COMPTROLLER MENDOZA CALLS FOR REVIEW OF RAUNER ADMINISTRATION’S $100,000-A-DAY TOLLWAY DEAL
Deloitte Consulting to receive additional $9 million for 90 days of ‘emergency’ help on costly statewide tech overhaul
Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza on Tuesday called for further review by independent procurement officials of an $8.9 million, 90-day ‘emergency’ contract between the Illinois Toll Highway Authority and Deloitte Consulting for the ‘continuation of implementation services’ for the State’s Enterprise Resource Program (ERP), a state Information Technology upgrade project that has ballooned in cost under the Rauner Administration.
In a document published online on Jan. 11, Tollway officials said the additional dollars are needed because the funds assigned to the project through the State’s Department of Innovation Technology (DOIT) are depleted.
“Failing to properly estimate cost and overspending is not an emergency - it’s poor project management. This is part of a pattern of cost overruns, missed deadlines and contract mismanagement by Governor Bruce Rauner and, once again, taxpayers are footing the bill,” Comptroller Mendoza said.
State procurement practices by the Illinois Department of Healthcare & Family Services were the topic of a series of recent hearings hosted by lawmakers. In December, the State’s Chief Procurement Officer determined the Rauner Administration had misapplied an exemption to award a $12 million consulting contract to McKinsey & Company. In an unprecedented step by the Chief Procurement Officer, the McKinsey contract with the Illinois Department of Healthcare & Family Services (HFS) was invalidated.
Mendoza pointed to a $67.5 million sole source contract with the state’s Department of Human Services (DHS) for additional work on another Deloitte project to provide food stamps and other benefits to Illinoisans as another recent example of contract mismanagement by the Rauner Administration. The cost of the Deloitte benefits contract has skyrocketed to $288 million—more than double the original $143 million budget approved in 2012.
The ‘emergency’ Tollway deal is not subject to competitive bidding or a public hearing. Unlike a sole source contract, there is no waiting period for it to take effect. It is not subject to review by the State’s independent Chief Procurement Officer or the State’s Procurement Policy Board. A contract bulletin posted last week provides no details as to how the $9 million will be spent.
Comptroller Mendoza has criticized the Rauner Administration for failing to publicly disclose information regarding ERP program goals, deadlines and costs. For nearly a year, DOIT has failed to answer basic questions from the Office of the Comptroller and lawmakers regarding the status of the ERP, program staffing and funding levels. Pending a response to repeated inquiries, the Office of the Comptroller has placed a hold on payment of certain ERP contracts, representing just two percent of the FY2017 DOIT budget.
Comptroller Mendoza said applying an emergency contract designation when it’s not merited sets an alarming precedent.
“Procurement rules should be a check on irresponsible spending. Those rules are being circumvented here and we would ask that the State’s independent procurement officials review the contract and determine if this is an appropriate use of an emergency contract. To me, the Tollway has failed to make a convincing case. This isn’t a broken water main that poses a danger to drivers on a state roadway. Before a cash-strapped state starts handing over $100,000 a day there should be vetting via an open and transparent process.” Comptroller Mendoza said.
By statute, the conditions under which emergency procurements can take place include a threat to public health or safety; protecting against further loss or damage to State property; preventing disruption in services that affect health, safety or the collection of substantial state revenues; or capitalizing on a discounted price to take advantage of cost savings.
…Adding… From the tollway…
Rich:
The Illinois Tollway followed the instructions of the independent Chief Procurement Office to use a 90-day emergency procurement to continue work necessary to ensure there is no disruption in our process of implementing the Enterprise Resource Program (ERP).
The procurement will fund work over the next 12 months to complete Phase 1 of the Tollway’s ERP, which is replacing an outdated, costly and obsolete system with a new platform that will streamline administrative operations, provide greater transparency and enhance automated reporting while reducing or preventing audit issues.
These improvements will enable the Tollway to operate more efficiently.
