* From a Bruce Rauner campaign press release…

In his desperate attempt to distract voters from his 67% income tax hike, record job losses, skyrocketing property taxes and multiple criminal investigations, Pat Quinn has painted himself into a corner.

The governor’s own pension fund — just like the state pension fund for teachers and all state workers — is heavily invested overseas, including in the Cayman Islands.

Pat Quinn either needs to apologize to Bruce Rauner for lying about the facts or apologize to Illinois teachers and state workers for calling them unpatriotic. If Pat Quinn refuses to apologize and tell the truth, he should immediately move to divest all state investments from companies and funds domiciled overseas, including in the Cayman Islands.

Individual teachers and state workers didn’t make those particular investment decisions, so that’s a stretch.

I do agree, however, that Quinn calling Rauner “unpatriotic” yesterday was a new low in this campaign. Questioning your opponent’s patriotism is a despicable act. And nothing good ever comes of it.

* Anyway, some examples…

Pat Quinn Is A Member Of The General Assembly Retirement System, Which Is Managed By The Illinois State Board Of Investment. “The Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI or Board) has fiduciary responsibility for managing the pension assets of the General Assembly Retirement System, the Judges’ Retirement System of Illinois and the State Employees’ Retirement System of Illinois.”(http://www2.illinois.gov/isbi/Pages/default.aspx)

The Illinois State Board Of Investment Had $2.3 Billion Invested In Overseas Companies As Of March 31, 2014. (“Statements of Net Assets,” Illinois State Board Of Investment, 3/31/14)

The Illinois State Board Of Investment Invests With Advent International GPE VI-A, Which Is Domiciled In The Caymans. (“Consultants, Investment Advisers, and Other Contractors,” Illinois State Board of Investments, Accessed 8/5/14)

* And…

The Illinois Teachers Retirement System Invests $8.3 Billion In Companies Based Overseas. (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report – FY2013, Teachers Retirement System, p.38)

The Illinois Teachers Retirement System Has $433.5 Million Invested In Private Equity Funds That Are Domiciled In The Caymans.

…Adding… From the Rauner campaign…

Quinn appoints 6 members of the TRS Board and 5 members of the ISBI.

Click here for all the documenting links and more.

…Adding More… 47th Ward makes a valid point…

Pension funds aren’t subject to income taxes. Individuals and corporations are. No comparison. Apples and bowling balls, etc.

Unfortunately I think Rauner will be able to muddy this enough so that the truth remains obscured. It’s another false equivalence, which is the same as lying. But it’s a neat trick if you can get away with it.

…Adding still more… Rauner campaign regarding the above comment…

Pension funds can be subject to taxes, which is one reason why they may be in some place like the Caymans. Caymans can help pension funds on tax issues but they don’t provide individuals with tax advantages.

*** UPDATE *** The Quinn campaign response…

“This is a total canard by a Republican billionaire who has chosen the Cayman Islands as a place to stash his money and is hiding his tax records from voters.

“The Governor’s future pension is fixed and the payout won’t be impacted by the performance of any individual investments. State pension boards are also completely independent.

“By contrast, Mr. Rauner has personally funneled millions of dollars to funds in the Cayman Islands to avoid taxes.

“We’d love to reply with specific numbers but unfortunately we can’t because Mr. Rauner has not released his income tax records, including schedules. We have no idea what his sources of income are, what investments he has, and what loopholes he’s used to drastically lower his tax burden by more than half.

“Governor Quinn’s bank accounts are all located in Illinois, United States of America.”

Additional Background:

As those familiar with state government know, the Governor of Illinois makes no policy decisions related to any pension boards nor the firms selected to manage investments. These boards are independent by law and the Governor of Illinois has no involvement whatsoever in their investment decisions, as required by law.

Furthermore, Governor Quinn signed a pension board reform law to clean up corruption after swindler Stuart Levine - who Mr. Rauner had on his payroll - corrupted the system.

Unlike Governor Quinn, Bruce Rauner personally makes his own investment decisions. Rauner’s investments are NOT managed by a blind trustee, which even Mitt Romney had.