As I noted when petitions were first starting to circulate a few weeks ago, I believe you succeed in politics and in life when you are prepared. With recent political retirements and shakeups, and rumors circulating that Secretary White’s alderman was circulating petitions for the office, I wanted to be ready in case his intention to run for re-election changed.
* In case you missed it, here’s background from September…
“I don’t intend to run against Jesse White, I’ll tell you that right now,” [Hastings] said, adding that he’s only circulating petitions because he’s heard the same rumors we talked about yesterday, that secretary of state petitions are being circulated for Ald. Walter Burnett, who is Secretary White’s guy, and that White would drop out late in the game and Burnett would be ready to go. Secretary White’s office flatly denied those rumors.
I’m told that Sen. Hastings will wait and see what happens the rest of today and through next week before deciding what to do with his petitions.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Sen. Hastings sent me a new statement…
As I noted when petitions were first starting to circulate a few weeks ago, I believe you succeed in politics and in life when you are prepared.
With recent political retirements and shakeups, and rumors circulating that Secretary White may not run for re-election, I wanted to be ready in case his intention to run for re-election changed.
I have great respect for Secretary White and the years of service he has provided this great state. During his tenure, the Secretary has transformed the Office into an efficient and well-regarded Office.
If Secretary White does indeed decide to retire, I am ready to step-up and continue his great work.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Won’t rule it out? Hoo, boy…
Just caught up with Sen Mike @HastingsforIL at the petition filing line. He won't rule out a primary challenge vs SOS White just yet. Says there's room to improve the office. Waiting to see if anyone else files, says he'll talk to White next week.
Jesse left Hastings a voicemail this morning to clearly state that Jesse’s running for re-election. He did not get a return call. As always, Jesse will be running on his record of accomplishments and plans for the future.
* From the end of the governor’s press conference this morning…
Reporter: Governor, how long will you continue to blame Mike Madigan for the state’s problems?
Gov. Rauner: ‘Til he’s gone. I mean, I mean, he’s been in charge for 35 years. The guy’s become a millionaire off of high property taxes in this state. It’s not a coincidence that we have the worst property taxes in America. He’s become a millionaire by making them high, and having a tax appeals law firm on the side. And he holds businesses in Chicago hostage to use his law firm. The system is broken.
He controls, he’s rigged his primary. He has rigged his Democratic primary. He has rigged it, ladies and gentlemen. If you guys won’t report it, shame on you. He has rigged the system, he controls it. It’s a Mafia protection racket. And until he’s gone, we aren’t going to fix Illinois and we aren’t going to have a good future.
Reporter: So, who do you think his candidate for governor is?
Rauner: [Laughs] Oh, c’mon. You know what? If you guys are asking that question you’re playing games and you’re not reporting the truth to the people of Illinois. You’d better answer that question yourself. You’ve been around, you know the answer to that question.
Reporter: So, if he’s been in charge for the last 35 years, have you been in charge for the last three?
Rauner: I wish I had. We would have our problems fixed. Illinois would be on a great future. We’d have 200,000 more jobs in this state. We’d have lower property taxes in this state. We would have term limits in this state if I was in charge. I am not in charge. I’m trying to get to be in charge.
[Last question!]
Reporter: How can you say you’re not in charge? You’re the governor of Illinois.
Rauner: The General Assembly can block the major things. What I control, union contracts, we’re incredible, Medicaid reform, incredible, criminal justice reform, incredible. The things that I can control, we’re transforming the state. And I’ve been able to recruit 120,000 net new jobs despite our regulations being bad. If, if I could get the General Assembly to support term limits, property tax relief, red tape reduction on businesses, rolling back that income tax hike, we will kick tails, we will be one of the strongest states in America.
While Rauner has executed new collective bargaining agreements with more than a dozen trade unions, he has been unable to reach agreement with the state’s largest public employee union and was barred earlier this year from attempting to impose his own contract terms on the workers.
Rauner’s overhaul of the state’s Medicaid program has been criticized by Democrats as moving too fast and at too great of an expense to the state. And while Rauner has indeed presided over several significant changes to the criminal justice system over the nearly three years he’s been in office, much of that work was made possible by lawmakers who sent bills to his desk for approval.
I will win the general election. I will win the general election. And if we don’t win the general election, nothing else matters. If we go back to being a one-party state that’s controlled by one person, we don’t have a future. We don’t have a future.
