You knew I was running for governor to get Illinois back on track, but you didn't know the best advice I've ever received or my favorite TV show – until now. Check it out! pic.twitter.com/37Q9wkYPeW
Whatever else you may think of Pritzker, I cannot imagine Gov. Rauner pulling off something like that.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
In response to JB Pritzker’s “Up Close & Personal with JB” video, Daniel Biss asked a question of his own, calling out Prtizker for the continued questions swirling around his usage of offshore tax havens to avoid paying his fair share of taxes.
JB Pritzker isn’t the only billionaire candidate running for governor in Illinois who has a history of using offshore accounts to shift their tax burden to working families. During his time as a chairman of private equity firm GTCR, Bruce Rauner had a stake in several Cayman Islands-based investment pools. He’s falsely claimed to have placed his assets into a “blind trust” but it’s been repeatedly demonstrated that isn’t the case.
The only way for both Pritzker and Rauner to earn the trust of Illinois voters is to release their full tax returns as Daniel Biss did more than 8 months ago.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Chris Kennedy, announced today that he has accepted four televised debates and one non-televised debate ahead of the March 20, 2018 Democratic Primary. As he originally proposed, three debates will be in the Chicago market and two will be outside the Chicago market. Most of the debates will be accessible statewide through online streaming or through broadcast TV.
Jan. 23, 2018 — NBC Chicago/Telemundo
Feb. 21, 2018 — State Journal-Register/WMAY-AM (Springfield-Decatur-Champaign)
March 2, 2018 — ABC 7 Chicago/Univision/League of Women Voters
March 5, 2018 — WCIA-TV (Springfield-Decatur-Champaign)
March 14, 2017 — WTTW-TV (Chicago)
“Democratic primary voters deserve numerous debates to hear directly from the candidates,” Kennedy said. “I hope my primary opponents join me in accepting these debates so voters can hear our plans for the future.”
The Kennedy campaign also committed to two all-candidate gubernatorial forums, including:
Jan. 30, 2018 — Daily Herald Media Group/Southern Illinois University
March 1, 2018 — WBEZ-FM/POLITICO/University of Chicago
Pritzker just sent out his own press release (click here) and he agreed to all the above except one: The March 5th WCIA TV debate. I haven’t yet heard from the Biss campaign.
…Adding… Biss’ campaign says the candidate is “looking forward to being at any debate, anywhere at any time.”
…Adding More… WCIA TV, I’m told, has debate carry agreements with WBBM, KMOV (St. Louis) and stations in Rockford, Quad Cities, Peoria-Bloomington, Carbondale and two Indiana border cities. This is, in other words, a statewide debate.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Press release…
Response from Rebecca Evans, Chris Kennedy’s spokeswoman:
In September, Chris Kennedy publicly committed to doing a series of televised debates leading up to the March 20, 2018 primary so that voters throughout Illinois have access to where we stand on issues that are critical to bringing opportunity back to Illinois. Our opponents all agreed.
Given the diversity and geography of our state, it’s important for voters to have access to televised debates. The fact that JB Pritzker has not committed to a single televised debate outside of the Chicago market, tells us where he stands in his commitment to Illinois voters. He has no problem spending millions of dollars on TV time so he can speak to voters in soundbites, but it appears as though he’s dodging an opportunity to have a robust conversation about issues that affect downstate voters.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Biss spokesman…
Don’t know why we’re even debating the debates. But @JBPritzker must think he has the election locked from his tower in Chicago to skip the @WCIA3 debate that will be televised in every media market in Illinois. @danielbiss will be at any debate, anywhere, at anytime. #ILGov18https://t.co/5Y8Z2b8CqD
A Chicago Public Schools plan to close four high schools on the city’s South Side has been met with an avalanche of criticism, including from students in the area.
“It makes me feel like I’m worthless,” Harper High School student Traivon O’Neil said.
O’Neil was one of several students who staged a sit-in at the high school on Friday. Harper is one of four in the neighborhood that CPS is planning on closing to make way for a privately-operated new $85 million charter school that is slated to open in the fall of 2019.
