In response to Donald Trump continuing to send the office of the presidency to new lows and disgracing every value this country stands for, JB Pritzker released the following statement:
“This unhinged disgrace to the presidency just openly sympathized with Nazis on national television,” said JB Pritzker. “There are not two sides when it comes to white nationalists and domestic terrorism. There are not two sides to the murder of an innocent person and the flames of fear and terror these bigots are spreading in so many of our communities. And there are not two sides when it comes to Donald Trump’s refusal to condemn them and Bruce Rauner’s spineless word parsing and dodging. Donald Trump is a horrifying excuse for a president and any elected leader not willing to stand up to him is not worthy of the office they hold.”
Some background on today’s activity is here and here.
*** UPDATE *** Chris Kennedy’s campaign sent me this at around 5:15, but I was already out of my office running an errand and didn’t see it…
Donald Trump’s press conference today was a stain on the moral conscience of America and his words enable his white supremacist supporters to carry out their campaign of hate and bigotry. Trump’s racist, divisive rhetoric incites terror and violence, while racial, ethnic and religious minorities, including those of Jewish and Muslim faith, immigrants, women and so many others live in fear under his administration. We’re becoming more damaged and divided each day that passes with Donald Trump running our country and Bruce Rauner running our state. It’s time for change.
Yesterday, just days after an embarrassing performance on Fox News, Bruce Rauner returned to local TV in a desperate attempt to spin his failed leadership. Rauner laughably said, “With our elected officials really it’s about spinning a headline… it’s managing a headline, it’s not about dealing with reality and truly solving problems,” before proceeding to spin headlines and provide no solutions to problems.
In a notable exchange, WTTW’s Amanda Vinicky pressed the failed governor on recently cleaning house in his administration and bringing in a team of radicals from the Illinois Policy Institute. Rauner tried to argue “most of my top aides do not come from there,” which would be convincing, were it not for the fact that Rauner’s Chief of Staff, Legislative Liaison, Policy Chief, and much of his communications team all come directly from the right-wing group. Vinicky pressed the failed governor on how this new team of radicals influences his agenda, to which Rauner replied “I will never change.” So, either Bruce Rauner expects us to believe that his senior advisors are not really advising him or Rauner was actually just this radical to begin with.
“Considering Bruce Rauner cleaned house to retool his messaging, you would think he might be able to get some better answers,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Then again, even ‘the best team in America’ can’t spin their way out of this mess. Bruce Rauner is a failed leader of historic proportions, desperately lurching to the right as Illinois families pay the price.”
The governor also told Vinicky that his chief legal counsel comes from Indiana. Um, no. That was his former chief legal counsel, Jason Barclay, who worked for Gov. Mitch Daniels. His current chief legal counsel, Dennis Murashko, comes from Russia.
*** UPDATE *** Part of a DGA press release…
Amanda Vinicky named four, but here is a full list compiled from news clips:
Kristina Rasmussen – Chief of Staff
Michael Lucci – Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
Diana Rickert – Deputy Chief of Staff of Communications
Darlene Senger – Deputy Chief of Staff of Legislative Affairs
Jean Hutton – Assistant Chief of Staff
Madelyn Harwood – Policy Analyst
Meghan Keenan – Communications Specialist
This list does not include Rauner’s new Director of Communications, Washington DC liaison, Chief Strategic Advisor for his campaign apparatus, or (short-lived) body man all of whom are products of other national and local right-wing think tanks. There is no getting around the fact that Rauner has turned over his political operation to the Illinois Policy Institute and other like-minded organizations. Illinois reporters have already started seeing the “influence” of his staff on policy, most notably the inclusion of TIFF provisions in Rauner’s SB1 Amendatory veto. But he right that his new staff won’t change the problem at the center of this administration – Bruce Rauner and his failed leadership.
If Rauner’s convinced that he needed to shake up his staff and bring in these staffers, why is he suddenly ashamed to admit who he brought in?
“At the end of a terrible month, Bruce Rauner seems suddenly shy about the fact he turned over the governor’s office to a bunch of right-wing ideologues,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “After lawmakers from both parties overrode his budget veto, Rauner could have turned to focus on helping Illinois families. Instead, he doubled-down on the same failed politics that lead the state to a two-year budget impasse, and now threaten schools’ ability to stay open.”
