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Monday, Sep 11, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This was not unexpected. After great effort, she helped shepherd through the education funding reform bill, so her work is mostly done. Not to mention that the governor’s office is not a pleasant place to work…

Secretary of Education Dr. Beth Purvis will be leaving the Office of the Governor on Friday, Sept. 15. Dr. Purvis will be joining a national nonprofit organization where she will oversee educational philanthropy.

“Beth has been a tireless advocate for Illinois children and families,” Gov. Rauner said. “We are deeply grateful for her efforts.”

Dr. Purvis co-chaired the governor’s education transition subcommittee, where she first announced the state’s goal of ensuring Illinois children, regardless of zip code, have access to high-quality programs from cradle-to-career.

During the past two-and-a-half years, Dr. Purvis worked with leadership of the 17 state agencies that oversee educational programing, chaired the P20 Council, co-chaired the Early Learning Council and chaired the Illinois School Funding Commission in order to deliver on the governor’s promise of a “children first” administration.

“It has been a privilege for me to work with Governor Rauner and his team,” Dr. Purvis said. “I am proud of what we have accomplished and know that his administration will continue to ensure that Illinois children have access to high quality programs that will prepare them to be engaged community members with meaningful and rewarding careers.”

Emily Bastedo, who has served on the governor’s legal team and as the First Lady’s chief of staff, recently was promoted to senior adviser to the governor and will assume oversight of the governor’s education policy team. An attorney, Bastedo has been a member of the governor’s senior team for the past two years and has worked closely with Dr. Purvis in preparation for this transition.

Bastedo is good people and served on the Elmhurst school board for four years.

*** UPDATE *** From the two GOP leaders…

The following is a statement from Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) on Illinois Secretary of Education Dr. Beth Purvis’ announcement that she will be leaving on Sept 15.

“Beth Purvis has been an education pioneer whose leadership and commitment to our students have helped put Illinois at the forefront of school funding. I wish her great success in the next chapter of a career that will leave a positive impact in Illinois for generations to come.”

House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) released the following statement on the departure of Illinois Secretary of Education Dr. Beth Purvis:

“Dr. Purvis played a critical role in fixing our state’s broken school funding formula. She worked collaboratively to reform several education initiatives and increase state funding for PK-12 to record levels. She will be greatly missed by all and I wish her nothing but the best in her next endeavor.”

* And this is from Gov. Rauner’s former chief of staff Richard Goldberg…

The students, parents and teachers of Illinois owe Dr. Purvis a great deal for her outstanding leadership in bringing historic bipartisan education reforms to fruition. It never would’ve happened without her dedication and commitment to the children of Illinois.

42 Comments

Misadventures in campaigning

Monday, Sep 11, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Kennedy campaign fundraising pitch…

Rich,

This past week, my dad was on WCPT 820 Progressive Talk Radio’s The Ben Joravsky Show. He told Ben that in order to fix gun violence, address poverty, and figure out school funding, Illinois deserves a governor who cares.

As governor, my dad will fix our broken government so that it does what government should do — which is to work for people, not against them.

Thank you,
Clare Kennedy

* The accompanying photo…

He’s definitely not the most photogenic Kennedy.

* Meanwhile, Daniel Biss has shut down access to his Dank Meme Stash…

The ultimate sign of a candidate in crisis pic.twitter.com/ZJxJOmMgti

— Andrew Joyce (@AndrewPaulJoyce) September 11, 2017

* Biss’ Dank Meme Stash began as a group that encourged Biss supporters to share “dank” memes about their guy. However, once Biss dropped Carlos Ramirez-Rosa from his ticket, the meme stash turned on him…

* And people are sharing the fact that they can’t access the page. Here’s one of several…

…Adding…

This Facebook group is independent and not a part of the the Biss' campaign.

— Anna ???? (@AnnaSekiguchi) September 11, 2017

* Looks like somebody is making lots and lots of campaign robocalls…

@JBPritzker Your robocalls are annoying and invasive. I have been called at least five times and have consistently hung up. Stop the calls!

— John Lyday (@John_Lyday) September 11, 2017

@JBPritzker STOP HARRASSING ME! you R a wasteful billionaire who calls EVERY DAY w/# wfull mailbox I've begged U 2 stop #Illinois #gov

— Katie Valentino (@Katiescribe) September 11, 2017

Hey @JBPritzker - if you keep robocalling me, I am voting for @GovRauner or Kennedy.

