The attorney general of Illinois should be independent, unafraid of special interests, political parties or politicians.
I’m Erika Harold and I’m accountable to you, not the president, not the governor.
And unlike Kwame Raoul, I’ll never take orders from Mike Madigan.
That’s a strong ad.
…Adding… From Aviva Bowen at the Raoul campaign…
It’s a little late for Republican Erika Harold to convince voters she would be independent of Bruce Rauner, who said he’d ‘personally recruited’ her. As for the president, Donald Trump and Republican AGs are in court working hard to take healthcare away from Illinoisans with pre-existing conditions, and Erika has been typically silent. That’s not independence or courage, but it’s consistent with her position to eliminate the ACA and hurt our families.
With two weeks remaining until Election Day, the Rauner Campaign is launching a new TV ad titled “Unholy Union.”
The ad highlights the devastating results of giving JB Pritzker and Mike Madigan total control of Illinois. Together, they will bankrupt Illinois with billions in new proposed spending and a massive tax hike.
Pritzker and Madigan – key players in the Chicago political machine – have repeatedly engaged in corrupt behavior to benefit themselves. Madigan has made millions off of high property taxes in his role as a property tax appeals lawyer, helping cronies like Pritzker get reductions on their property taxes. And Pritzker has engaged in a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers by ripping toilets out of his mansion, dodging $330,000 in property taxes.
Since allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation in Madigan’s organizations surfaced, Pritzker has continued to funnel millions into his coffers. When Pritzker’s staffers sued the campaign over harassment and discrimination, Madigan has been notably silent.
It’s clear that Illinois can’t afford the high taxes and corruption of the unholy union between Pritzker and Madigan.
Officiant: Repeat after me. I, Mike Madigan, take you, JB Pritzker, as my unlawful partner in destruction, to raise property taxes, corrupt government, and bankrupt Illinois’ future.
Madigan: Done, deal.
Officiant: And I, JB Pritzker, take you, Mike Madigan, to honor and obey til death do us part.
Pritzker: Always have, always will.
Officiant: By the power vested in me, I now pronounce Illinois [F-bomb partially bleeped].
Voiceover: Mike Madigan and JB Pritzker, an unholy union Illinois can’t afford.
Perhaps as a symbol of how far Illinois and the nation have moved on the issue of same-sex marriage, the fact that the ad depicts a “wedding” of two men is no longer its most provocative part.
In the 2002 Republican primary for governor, the late conservative activist Jack Roeser sent out mailers that thanked Jim Ryan for supporting “special rights for homosexuals” and “opening the door to gay marriages.” The mailing featured two bridegroom figurines atop a wedding cake. Roeser backed then-state Sen. Patrick O’Malley over Ryan, who was then the state’s attorney general.
Still, the ad could prove to be a reminder to social conservatives unhappy with Rauner’s actions as governor that included his signing a law expanding rights for transgender people.
* The Pritzker campaign’s response from Galia Slayen had sort of a marriage theme to it…
It is only fitting that Bruce Rauner would choose to end his campaign by blaming others for his own failures. After four years of seeing their governor more interested in affairs with special interests, badmouthing his own state and refusing to compromise, the people of Illinois are looking forward to their divorce from Bruce Rauner being finalized on November 6th.
*** UPDATE 1 *** With a hat tip to a commenter…
Rauner just vetoed a law to protect LGBTQ Illinoisans from workplace discrimination. Now he is mocking same-sex marriage as an "unholy union". Rauner's blatant homophobia has no place in Illinois. #twill#ilgov@WindyCityTimes#LGBTQhttps://t.co/1UbbhplOe3
*** UPDATE 2 *** From Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois…
We are deeply disappointed by Gov. Rauner’s new campaign ad that mocks marriage equality by tying two of his opponents together in a parody wedding.