Thanks,
Dan Rozek
Sr. Manager of Communications
Illinois Tollway
Amazon today announced that it has picked 20 metro areas “to move to the next phase of the process” as it looks for a home for a second headquarters. The 20 areas in alphabetical order:
Atlanta
Austin, Texas
Boston
Chicago
Columbus, Ohio
Dallas
Denver
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Miami
Montgomery County, Md.
Nashville, Tenn.
Newark, N.J.
New York City
Northern Virginia
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Raleigh, N.C.
Toronto
Washington D.C.
The list is a broad mix of cities big and small, ranging from Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis to Los Angeles and New York. It includes many of the early favorites, including Austin, Denver, Boston, Toronto and Washington, D.C. Three of the 20 finalists are near the nation’s capital, where Amazon has 2,500 employees.
Chicago was seen as a likely contender, based on Amazon’s criteria of wanting to be in an urban area with more than 1 million people within 45 minutes of an international airport and preferably have direct access to mass transit.
“Today we are announcing the communities that will proceed to the next step in the HQ2 process. Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough — all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity,” Amazon tweeted.
On its website, Amazon said, “In the coming months, Amazon will work with each of the candidate locations to dive deeper into their proposals, request additional information as necessary, and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership that can accommodate our hiring plans as well as benefit our employees and the local community. We expect to make a decision in 2018.”
Illinois, Chicago and Cook County teamed up to offer more than $2 billion in incentives to Amazon, and offered 10 proposed sites. They are Lincoln Yards, a development along the Chicago River near Lincoln Park and Bucktown; the Downtown Gateway District, which includes space in Willis Tower and redevelopment of the old main post office and Union Station; City Center Campus, a proposed redevelopment of the state-owned Thompson Center in the Loop; the River District, a 37-acre development along the river and Halsted Street; the Burnham Lakefront, a Bronzeville development that includes the Michael Reese Hospital site; the 78, a development planned on 62 acres along the river between the South Loop and Chinatown; Fulton Market district properties controlled by multiple owners; Illinois Medical District redevelopment; the soon-to-be-vacated, 145-acre McDonald’s campus in Oak Brook, which the company will leave for Fulton Market; and more than 260 acres available for development on the longtime Motorola Solutions campus in Schaumburg, where Zurich North America recently built a new headquarters.
…Adding… Mayor Emanuel’s office…
Today’s news makes clear that Amazon recognizes Chicago’s great strengths - access to talent, transportation, higher education, affordability and quality of life, which are the keys to growth and prosperity.
As companies including GE Healthcare, ConAgra and McDonalds have concluded, Chicago offers unparalleled opportunities, and we are going to continue to work as a region to make the case to Amazon that Chicago is the ideal location for HQ2. We are prepared to compete at the next level and the next level after that.
Democrats in Maryland’s state legislature on Tuesday rolled out three bills in response to the new tax overhaul that President Trump signed last month, including trying to protect state and local tax (SALT) deductions. […]
One of the bills is designed to mitigate the fact that the new tax law caps the SALT deduction at $10,000. Under the measure, Maryland residents would be able to make charitable contributions to a state fund and receive a credit against their state taxes. The donations could still be deductible from federal taxes.
The other two bills would decouple Maryland’s tax code from the federal tax code.
One would allow Maryland residents to still claim personal exemptions on their state taxes, even though personal exemptions are eliminated from the federal tax code. Lawmakers said that residents would see state tax increases absent this change.
The other would separate the Maryland and federal estate taxes. The new federal tax law increases the amount that’s exempt from the estate tax to about $11 million for an individual, and Maryland Democrats want to limit the state’s exemption about to about $5 million.
The federal tax bill would ultimately cost Marylanders about $1 billion, Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. estimated, with “$680 million in exemptions taken away.”
The bills would lower state taxes for about 92 percent of Marylanders, they said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed conversion from an income tax to a payroll tax would be voluntary for some businesses, officials said Tuesday.
Cuomo, a Democrat, broke with expectation and did not include details of his planned changes to the state tax code when he unveiled a $168.2 billion spending plan. Instead, the governor said his tax commissioner will release a preliminary report on the potential change on Wednesday, as well as other proposals to help high-tax New York avoid the pinch of federal limits on the deductibility of state and local taxes.
