’S PLEDGE requires members of the Illinois House of Representative to promise to oppose Mike Madigan as House Speaker no matter what.
Even if Madigan refuses to resign, our state representatives can still take his power away by removing the Speaker’s gavel from Madigan’s grip.
The People’s Pledge also makes sure a Madigan-like politician can never rise again by placing term limits on legislators and statewide officeholders. The People’s Pledge puts the people back in charge of state government.
An Instagram post of Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner appearing to officiate at the wedding of Equality Illinois board member Mark Cozzi and James Koeke on July 1st has been stirring interest for the past few days.
The photo is on newlywed Mark Cozzi’s Instagram account, along with photos of him and his new husband on their honeymoon in Italy. While the governor’s part in the ceremony as the photo indicates has not been clarified, it’s obvious that Rauner is no longer hopeful of attracting social conservatives to help re-elect him in November.
“It’s clear that the governor has learned nothing from his near-loss in the Republican primary this year,” Illinois Family Institute’s executive director David E. Smith told Illinois Review. “He’s not interested in attracting social conservatives to get out and vote Republican this fall.” […]
The governor has chosen to snub the Illinois Republican Party social conservative base despite being faced with near-mutiny when he almost lost the 2018 Republican Primary to conservative State Rep. Jeanne Ives in March.
Others applauded the governor’s role in the wedding. Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said it shows “love is love and that people are recognizing that.”
“I don’t really know all the politics of it. I’m going to guess some of it. But the truth is, it’s just a public official respecting and honoring the fact that love is just love,” Yohnka said. “I thought they [the Illinois Family Institute], my friend David, is supposed to be about families and this is a family and it’s a wonderful thing.”
Equality Illinois — the state’s civil rights organization for LGBTQ people — too, applauded Rauner’s role in the wedding.
“As chief executive of our state, it is appropriate for Gov. Rauner to administer government-sanctioned functions, including marriage,” said Mike Ziri, spokesman for Equality Illinois. “There is no license to discriminate in Illinois, as the Illinois Family Institute seems to falsely believe.”
I’ve asked the Pritzker and McCann campaigns for a response.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Pritzker campaign pointed me to this tweet…
Appearing with a Vice President who wanted to take money away from HIV prevention to fund conversion therapy the same week you officiate a gay marriage is a really interesting take on having no social agenda. #ilgov#twillhttps://t.co/2JuxQNaOLG
Media from across the state has roundly criticized the latest ad by JB Pritzker for peddling lies. Despite the Rauner campaign’s clear rebuttal of claims made in the ad, the Pritzker team doubled down on their allegations despite clear falsehoods.
Take a look at how media from around the state covered Pritzker’s ad:
Chicago Tribune:
Rauner’s campaign noted that the governor late last month called for an end to Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy that labeled migrants entering the country as a criminal rather than civil matter. He called the policy “wrong” and “heartbreaking” and said while the nation needs to “secure our borders and stop illegal immigration,” a policy of “separating families is not the right answer.”
Pritzker’s ad quotes Rauner, suggesting he hadn’t given “any thought” to the separation policy. But the governor actually responded to a question about a Trump administration desire to deploy state National Guard units to the Mexican border. No such request had been made for the Illinois National Guard.
The ad also asserts Rauner profited from the firm Correct Care Solutions. The firm is being used to provide healthcare at some federal Department of Homeland Security migrant detention centers. Rauner previously was a partner in the equity investment firm GTCR and has said his current investments have been delegated to a power of attorney.
Rauner’s campaign referenced comments by his government spokeswoman Patty Schuh, who said the firm still owns the investment in Correct Care Solutions but it has not shown any profits or losses from it yet.
Rauner left GTCR in 2012, his campaign said, and the equity firm didn’t invest in Correct Care Solutions until 2014.
Rauner campaign spokesman Alex Browning said the Pritzker ad “intentionally misrepresents the facts” in order to “weave a false and deceitful narrative. The Pritzker campaign should immediately take down this dishonest and shameful ad.”