We remind the governor that the official platform of the party he leads opposes marriage equality. A recent national poll found that a plurality of Republicans still oppose marriage equality. There is still much work to be done to move the hearts and minds of many Republican voters to value the dignity of same sex weddings. As someone who has officiated same sex weddings, Gov Rauner could serve as a model of inclusivity and use his campaign to vigorously promote full acceptance of LGBTQ Illinoisans. Instead, he chooses to raise the specter of gay marriage to turnout the most extreme elements of his base. We recognize a dog whistle when we hear one.
The governor should be ashamed of using the LGBTQ community for comedic value to make a political hit. Our weddings are not a joke. Gov. Rauner does not represent Illinois’ values with this ad.
*** UPDATE 3 *** The governor was on the Big John and Ramblin’ Ray show today and couldn’t say if this was his ad…
HOST 1: “I love the new ad. And we’ll play it after you leave because we don’t have time right now.”
HOST 2: “The ‘Unholy Alliance.’”
RAUNER: “Oh my goodness, we’re so abused if those two guys go in there.”
HOST 1: “Is that one of yours or is that an outside group?”
The Rauner campaign just confirmed that the "Unholy Union" ad launched today was commissioned by their campaign and @BruceRauner approved it before it was launched. #twill
“Bruce Rauner’s new ad is the last gasp of a failed leader stumbling out of office, willing to co-opt the homophobia of schoolyard bullies to try and divide us one last time. It’s not just offensive, it’s pathetic. Four years ago, Rauner invited voters to throw him out of office if he failed to get results. Without any accomplishments to speak of, Rauner’s re-election campaign has been reduced to cheap jokes, lame dog-whistles to conservatives who never forgave him, and an awkward public courtship of Donald Trump. As Rauner embarrasses himself in these final two weeks, Republicans voters have to ask themselves – are they proud of the campaign Bruce Rauner is running?”
“I thought this ad was so remarkable that I shared I with a couple of listservs – political scientists around the country,” said Chris Mooney, who is a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago and is president of the state politics section of the American Political Science Association. “I’ve received dozens of responses (from) people who can’t believe it. All over the country, they say they’ve never seen anything like it. … It’s an exteme version of a negative ad.”
Mooney said at first blush, he can’t see how the ad will help Rauner. He received lots of snarky comments from colleagues, he said, including one saying the ad belongs in a campaign magazine’s hall of shame. […]
“Everyhing in an ad is a choice,” Mooney added, including having a white man play the clergyman, having the marriage and the music.
“I do know they chose to do those things and the fact that marriage equality is still a hot issue, and the fact that the governor continues to really try to shore up his right after sort of devastation in the primary, all that suggests that maybe that’s what’s going on here,” Mooney said.
* First she gets Chance the Rapper’s endorsement and now this…
Could be fun to watch this one. And you also gotta wonder if the progressive candidate will be under any pressure to return a big contribution from President Trump’s most visible African-American supporter.
That donation is the exact amount in fines Enyia faces from the Illinois State Board of Elections for failing to properly file quarterly finance reports in connection with her 2015 campaign for mayor, the Chicago Tribune reported last week. Enyia dropped her bid for mayor four years ago after the petition signatures she collected to appear on the ballot were challenged.
However, Enyia never closed her campaign account and was fined by state election officials for not filing quarterly campaign finance reports as required by law.
County Commissioner Stanley Moore, who has endorsed County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for mayor, said Enyia’s decision to accept West’s donation opens up a whole new line of questioning.
“If you accept money from a person like Kanye West, are you also endorsing his stance on Donald Trump?” Moore said.
“Kanye West has made comments in the past about slavery being the slave’s fault. He has talked about abolishing the 13th amendment. This opens the door for Amara to answer questions about whether or not she is embracing these same philosophies. Is she embracing Trump’s policies that hurt African-Americans?”
Enyia did not return phone calls.
Enyia hasn’t answer my e-mailed question, either.