You know what will happen? We will get a massive income tax hike. The candidates controlled by Madigan, all of them have said, ‘The answer to our problems is a massive income tax hike.’ And they say ‘Let’s tax the rich. Let’s tax the rich.’ Well, first of all, you watch business owners flood out of this state when that happens, and our unemployment rate’s gonna go through the roof.
But also, there’s no such thing as a ‘just tax the rich’ plan. No such thing. Doesn’t happen. What happens is the middle class gets socked whenever you do an income tax hike. And if you want proof of that, and I need you guys to focus on the truth on this, look at the states that have done a graduated income tax. Ask New Jersey how it’s gone. New Jersey put in a big graduated income tax to try to tax the rich. You know what? Their middle class, you make $40,000. $40,000 is not a high income. It’s a middle class income. You make $40,000 in New Jersey, you pay six and a half percent. OK?
In New York, graduated income tax. They say ‘Let’s tax the rich.’ In New York, you have a middle class income, you make $40,000, you pay seven and a half percent.
And, you look at the numbers. Look at Massachusetts. Look at Minnesota. Some of the folks have said, ‘Minnesota. They’re Midwest. They’re a farm state.’ You know, look at them. They’ve got a, you make $40,000 a year in Minnesota, you pay seven percent income tax.
And they, and those, New Jersey can’t balance their budget. New York can’t balance their budget. California can’t balance the budget. You make $40,000 in California, you pay eight percent income tax. $40,000.
They will sock the middle class with a tax hike that Madigan and his puppets want and it will destroy Illinois.
We need to be a two-party state. We have to win the general election. And Republicans have to have a voice in the remap. There’s gonna be a remap drawn in 2020, and if it’s not a two-party map, we don’t have a future. Then Madigan will consolidate even more control under one person and we will not have a future, ladies and gentlemen. That’s what’s at stake in this election.
…Adding… Hmm…
Today @BruceRauner claimed: “You make $40,000 in New Jersey, you pay six and a half percent” in income taxes. That’s…not true.
For single filers, the NJ marginal income tax rate at $40,000 is 5.525%.
The Worst Republican Governor in America is now claiming he’s “not in charge” of the state he was elected to lead.
Bruce Rauner, the governor and chief executive of Illinois, made the baffling comments at a press conference earlier today. With a record of no accomplishments and countless crises, the failed governor seems intent on running a campaign of attack, blame, and divide while taking zero responsibility for the damage he’s done.
“The Worst Republican Governor in America is running for re-election on a bold strategy of claiming he hasn’t actually been in charge of the state he’s led for the past three years,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Rauner wants credit for imaginary successes, blames everyone else for his failures, and now readily admits he has done nothing to lead Illinois.”
* And Dan Proft tosses in his own two cents…
The buck stops somewhere else. I'll only shake up Springfield if Madigan lets me. Was that Rauner's value prop as a candidate? Feeble. https://t.co/OwSgaQLvMC
…Adding… Two guesses on who’s “in charge” of Rep. Ives’ Twitter account?…
I'll only shake up Springfield if Madigan lets me. Was that the promise? Gov's office is powerful, but a weak man is in it. #twill#ilgovhttps://t.co/LsIGIRWlhR
“Bruce Rauner’s reelection campaign is going in reverse and he’s getting desperate,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner already faces the impossible task of defending his failed record of higher debt and lower job growth. Now facing a primary challenge, Rauner has accepted help from extreme right-wing ideologues and supported Washington Republicans’ tax plan while desperately deflecting blame for his own failures. Rauner started the week as the nation’s most vulnerable incumbent and it seems like it’s only getting worse for him.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Kennedy campaign…
Bruce Rauner is kicking off his re-election campaign by dodging the blame for failing to raise the minimum wage in our state, maintaining an unfair property tax system that burdens working families, and overseeing a two-year budget impasse that cut off social services to more than 1 million people in our state. The people of Illinois can’t afford to suffer through another term. We need to radically change the status quo and not only bring opportunity back to our state — but bring accountability back to the governor’s office.
Anderson represented Illinois' 16th district, including Rockford, from 1961-1981, and ran as a independent in the 1980 presidential campaign, garnering 6.6% of the vote. #twill
Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) released the below statement after learning about the passing of Rockford native John B. Anderson, the former Congressman of the 16th Congressional District of Illinois:
“John Anderson dedicated his life to serving the Rockford community and this great nation – and he served us well.