That includes, as other states have proposed, setting up dedicated funds through which New Yorkers could donate to local governments and allowing businesses to substitute payroll taxes — which are fully deductible under the federal tax bill, H.R. 1 (115) — for income taxes, whose combined deductibility with property taxes is capped at $10,000. […]
The payroll tax switch has been described by business leaders as more complicated than the donation-credit ideas advancing in New Jersey and California, but its principal benefit is its application to a wider range of people — not simply those who elect to use it, as a donation would be.
The proposed California workaround, by Senate leader Kevin de Leon, is the first of what are expected to be several legislative efforts in high-tax states to mitigate the impact of the SALT deduction cap on their residents.
The average state and local tax deduction claimed by Californians is well above the cap, at $18,438, according to de Leon’s office.
To help ensure they can still deduct much or all of the state and local taxes they pay, de Leon has proposed letting residents make a charitable contribution to the state in exchange for a tax credit.
That way, the charitable contribution would be deductible on their federal return, since the new federal tax law doesn’t limit deductions for charitable gifts except in certain instances.
Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates an income tax credit in an amount equal to the contributions made by the taxpayer to the Illinois Excellence Fund during the taxable year. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Illinois Excellence Fund. Provides that moneys in the Fund shall be used for exclusively public purposes, as specified under Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code relating to charitable contributions and gifts. Amends the Counties Code. Provides that the county board may establish a fund in the county treasury for the purpose of accepting contributions for exclusively public purposes, as specified under Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code relating to charitable contributions and gifts and may provide for a credit against the taxpayer’s property tax liability in an amount equal to the amount of the contribution. Effective immediately.
* The Chicago Sun-Times is broadcasting its editorial board meeting with the Democratic gubernatorial candidates on YouTube. Watch it…
*** UPDATE 1 *** Rauner campaign…
Following the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board meeting with Democratic candidates for Illinois governor, Citizens for Rauner Communications Director Will Allison released the following statement:
“One thing was clear from today’s forum: no matter who wins the Democratic primary, he’ll be running on an agenda of more tax hikes on Illinois families and businesses. For JB Pritzker, he claims he has detailed plans, but when will he specify the rates on his progressive income tax proposal?” - Will Allison, Communications Director for Citizens for Rauner
* RGA…
“Today’s Chicago Sun-Times editorial board meeting was a train-wreck for Illinois Democrats, with candidates arguing amongst themselves over who is most beholden to the special interests and crooked politics that have dominated Illinois for so long. The reality is that they all have deep ties to disgraced politicians like Mike Madigan or Rod Blagojevich, and that the general election will be a stark contrast between their politics as usual and the reform agenda of Governor Bruce Rauner.” – Republican Governors Association Spokesman Steven Yaffe
*** UPDATE 2 *** Pritzker campaign…
Today, JB Pritzker demonstrated why he is the best candidate to take on Bruce Rauner and get Illinois back on track at the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board interview. JB highlighted his record of getting big things done for Illinois’ working families and standing up for progressive values while consistently holding Bruce Rauner accountable for his failed leadership. JB laid out his plans to reverse Rauner’s systemic disinvestment in Illinois communities and grow the economy statewide, demonstrating he is the candidate with the vision and leadership to move Illinois forward.
“JB is the only candidate in this race ready to take on Bruce Rauner and he made that clear at the Sun-Times today,” said Pritzker campaign manager Anne Caprara. “With his record of standing up for progressive values and his plans to grow the Illinois economy and create jobs statewide, it is clear that JB has the vision and leadership to move Illinois forward. JB was proud to hold that record up to Bruce Rauner’s record of failed leadership and will continue to make that message clear throughout this campaign.”
But a source from the Kennedy campaign tells POLITICO that Kennedy later this week is expected to give himself a “significant boost” by once again digging into his own pockets. Kennedy so far has donated $500,000 to his own campaign fund. He’s up against billionaire J.B. Pritzker who has plowed $42 million into his bid. However, lesser known candidate, state Sen. Daniel Biss, waited to start ads until after the new year and has burned through less cash, giving him more money to play with before Election Day.