State Journal-Register: The governor’s campaign notes correctly that when Rauner said he hadn’t given any thought to an issue, it was when he was asked if the state would send Illinois National Guard troops to the border – and there had been no such request from the federal government. He said at that same appearance that the policy of separating children from parents is “bad policy” and “heartbreaking,” and “not the moral thing to do.”
“We need to secure our borders and stop illegal immigration, but separating families is not the answer. I’m strongly against that and I’ve made my views clear to (the) federal government,” Rauner said at that appearance.
Politico:
Billionaire J.B. Pritzker, who also knows his way around an investment portfolio, is taking the bluntest approach possible.
His campaign team poured gas on the fire with an ad that took liberties with some of the facts of our story. Rauner’s camp says the ad is wrong about three points:
1. The ad says Rauner is an owner of CCS. He’s not. But the company does sit in the GTCR fund’s portfolio, for which Rauner is an investor and disclosed earnings.
2. The ad claims CCS is helping “keep children separated from their parents.” It’s not. The company provides health-care services at the detention facilities.
3. The ad quotes Rauner out of context, says communications chief Will Allison. When Rauner said “I’m not giving that any thought whatsoever,” he’s referring to whether he’ll send National Guard troops down to the border — not to separate families, Allison said.
Actually, Rauner has called for an end to dividing families, saying, “It’s wrong. It’s heartbreaking. It’s not the moral thing to do.”
Capitol Fax:
Pritzker campaign doubles down on false claim
CBS Chicago:
Fact is, the ad is highly misleading at best.
“The company is in the business of health care. They are not in the business of separating families. So this commercial is untrue on so many levels,” said Illinois Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti.
The company is called Correct Care Solutions. It’s at least partially-owned by Rauner’s former private equity firm GTCR. And it does provide medical care to detainees. [Emphasis in original.]
CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story said Gov. Bruce Rauner’s economic interest statement reported profits from Correct Care Solutions. The governor’s statement reported profits from GTCR Fund X, a private equity fund that has an ownership stake in Correct Care Solutions.
Except its headline, “Illinois governor profits off ICE detention center contracts,” hasn’t been changed for some odd reason.
* He’s been talking about doing this for weeks and weeks. From a media advisory…
Tomorrow, Governor Rauner will attend an event in Marion hosted by the House Republican Organization to launch the People’s Pledge campaign across the state. The People’s Pledge states that candidates for the State House of Representatives, when elected, will vote for term limits on all elected officials and for anyone other than Mike Madigan for Speaker of the House, making state government accountable to hardworking Illinoisans.
The big question for me, though, is whether he’s finally going to drop some big bucks into the HRO’s coffers. Money talks, pledge gimmicks walk.
…Adding… From HRO…
“Mike Madigan has been in office for over 47 years, driving Illinois into the ground and personally profiting along the way. That’s wrong. With ‘The People’s Pledge,’ Illinois voters can hold candidates for state representative accountable by demanding they support term limits for lawmakers and constitutional officers and oppose Madigan as House Speaker. Together, the people of Illinois can take control of Springfield and end Madigan’s grip on power once and for all.” - House Republican Organization Political Director Joe Woodward
Today, House Republicans announced the creation of The People’s Pledge, a campaign to end Madigan’s grip on power and hold candidates for state representative across Illinois accountable by asking them two simple, yet powerful, questions:
1) Do you pledge to support a term limits referendum that would amend the Illinois Constitution to term-limit state lawmakers and statewide officeholders?
2) Do you pledge to oppose Mike Madigan’s speakership, voting to deny him another term as Speaker of the Illinois House?
The people of Illinois know that term limits are not a partisan issue. Public opinion polls show that over 80% of voters across the political spectrum support term limits on state lawmakers and statewide constitutional officers. Republicans, independents and Democrats across Illinois support term limits, but Mike Madigan and his allies are standing in the way.
Madigan has held onto power for so long primarily because Illinois lacks term limits. Madigan and his lawyers have repeatedly blocked voter attempts to put it on the ballot. Madigan runs for office year after year, amassing more power and profiting along the way. That’s wrong. With term limits, we can hold state government accountable and make sure Illinois has no more ‘Madigans’ who accumulate power.