Democratic governor candidate Ameya Pawar has selected Tyrone Coleman, the mayor of downstate Cairo, to serve as his running mate in the campaign for the March primary nomination.
The Chicago alderman’s choice of the little-known mayor of a financially troubled community at the state’s southern point was emblematic of his “One Illinois” campaign theme, Pawar said.
Ameya Pawar, 47th Ward Alderman and Democratic candidate for Illinois governor, today announced Cairo Mayor Tyrone Coleman as his running mate for Lt. Governor. A veteran, a pastor, and a former radio show host, Coleman has spent his entire life serving his community and our country.
“I asked Mayor Coleman to be my running mate because he embodies the struggle that every Illinois family and town is experiencing. While the wealthy keep getting wealthier, the rest of us are struggling to get ahead,” said Pawar. “For too long, our state has been under the control of millionaires and big corporations that put profits over people–and the political insiders who enable them–leaving us fighting over scraps. While Bruce Rauner and Donald Trump divide our country based on where people live and what they look like, Mayor Coleman and I will work to bring our entire state together and lead the fight to take our state back from the powerful special interests so everyone has the opportunity to succeed.”
“Mayor Coleman and I are the only candidates in this race who are neither multi-millionaires or career politicians. And like me, he beat an entrenched political machine in Cairo to become mayor. Since taking office, the mayor has worked day and night to fight for public housing, economic development, and good jobs. Mayor Coleman will fight with me to bring new jobs and equitable funding for communities like Cairo, Englewood, Rockford, Galesburg, Waukegan, and Harvard.”
“I was born and raised in Cairo,” said Coleman. “When I grew up, it was the hub of the tri-state area. We used to draw people to Cairo for jobs, for entertainment, for medical care. I left for about 15 years, spent 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, and came back on vacation and saw the devastation that years of disinvestment had caused. I saw that there was a need for my assistance here at home. Never thinking that I’d be in the position of mayor, I just thought that there was a better way of life for people who live in Cairo, and if I could do anything to make that thought a reality, I needed to be in government.”
“Cairo is a microcosm of what’s happening around Illinois and around this country,” Pawar explained. “Yes, there are higher rates of poverty, there are empty storefronts and buildings. But there are strong people. Strong families. People stitching things together to make their communities a better place. What’s missing is the political will to match that strength with investment. Mayor Coleman embodies the strength that so many communities have. And together, we’ll cut through politics as usual and get things done that actually improve people’s lives.”
Mayor Coleman was born in 1949 in Cairo. After graduating from Western Kentucky Vocational he was drafted into service, spending 10 years in the Marine Corps. He was honorably discharged at the rank of Staff Sergeant. In 1984, he returned to his home town on vacation and saw the economic damage that had been done, and decided to stay to do what he could to help the community rebuild.
Coleman founded Faith Incorporated, a community-based organization that serves youth. He spent 10 years as a life skills coach at the Southern Illinois Collegiate Common Market, working with people on probation and with recipients of supplemental security income (SSI), which provides stipends to low-income people who are either over the age of 65, blind, or disabled. In 1991, Coleman founded what is now the Alexander-Pulaski Branch of the N.A.A.C.P.
From 1986-2012, Coleman hosted a talk and gospel radio show on WKRO-AM 1490. He has been involved in his church for decades - from 1999-2012, he was the Pastor at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Hogers Park in Cairo. He currently serves as Interim Pastor at the First Missionary Baptist Church.
His involvement in electoral politics began in 1990, when he served on the Cairo School District 1 Board. He then served as Co-Chair of Gov. Jim Edgar’s Minority Outreach Coalition, and from 2007-2011 served on the Cairo City Council as well as serving as the Cairo Police Commissioner. He is currently in his second term as Mayor.
Coleman is married to Mary Katherine Coleman, and the couple has raised four children.
Gov. Bruce Rauner released the following statement regarding education funding reform negotiations:
“Today, we are calling on the four legislative leaders to meet as quickly as possible on school funding reform.
“We are hopeful that Speaker Madigan and President Cullerton share our sense of urgency to reach resolution. Families and educators across the state are heading back to school. We owe it to them to adopt a funding formula that is fair and equitable to all, and we owe them the assurance that their schools will open and stay open for the remainder of the school year.
