A week after releasing it, Democratic candidates throughout Illinois are signing on to the zero-tolerance sexual harassment pledge developed by the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association. Today, IDCCA President Doug House offered the framework to Illinois Republicans, saying no one in Illinois politics should remain inactive or silent in working to protect campaign workers, interns, volunteers and activists.
“No wall has been built to keep sexual harassment and intimidation out of any political party,” House said. “We’re asking the Illinois Republican Party to acknowledge and embrace the policy framework and pledge we’ve developed for Democrats. It’s a unifying step to show a bipartisan commitment to reveal how serious we all are in addressing a widespread problem.”
The IDCCA’s internal Sexual Harassment Task Force began developing the policy and pledge in 2017 when the committee was formed. Last week, the association approved and distributed the policy and pledge to all Democratic candidates. Beyond electronic distribution, social media promotion and media outreach, a mailing was issued to Democratic candidates and is expected to be received early this week.
House says that Republican leaders shouldn’t be shy in adopting the policy or the pledge that the Democratic Chairs’ Association worked so diligently on.
“We’ve done the hard work of creating a solid policy framework and we’re sharing it with our colleagues in the Republican Party with the hope that they will adopt or improve upon it,” House said. “As the leader of his Party, we hope Governor Rauner recognizes that sexual harassment is an issue that impacts everyone and that a bipartisan effort to address it sorely needed. We stand ready to work with anyone so that women can feel welcomed and valued in all campaign organizations.”
The IDCCA today emailed the attached letter, policy and pledge to Tim Schneider, Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. A hard copy was also mailed today.
The letter is very polite, but there’s undoubtedly some political opportunism here. Even so, it is worth pointing out that the Rauner campaign, the state GOP and the two Republican caucuses have not yet announced any proactive policies on this topic.
Kennedy told the Sun-Times a pledge released by the Illinois Democratic County Chairman’s Association last week doesn’t go far enough. The pledge urged campaign staffers to understand what sexual harassment is and to report it to the state’s Department of Human Rights or the Illinois Attorney General’s office.
“I think it focuses on campaign and not on the party or the party infrastructure, where all of the abuses are emanating from,” Kennedy said
And the Chicago businessman also criticized the lack of a plan by Republicans: “It doesn’t exist.”
Kennedy said the issue is more complicated than it may seem.
“We need to get to the culture of fear in Illinois.”
* However, a pal of mine isn’t enamored with Kennedy’s plan. From an e-mail…
(H)e opens by saying that we can’t allow politicians to investigate themselves.
He goes on to create a committee made up specifically of 2 Democrats and 2 Republicans. Those people are appointed by the Commissioners of the state board of election, who come to have their positions as described here: https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/bac/SitePages/AppointmentsDetail.aspx?BCID=1080
Here’s a picture of those people: https://www.elections.il.gov/AboutTheBoard/BoardMembers.aspx
There is no reason to think they have any idea who the [heck] should sit on a panel that is part of their own, and who do people with political connections know? People they have political connections to. There’s nothing apolitical about bi-partisan panels.
The notion that a committee of 4 people with legal counsel would have the capacity to investigate, with discovery power, every complaint within 30 days of filing during active campaign cycles is absurd. And do people HAVE to go through this first before going to the department of human rights? Are they even aware that the department of human rights complaint is actually the thing you have to do before you’re even allowed to file a law-suit? So are we adding another layer? And if this extra layer (staffed, by design, by partisans) fails to find harassment, does that information get reported up to the next level at the department of human rights? Is the “discovery” shared with the person harassed so they can use it in their case? Does it go away? […]
I also see all sorts of due process issues with this. Keeping a database of people that this rink-a-dink committee deems guilty of sexual harassment? Come on.
*** UPDATE *** From the ILGOP’s Aaron Degroot…
Hi Rich,
It’s unfortunate that the IDCCA chose to engage us via press release as opposed to serious person-to-person conversation on such an important topic like combating sexual harassment in the workplace. Their behavior is unsurprising, though, as they seem more concerned with providing cover for their own party chairman, Mike Madigan, than creating a political environment of leadership and accountability as it pertains to this topic.
At the Illinois Republican Party’s State Central Committee quarterly meeting held this past weekend in the Quad Cities, Chairman Tim Schneider announced the creation of the Task Force On Sexual Harassment Policies and Prevention to enact guidelines for:
* reporting cases of sexual harassment
* increasing awareness among Republican candidates, campaign staff and volunteers of sexual harassment in the workplace and on the campaign trail, and
* offering counsel on sexual harassment guidelines and prevention for Republican organizations and campaigns across Illinois.