* Related…
* Laura Washington: Young black leaders cool their heels because ‘elders’ won’t move on
I definitely think there will be a change in leadership of the party after Rauner loses
After he loses?
* Ives appeared on NewsTalk 97.1 FM this afternoon and the host said “It seems as though the Republican Party in the state of Illinois is in a massive amount of disarray right now.” Ives’ response…
Oh, no doubt. You have Republicans all over the place… The Republican Party is in complete disarray. Let’s face it, Rauner is going to lose, in my estimation.
“Bruce Rauner spent months cozying up to Donald Trump and adopting his policies, but in the end, he has just wasted time trying to win back a base that wants nothing to do with him,” said DPI Statewide Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner’s lies and failures have proven too much for Jeanne Ives, Allen Skillicorn, and conservative voters across the state to forgive. As Rauner closes out his failed campaign, Republicans are already planning for a future that doesn’t include him.”
Governor Bruce Rauner takes some opposition to a Facebook video posted by his Democratic election opponent JB Pritzker that essentially paints President Donald Trump and Rauner with the same brush.
The video in part refers to Trump as a “misogynist” — and Rauner as Trump’s “local silent partner.” Rauner tells WGIL he’s no “silent partner” — but that doesn’t mean he’s completely anti-Trump.
When asked the percentage of blacks and Latinos working on his campaign or in his administration, Rauner said he didn’t have a figure. Instead, he said rather than focusing on staff, “it’s results for families.”
“I don’t know the exact number. In our campaign we’ve got African-American members of our campaign. We have Latino members. I don’t know the exact numbers,” he said. “Our administration has (a) huge number and I’ve appointed many African-Americans to key boards, key leadership positions in our departments and many Latinos as well.”
* WBEZ took a look at the claimed “huge number” of minorities in his administration…
The vast majority of Rauner’s appointees to state boards, commissions, and task forces were white, while men far outnumber women in those panels. In the three years ending June 30, Rauner made nearly 1,200 such appointments. His picks for those posts were 73 percent white, 10 percent black, 6 percent Hispanic, and 3 percent Asian. No race was given for 7 percent of the Rauner appointees.
Women made up 36 percent of Rauner’s appointees to state board, commission, and task force positions in the last three years.
At the 38 state agencies under Rauner’s control, 30 of Rauner’s department heads are white, four are black, two are Hispanic, and two are Asian. Twenty-seven are men, and 11 are women.
As of July 1, 2017, the people of Illinois were 61.3 percent white, 17.3 Hispanic, 14.6 percent black, and 5.7 percent Asian, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The problem here is that this Rauner info is only available because of a recent state law. So, there’s no way to easily compare Rauner’s hiring/appointment record to his predecessors’ records. Maybe it’s a good record in comparison, maybe it’s not. We just don’t know.
…Adding… DPI Executive Director Christian Mitchell…
No one should be shocked by Bruce Rauner’s failure to build a diverse administration. Despite Rauner’s Trumpian claim that he’s done more for the black community than ‘any other governor,’ Rauner has completely failed communities of color. Rauner referred to Chicago teachers as illiterate, and schools for minority children as ‘crumbling prisons.’ Rauner replaced nearly his entire senior staff with members of a right-wing think tank who commissioned a cartoon that both Republicans and Democrats condemned as racist. And Rauner’s two-year budget crisis led to cuts TO CeaseFire, child care programs, and education that hurt minority communities. Rauner’s embrace of Trumpian policies is a direct insult to Illinois women, Latinos, African-Americans, and anyone who sees Illinois’ diversity as a strength. This report is merely proof of a fact that Illinoisans already know: Bruce Rauner has failed every community in this state, and none more profoundly than communities of color.
* Rauner was also pressed on the number of minorities in high-level campaign positions by Mike Flannery…
FLANNERY: Let me ask you. Your opponent’s been caught up in controversy about alleged discrimination and racial issues on his staff. How many senior staff in your campaign are African American?