Together, the people of Illinois can hold their state representatives accountable by asking them to sign The People’s Pledge, putting the people back in charge of state government and ending Mike Madigan’s grip on power once and for all.
Visit www.FireMikeMadigan.com to learn more about The People’s Pledge and get involved.
The Southern Illinois University Carbondale Faculty Senate cast a vote of no confidence in SIU President Randy Dunn on Tuesday and is urging the Board of Trustees to remove him as soon as possible.
The resolution, which claims that Dunn worked to undermine the SIU system, passed 25-1; two senators abstained from the vote.
The group’s action comes after an analysis of nearly 1,900 pages of internal documents revealed that Dunn worked closely with SIU Edwardsville to develop a $5.1 million reallocation proposal, while leaving SIU Carbondale officials in the dark. Dunn also appears to have helped develop and guide legislation to dissolve the system.
WHEREAS President Dunn has also acted contrary to the Board of Trustees statement Mutual and Respective Roles of the Board, President, and Chancellors which requires the System President to serve “as a ‘shield’ against outside interference in University and campus matters”;
WHEREAS President Dunn worked with SIUE leadership and constituents, the press, lobbyists, and legislators to write, guide, and promote legislation to dissolve the SIU System;
WHEREAS President Dunn coordinated efforts to undermine the SIU Carbondale Campus;
WHEREAS President Dunn’s activities have served in a variety of ways to damage the reputation of the SIU System at a critical time for all SIU campuses. WHEREAS President Dunn has lost the trust of the Carbondale faculty.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the SIUC Faculty Senate provides a vote of NO CONFIDENCE regarding President Randy Dunn and his ability to lead the SIU System.
FURTHERMORE BE IT RESOLVED that the SIUC Faculty Senate urges the Board of Trustees to meet as soon as possible to remove Randy Dunn.
Shortly after the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees voted down a proposal to shift millions of dollars to the Edwardsville campus this past spring, the chancellor of SIU Edwardsville sent out a bombshell announcement: A state representative would soon introduce legislation to split up the system.
A little over an hour later, SIU President Randy Dunn forwarded the announcement to his wife with a short message. “It’s on now. Xoxo,” he wrote.
For Dunn, who represents both Edwardsville and its sister campus, Carbondale, the April 12 board vote and separation bill filing represented what appears to be the culmination of several months of planning and working closely with Edwardsville officials.
Based on analysis of nearly 1,900 pages of internal emails, correspondence and meeting notes released by the SIU FOIA office, it appears Dunn was aware of the separation legislation before trustees were informed. The documents also suggest that Dunn’s staff might have assisted in developing the bill — even though Dunn publicly claimed a neutral stance on it.
* Voice of The Southern: What’s done is Dunn: Given the problems facing the system, SIU needs a president like Abraham Lincoln, who said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Instead, Dunn’s actions are more secessionist.
Dunn survived a trustee motion to oust him because of a 4-4 tie. Both campuses have student trustees, with the tradition that one of the campuses has actual student voting powers for a year, and then the other campus gets the vote the next year. Edwardsville’s student trustee was Dunn’s saving grace.
* Regardless of tradition, however, the governor has the statutory authority to decide which campus has an official student trustee vote. The Southern recently interviewed the incoming Carbondale student trustee, Brione Lockett…
“It’s intimidating because of the situation we’re in, but it’s less intimidating because my vote isn’t just supposed to be my own biased vote. It’s supposed to be the vote of the students.” […]
Lockett said the voting trustee for the 2018-19 academic year hasn’t yet been appointed, although the student trustees’ one-year terms began July 1. [Emphasis added.]
In other words, the ball is now in Gov. Rauner’s court.
By the numbers: The mayoral primary election is seven months away but the numbers are flying like it’s tomorrow.
A poll taken last month and secreted away by Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s political campaign shows he has an approval rating of 43 percent and a favorable rating of 45 percent of voters.
The numbers popped up coincidentally (hmm) in my email after Lori Lightfoot’s campaign released a poll earlier this week showing the mayor had a approval rating of 32 percent and a favorability rating of 36 percent.
