* Illinois Review…

A controversy that erupted in early September over Cook County GOP Chairman Aaron Del Mar appointing a 7th Ward former Democrat as the Ward’s new GOP Committeeman heated up more this week, when Del Mar abruptly stripped Charon Bryson of her new position - a move Bryson is resisting.

Bryson said she was ousted Monday because of dispute between Cook County GOP co-chairman Darnell Macklin and a family member. The family member is Dorian Myrickes, who is the father of Bryson’s children, she said.

Macklin then allegedly threatened Bryson, saying “I will ruin your family,” she claims. Bryson said that when she made that known to the ILGOP and the Cook County GOP, they did nothing.

“I thought I was appointed to change the mindset of African-American voters in the ward because of my community involvement and dedication to my ward,” Bryson told Ilinois Review. “In turn, they removed Dorian Myrickes and Nicholas Myrickes from early voting judges and removed me from the 7th ward committeeman.”

* Chairman Del Mar explained to IR that Bryson was removed because she attempted to appoint Democrats to Republican election judge slots. “That is simply unacceptable,” Del Mar said.

But, wait, there were just 196 Republican ballots requested in the entire 7th Ward this past primary. That’s not exactly a huge pool to choose from, compared to the 5,536 Democratic ballots. There are 46 precincts in the 7th Ward and many of them saw just 1, 2 or 3 GOP ballots cast.

So, it would seem to me that if the county GOP was interested in expanding the party, they’d naturally have to accept local converts from the Democratic side, including very recent converts.

* Either they’re complete goofballs or something else happened. I’m not gonna speculate, but a black woman claiming that a party official threatened to “ruin” her family just days after the big blowup over Rauner’s alleged threat to “hurt you and your family” if a former employee filed a lawsuit, the unruly mob at the debate last night and the story about the armed private detective allegedly intimidating Libertarian petition passers all add up to a possible real problem here.

…Adding… And speaking of LeapSource…

Quinn for Illinois Statement Regarding Bruce Rauner’s Deception About Threatening a Woman

No More Hiding: Release Your Deposition, Mr. Rauner

CHICAGO - Republican billionaire Bruce Rauner made a stunning and false statement last night in explaining the threats he made - according to sworn testimony by witnesses under oath - against a woman executive at one of his companies who he fired after she wouldn’t lay off enough workers at his company. Communications Director Brooke Anderson responded with the below statement and a fact-check on Rauner’s false claims:

“Bruce Rauner deceived voters last night - period.

“Mr. Rauner said this was a frivolous lawsuit, when in fact he settled the lawsuit for more than $500,000. He implied the allegations of his threatening this woman were dismissed when in fact the judge did not address those threats and rather confirmed that Rauner played hardball every step of the way. He called the accusations false - yet he ordered his own deposition in the case to be sealed in court and hidden away from public view.

“Mr. Rauner’s deception last night about this serious case of alleged wrongdoing makes it even more urgent that his deposition be immediately released to the people of Illinois.

“The issue of how Bruce Rauner treated a female executive is too important to be swept under the rug. Release the deposition, Mr. Rauner.”

Rauner’s False Claims - and the Facts He Hid

Last night, Bruce Rauner said, “Let me be clear, you are running an ad about a false accusation, a frivolous lawsuit that was thrown out in court by a judge who dismissed it on summary judgment.” Let’s take it one by one.

Rauner Claim: “False accusation”

Fact: Witnesses testified under sworn oath in a court of law that Rauner made these threats. Is Mr. Rauner saying that these witnesses perjured themselves?

Rauner Claim: “Frivolous lawsuit”

Fact: Bruce Rauner settled this lawsuit for half a million dollars and went to great lengths to put his own deposition under seal. If the claims are so frivolous why did he pay half a million dollars to make them go away, and why did he seal the deposition?

Rauner Claim: “Dismissed it on summary judgment”

Fact: The judge never ruled on the threats made to the woman executive by Rauner. Indeed, the judge said that Rauner played “hardball” with the woman executive every step of the way. Parts of the lawsuit that were dismissed were done so based on legal technicalities.