Kennedy has actually contributed $750,000 to his campaign so far. Those contributions, in $250,000 increments, have mostly been made at the end of the quarters. He can’t wait until the end of this quarter, which would fall after primary day. So, he’s planning to kick in his usual $250K later this week, I’m told.
Obviously, he needs a whole lot more cash than that. And there are those on the campaign pushing him to dig much deeper into his bank account. But Kennedy doesn’t have Pritzker or Rauner money. A longtime friend of his told me not long ago that he believed Kennedy was worth about $10 million. So, by that measure, after this next $250K check, Kennedy will have kicked in ten percent of his net worth. Pritzker would need to spend $340 million before reaching that same point.
Spending on advertising ramped up significantly this quarter, with candidates reporting a total of $15 million in advertising-related costs. This compares to just $6.2 million spent on ads in the 3rd quarter, and $7.5 million spent in the 2nd quarter. J.B. Pritzker led the pack in ad spending with $8.4 million. Governor Rauner followed close behind with $6.7 million in reported ad spending in the 4th quarter. Senator Biss reporting $85,000 in ad-related costs, while candidates Kennedy and Ives both reported about $11,000 each in ad spending. Kennedy reported an additional $32,000 in printing costs, which could include some print advertising.
Personnel was the next most costly expenditure reported by gubernatorial candidates, with a total of $3.1 million spent on staffing-related items. J.B. Pritzker reported $2 million in personnel costs, while Rauner reported just under $400,000. Chris Kennedy spent an amount close to Rauner, with $381,000, and Senator Biss reported about $300,000 in personnel costs. Total payroll costs slightly exceeded the third quarter, in which candidates reported spending a total of $2.35 million.
Finally, candidates spent heavily on consulting services. Chris Kennedy spent a considerable amount in this category, totaling about $912,000 – just over half of his $1.6 million in spending for the quarter. Over $681,000 of his consultant spending was labeled as “media consulting.” Pritzker spent the most on consulting with $1.6 million, and Rauner and Biss trailed with $376,000 and $112,000 respectively.
Man, that Pritzker and his spending. Whew. $2 million on staff? In three months?
And the way I read Kennedy’s D-2, most of Kennedy’s “media consulting” expenditures were actually for producing and broadcasting his TV ad. So, I don’t think ICPR got that one right.
* Background is here. As noted at that link, the governor’s campaign eventually said Rauner “believes that David Duke is a racist,” but Duke either didn’t get the memo or ignored it…
Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke is thanking Bruce Rauner for not calling him a racist. Duke posted audio and the following image on his website:
Around the 19-minute mark, Duke says: “I think that’s what happened to the Governor of Illinois. Probably at some point, he’s heard about David Duke a million times, he’s in politics, he goes to DavidDuke.com, he’s read some of the things I say, and deep down in his soul, deep down something’s happened inside of him, and he knows that I’m not really a racist.”
“While Bruce Rauner doesn’t have too many people in his corner as of late, he just picked up a new supporter: Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke,” said Pritzker campaign communications director Galia Slayen. “With one of the most avowed white supremacists by his side, perhaps Rauner would like to try out a different talking point on whether or not Duke is a racist.”
* I was actually listening to the Duke broadcast when the press release came through (a GOP buddy of mine sent me a link). Duke also said this…
But it’s very interesting that the governor wouldn’t do it. And I think in the course of discussions, in the course of a conversation, sometimes the truth is kinda blurted out, or the truth is stated sometimes in absentia because he wouldn’t call Trump a racist and he wouldn’t call me a racist specifically. The quotation is pretty amazing about what happened here. So he had a black guy interviewing him and a white guy interviewing him and said, ‘well is Trump or not racist? You won’t call Trump a racist? Will you call David Duke a racist?’ And he didn’t answer it. He answered in general terms: ‘Well, we have racism in this country.’
Governor, the next time Charles Thomas pitches you a softball, please, just swing at it.