Lightfoot’s poll didn’t reveal head-to-head numbers between her and Emanuel, but the mayor’s did. It shows him leading Lightfoot by 16 points.
The bigger numbers have dollar signs in front of them. According to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Emanuel has $8.2 million on hand and Lightfoot has $391,000.
Speaking of polls: A telephone poll last night about the Chicago mayor’s race threw out the names of all the usual suspects and this one: Valerie Jarrett. A source tells me it was hard to discern who conducted the poll, though more than a few questions were focused on Garry McCarthy, the former police chief. Adding Jarrett to the mix would sure make it interesting. Emanuel and Jarrett, both former White House aides who should be chums, have a bristly relationship.
Lightfoot hasn’t spent a dime and she’s only behind by 16 points according to Rahm’s own poll?
This latest poll was conducted roughly two weeks before Lightfoot declared her candidacy by condemning Emanuel’s autocratic, “us-vs.-them” style of government.
At the time, McCarthy’s 70 percent name recognition vaulted him into second-place, with 16 percent of the vote, followed by Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown with 15 percent and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas with 9 percent.
Lightfoot is my personal “one to watch” right now, with the caveat that she can raise the money. If I’m her, I’m calling everybody who contributed to Daniel Biss’ gubernatorial campaign. And if she can use that money to put “progressive” North Siders together with a sizable chunk of the African-American population, I think she could make a real run at this.
* No surprise at all considering they ran pretty much the whole show. Tribune…
Third-party governor candidate Sam McCann reported receiving $77,700 more in campaign contributions from a union that endorsed J.B. Pritzker in the Democratic primary for governor, campaign finance records show.
About $60,000 from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 paid for petition circulation services for McCann. Last month, he turned in roughly 65,000 petition signatures to get on the November ballot, a number so big that it helped insulate him from an attempted challenge by Republican allies of Gov. Bruce Rauner and others.
McCann is running under the new Conservative Party banner, exacerbating the challenges facing Rauner’s re-election as he seeks to heal divisions within his party’s base.
The central Illinois Republican previously had received $50,000 from the politically active union. It plays politics on both sides of the aisle, but union leader James Sweeney has been highly critical of Rauner’s agenda, particularly in trying to end a requirement that prevailing union wages be paid on public construction projects.
150 has endorsed Pritzker. Not too difficult to figure out what’s going on there.
* Meanwhile, from a press release…
Today, Sam McCann applauded President Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy left on the United States Supreme Court by retiring Justice Kennedy.
McCann issued the following statement:
Brett Kavanaugh is an outstanding choice to fill Justice Kennedy’s vacancy on the Supreme Court. He has made logical common-sense interpretations of gun laws throughout his years on the bench, and his appointment brings an opportunity to eliminate infringements upon the rights of lawful firearm owners in Illinois and across the country.
Once confirmed, Kavanaugh will protect and restore the conservative values that Americans hold dear, but which have been under attack for decades. Having a solid conservative majority on the court also brings hope for the overturn of Roe v. Wade, one of the most wrongly-decided cases in American history.
I am a staunch pro-life advocate and the distinction between my opponents and I could not be clearer on this issue. Bruce Rauner and J.B. Pritzker are both outspoken advocates for abortion, with Rauner’s campaign pointing to his support of House Bill 40 as his effort to preserve women’s right to choose in Illinois in the case that Roe v. Wade is overturned. Prior to House Bill 40’s passage, a reversal of Roe v. Wade would have rendered abortions illegal in Illinois. When he signed House Bill 40, Bruce Rauner turned on conservatives and threw his support behind on-demand taxpayer-funded abortions, which have quadrupled in the first half of 2018.
Conservatives across Illinois should celebrate this nomination, and this movement should further alienate Governor Rauner for his betrayal of conservative principles and the sanctity of human life.
* Earlier this week, WCIA TV ran a story based on Politico’s report about Gov. Rauner “turning a profit from a health care group that services U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers, including facilities that hold immigrant families with children.” Click here if the embed doesn’t work for you…
And WCIA is clarifying a story we reported last night about the governor’s finances. A web story, published first by Politico, suggested with incomplete evidence that Gov. Rauner makes a profit from immigration detention centers at the southern border. We cannot confirm that report and the governor’s office denies it. An investment firm that Rauner used to control does hold stake in a healthcare company that provides medical treatment for inmates there. However, it remains unclear if that contract is profitable. A spokesperson for Rauner says the firm has not collected any profit from it.