“Before representing IL-16 in the House of Representatives, John Anderson answered the call to serve as a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army. He served through the end of World War II and was honored with four battle stars for his valor in combat. Upon returning home to Rockford, Anderson finished his law degree at the University of Illinois. He later became Winnebago County State’s Attorney, and then ran for Congress in 1960.
“His servant leadership and love of country led him to serve as Conference Chairman in House Leadership and eventually to run for President. He believed that his job was worth giving up in order to set a better example of realism in politics. We are better for his candor, his focus, and his honesty – and his pragmatic approach and self-awareness continues to inspire me on a daily basis.
“My thoughts and prayers are with John’s wife and the entire Anderson family. We mourn as a community, and as a nation, on the passing of this great American – The Honorable John B. Anderson.”
* He was facing yet another Republican primary race…
State Sen Sam McCann will not run for reelection. Just a few months ago, he was mulling a challenge to @GovRauner, even said he could beat him. McCann was facing his second Rauner-funded primary challenger in a row.
*** UPDATE 1 *** A commenter thinks this means that McCann may be setting up an independent bid for governor and adds…
Under the election code, if you file petitions for a partisan primary, or vote in an a primary, you legally cannot run as an independent.
Good point. Stay tuned.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Hmm…
Two sources speaking anonymously say Sam McCann DOES plan to challenge @GovRauner as an independent. Third party candidates can't circulate petitions until week after primary election is over in March 2018. McCann hasn't yet responded to request for comment. https://t.co/FUwcXXopti
State Board of Elections Chairman Bill Cadigan says candidates for the March 20 primary who are in line to file petitions at the end of the day Monday will be part of a lottery for the last ballot position if another person running for the same office is also queued up at that time.
But Cadigan, a Republican attorney from Wilmette, warns that those seeking the final spot need to be cautious.
Appearing on WGN-AM 720, Cadigan recounted the story of an unnamed Republican candidate who chartered a small plane to arrive with his petitions by the closing deadline, only to find the Springfield airport closed off by bad weather.
The candidate’s aide on the ground pleaded with air traffic controllers to allow the plane to fly over a field and drop the bundled petitions to the ground. The idea was nixed.
Still, weather conditions bettered and the candidate was able to make it to the State Board of Elections headquarters by 4:50 p.m. — with only 10 minutes to spare.
* Gutierrez’s departure opens up generational fault line in Chicago Latino politics: And Sol Flores, 43, the executive director of La Casa Norte community organization that helps homeless youth and families, will be looking to tap into the goodwill she has built up through that work. Flores is a first-time candidate who was part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s transition team in 2015. She said she’s out to bring a woman’s voice to the contest, and that her community activism “proves I can get stuff done.” Each is trying to gather enough signatures this weekend to meet Monday’s candidate filing deadline. They’re also each trying to open a new chapter in Chicago’s Latino political history after decades dominated by older players nursing old grudges.
* Candidates Scrambling to File Petitions Ahead of Deadline: Cook County board Commissioner Chuy Garcia, whom Gutierrez endorsed for the primary election, has endorsed 22nd Ward Ald. Ricardo Munoz to replace him on the board. A new development on Sunday perked up ears around the county, as Garcia’s Executive Assistant Alma Anaya will also be filing petitions for the spring election. Munoz dismissed the rumors of a potential showdown with Anaya in the election, calling the move “an insurance policy.” Munoz declined to elaborate on why Garcia would want two candidates that he would support filing for the same position.
* This $5,600 contribution is a pittance, a drop in the bucket, no big deal at all. So, why take these few dollars and be forever branded as a Koch-funded governor?…
Gov. Bruce Rauner is suffering a major conservative backlash — dissed by a leading magazine of the right this week and bracing for a potential Republican primary challenger next week.
But the first-term governor apparently hasn’t ruffled all the feathers of his party’s right wing.
Billionaire Charles Koch donated $5,600 to Rauner’s campaign fund this week. Koch and his brother David are the nation’s top conservative donors.
The left immediately blasted Rauner for accepting the support.
“This donation proves what many have long suspected: Bruce Rauner is the Koch Brothers’ favorite governor,” said Jake Lewis, campaign director for Illinois Working Together, a coalition of labor organizations.