The task force will make recommendations to the State Central Committee for approval in the coming weeks. We look forward to working thoughtfully and collaboratively with Citizens for Rauner, the House Republican Organization, the Republican State Senate Campaign Committee, and other Republican committees to ensure all Republican campaigns in Illinois have strong protections against sexual harassment and discrimination.
State Rep. Peter Breen, R-Lombard, reportedly received a death threat in the wake of an email he sent to fellow Republicans about Winfield Township Republican Party Chairman Burt Minor and the comments he allegedly directed toward Republican attorney general candidate Erika Harold. […]
“This caller was responding to my actions last week, blowing the whistle on a Republican candidate… Our family has dealt with plenty of harassing phone calls over the years, and the First Amendment protects a wide range of speech. But there’s a line you don’t cross – you don’t threaten physical violence. That’s a crime,” Breen said in the [Facebook] post. “There’s just nothing like having your wife listen to a voicemail recording of a lunatic saying that her husband should be ’shot in the f****** head.’ ”
Breen has reported the threat to the Lombard Police Department, according to the post.
Minor is running for the seat currently held by state Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, who is running for governor. In his email, Breen said Minor allegedly asked Harold personal questions about her marital status and sexual orientation, “going so far as to inquire whether she was a ‘lesbo.’ The chairman also used the full n-word repeatedly in front of Ms. Harold and her assistant, asking whether she found its usage offensive.”
* Here’s the voicemail, which is from an unknown caller. But, be warned, there’s lots of profanity. It’s really ugly…
Legislative candidate Burt Minor strongly denies uttering a homosexual slur in front of Republican attorney general candidate Erika Harold and says he only used a racial epithet during that October conversation after she asked him to explain the meaning of the “N-word.” […]
“I’m probably destroyed on this campaign by this slanderous hitting,” Minor told the Daily Herald’s Editorial Board on Monday. “But I have integrity. And I’ve got to defend at least my integrity and tell folks this isn’t the way it happened. It isn’t the way it happened.” […]
Minor says he was encouraged by Harold to ask her about her sexual orientation, with her saying “ask the next question” after he inquired about her marital status. He insists he never used a homosexual slur during the conversation. […]
“She asked me, “What did the N-word mean?,’” Minor said. “She asked me what the N-word was, which I think was a setup question. How would anyone not know what the N-word was?”
While he used the word, Minor says he did it “in a polite way.”
OK, well, just one thing here: There is no “polite way” to say that word in front of an African-American person. Ever.
…Adding… Back in October, Minor wasn’t even a candidate for the Illinois House because Jeanne Ives hadn’t made the move to the governor’s race, so I’m not sure why Harold would even be trying to set him up.
The son of Robert F. Kennedy has had a criminal charge dismissed after agreeing to pay a small $150 fine.
Max Kennedy, 52, was arrested for disorderly conduct last month when police were called to an early morning party near the political family’s Cape Cod compound in Hyannis Port, Mass.
When confronted about the noise, the lawyer began “screaming incoherently and throwing himself at the wall” before he smashed a cabinet of glass, according to a report from the Barnstable Police.
* Chris Kennedy’s brother Max disputed that police report, but he had a bit of an issue at yesterday’s Kane County Democrats Harry S. Truman Dinner. If you go to about the 1:22-minute mark of this tracker video, you’ll see Kennedy’s relevant remarks partially aimed at fellow attendee JB Pritzker accompanied by some loud booing…
My father said, ‘The easiest thing to do would be to get elected President of the United States, you know how you do it? You just, uh, apply directly to peoples’ fears about people who are different. And if you look at the people who voted for George Wallace in 1972, they’re the exact same people in the state of Illinois who were RFK supporters four years earlier. So, that darkness is inside all of us and we’re capable of bringing it out.
When, when JB, when he was running for Congress and he started losing that race, he started losing the race, and he started talking about the Muslims*. That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about. I don’t want to have a negative campaign. But I’ll tell you, absolutely, JB, you’re shaking your hands like it didn’t happen, so that’s a direct answer, yes or no?
So, when you come up here, I want you to say whether or not you’ll support Joe Berrios after he has been convicted, he has been found to have been in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act**. Will you just answer without doing the Irish jig? [Dances on stage.] Tell us the direct answer to the question. [Booing begins.] Will you support Joe Berrios? [More booing.] It’s an important question to ask. [Someone shouts “Not here!”] Alright, we’ll answer it, we’ll ask it another time.