RAUNER: We have many African Americans on our staff. We have many Latinos.
FLANNERY: But not in senior positions.
RAUNER: “Well, we have Rhonda, and a number are very senior. Chauncey’s senior. We have many Latinos. The issue though, Mike, is not staff, it’s policy to drive results.
Rhonda Brown is a consultant and Chauncey Colquitt is his minority outreach person (Colquitt is allied with Maze Jackson). I’m not sure if that qualifies as “senior” staff.
* Meanwhile…
Today, the Rauner campaign is launching a new digital video highlighting JB Pritzker’s pattern of racial discrimination. The video features the news that broke last week that the Pritzker campaign is being sued by its own staff alleging a “cesspool of racial discrimination.” The video then cuts to Pritzker’s conversation with disgraced ex-governor Rod Blagojevich calling Jesse White the “least offensive” African American.
The lawsuit follows a recent IG report stating Pritzker committed a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers and Pritzker’s previous attempts to buy political office from Rod Blagojevich. It’s clear that JB Pritzker lacks the character and integrity to be governor.
Hi, I’m Juliana Stratton, and I’m running for lieutenant governor with JB Pritzker.
I think about my dad who marched in Selma, and it was a March that was really to bring attention to the fact that so many blacks in the south did not have access to the ballot.
If I’m elected, I will be the first ever black lieutenant governor in Illinois history, and when I think about that, it’s an awesome responsibility. I just think about how but for people like my dad and so many others who marched and fought and raised their voices, some of whom even lost their lives, so that I could be a candidate.
I see this as a tremendous opportunity for all people. All people that have often been marginalized. All people who have not been recognized and acknowledged as important voices in our state.
Again, this is Juliana Stratton. Please don’t miss this opportunity to have your voice heard. Make sure you vote.
* As you already know, President Donald Trump is campaigning in southern Illinois this weekend for Congressman Mike Bost.
From Bost’s Democratic opponent…
“On Friday, as speculation around President Trump’s visit began to swirl, the City of Murphysboro issued a water boil order for parts of the city and thousands of acres of farmland near the Len Small levee flooded again,” said Brendan Kelly, candidate for Illinois’ 12th Congressional District. “Mike Bost and his donors control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and still there is no farm bill and no infrastructure bill. Unlike Mike Bost, I will work with any President and members of any party to help Southern Illinois. I welcome the President’s visit so he can see for himself how little Mike Bost has done for Southern Illinois after 35 years in office.
* Gov. Rauner avoided the president the last time he visited Illinois. So this is what we’re going to talk about here…
Rauner says he hopes “to be able to join the president” when Trump comes to Murphysboro on Saturday: “I look forward to getting together with the president if we can - talk about trade, talk about immigration and some of the other policies that are very important for Illinois.” pic.twitter.com/A1LXymrmi4
* The Question: Is the governor’s apparent decision to campaign with the president in southern Illinois a good idea or a bad idea? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Just 15 days ahead of Election Day, Bruce Rauner is hoping to “join the president” in Murphysboro during his visit this Saturday.
Despite still shying away from saying Donald Trump’s name, the failed governor seems to recognize Trump’s -22 net approval rating in Illinois is higher than Rauner’s dismal -37 net approval rating.
“Illinoisans are disgusted by Donald Trump, but Bruce Rauner is so desperate that he’s begging Trump for a photo-op just weeks before the election,” said Pritzker campaign spokesman Jason Rubin. “This is a Hail Mary from a failed governor willing to abandon Illinois families and communities to try and save his flailing campaign.”
* WGN’s Tahman Bradley took a look at some of the more “extreme” candidates running as Republicans in Illinois this year. Here’s one…
In Illinois House District 51, local Republicans chose Helene Miller Walsh to fill the vacant seat. She’s married to conservative firebrand Joe Walsh, a former congressman. Helene Walsh, like her husband, has expressed controversial views, some of which were reportedly posted on Facebook.