…Adding… Pritzker campaign…
This week, Crisis Creatin’ Rauner introduces RAUNER TOP FIVE, a five-day series highlighting the lasting damage, misplaced priorities, and embarrassing stumbles that led Bruce Rauner to be crowned: ‘The Worst Republican Governor in America.’
To kick off the week, we turn to the two men behind it all: the Koch brothers. Late Friday, Rauner reported his first direct check from Charles Koch to fuel his special interest agenda and beleaguered re-election bid. While Rauner has been pushing Koch brothers’ priorities in Illinois for years, the donation makes it official and puts the Koch-Rauner agenda on full display.
“With few supporters left in his corner, ‘the Worst Republican Governor in America’ is clinging to the only two people he has never let down: Charles and David Koch,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “After three years of pushing this state to the brink with a Koch brother agenda, this failed governor is counting on the support of these anti-union zealots to carry him to re-election.”
Last year, billionaire Democrat JB Pritzker derided Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for not releasing detailed income tax filings.
“The question is who his investors are, and whether there are any in China or Russia that are affecting his personal income,” Pritzker said of Trump, adding that the future president was “obfuscating in order to avoid being discovered as a liar.”
And then last week, Pritzker released only the first two pages of his income tax returns going back three years. Pritzker told reporters for weeks that he hadn’t released the returns sooner because the task was so “complex.” Um, two pages ain’t “complex.”
Pritzker’s real income appears to come from various private trust funds. He disclosed last week that his trusts paid $25 million in state taxes and $129 million in federal taxes between 2014 and 2016. Pritzker’s personal income taxes were a tiny fraction of that amount. During the same time period, he revealed that he paid only $636,000 in state income taxes and $7.7 million in federal income taxes on his personal income.
He refused to divulge the tax returns for those trusts (which really would be “complex”) because, his campaign claimed, other members of his extended family also benefit from those trusts. OK, fine. But how about divulging the names of his trusts? Tracking down these trusts is a difficult business because they’re shrouded in such secrecy. Names would help.
When a politician refuses to divulge something, particularly after criticizing others for not doing so, you gotta wonder what that person is hiding.
The Pritzker family all but invented off-shore trusts. “No family in the U.S. can copy the Pritzkers in using offshore entities to gain tax advantages,” claimed Forbes magazine back in 2003.
In an attempt to pry Pritzker’s information loose, I reached out to Chris Kennedy’s gubernatorial campaign and asked if they would release the names of the trust funds Kennedy benefits from. They did.
George Skakel was Kennedy’s maternal grandfather. He was from Chicago and founded the fabulously successful Great Lakes Carbon Corporation.
But Kennedy’s a pauper when compared to Pritzker. As mentioned above, Pritzker’s paternal grandfather was a pioneer in using trusts to avoid taxation. Pritzker “took the family fortune from $250,000 in the 1920s to an estimated $2 billion at his death in 1986,” according to Forbes. But when he died in 1986, his heirs told the IRS that AN’s net worth was a mere $25,000. The feds didn’t buy it and the Pritzker family ended up paying the government $9.5 million plus interest nine years later, Forbes reported.
JB Pritzker’s sister Penny, who served as President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Commerce, is mentioned in the so-called “Paradise Papers,” a massive ongoing research project into the uber-wealthy and mega-corporations conducted by journalists all over the world. Ms. Pritzker transferred shares from two Bermuda companies to a company owned by trusts that benefit her children after she was confirmed for the Cabinet post. Her family’s myriad offshore trusts were a big issue during her confirmation hearing.
Alas, Kennedy’s decision to reveal his trust funds’ names did not move the Pritzker campaign one iota closer to disclosing the names of Pritzker’s trusts.
This ain’t over.
* Press release…
Today, Daniel Biss released a new video, “Trust,” in which J.B. Pritzker holds Donald Trump to a standard that he himself is unwilling to meet.
“The fact that Donald Trump has not released his tax returns…is an abomination. And we shouldn’t have candidates who don’t.”
“You shouldn’t have anybody on the ballot that’s running for governor, who doesn’t release their taxes,” declares Pritzker on camera.
Pritzker has been consistent in criticism of Donald Trump’s failure to release his taxes to the public. “The question is who his investors are,” said Pritzker in an Associated Press interview in July 2016. “He is obfuscating in order to avoid being discovered as a liar.”