— Dan Doherty (@ddohertyjr) September 11, 2017

Whew.

* Press release…

Gubernatorial Candidate Tio Hardiman Keynote Speaker for 9/11 Ceremony in Campaign, IL

Dear Members of the Media,

Gubernatorial Candidate Tio Hardiman has been invited by the American Legion Post 559 Commander to be the keynote speaker for the 9/11 Ceremony on Monday, September 11, 2017 at 3:00 p.m at the American Legion, 704 N. Hickory St., in Campaign, IL .

One typo is a simple mistake. Two? Not so much. I do, however, think I’d like to live in a town called Campaign.

* And the “candidate” who no longer is?…

His website is offline, he has 0 donors & not even so much as a tweet in 3 weeks, but @AlexrPaterakis tells me his campaign is still active. pic.twitter.com/Fx6S6iNUXS

— Mark Maxwell (@WCIA3Mark) September 8, 2017

Audit of @AlexrPaterakis' Twitter shows 6,000 fake followers.@Ameya_Pawar_IL - 1,300@JBPritzker - 1k@DanielBiss - 235@KennedyforIL - 61 https://t.co/WyLvgDtPyu

— Mark Maxwell (@WCIA3Mark) September 9, 2017

6,000 allegedly fake followers out out 10,200 is quite something, but I’m still kinda surprised that he has 4,200 “real” followers.

49 Comments

*** UPDATED x2 - Drury “eschews insiders” *** Drury’s apparent running mate ran his last campaign

Monday, Sep 11, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

[Bumped up from Friday to Monday and comments opened.]

* A friend of mine is participating in one of those “ecumenical” petition drives in the suburbs where volunteers circulate for any candidate who submits petitions. He sent me this tonight…

I have received no press release from the Drury campaign announcing his running mate and nothing is posted on his Twitter page. I’ve sent the campaign an e-mail asking for more info and will let you know what they say.

* According to Alex Hirsch’s LinkedIn page, he was Rep. Drury’s 2016 campaign manager. Hirsch was paid $10,000 by Drury’s campaign last year. He also ran a consulting company “with a focus on the cannabis industry” and was an Eagle Scout.

I’ll open comments on Monday.

*** UPDATE 1 *** From the Drury campaign…

Rich:

We intended to make the announcement last week, but felt it was inappropriate to get in the way of the self-destruction of other campaigns. We, instead, focused on getting petition signatures - one of the only gubernatorial campaigns organized enough to do so. We will provide more in the coming days.

–Jesse Brooks

*** UPDATE 2 *** Official announcement…

IN SELECTING RUNNING-MATE, DRURY ESCHEWS INSIDERS

HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS – Scott Drury, Democratic candidate for governor, has named Alex Hirsch as his pick for lieutenant governor. An Illinois native, millennial and supporter of Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primary, Hirsch has been a long-time, trusted advisor to Drury, both formally and informally. Hirsch shares Drury’s vision of an Illinois that puts the public’s interest ahead of self-interest and whose government is defined by trust, not corruption. Hirsch knows that unless the Democratic Party in Illinois stops taking advantage of its base and using its most loyal supporters as pawns for political gain, it is in serious jeopardy of losing younger voters and moving towards extinction. Hirsch is committed to reducing Illinois’ debt; balancing its budget without the major increase being proposed by the other Democratic candidates; and ensuring that Illinois’ public schools are properly funded, its public universities are more affordable and its natural resources are protected.

According to Drury’s campaign, it was important to find a trustworthy running-mate with political courage – someone not scared to do what’s right and who is not tied to the Democratic Machine.

“Alex is a welcome addition to our campaign,” said Drury. “Beyond his thoughtfulness and intelligence, Alex is an independent thinker with common sense, traits sorely missing in Illinois politics. Moreover, Alex is prepared to wage the epic battle needed to return Illinois government to its rightful owners – the people of our great state.”

“I am excited to join the only campaign with a proven commitment to ending the failed status quo in Illinois,” said Hirsch. “For too long, our state has been associated with doom and gloom. We are going to rebuild Illinois into a state people are proud of and people can trust.”

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