“I don’t even know what hate speech is,” Walsh said at a recent League of Women Voters candidate forum. “You’re allowed to say whatever you want in this country. … That’s called free speech.”
When asked whether Walsh represents the values of Illinois Republicans, Schneider said, “The Illinois Republican Party does not put pressure on from the top down. We let the local legislators choose their individuals in those races.”
Saying “I don’t even know what hate speech is,” is kinda like saying “The Mafia doesn’t exist.”
Also, state-level Republicans don’t put pressure on locals when it comes to legislative appointments? Really? That’s a laughably false assertion.
* Anyway, back to Rep. Walsh, who campaigned in Vernon Hills with Gov. Rauner and comptroller candidate Darlene Senger over the weekend…
…Adding… That’s Republican House candidate Ken Idstein just behind Rauner. Idstein is a candidate backed by Dan Proft. Because of Idstein’s tight relationship to Proft, the House Republicans are staying out of the race.
The current and former staffers suing the @JBPritzker campaign plan to hold a press conference tomorrow morning. As of tonight, their attorneys still haven't served the campaign, which limits their ability to seek a swift dismissal in court: Our latest: https://t.co/tluzW4XDUc
I checked this morning and the Pritzker campaign has still not been served.
* Pritzker’s field staff gets Mondays off, so some of them are using that time to hold a press conference this morning. But the press conference was organized about as well as the lawsuit. Two reporters told me that the advisory went out just a few minutes before the presser was about to begin at 2925 S. Wabash, which isn’t all that close to most reporters…
I’m told that there’s a press conference starting right now at the office of the attorney representing the @JBPritzker staffers who accuse the campaign of racism and retaliation. Also told that this text exchange from last week to high-level JB staffer will be in a press packet. pic.twitter.com/yHoKthdp1m
The fact is, there is no basis for the accusations being made. Everything about the way this has been handled, from the threat to sue unless a $7.5 million dollar payment was made to the fact that their lawyer seems far more interested in conducting interviews and holding press conferences than even serving necessary papers that would allow the case to be dismissed, tell you all you need to know. JB and Juliana are proud of the diverse and inclusive campaign they are running.
I’ll let you know what happens.
…Adding… I forgot to include the WMAQ TV story from Friday evening which featured three former Pritzker staffers. Weirdly enough, not one of them made any new allegations, so I’m not sure what the heck that was supposed to be about. Click here to watch it yourself.
Pritzker campaign workers suing over alleged racial discrimination raise their hands to show who still works for the campaign. They did not give details but say the lawsuit is not politically motivated @ABC7Chicago pic.twitter.com/21GcmNaiuX
…Adding… During the press conference, plaintiff Maxwell Little says he sent two specific complaints to headquarters. The Pritzker campaign says that never happened.
The campaign for Democrat J.B. Pritzker is threatening to file a countersuit for defamation after 10 current and former campaign staffers accused the campaign of racial discrimination.
The campaign is eager to file a motion to dismiss, but has no way to pursue that path until the other party serves them with the lawsuit, which officially allows the case to proceed. […]
At the time of this publishing, plaintiff attorneys Shay Allen and Jeanette Samuels have not served the Pritzker campaign with the complaint. The case cannot begin until the defendant has been served. […]
Meanwhile, Allen and his co-counsel have conducted roughly a dozen media interviews and have scheduled a press conference for Monday, October 22nd, which is 15 days before the upcoming election.
Likewise, it has come to the Campaign’s attention that at least one of your clients left work early one day asserting that she was feeling unwell when, in fact, she then made at least one press appearance.
By the way, during Maxwell’s interview of Shay Allen, the lawyer said one of the reasons his clients sued was because job openings were not made publicly available to campaign workers. That’s kinda bizarre.