The plan has been criticized by the Chicago Teacher’s Union and elected officials, including State Representative Sonya Harper. […]
Harper, Hope, Robeson, and Team Englewood are all set to close in June as part of the plan, meaning that hundreds of students in those schools will have to transfer to different institutions for the 2018-19 school year.
* JB Pritzker tweeted out his support last night…
I stand with our students because public education needs investment, which will help bring stability to our communities. Juliana and I stand in opposition to school closures, which further destabilize communities that are most in need. https://t.co/WyFW0qSKBR
We strongly support a progressive income tax in our state to ensure that Illinois public schools are fully funded, so that every child gets a quality education no matter where they live.
Today, Daniel Biss will join members of the Chicago Teachers Union, and students and parents at a press conference and rally being held at 9:30 a.m. at Chicago Public Schools headquarters to speak out against Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to close more schools in mostly Black and Latinx neighborhoods.
“I stand in support of Chicago’s students, parents, and teachers,” said Daniel Biss. “Once again, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has targeted schools that serve mostly black and brown communities for closure — ripping the heart out of neighborhoods already weakened by years of disinvestment.
“We’re being sold a lie, that we can’t afford schools. But that’s only true in a system that doesn’t make the wealthy pay their fair share. It’s no wonder that when the wealthy and well-connected govern, their schools are funded without debate while black and brown working class families have to constantly fight to keep their schools open.
“I’m proud to stand united with the working families of Chicago to demand an end to school closures, a moratorium on charter school expansion, a repeal to private school vouchers, and a duly elected school board.”
* Kennedy campaign…
Five years ago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed 50 Chicago Public Schools. Since 2013, we’ve seen 32,000 students leave CPS schools, which is enough to fill over 50 additional schools.
Now, the Mayor says it’s not enough. CPS has put out its School Action Plan that includes closing even more public schools — primarily impacting students in the black community.
“Closing schools is not a plan for building up communities and fostering economic growth,” said Chris Kennedy, Democratic candidate for governor. “It’s a recipe for more violence. It’s a plan to push people out. It’s a tool of strategic gentrification. We should be investing in our neighborhood schools by ending our reliance on the broken property tax system that is chronically underfunding our schools. Our public schools are the backbone of rebuilding our economy; they’re not line items in our budget that we can cut.”
Kennedy’s running mate, Ra Joy, spoke at a Chicago Teachers Union press conference this morning in front of CPS Headquarters in support of students whose schools are facing closure.
“What’s happening with our schools is a symbol of dysfunction, it’s a symbol of racism: the massive cuts, the massive layoffs, the massive school closings,” Joy said. “If politicians had half the courage that these student advocates have, Chicago would be a just and more vibrant city. We need a Chicago where equity is paramount.”
*** UPDATE *** Ra Joy spoke eloquently on this topic. Watch this video…
Three years into his first term after promising to “shake up Springfield,” Rauner continues to allow the most powerful man in Illinois politics — yes, it’s House Speaker Michael Madigan and let’s not feign surprise — to mess with his psyche. At a news conference Monday, Rauner offered a quirky assertion that even though he is governor, he is not “in charge” of state government. Madigan is. Rauner also suggested Madigan “rigged” the Democratic primary field, presumably clearing the path for gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker, who has picked up numerous endorsements from the Dems’ political elite — most of whom genuflect to you-know-whom. […]
With Madigan constantly in his sights, however, Rauner comes across as a perpetual victim. That posture only elevates the stature of Madigan, who is adept at getting under people’s skin. That’s what he does. Those people include former governors of both parties. Chicago mayors. Fellow Democrats statewide. Even his staunchest loyalists and, at times publicly, his daughter, who happens to be the attorney general.
Rather than partake in Madigan’s games, Rauner should be talking about his own record and what he would do with another four years. As a candidate in 2014, Rauner was John Wayne: “Mike Madigan has never negotiated with someone like me. He’s negotiated with career politicians who need money, who need favors, who owe special interest groups. I don’t owe anybody anything and I don’t need money and I don’t need a political career and I don’t need a job,” he said the month before he was elected. […]
Madigan shouldn’t be the focus of Rauner’s re-election campaign. Rauner should be the focus of Rauner’s campaign.