[Long pause.] So, I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you just one quick story about my dad. [Another long pause.] You know, I know you guys don’t really want to talk about the difficult things in the Democratic Party. And I know this is a dinner for unity. And I guarantee you, all of us will be back together, all of us will be back together on the 21st no matter who wins this primary. And I’ll be happy to work for the Democrat who wins.
I hope that you will not vote for someone who uses coded language to talk about minorities and that you will not, and you will vote for someone who will stand for what the Democrats believe in. For giving the child a coat***, not for the kinds of corruption and, you know, all the money, all of the money that Joe Berrios is taking, that’s coming out of his, they’re taking almost a million dollars per ward****. That’s a playground for every ward. [One person heard clapping.]
You may not like it, but try to answer the question without dancing, JB. [Some clapping and some booing can be heard as Kennedy leaves the stage.]
After the speech, you can hear Kane County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Guethle start to say: “Alright, first of all, I just want to say this isn’t Chicago, Illinois. This is Kane County, we’re in Aurora, Illinois,” followed by cheering. Guethle, keep in mind, has endorsed Pritzker.
When he stepped to the stage, Pritzker had something to say to Kennedy.
“Max you may have forgotten your glasses. Are these yours? I am running a positive campaign*****,” Pritzker said to applause. […]
As he was leaving the facility after the event, Pritzker called the incident “unfortunate.”
“I think they are seeing that their campaign isn’t running well so they are attacking,” he said. “That’s what that is about. I am sorry to see that. It’s politics. Hopefully they will come together. We all need to come together to beat Bruce Rauner after March 20th.”
**Chris Kennedy has claimed that the Cook County property tax assessment system violates the Civil Rights Act, but that hasn’t yet been adjudicated.
***A quote from Max Kennedy’s grandmother earlier in the speech: “The essence of the Democratic Party is when we see a child without a coat, we give him a coat.”
****I have no idea what that means. ADDING: With thanks to a couple of commenters, click here for background.
I stand with Mark Janus and all his supporters outside SCOTUS this morning. No person should be forced to give up a portion of their pay each month to fund public sector union activity. It’s a fundamental violation of cherished American rights to free speech and free association. pic.twitter.com/JfXRrniPbL
* Attorney General Lisa Madigan was hopeful after today’s oral arguments…
.@GovRauner isn’t the only one in Washington DC for #JanusvAFSCME today. IL AG @LisaMadigan met the media moments ago: “This is a case where there are a small group of very well funded right wing extremists that want to eliminate unions throughout this country.” pic.twitter.com/kDuh57qp3X
Aside from Gorsuch’s silence, the most striking aspect of Monday’s argument was Justice Anthony Kennedy’s hostility to the unions’ position. He repeatedly tore into lawyers for the State of Illinois and for a major union as they defended the ‘fair share’ practice.
As Illinois Attorney General David Franklin argued that the agency fees help states by bolstering the unions’ role as a negotiating partner, Kennedy ridiculed that claim, contending that what the unions are really about is wielding political power.
“It can be a partner with you in advocating for a greater size workforce, against privatization, against merit promotion, … for teacher tenure, for higher wages, for massive government, for increasing bonded indebtedness, for increasing taxes?” Kennedy said almost angrily. “That’s the interest the state has?….Doesn’t it blink reality to deny that is what’s happening here?”
Earlier in the argument, Kennedy framed the so-called agency fees as a clear First Amendment violation.
“What we’re talking about here is compelled justification and compelled subsidization of a private party, a private party that expresses political views constantly,” the frequent swing justice and Reagan appointee said.
Kennedy’s comments were so strident that it sounded like he may have crafted a majority opinion striking down the fees in the case from last term, but was forced to put the opinion on ice when the court deadlocked after Scalia’s death.
* The Trump administration claimed the case wasn’t really a huge dealio…
Yes, Solicitor General Noel Francisco pushed back against this idea, assuring the justices that there would not be much in the way of disruption if they rule for Janus. https://t.co/iPmX7TSblM
One other possible middle ground, suggested (inadvertently?) by SG Noel Francisco, arguing in support of Janus: allow unions to charge for grievances & contract administration, but not bargaining.