…Adding… I stopped listening after just a few minutes, but someone else I know kept at it. Duke did address the campaign statement about him being a racist…
And of course the governor, after this happened, of course all of his probably Jewish advisors, they said quote ‘The governor believes that David Duke is a racist.’ He just didn’t say so in the interview because it wasn’t scripted then.
Ugh.
*** UPDATE *** Rauner campaign spokesman Will Allison…
Governor Rauner believes that David Duke is a racist and it’s shameful that Duke is blatantly making things up for his website. JB Pritzker should be ashamed that he is providing David Duke a platform by promoting his lies.
As written, the Act requires non-public schools to be “recognized” by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) [in order to qualify to receive Invest in Kids scholarships]. This language creates an eligibility mandate from what is otherwise a voluntary distinction for which schools may apply. Eligibility should be expanded to also include schools that are registered with ISBE, a necessary precursor to becoming “recognized.” While it is prudent to require compliance with ISBE measures that protect the health, safety and well-being of students, the current timelines to become recognized will exclude at least 36 schools that are still in the process of registering for and moving toward recognition; the ramifications of this initial exclusion could potentially last for two years. The students attending or looking to attend these schools deserve the same access to Invest in Kids scholarships as those in already recognized schools. Their educational opportunities cannot wait for years.
By including those who have registered with ISBE as well as those already recognized, the law will better maximize the number of schools and therefore the number of children who can benefit from this promising new program.
The problem that’s being overlooked is that there are far more than 36 schools which could benefit from the governor’s proposed changed. Right now, in order to qualify for the scholarship program, schools have to be “recognized” by the ISBE. And that means several hoops must first be cleared…
That term — “recognized” — sounds bland. But it’s kind of a big deal. It’s the stamp of approval the State Board of Education gives to schools that meet a 17-page list of standards for curriculum, health and safety. For example, a school has to prove students are immunized, and that staff members have passed criminal background checks. Then all that information is verified by investigators who visit the facility.
* Under the governor’s amendatory veto, non-public schools would merely have to file some registration paperwork with the State Board of Education by February 15th and they would qualify for the new scholarship program…
Registration requires a simple 5-page form pledging “assurances,” and it’s on the honor system. No site visit required.
* With that in mind…
…Adding… From Patty Schuh…
From the ISBE website: “Please note that for purposes of registration, a nonpublic school is any nonprofit, non-home-based, and nonpublic elementary or secondary school (Section 2-3.25o(e)) of the Illinois School Code) that is in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and attendance at which satisfies the requirements of Section 26-1 of the Illinois School Code. Only such schools can register and re-register.
When a dramatic new element is introduced into a political campaign, it’s always instructive to watch how the targeted candidate responds. Did the candidate appear ready for the new turn of events, or was s/he caught flat-footed?
The JB Pritzker campaign appeared to pass that test last week when Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign unexpectedly (for some of us) launched a new TV attack ad against it.
It turns out, the Pritzker campaign already had a response ad in the can, just waiting for whatever might come. So, when the Rauner campaign’s new TV ad featuring an FBI-wiretapped conversation between Pritzker and Rod Blagojevich was leaked online last week, the Pritzker folks unveiled their counter-assault within minutes.
“It’s no surprise Bruce Rauner is already on TV attacking me,” Pritzker says to the camera in his 30-second response ad. “He’d rather play politics in the Democratic primary than defend his own record.”
Another 60-second ad — which looks like it may have initially been intended only for online use because the quality wasn’t as high — featured TV news clips designed to whack Rauner over the ongoing problems at the Quincy veterans’ home, where 13 residents have died since 2015 after contracting Legionnaires’ disease. Rauner last week finally formed a task force in an attempt to prevent more deaths.
This is the first time in memory that a sitting Illinois governor has openly played in a rival’s opposing party primary campaign. We’ve seen this sort of thing in other states, but not here. Several Illinois unions did dump a bunch of money into the 2014 Republican primary to prevent Rauner’s nomination, so the governor can be forgiven for wanting a bit of payback against the unions’ candidate (Pritzker) this time around.