FYI, the above YouTube video was posted by the governor’s campaign.
* Related…
* 10 Chicago-area politicians sign letter urging that ICE be abolished: Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Skokie), Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) and Rep. Theresa Mah (D-Chicago), joined Ald. George Cardenas (12th), Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th), Ricardo Muñoz (22nd), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), Milly Santiago (31st) and Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd) in co-signing an open letter calling for an end to the agency.
* My mom sent me a link to this SJ-R story last week and I’m just now getting around to posting it…
The [American Political Items Collectors] national convention – a once-every-two-years event – will be in Springfield for the first time July 18-22 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
The non-profit membership organization is dedicated to promoting the collection, preservation and study of materials relating to political campaigns and the presidency – though the buttons, banners and bandanas can also come from races for governor or other offices.
The convention will include more than 225 dealer tables of political and historical items being bought and sold.
Part of the show – from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 21 and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 22 – will be free of charge and open to the public. On that weekend, members of the public will also be able to get free appraisals of their political items and can have them auctioned at one of several sessions during the day for a commission fee.
* You can’t see it very well in the pic below, but Mayor Richard J. Daley signed this 1975 campaign poster and it’s one of my favorite pieces in my own personal collection…
I used to have a “Honkies for Harold” button, but I somehow lost it. One day, I’ll replace it.
* And this poster was, um, obtained from the Illinois GOP’s state fair tent many moons ago…
I shoulda got Rod to sign that before he went away. Oh, well. He may be out soon. One never knows.
We had an “official” Question of the Day about memorabilia years ago, but maybe you’d like to refresh our memories about your own favorite items.
* Gov. Rauner’s campaign manager Betsey Ankney tells Greg Hinz that there is a path to victory for her boss…
“In our focus groups, people can’t cite a single positive thing about Pritzker even after he’s spent $80 million” on TV ads, Ankney said. That’s why, when Rauner in the spring spent “$4 million over six weeks” running ads tying Pritzker to imprisoned ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, “his positive rating dropped 20 (percentage) points.”
Ankney declined to release the latest results from her campaign’s pollster, Dave Sackett. But said Rauner has pulled “closer than any public poll indicates.” The closest poll that I’m aware of came a couple of weeks ago from We Ask America for Capital Fax. It showed Pritzker ahead just 36 percent to 27 percent, a nine-point margin. (Pritzker hasn’t released his poll figures either, but it’s believed they show him much further ahead.)
Ankney said the campaign will seek to drive those numbers down more by staying on the attack. “There’s a whole host of things to come,” she said, indicating that among them are the Pritzker family’s failed Superior Bank. “The oppo book on him is very thick. You can expect to see a lot more. . . .He’s a target-rich environment.”
That having been said, Ankney’s view appears to be a minority one, even among Republicans. “There is a path to re-election for Rauner,” says one insider. “I just don’t think they’ve found it yet.”
“Maybe if Hillary Clinton was president and Democrats weren’t crawling out of their skin,” said another.
Pritzker put the blame on his sister Penny for the failure of Superior Bank on the FBI wiretaps…
“What happened to her bank?” Blagojevich asked. “Did it collapse or something?”
“Yeah, she was chairman of the bank,” Pritzker said. “It had subprime loans. I mean bad stuff.”
“Superior Bank turned out to be an inferior bank,” the governor remarked.
“Inferior. Exactly, exactly. Very good,” Pritzker said. “I like that. Inferior Bank. I haven’t thought about that. That’s a good one.”
However, the Pritzker campaign is currently running an ad which falsely claims that Rauner owns a company “which is paid millions to keep children from their parents.” You go down that road and it’s tough to complain when the other side does it back to you.
Even so, the Rauner campaign has cycled through three different messaging tracks in the past month or so. They kicked everything off with a Blagojevich ad, then switched to the toilet issue and now they’re on a Madigan track.
