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*** UPDATED x1 *** Bloodtober continues with a fury

Friday, Oct 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From the Democratic Governors Association…

With new revelations about his direct links to public corruption, Republican Bruce Rauner gave himself another $1.5 million, bringing his total to more than $14 million.

Below is the statement of Democratic Governors Association Illinois spokesperson Rikeesha Phelon in response:

“If it’s Friday, it must mean that Republican Bruce Rauner is pumping more money into his increasingly-desperate campaign.

“It seems that every time there’s bad news for his campaign-this time his direct ties to a colossal bribery scandal-he opens up his wallet to himself.

“No amount of money can buy Bruce Rauner an unblemished record when it comes to his direct ties to public corruption, deadly negligence and outright fraud.”

There’s been a distinct change of tone out of Gov. Quinn’s campaign and allied organizations this week. No longer content to call him a billionaire, now he’s directly tied to “public corruption, deadly negligence and outright fraud.”

Brace yourselves, campers. It’s gonna get worse.

*** UPDATE *** The RGA kicked in another $1.1 million. You gotta wonder what other Republican gubernatorial candidates around the country are thinking about the RGA dumping so many millions into the campaign of a gazillionaire, but whatevs.

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*** UPDATED x1 - Quinn response: “Rauner knows a thing or two about going to jail” *** Rauner pivots on “Rauneropoly,” says Quinn will “Go to jail, go directly to jail”

Friday, Oct 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* So, earier today, I received this press release…

Billionaire Bruce Rauner has operated and overseen plenty of companies that have engaged in bribery, outright fraud, deadly neglect and other schemes to game the system and pad their pockets.

So how about a board game devoted to Rauner’s troubling business empire-and his own drive for money and power-at the expense of others? As the all-new “Rauneropoly” teaches us, “If he wins - you lose.”

Mr. Money Bags, in a new Wed ad, introduced Rauneropoly Friday

* The Web ad…

* Script…

Mr. Money Bags: “Welcome to Rauneropoly, the game that billionaire Bruce Rauner is playing to become governor. With one roll of the dice, you can see for yourself how to make a fortune on the misfortune of everyday people.

“The game is simple: use taxpayer money to buy companies, load them up with debt, lay off workers and then get the cash and run before they go bankrupt. It’s educational too: learn how to make millions without paying Social Security and Medicare taxes and how to stash cash in the Cayman Islands to avoid paying more taxes. Rauneropoly is cutthroat.

“You’ll have to outsource jobs across the Pacific, squeeze millions of dollars out of nursing homes and cook the books. Even if the people running your company have to go to jail. But you can have fun with your 9 houses and your 11 - yes 11 - golf courses. And don’t worry about free parking - you’ve already got a $100,000 parking space. All of this is just a game to Bruce Rauner - but if he wins, you lose.”

* But Rauner pivoted hard soon afterward…

“And I’ve heard, I’ve heard just this morning about this Rauneropoly game. I think it’s pretty humorous actually.

“You know what, I wasn’t born on Free Parking and I’ve worked hard my whole life. I’ve done well and I’ve given back millions of dollars in the community.

“And Pat Quinn has been rolling the dice with taxpayers’ money.

“And after years of Quinn corruption, the US District Attorney looks like he is about to hand Pat Quinn the worst Monopoly card there is: ‘Go to jail, go directly to jail.’”

Ouch.

* Watch…

*** UPDATE *** From the Quinn campaign…

“Bruce Rauner knows a thing or two about going to jail, since that’s how he has to visit his hand-picked executives and business partners who committed crimes in his name, for his profit and under his nose.

“Whether it’s Stu Levine, who received secret payments in exchange for pension business, or executives we learned about just this week who bribed the mayor of Detroit, or the ongoing trial of deadly nursing homes that he controlled, Bruce Rauner is directly linked to corruption, fraud, waste and abuse.

“Bruce Rauner’s bizarre and offensive comments today are a guilty move meant to distract from his own direct ties to corruption.”

[ *** End Of Update *** ]

* And on a related front…

Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor Paul Vallas on Friday unveiled Republican billionaire Bruce Rauner’s “crime tree,” a visual representation of the complex web of neglect, fraud, bribery and criminal corruption that Bruce Rauner and his GTCRauner buyout house have woven.

The release comes the same week that GTCRauner’s oversight of one of the biggest public corruption prosecutions in American history was revealed in the case of the Houston-based sludge company Synagro, which was found to have bribed former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Media reports have shown a pattern of mismanagement, criminal probes and lack of accountability in businesses owned and controlled by Rauner. This includes the deadly nursing home chain that is facing federal trial in Florida this week.

Bruce Rauner has become a broken record, falsely claiming time and again that he knows nothing about businesses he has controlled for decades.

For example, Rauner and his firm ran Detroit-based Lason before the company “imploded,” providing his wealthy pals with substantial profits as employees lost their jobs and investors lost $285 million. (GTCRauner took $32 million and took off as the firm collapsed.) ConvergEx, meanwhile, profited off of money meant to be used for charities and charged illegal fees, leading to indictments for fraud earlier this year.

“Not only is Bruce Rauner associated with one of the biggest accounting frauds in American history, we have come to find his business oversaw one of the biggest public corruption schemes in American history,” Vallas said. “With scandals of that magnitude happening under his watch, Mr. Rauner took the profits and never looked back. That is not the kind of leadership we need in the Governor’s Office.”