Union workers rallied Monday in front of the Picasso statue in Daley Plaza to denounce a lawsuit being heard that morning in the U.S. Supreme Court — a case they called an open-and-shut case of union busting.
“This court case was cynically designed to try and weaken the voices and power of working people,” said Kimberly Smith, a healthcare administrator and member of Service Employees International Union, Healthcare Illinois-Indiana, one of the organizers of the rally.
“In fact, destroying the union movement is what motivates [Gov. Bruce] Rauner — it’s all he thinks about before he goes to bed,” Smith told a cheering crowd of about 100.
* Video from a Saturday rally…
Thousands of working people marching under the L tracks and fighting for their freedoms.
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, joined by Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Chris Kennedy, announced Sunday he plans to introduce a bill this week that would raise federal taxes on the purchase of guns and ammunition.
The Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act would increase federal excise taxes on shells and cartridges from 11 percent to 50 percent. It also calls for an increase in taxes on the sale of pistols and revolvers from 10 percent to 20 percent.
Taxes on other firearms, including assault weapons, would rise from 11 percent to 20 percent under the legislation Davis said he plans to introduce Tuesday.
Money collected by the tax increase would go toward funding anti-violence programs.
“There’s no reason to have the ability for individual citizens to walk around with assault weapons,” Davis said, noting that a goal of the legislation is to make buying bullets for such weapons cost prohibitive.
“We need to ban assault rifles in the state of Illinois. But until then, we need to tax everyone so they pay their fair share,” Kennedy said.
Democratic candidate for governor Chris Kennedy joined Davis outside Mount Sinai Hospital saying bullet and gun producers should shoulder the cost.
“I think we’ve made the moral argument. I think we’ve made the religious argument. We’ve made the theological argument. We’ve made the legal argument,” says Kennedy. “We’ve made the justice argument that the violence needs to end. And today we’re making the financial argument.”
Liberal voters who want a liberal governor will have no complaints with his approach to the issues. At the same time, he’s made it clear that he has no use for the Democratic insiders who’ve enriched themselves through their political connections. That includes people like Madigan, Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios and many others known and unknown by the people of Illinois.
Kennedy, a scion of the political family, has emphasized economic development and improved educational opportunities for the people and children of Illinois.
All the candidates cite those issues, and they mean it — to one degree or another.
Kennedy seems particularly sincere about education. But achieving his goals will never happen unless he or others create a business atmosphere that provides the kind of job opportunities — and tax revenues — that sustain a strong and growing middle class. […]
There’s no use pretending The News-Gazette sees eye to eye with Kennedy on every issue. Our philosophical differences are vast. Nonetheless, he’s a sincere advocate for his causes and would be a strong candidate in the fall election.
All in the family: U.S. Congressman Joe Kennedy III, who hit town last week to stump for Dem gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy, told a private, no-press-allowed gathering in Chicago last week: “He [Chris] is always there for the family. The one we all look up to. The one we count on. His birthday is July 4, one big reason we chose that date for the entire family to come together once a year.”
Ka-ching!
Hill swill: The anti-J.B. Pritzker-for-Illinois-governor contingents are clucking and clack-clack-clacking over whether J.B., who stuffed gobs of green stuff into Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign coffers — will invite Hillary to stump for him now that her popularity is listless in the polls.
* National Politico on the Janus v. AFSCME case and Janus himself…
Public-employee unions are barred from spending fair-share fees on electoral politics, but attorneys for the plaintiff, an Illinois state worker named Mark Janus, argue that any action by a government union — even collective bargaining — is inherently political, because it involves the expenditure of state money. Ergo, spending Janus’s money on anything constitutes forced political speech and violates his First Amendment rights. AFSCME counters that since the law requires it to bargain collectively for an entire bargaining unit — including union non-members like Janus — then depriving AFSCME of fair-share fees would make it possible for Janus and others to enjoy the benefits of collective bargaining without having to pay for them. Members’ resulting stampede to quit the union and become free riders, says AFSCME, would devastate AFSCME financially — and that’s the real goal.
At a breakfast meeting with reporters Friday, Janus wandered a bit off-script. Far from denouncing collective bargaining as compelled political speech, Janus said “I think unions have a place. Collective bargaining is beneficial to people and workers. But where I draw the line is when somebody tells me that I have to pay something that I don’t agree with.”