“How do you build a narrative if you’re changing messages every 2 weeks?” a Democratic pal of mine asked yesterday.
But, hey, this is politics. And just about anything can happen in politics, which is why I love it so much.
By the way, I heard weeks ago that the Rauner folks were touting a poll showing the Republican trailing by 8 points, which is 1 point closer than the poll I commissioned.
Suicide rates in Illinois have increased by nearly 25 percent, mirroring national trends.
With a state total of 1,415 suicides in Illinois in 2016, it’s becoming increasingly clear to advocates and experts that awareness is only half the battle. The state’s suicide rate increased about 23 percent from 1999 to 2016. Nationally, the rate increased about 25 percent over the same period.
“(Suicide) is the 11th leading cause of death in Illinois last year, and actually, when you look at the numbers for young people, the number is actually greater,” said Steve Moore, co-chair of the board of directors for the Illinois chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. “For (the) age group of 15 to 34, it is the third leading cause of death. It’s the fourth leading cause of death for those between the ages of 35 and 54. [The number of suicides in 2016] is actually higher than homicide.” […]
Placing some of the blame for suicides on the availability of healthcare resources, Moore said that to lower the risks, proper help needs to be provided. In fact, 90 percent of suicide victims had diagnosable mental illnesses, he said.
Now “union” is a dirty word. Whenever a Sun-Times story mentions “union” these days, the word is quickly followed by an explanation that the ownership of this newspaper includes a number of union organizations.
Newspapers owned by rich guys and run by corporations (and that’s almost all of them) do not include such disclaimers in stories about tax cuts for big business or appointments of Supreme Court justices expected to rule against the rights of workers.
It would be refreshing to see something like, “For the sake of disclosure we must reveal that our multi-millionaire owner is going to benefit substantially from government deregulation, which is likely to pollute your drinking water and increase the likelihood that your children will die from cancer.”
Gov. Bruce Rauner discussed the threat posed by escalating trade disputes with the the Japanese ambassador to the United States on Tuesday at a machine tools facility in Schaumburg.
“We … talked about tariffs, and the importance of making sure we don’t break out in a full trade war, how tariffs can cause massive unemployment, job losses, around the world and here in Illinois,” Rauner said.
Rauner said he told Ambassador Shinsuke J. Sugiyama in a private meeting that he had cautioned Trump administration officials to avoid a “tariff war” during a recent trip to Washington D.C.
Gov. Bruce Rauner acknowledged a trade war “could cause massive unemployment and job losses” in Illinois as he was touring a Schaumburg steel company Tuesday with Japanese officials who worry the White House will double down on tariffs. […]
Japan-based Amada America Inc. fabricates sheet metal and employs about 90 people at its Schaumburg location, mostly engineers and managers.
The company gets much of its steel domestically but is facing uncertainty, Amada Executive General Manager Jeff Otten said. “We’re still waiting to see what happens,” he said.
Steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by Trump are a grave concern, Consul-General of Japan in Chicago Naoki Ito said, as is a new threat of similar tariffs against auto parts.
“Japan is a major investor in Illinois … and is responsible for creating many tens of thousands of jobs,” said Rauner, who added he’d voiced concerns about the policy to Vice President Mike Pence and congressional leaders while visiting Washington recently.
It’s just too hard to get Republicans elected in Democrat-dominated Cook County and Chicago, so there’s an effort to throw in the towel and wipe out partisan labels in the county’s elections.
At least that’s what it sounds like Cook County GOP Chairman Sean Morrison is pushing to happen in the state’s largest county - with the help of IL GOP Governor Rauner.
Morrison - who also serves on the Cook County Board as one its few Republicans - is asking for help for a petition drive to “get a binding referendum question on the ballot that would make elections for all Cook County countywide offices non-partisan.”
“This initiative, if we are successful, will have a longstanding impact on our ability to run candidates countywide,” Morrison wrote to the Palos Township GOP Friday.
Indeed. Morrison was unable to get candidates to run in Cook County’s countywide races this time around. Democrats are running unopposed - making the Republican platform and its public policy positions unavailable for Republicans living in the county.