Democratic attorney general candidate Kwame Raoul on Friday said he wouldn’t judge a federal civil rights lawsuit recently filed against governor candidate J.B. Pritzker’s campaign, but also called it “shoddily drafted.” […]
Jeanette Samuels, an attorney representing the staffers, said in an email, “We respectfully disagree with State Senator Raoul’s characterization and wish him the best of luck on his campaign.”
Sen. Raoul is right. The lawsuit is without a doubt shoddily written.
Shay T. Allen (5th subcircuit): A solo practitioner, Allen was found not qualified by all three bar groups mainly for his short career and lack of experience. The Chicago Bar Association also mentioned problems with punctuality. Allen declined to comment on his evaluations through his attorney, Jim Doppke.
Allen also has a beef against him at the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
*** UPDATE *** I’m told two of these staffers were let go after the primary, and the third is the one who quit after Pritzker’s “least offensive” quote came out during the primary…
In a memo obtained by the Daily Egyptian, Carbondale City Manager Gary Williams said to city council members President Trump could potentially be holding a rally in Carbondale on Oct. 27.
“Our PD was contacted on Monday from the US Secret Service (SSA) to inform us that President Trump is interested in having a political rally in Carbondale on 10/27,” Williams said in the memo. “Although these conversations were preliminary, it sounded to us that there was a decent chance that the event could happen.”
I checked around earlier and was told he’s planning to hold a rally for Congressman Mike Bost. President Trump traveled to Granite City in July for a rally with Bost and US Rep. Rodney Davis. Gov. Rauner noticeably skipped that event. He also didn’t attend Vice President Pence’s rally in Springfield this month.
U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is scheduled to visit World Wide Technology next week during a campaign stop for U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis.
Ryan plans to take a tour of the facility on Tuesday afternoon and discuss the tax reform signed into law last year.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Press release…
U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) today announced that President Donald Trump plans to visit Southern Illinois for a campaign rally on Saturday, October 27.
Individuals and media outlets planning to attend, visit HERE for more information.
“I’m honored to have the president visit Southern Illinois,” said Bost. “President Trump enjoys wide support in Southern Illinois for good reason. I’ve worked with him to bring 800 steel jobs back in Granite City, reform the VA, and give working families a $2200 tax cut.”
WHO: Rep. Mike Bost, President Donald Trump
WHAT: Campaign Rally
WHERE: Southern Illinois Airport
Hangar 6
605 Flightline Road
Murphysboro, IL 62966
WHEN: Saturday, October 27, 7:00 pm (CDT)
DOORS OPEN 4:00PM (CDT)
Is Sam McCann just looking for his taxpayer-funded job in the Pritzker Administration?
We don’t know, but it may explain why he sent out attack mailers on a commonsense conservative like Tom Morrison.
Yesterday, mailers from Sam McCann’s campaign hit in the 54th House District portraying State Representative Tom Morrison as a Rauner Puppet. The mailers were funded by union-backed State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann.
These attacks on Morrison demand a response. They are patently false. Tom Morrison is one of the few state legislators in Springfield who stands up for conservative values every time they are under attack in the Illinois House. He is one of the most reliable conservative votes in Springfield on both fiscal and social issues.
Is Sam McCann working for Mike Madigan? Is he hoping to receive favorable treatment under a Governor Pritzker? Is he so clueless that he doesn’t realize how his platform is being used by the state’s vicious public sector unions? I don’t know. And I don’t really care.
McCann is lying about Morrison. Lying is not a conservative value.
Many Illinois Conservatives looking for a candidate who represented their values had found hope McCann’s candidacy. Illinois Conservatives have once again been betrayed.
* Sen. Sam McCann…
I am disappointed by the shallow political rhetoric that Jeanne Ives used in her attack against me. The hard-earned credibility from her primary campaign against Bruce Rauner is all but lost now that she has intervened as his defender, casting principles aside for political grandstanding. Legislators like Tom Morrison who are actively supporting Bruce Rauner are trying to con voters into the same bad deal and empty promises that conservative Illinoisans have suffered under for the past four years. Any legislator who stands with Rauner despite his phony RINO agenda and abandonment of conservative principles deserves to be called out for it.