Like what? Janus didn’t elaborate. But, writes POLITICO’s Andrew Hanna, Janus “suggested that he opposed AFSCME using his fair-share fee to support the presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton, and said he’d be troubled if his fair-share fee went to any other candidate, ‘whoever the candidate may be,’ without his being consulted.” Again: the law already bars AFSCME from spending Janus’s fair-share fees on political candidates or causes, and Janus’s lawyers aren’t arguing that AFSCME violated that law. If Janus’s real beef is that AFSCME supported Hillary Clinton, then he isn’t a good plaintiff for this case.
…Adding… From Gov. Rauner…
From Governor Rauner on today’s SCOTUS arguments:
“Shortly after taking office in 2015, I took action to protect the free speech and free association rights of government employees who are forced to pay union dues and fund political causes they don’t agree with. Today, as these arguments are heard before the United States Supreme Court, I am proud of what we started three years ago. The gravity of the court’s decision will be felt not just in Illinois, but across America and I am confident that they will side with free speech for the people of our great nation.”
* JB Pritzker started off his weekend with a super strong endorsement by the Chicago Sun-Times…
Among the essential leaders in building Chicago’s vibrant tech industry, which barely existed two decades ago, has been J.B. Pritzker, whom we endorse in the Democratic primary for governor. He bought into the vision of “Silicon Prairie” early on, as a venture capitalist and public servant. He has put his energy, leadership and money behind it ever since.
Pritzker founded 1871, the tech business incubator in the Merchandise Mart credited with creating some 7,000 jobs. This remarkable nonprofit has raised Chicago’s profile nationwide as a high-tech hub. He served as chairman of Chicago’s Technology and Entrepreneurship Committee. He was a founder of Matter, the nonprofit healthcare technology incubator.
This kind of future-focused approach to economic development is precisely what Illinois sorely needs right now. It is also reflective of what seems to be Pritzker’s philosophy for trying to make a difference in this world: work it from the bottom up.
That’s the common thread — start at the beginning — running through Pritzker’s many years of public service, whether he was supporting new technology, working to expand childcare services and early-childhood education, or simply trying to provide every child with a good school breakfast.
Pritzker saw the promise and nurtured it.
That was one of the strongest I’ve ever seen for anyone. Not all, but many of the endorsements received by other candidates in both primaries have been less than full-throated.
* For instance, the News-Gazette’s endorsement of Chris Kennedy focused a lot of its attention on Pritzker…
Chicago businessman and former University of Illinois Board of Trustees Chairman Chris Kennedy is a relatively easy choice to make among a crowded Democratic field that features three leading candidates — Kennedy, billionaire businessman J.B. Pritzker and state Sen. Daniel Biss of Evanston.
Pritzker is the favored candidate of party leaders, virtually all of whom fell in line after Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan made it clear that he wanted Pritzker to self-finance his race for governor, allowing Madigan to use his many millions in campaign contributions to re-elect an overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature.
Pritzker obviously chose his parents well, but he’s established himself as a businessman of some repute. Nonetheless, when it comes to politics, he gives the impression of a candidate who’s running to become something rather than do something.
Whether he’s on the telephone with former Gov. Rod Blagojevich groveling for appointment to what he hoped would be a vacant state treasurer’s post or toadying for Madigan in his quest to become governor, Pritzker comes across as a hollow man with a passing interest in issues and a surpassing interest in fulfilling his ambition to be more than just another billionaire.
* The Republican Governors Association used that Kennedy endorsement to concern-troll Democratic voters…
It’s become clear that with his numerous scandals and ties to Madigan and Blagojevich, J.B. Pritzker is a general election nightmare for Illinois democrats.
* Meanwhile, I’ve condensed this press release to take out the pics, but Pritzker’s Sunday schedule made me tired just reading it…
Yesterday, JB Pritzker spoke with voters at nine events throughout the Chicagoland area. At the stops, JB highlighted his plans to put Springfield back on the side of working families by creating jobs, expanding healthcare, and investing in education.
JB began the morning at Mount Carmel Bible Church. He continued to Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. JB then spoke at Greater Rock Missionary Baptist Church. Afterwards, JB headed over to Greater Garfield Missionary Baptist Church. For his last church stop, JB spoke with congregants at the Greater Open Door Baptist Church.
After the church stops, JB headed to the collar counties to encourage getting out the vote on March 20th. The first stop was in Grayslake to speak with voters at the Lake County Democratic Convention. JB then headed to Aurora to speak at the Kane County Democrats Truman Dinner. For his next stop, JB spoke with volunteers at a JB for governor phone bank in Aurora. And for the final event of the night, JB attended the DuPage County NAACP Freedom Fund Gala.