The Rauner folks have gone back and forth for months about which candidate they’d rather not face. Pritzker has unlimited money, but he has some opposition research issues (like Blagojevich, his ties to Speaker Madigan and his now-infamous decision to rip the toilets out of a vacant mansion to lower his property taxes). Chris Kennedy has had trouble raising money, but he does have a famous name, not many opposition research issues and is successfully positioning himself as an independent.
More likely, I think, somebody upstairs may have just decided that it was time to put the wood to Pritzker, who has been having a lot of fun attacking Rauner for months. And since other Democratic candidates don’t have the cash to do it, Rauner will.
The Pritzker campaign’s current ad buy is substantially larger than Rauner’s, I’m told, and they’re willing to increase that amount if need be. They’re also reportedly readying some more response ads.
Patti Blagojevich hit the local television news circuit Friday to slam Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign for using her husband’s FBI-wiretapped phone conversation in a political attack ad against Democratic primary frontrunner J.B. Pritzker.
“There is a federal court order not allowing these tapes to see the light of day,” Patti Blagojevich said in a sit-down interview with WFLD-Fox 32, one of at least four interviews she gave on Friday. “We fought so hard in court to try to get tapes just like this.” […]
“Somebody from the US Attorney’s Office (or one of their former employees) and Rauner’s Campaign should be criminally charged for breaking the still standing court order sealing the tapes,” Patti Blagojevich wrote in a Facebook post. “This is clearly a case of someone from the US Attorney’s office playing partisan politics, while they did everything they could to make sure we could not play the tapes that vindicated Rod.”
Rauner campaign spokesman Will Allison said they used the recordings that were included in the Tribune story. A representative for the U.S. attorney’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.
“This is a perfectly legal conversation between my husband and J.B. talking about different things that he wanted to accomplish with regards to President Obama’s Senate seat . . . These are all things we wanted heard at trial,” Patti Blagojevich told Fox 32.
“We’ve been fighting for five years to get those tapes heard. And now somebody leaks them and now they’re in a political attack ad.”
She says while she feels bad for Pritzker, the audio proves her husband isn’t guilty.
“One thing my husband loves to do is he loves to talk. And he loves to talk with his advisors, his lawyers. And all these people and do this war gaming. What if we do this? What if we do that? How about if we do this? How about if we do that? And unfortunately, what you saw in the trial was just one side of all those conversations.”
A sub-current of the Rauner ad controversy involves questions over how the un-played tapes were leaked. The portion used in the commercial was part of an 11 minute montage featured by the Tribune last year.
How the Tribune got those tapes, is not entirely clear.
“That particular tape was never played at trial,” Joe Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office confirmed. “We are working on it also—we want to know who gave it out.”
Fitzpatrick said it did not come from anyone in the U.S. Attorney’s office, and noted that copies had been distributed to all legal teams involved in the two Blagojevich trials.
“And that includes paralegals, their investigators, a lot of people get their hands on these,” he said.
The new ads feature taped conversations between Pritzker and Blagojevich, recorded during the time that the FBI was investigating the then-governor. In an exclusive interview with NBC 5, the candidate himself commented on the interview conducted by the FBI about the conversation.
“They just wanted to know more about the conversation, if there was more that I could tell them about the conversation,” he said.
Pritzker says that he was telling Blagojevich on the tapes that he would be interested in being the state’s treasurer, not that he would be interested in the Senate seat vacated by former President Barack Obama.
“It’s not surprising that looking to do more public service is something I was interested in,” he said. “Who knew that he was doing things that were against the interests of the people?”
Who knew? Lots of people. C’mon, man.
…Adding… I never noticed it in the original Tribune story last May, but Pritzker’s campaign has already admitted he talked to the FBI back in the day…
Pritzker did not directly ask for the Senate appointment on the calls the Tribune obtained. The Pritzker campaign acknowledged late Wednesday that “J.B. had one short interview with” the FBI as part of the Blagojevich investigation. Federal authorities did not call Pritzker as a witness at either of Blagojevich’s two trials, nor did they accuse him of any wrongdoing.