* Click on the “Crime Tree” for a larger image…

You gotta figure this is gonna show up in a TV ad.

47 Comments

“Harrison”

Friday, Oct 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* We’ve seen a handful of very strong positive TV ads this cycle and we can probably add this next one to the list. From a press release…..

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis’ (R-Ill.) campaign today released its fifth television ad for the 2014 general election.

The ad, titled “Harrison”, features Harrison Beler, a U.S. Army veteran from Springfield. In the ad, Harrison talks about the struggles our veterans are facing here at home and the work Rep. Davis is doing in Congress to help them, including legislation, the Hire More Heroes Act, he introduced to incentivize small businesses to hire more veterans.

Rep. Davis is a part of the No Labels Problem Solvers and has been named to the “Governing Caucus”, a coalition of 30 House Republicans willing to join a majority of House Democrats to pass major legislation, by the National Journal. Additionally, in the National Journal’s 2013 Vote Ratings, Davis was ranked the 220th most liberal and the 212th most conservative House member.

The ad begins today.

* The ad…

* Script…

Harrison: Veterans are the backbone of our country.

But I can see them, they are suffering.

Veterans don’t get the jobs, the medical care, the housing and the help they need.

Rodney Davis has seen this problem and he’s stepping up to the plate,

He’s coming out, helping the veterans.

He sponsored a bill to hire more heroes, put more veterans back to work.

The guys in Washington, they might not do nothing.

But our Congressman here does something.

VO: I’m Rodney Davis and I approve this message.

* Meanwhile, Charlie Cook has changed his rating on this race to “Likely Republican”…

IL-13: Rodney Davis - South central: Champaign, Decatur, Springfield

Likely Republican.

At the beginning of the cycle, Democrats couldn’t have been more excited when Madison County Judge Ann Callis jumped into the race. But Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s numbers are dreadful Downstate, and this race is slipping away too. A Public Opinion Strategies poll taken for Davis showed him up 55 percent to 36 percent, and Democrats’ House Majority PAC just cut its TV reservation here.

…Adding… From the Callis campaign…

The campaign of former Chief Judge and Congressional challenger Ann Callis criticized Congressman Rodney Davis for releasing a new TV ad today that doesn’t address his true record for veterans and military families, which includes damaging votes to shut down the government and pass the Ryan Budget. Instead, Congressman Davis’ primary claim in the ad for helping veterans is a bill that has not been signed into law.

“Judge Ann Callis has a proven record of helping veterans throughout her distinguished career in Madison County, earning national awards for her work to establish the first Veterans’ Court in Illinois. As the mother of an Army Ranger, this is something extremely personal and will be a priority for her in Washington. Congressman Davis likes to take credit for helping veterans, but he has actually voted to hurt veterans time and time again. His votes to start and continue the government shutdown put new veterans’ benefits claims at risk, slowed down existing claims for struggling veterans, curtailed veterans’ services, furloughed National Guard and civilian workers, and even threatened death benefits for the families of service members killed in action. Along with voting to cut nutrition benefits for military families, Congressman Davis’ actions clearly speak louder than words,” said Callis spokesman David Miyashiro.

18 Comments

*** UPDATED x1 - Advantage Rauner? *** IRMA takes a pass on governor’s race

Friday, Oct 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* An interesting development…

Over the course of the last month, at dates and times convenient to both Governor Quinn and Mr. Rauner, representatives of the Illinois retail community met individually with each major candidate for Governor. During those meetings, their general governing philosophies as well as many issues of importance to retailers and their customers were discussed.

As a result of those meetings, the Illinois Merchants Political Action Committee Team (IMPACT), the political arm of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA), unanimously agreed not to endorse a candidate for Governor in this year’s election. In issuing this decision, IMPACT Treasurer Rob Karr noted that retailers were caught between a desire to see Illinois stabilized and revitalized and discerning which candidate could best accomplish that mission.

Governor Quinn was recognized for his leadership in beginning the process of reforming workers’ compensation, fundamentally addressing the state’s broken pension system, championing leveling the sales tax disparity between Illinois retailers and their Internet competitors, significantly lowering the state’s payment backlog to vendors, and preserving the agreed bill process for unemployment insurance. Conversely, concerns exist that the state will not continue to control spending and retailers disagree with proposals championed by the Governor that significantly add to the cost of doing business, such as increasing the minimum wage, which will make it harder to increase employment in the retail and service sector.

Bruce Rauner’s passion and dedication to Illinois are evident and his desire to limit the growth of government and return Illinois to economic prosperity cannot be questioned and are shared by retailers. At this time, it is unclear how Mr. Rauner would accomplish these goals. Additionally, concerns exist over Mr. Rauner’s lack of support for leveling the sales tax disparity between Illinois retailers and their Internet competitors, the viability of preserving payment backlogs while proposing additional spending, the viability of the agreed bill process for unemployment insurance, and support for minimum wage increases.

Given these uncertainties and concerns with both candidate’s proposals for moving the state forward in a sustainable manner, the IMPACT agreed with the recommendation of the IRMA Board of Directors and declined to endorse in the race for governor.

Thoughts?

*** UPDATE *** If this tweet is indicative at all of the coming media coverage, then this IRMA move could be spun as a “win” for Rauner…

IL Retailer PAC fears @BruceRauner really would raise the minimum wage & won't endorse in the race. #ilgov @wlsam890 pic.twitter.com/PHDdigh57B

— Bill Cameron (@billjcameron) October 3, 2014

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