The Jeanne Ives who so vehemently opposed Bruce Rauner during the primary is now too eager to put him back in the driver’s seat.
When conservatives are crying louder than ever for a change, Jeanne Ives has shown her true colors. She is not a leader, but a politician.
Tom Morrison has been supporting Bruce Rauner for more than 4 years.
Tom Morrison needs to go on the record and state whether he does or does not still support Rauner. As soon as he PUBLICLY states that he does not, I will PUBLICLY thank him for stepping up.
* And this is pretty darned funny. All four legislative leaders, including House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, attended Operating Engineers Local 150’s annual legislative banquet last night. McCann showed up as well and went live on Facebook to emphasize his point that everybody works with 150, not just him…
Illinois House and Senate RINOS… getting exposed LIVE for ALSO taking money from Local 150. Why is it okay when THEY accept a check from the union, but it’s called “Madigan Money” when Sam McCann gets support from that SAME Union?
Food for thought, folks
Conservative Party gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann collects $539,659 from the Fight Back Fund, which promotes union-friendly candidates. FBF has now provided McCann with $2.3 million this election cycle. #twillhttps://t.co/tSdasQttlI
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “body man” — a hand-picked assistant chosen to travel with the governor on a daily basis — was fired Monday on his first day of the job after a series of homophobic and racially insensitive comments were found on his Twitter page.
The exit is one of at least 20 since last week — when Rauner began a rash of firings, with others resigning in protest.
Ben Tracy was chosen by the administration to replace Kyle Haevers as the governor’s “body man.” Haevers on Sunday was told his services were no longer needed but that he could choose to work for another state department.
Ben Tracy learned the hard way the price one can pay for inappropriate posts on social media.
Tweets he wrote as a high school student came back to cost him a high-profile job in Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office, Tracy told St. Joseph-Ogden students during a presentation this week at the high school.
The event started with Tracy warning SJ-O students that he was about to share some regrettable tweets — authored by some of them — that he had tracked down using a simple search.
“It took me 10 minutes to find these,” Tracy said as tweets from SJ-O students filled the screen behind him.
Tracy then went on to tell students what happened to him a year earlier, after he had graduated from college and started working for political campaigns. Among the positions he held — for less than 24 hours, anyway: a job as Rauner’s “body man,” the governor’s own traveling personal assistant.
* Radical Candor lets loose…
Tip #1: Avoid posting racist comments on social media. Or saying racist stuff. Actually, just don’t be racist. Tip #2: If @BruceRauner calls you a “superstar” or part of the “Best Team in America ™,” run. #twillhttps://t.co/vVzrWQrm2H
One day @BruceRauner body man Ben Tracy’s new speaking career giving blindingly obvious social media tips gives me a great idea: the Best Team in America ™ Speakers Bureau. #BTIASpeakers#twill
My goal in speaking to young people is to help them use social media responsibly. The things I tweeted when I was a high school and college student were hurtful and hateful. I am deeply sorry for the things I said, and I faced serious repercussions. There is no place in our society for derogatory thoughts, words, or actions, even if they’re not maliciously intended. I make that crystal clear in my presentations.
The truth is that young people don’t understand the lasting impact of the things they post online. Seventy percent of employers and 35% of college admissions counselors look at social media profiles of applicants. I learned this lesson the hard way, and I want to make sure others don’t make the same mistakes.
There have been examples of other people who have made similar mistakes in the news recently including Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader, and Sarah Jeong who now sits on the New York Times Editorial Board. Instead of celebrating getting a great job or making it to the big leagues, these individuals had to answer for old social media posts – and rightfully so. This is a reality of the world in which we live, and I intend to help others understand the impact of things they say online both to themselves and the people around them.