“We have the same questions for Pritzker that he had for Trump,” says Biss spokesman Tom Elliott. “He hasn’t disclosed his income from his private trusts, or even their names, so we have no idea how much he’s making and who’s paying him. All we know is that he says he paid $125 million in taxes on his trust income. What could he be hiding?”
*** UPDATE *** Rauner campaign…
Pritzker continues to say one thing to Illinois voters while doing something completely different.
After seven months of delaying release of his tax returns, Pritzker finally released the first two pages containing information on his income.
Though he has often toted his ‘transparency,’ Pritzker refused to release even the names of the private trusts from which he draws the majority of his income.
Meanwhile, Bruce Rauner has fought for working families in Illinois. Governor Rauner is leading the fight against Madigan’s corrupt system with a reform plan that includes term limits, rolling back the Madigan income tax hike, and provide real and lasting property tax relief. Madigan has built a corrupt system over 40 years, and Governor Rauner is fighting to give power back to the people.
While Pritzker continues to deceive the people of Illinois, Governor Rauner works incessantly on their behalf.
After over 200 days of delay, J.B. Pritzker released a portion of his income tax returns, but his disclosed tax records raise more questions than answers.
Pritzker’s tax returns revealed that the vast majority of his income comes from inherited family trusts, not from salary income, business investments, or interest. Between 2014 and 2016, Pritzker paid $8.236 million in taxes on $29.6 million of declared personal income.
Those taxes pale in comparison to the income Pritzker derived from his inherited family trusts. During that same time period, Pritzker paid $128.97 million in federal taxes and $24.95 million in Illinois taxes on those trusts.
Unlike his opponent Chris Kennedy, why has Pritzker refused to answer questions on his family trusts?
Years of investigation and inquiry have revealed that the Pritzker family famously utilized trusts to protect their wealth from taxes and IRS scrutiny.
It’s clear - J.B. Pritzker is obfuscating on income derived from his inherited family trusts because he’s trying to hide the fact that he’s been avoiding taxes for years.
J.B. Pritzker’s campaign for governor is reaching the height of hypocrisy. Pritzker is advocating for yet another income tax hike on middle class families while cutting corrupt deals to slash his property taxes and using trusts to avoid taxes.
As Rich Miller said about J.B. Pritzker’s use of family trusts in his weekly column, “This ain’t over.”
* Related…
* Fact Check: Do Pritzker and Kennedy Have a Tax Transparency Gap?
Without a doubt, House Speaker Michael Madigan is not an easy person to work with if you happen to be the governor.
Former Gov. Jim Edgar jokingly blamed Madigan for the heart attack he suffered while in office. Former Gov. Pat Quinn often had a devil of a time trying to figure out how to work with Madigan, which may have contributed to his 2014 defeat.
Madigan cooperates when it’s in his interests to do so and doesn’t when it’s not. Figuring out what his interests are or what’s against his interests on any given proposal is often extremely complicated because the man almost never just comes right out and says: “Give me this and I’ll give you that.”
And if you’re not careful, he can take up residence inside your head.
If you have the stomach for it, go back and listen to some of the FBI surveillance audio of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. It’s Madigan this and Madigan that. Madigan, Madigan, Madigan ruined everything he was trying to do in office. Blagojevich was thoroughly obsessed with the House speaker.
At one point, Blagojevich even publicly called out Madigan, chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, for being a “Republican.”
By the end, it was clear that there was something really wrong with Blagojevich’s mental state. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that he had allowed Madigan to drive him a bit mad.
Gov. Bruce Rauner cannot seem to go a day without blaming Madigan for one evil thing or another. And, yes, the governor has actually used the word “evil.”
This has been Rauner’s main talking point since pretty much day one. And it made political sense. Madigan is the most unpopular state-level politician in Illinois. You’re not going to make too many voters unhappy by going after him because so few love the guy.
And by pointing the finger at the wildly unpopular Madigan, Rauner has been able to excuse his own inability to get much of anything done. Madigan has been in charge of the state for 35 years, Rauner regularly says. Everyone else, including the governor, is just a victim helplessly sitting on the sidelines.
*** UPDATE *** Living rent-free in the governor’s head…
Reporter: "How long will you continue to blame Mike Madigan for the state's problems?" Rauner: "'Til he's gone." Agriculture leaders clap. https://t.co/LhDnHNFUs9
Reporter asks governor, "If Madigan has been in charge the last 35 years, have you been for the last three?" Rauner says "I wish I was." https://t.co/gadErC5mIU