* One more item of note…
Today, the JB Pritzker campaign released a new digital ad, “Dan’s Record,” highlighting Biss’ votes to cut pensions, increase charter funding at the expense of neighborhood public schools, and garnish wages of those who fall behind on student loans.
At the State Journal-Register/WMAY debate on Wednesday, Dan Biss said “I’m running on my record of seven years in the legislature, passing progressive laws, making tough choices.” But let’s see what that really looks like.
“Dan Biss voted to cut pensions for 467,000 state workers, including teachers and nurses, fill charter coffers at the expense of neighborhood public schools, and garnish wages of those struggling to repay student loans,” said Pritzker communications director Galia Slayen. “That’s not ‘making tough choices,’ that’s Dan Biss abandoning working families at every opportunity.”
Narrator: Dan Biss says he’s a proven progressive.
Biss: I’m running on my record, seven years in the legislature, passing progressive laws, making tough choices.
Narrator: Biss wrote the law that slashed pension benefits owed to teachers, nurses and state workers. The court ruled it unconstitutional.
Biss: I’m running on my record.
Narrator: Biss voted to increase funding for charter schools at the expense of neighborhood public schools, and he’s supported by a pro-charter group who’s fought for school privatization.
Biss: I’m running on my record.
Narrator: Biss has the lowest lifetime rating from the AFL-CIO of any Democratic state Senator.
Biss: I’m running on my record.
Narrator: Biss joined Republicans in Springfield and voted to let the state garnish wages when people fall behind on student loans. Dan Biss, take a look for yourself.
* Other stuff…
* ADDED: Press Release: Unions, State and Community Leaders, and Newspapers Endorse JB for Governor: With 22 days until the primary election, support continues to build for JB and Juliana’s campaign. In the past week alone, the Chicago Sun-Times, Crain’s Chicago Business, the Illinois Nurses Association, ATU Local 308, State Sen. Toi Hutchinson, State Rep. Mike Halpin, 14 Rock Island County elected officials, 50 suburban mayors, and Chicago City Council’s Veterans Caucus have all announced their support.
* Pritzker pledges support to — and seeks support from — black women: Democratic gubernatorial hopeful J.B. Pritzker on Friday vowed to a room of more than 600 African-American women that he’d be an “ally,” while calling them the “lifeblood” of a “resistance and grassroots movement.” … “Since January 20th of 2017, we have seen a resistance and a grassroots movement take hold in this country like nothing that any of us have seen in an awfully long time,” Pritzker said. “Women, and specifically black women are the lifeblood of that movement.” … And Preckwinkle once again defended Pritzker regarding the FBI tapes: “First of all it’s hard for me to remember conversations that I had 10 years ago. Secondly, there isn’t anybody who wouldn’t be uncomfortable with something they said on the telephone, wouldn’t want it on the front page of a newspaper,” Preckwinkle said. “So, I think this is kind of a mountain out of a molehill.”
* Zorn: Shameful decision by a Downstate TV station allows Pritzker to cancel a debate: And it’s very common for front-running and well-funded candidates to play it safe and limit — or decline altogether — risky debates that are likely to elevate the profile of their opponents. You’re entitled to be indignant about this tactic only if you have never supported a candidate who has employed it, and unless you’re a new voter, odds are that you have. My indignation is reserved here for the management of WCIA, which announced Monday that, in light of Pritzker’s decision not to appear, the debate was off.
* Spot the differences between the two Jewish candidates for Illinois governor: Both Pritzker and Biss credit their Jewish background for who they are. Pritzker and his relatives are longtime donors to Jewish causes, and Pritzker includes his support of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in his campaign website biography. He also has served on the national board of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobby. … Biss is descended from an Israeli mother and grandparents who survived the Holocaust. He grew up in a secular, culturally Jewish family. He told the Chicago Sun-Times that his maternal grandparents gave him “a deep sense of Jewish identity” but not “a strong sense of ritual observance or literal belief, necessarily.” His grandparents on the other side “had kind of a Marxist view on religion.”
* Pritzker working to shed Blagojevich baggage: “We’ve got this unusual situation of the Republican incumbent governor is coming after a Democrat in a Democratic primary,” Pritzker said. “Why do you think that is? Because he knows he can’t beat me in the general election, so he’s going to try to beat me in our own Democratic primary. It’s not working. It’s clearly not working.”