…Adding… Rauner campaign…
JB Pritzker Lies to Cover Up Ties to Blagojevich
JB Pritzker answered questions on Friday surrounding Citizens for Rauner’s new Pritzker-Blagojevich TV ad. Pritzker claims that he didn’t know Blagojevich was facing FBI investigations at the time of the wiretaps, which occurred just one month before the former governor was arrested.
Pritzker specifically says that “nobody knew that the FBI was investigating the man.” He goes on to say, “Who knew, you know, that it was, that he was actually doing things that were against the interests of the people.” Watch HERE.
As NBC Chicago reporter Mary Ann Ahern explains, it was “widely believed” at the time that the FBI was investigating Blagojevich.
Not only is Pritzker making a patently false claim – his own words on the FBI tapes show that he knew, at the time, that Blagojevich was being investigated and was facing legal trouble. In a conversation between Pritzker and Blagojevich towards the end of the tapes released by the Chicago Tribune, Pritzker specifically cites Blagojevich’s “legal problems” and says “we gotta get the legal thing behind you.”
This conversation, combined with years of well-publicized media reports, makes crystal clear that JB Pritzker knew Rod Blagojevich was under federal investigation, contrary to what he is now claiming.
TRANSCRIPT:
BLAGOJEVICH: If you can do for me what you did for [Lisa Madigan] before the end of the year, can you think about that?
PRITZKER: Well I can’t, uh, not while everything’s up in the air. But I hear ya. Yeah I, I hear ya.
BLAGOJEVICH: Yeah. But anyways, if we go in that direction though, if that does happen, I mean there’s some other people who can help us that you know.
PRITZKER: Sure.
BLAGOJEVICH: If you feel skittish about that, which I believe you shouldn’t. But go ahead.
PRITZKER: Yeah, I don’t think we should even talk about it, but I understand what you’re saying. Assuming no legal problems, that you, you know, your pitch is going to be, with all the other crap that you could say here, I’ve done real things.
BLAGOJEVICH: Right.
PRITZKER: And so, I think you’ve got a lot to run on. It’s just, we gotta get the legal thing behind you.
BLAGOJEVICH: Right.
PRITZKER: That’s for sure.
BLAGOJEVICH: Yeah but there’s statutes of limitations and things, and those dates are running. And those things will come and go long before there’s a re-election.
Gov. Rauner said there was “no place in our political conversation” for vulgar language reportedly used by President Trump in a meeting on immigration, but would not call the president racist.
The governor, who was appearing on WVON radio on Monday, was asked about Trump’s description of places like Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations as “sh*tholes.” The president made those comments in a meeting to discuss a bipartisan agreement on immigration, according to Sen. Dick Durbin. Trump denies he used that language.
Rauner was asked directly by WVON’s morning show host Maze Jackson if Trump was a racist and Rauner wouldn’t answer, saying again that such language as no place in politics.
Co-host Charles Thomas pressed the governor again, saying “you won’t call him a racist?”
“You know what? We have racists in our society,” Rauner said. “We have got to come together to change the system in Illinois. Illinois is broken. Our system is broken. African-American families are suffering in Illinois. It’s worse than anywhere with unemployment. We have got to change our system.”
MAZE JACKSON: “The President of the United States used language that we’ve never heard before, we call – we said he said ‘shitolee’ on this show. You heard his comments. Is Donald Trump racist? Is he a racist?”
RAUNER: “I’ll say this. That language has no place in our political conversation.”
JACKSON: “But is he a racist?”
RAUNER: “That language has no place in our political conversation.”
JACKSON: “But we’ve got it. We heard it. He said it. So it’s in the universe. So, to a – to the Haitians that live in this city, in the state – what’s up with Donald Trump? How do you respond to that?”
RAUNER: “That language has no place in our political conversation.”
CHARLES THOMAS: “But you won’t call him a racist?”
RAUNER: “No place.”
THOMAS: “Is David Duke a racist? I mean, is… what about Donald Trump?