We are inundated by the presence of social media on a daily basis and our online lives aren’t going away anytime soon. Because of this, I want to help young people learn from the mistakes I made and better understand how to use social media in a positive way.
The Region 6 office, I’m told, is the one on South Wentworth. As you can see, the campaign claims Pritzker has visited that office four times.
The only two he hasn’t yet visited are the ones which opened in September. His running mate Juliana Stratton visited those.
…Adding… The schedule says he was at the South Wentworth office on July 24th. That address is near Washington Park. Pritzker tweeted the following day to a staffer’s July 24th post…
I was glad to go to our Washington Park office! Keep up the great work! https://t.co/SPt3whCtPn
At all times relevant, the JB Prtizker [sic] for Governor campaign has been cesspool of racial
discrimination and harassment.
For example, Kasmine [Calhoun] travelled over one thousand miles to Illinois to work for JB Prtizker for Governor and was one of the few Blacks not herded into POD 4.
In fact, she was the only (and possibly first) Black organizer in Peoria; she was later informed by the campaign that she was hired meet a “Black Female organizer quota.”
Stationed in Peoria, Kasmine was supposed to be housed with a family that was friendly to the campaign. When the family found out Kasmine was Black, though, they denied her housing.
As a result, she was forced to sleep in her car and at the campaign office.
Eventually, Caitlin Pharo found her a hotel in an unsafe part of town.
When Kasmine complained that she did not feel safe there, she was counseled on the “financial budget” of the campaign and told to “make due.”
Even after the chairman of the Peoria Democrats informed the campaign that they could request cheaper rates at safer hotels, therefore not affecting the campaign budget, the Campaign still refused to move her to a safer location.
As a result, she resigned her position.
* Chris Kaergard was recently re-hired by the Peoria Journal Star (hooray!) and the Pritzker campaign gave him hotel receipts and other details…
They show that the night before Calhoun’s Sept. 4 start date, the campaign booked a room for her at the Econo Lodge Inn and Suites, 4244 Brandywine Drive, at a cost of $61.56.
The night of Sept. 4, the campaign booked her a room at the America’s Best Value Inn, 104 W. Camp St. in East Peoria, at a cost of $56.44, but the summary says she did not like the facility, leading the regional field director to book her a second room for the night at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, 200 Eastlight Court in East Peoria, at a cost of $122.08.
The next night, Sept. 5., Calhoun received housing from a supporter.
From Sept. 6 through Sept. 9, the campaign had a room booked for Calhoun at the Super 8, 1816 W. War Memorial Drive, at an average cost of $75.81 for each of four nights.
The campaign says Calhoun then indicated she didn’t want to stay there and brought her complaints to a local official who used credit card points to arrange a room that night at the Candlewood Suites Grand Prairie, 5300 W. Landens Way.
The campaign then arranged a room at the same hotel the next three nights at $119.99 per night.
The next two nights, the campaign said, Calhoun was at an all-staff get-out-the-vote training in suburban Burr Ridge and stayed with all other campaign staffers at the Sheraton Lisle Naperville Hotel.
On Sept. 12, the campaign found and arranged for Calhoun to stay with a Peoria area supporter that evening.
She quit the next day, the campaign says. “Effective immediately.”
And just because the lawsuit was filed only after the Pritzker campaign did not accede to demands enumerated in a letter sent to it last Friday that included a $7.5 million settlement and a threat to “pursue all available legal remedies” if the parties didn’t come to terms by Monday doesn’t mean that the lawsuit is simply phase two of a brazen extortion plot.
But the demand letter severely weakens the idea that these short-time field organizers are animated by an interest in racial justice as opposed to say, an interest in a significant payday from a billionaire candidate.
The final thing you notice is that there isn’t even an allusion to the existence of documentary evidence of specific problems, specific outrageous behavior and specific attempts to address these issues with Pritzker or members of his team.