RAUNER: “You know what? We have racists in our society. We have got to come together to change the system in Illinois. Illinois is broken. Our system is broken. African American families are suffering in Illinois. It’s worse than anywhere with unemployment. We have got to change our system.”
“Donald Trump built his political career on pitting our communities against each other and now spews vile, hateful language from the White House on a daily basis,” said JB Pritzker. “From casual private conversation to tweets seen around the world, Trump’s racist views and words sadly represent our country. Strong state leaders have pushed back and defended the communities that are under attack by this president, but Bruce Rauner is sitting on the sidelines. To have the governor of this state remain silent and refuse to call Trump what he clearly is — a racist — is an embarrassing insult to communities across Illinois. Bruce Rauner’s corrupt pact with Trump, ratified by his silence, must end.”
Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner refused in a morning interview on WVON 1690 AM to apply the “racist” label not only to Trump, but to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. The campaign of J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat running to challenge Rauner, quickly pounced.
“The governor believes that David Duke is a racist,” Justin Giorgio, a spokesman for
Rauner’s campaign, said later in an email. “As he stated in his interview this morning, the governor is working to bring all Illinoisans together to overcome the racism that exists in our society.”
…Adding… Pritzker campaign…
During a WVON interview yesterday, Bruce Rauner refused to call former KKK leader David Duke a racist.
Rauner fell back on his favorite talking point, “our system is broken,” to avoid criticizing the notorious white supremacist. While a spokesman later attempted to clean up Rauner’s dodge, Rauner failed to answer a simple question about one of the country’s foremost bigots.
“It is abundantly clear that former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke is racist and it is inexcusable that Bruce Rauner would rather mince words than answer a simple question,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Instead of having a spine and standing up for what’s right, Rauner dodges even the most basic of questions to avoid giving Illinoisans the answers they deserve.”
* Sen. Kwame Raoul…
Gov. Rauner’s refusal to call former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke a racist on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is flat out Trumpian.
Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us that our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter and Bruce Rauner’s inability to clearly state that David Duke is a racist is pretty damning.
In the spirit of MLK, I’m asking that we all speak out against the injustices that are taking place in our communities and across the state. We must speak a little bit louder against hate. We must speak a little bit louder against fear. And we must unabashedly speak louder against those who try to divide us!
…Adding… DGA…
Like clockwork, Governor Bruce Rauner was in the news again for failing to take a strong moral stand on an easy-to-call situation. Yesterday, during an interview with WVON, Governor Bruce Rauner was pressed on President Donald Trump’s most recent and outrageous comments on immigrants. Rauner fell back on talking points, refused to address the substance on Trump’s comments, and would not condemn David Duke as “racist.”
Rauner’s campaign later clarified that, of course, he believed David Duke was racist. But the WVON interview is another example, just in the past six months, of Rauner’s reluctance to show real leadership on moral issues:
Charlottesville and Terrorism: Rauner initially refused to use the term “terrorism” to describe the Neo-Nazi attacks in Charlottesville. Rauner had to be shamed into clarifying his language later that day.
Charlottesville and Trump: Rauner waited days to addressed President Trump’s “both sides” comments on Charlottesville, and only after Trump repeated his comments. Rauner was questioned by reporters why he initially didn’t use Trump’s name in his condemnation of his language.
Illinois Policy Institute Cartoon: Rauner infamously refused to look at a cartoon denounced by the Illinois legislature, but drawn by his close allies at the IPI. A week-long saga would eventually result in Rauner’s office issuing a statement that said, “as a white male”, he had nothing to add. Multiple communications staffers were fired.
Anthem Protests: Despite his tepidity to address pretty much any issue spurred by Trump, Rauner jumped into the debate on protests at football games, siding with the President.
The pattern is getting hard to ignore.
“Bruce Rauner’s wait-and-see approach to leadership really clarifies who he’s looking out for, and it’s not Illinois residents,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Time after time, Rauner has had to be shamed into taking a moral stand on issues offensive or upsetting to Illinoisans. Rauner’s reluctance to take on President Trump is only hurting Illinois families.”