“This weekend the Illinois State Board of Education released data showing my amendatory veto sends the most amount of resources to the neediest school districts in Illinois. These numbers clearly show how badly change is needed to ensure fairness and equity in how we fund our children’s schools.
“We sincerely appreciate the work done by the bipartisan bicameral negotiators, but believe the process can only reach conclusion with the involvement of the four legislative leaders. An agreement is within reach but time is of the essence to secure historic education funding reform.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Press release…
On the heels of the Illinois Senate’s historic, bipartisan vote to overhaul the worst public school funding system in the nation, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton welcomed news that Gov. Bruce Rauner is calling for meetings with legislative leaders.
“I’ve said all along that the only way to solve our problems is to work together in a bipartisan manner. I look forward to meeting with the governor and the other legislative leaders,” said Illinois Senate President John Cullerton.
Notice that he included the governor in that acceptance. The governor didn’t include himself in the offer.
*** UPDATE 2 *** No surprise here…
Senate Republican Leader-Designee Bill Brady and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin today released the following statement:
“We support the governor’s call for the four legislative leaders to meet and remain committed to reaching a speedy, bipartisan resolution to fundamentally reform how we fund our public education system.”
Still waiting on MJM and I have an errand to run soon.
*** UPDATE 3 *** I called Steve Brown, who said: “Somebody needs to brief the governor that those meetings are already going on and will continue.”
I told subscribers this morning that the leaders had met Saturday into the evening and then again on Sunday.
Brown, by the way, also claimed that Rauner “put a brick” on the talks between the designated education negotiators earlier today.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said a driver’s ramming a car into a crowd of demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, which killed a young woman and sent 19 other people to hospitals, “does meet the definition of domestic terrorism” under U.S. law.
President Trump’s national security adviser said Sunday that the violence that broke out in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend “meets the definition of terrorism.”
H.R. McMaster told ABC’s “This Week” that “anytime that you commit an attack against people to incite fear, it is terrorism.”
Is the governor really that afraid of his far-right flank?
*** UPDATE 1 *** Pritzker campaign…
“White supremacists are terrorizing communities and Bruce Rauner is mincing words and tiptoeing around our bigoted president,” said JB Pritzker. “The injured and dead who protested this weekend deserve better than this flagrant cowardice from Bruce Rauner and Donald Trump. If we are going to address what happened in Charlottesville then we should have the courage to call it exactly what it is: terrorism.”
…Adding… Rep. Dave McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills)…
I strongly condemn the Neo-Nazis, KKK members, white supremacists and other racists who were in Charlottesville this past weekend. These cowards are not welcome in Illinois. The act of violence in Charlottesville was definitely domestic terrorism.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Chris Kennedy…
Following in the footsteps of President Donald Trump, Governor Bruce Rauner failed to call what happened in Charlottesville terrorism. It was. Not calling it so speaks volumes about where he stands. Our country and our state are in the hands of two men who embolden the hate coming from white supremacists.
Sen. Daniel Biss…
“My grandmother was a holocaust survivor. I grew up with the weight of that legacy, and with an understanding of how evil can take root in our communities when we aren’t vigilant. The terrorism in Charlottesville follows a tradition of white supremacy, tracing back to the Nazi ideology that tore my family apart just two generations ago.
“Most importantly, I learned that all of us have an obligation to name this evil clearly and to fight it, and that those who do not give aid and comfort to our enemy.
“This morning we learned Bruce Rauner refuses to call the attacks in Charlottesville what they truly are—terrorism carried out by white supremacists. Like Donald Trump, Bruce Rauner is an incompetent billionaire unwilling to name and confront hatred because his re-election strategy relies on appealing to right wing radicals. All Illinoisans should remember this moment, when Rauner refused to stand up to white supremacists because of politics.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** From Gov. Rauner…
“The deadly violence in Charlottesville this weekend is abhorrent and absolutely an act of domestic terrorism. Racism, hatred and violence have no place in our society. The individuals responsible should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
CMS still hasn’t released the audio of the morning presser.
*** UPDATE 6 *** DGA…
“Citizens look to their governors for strength and understanding in trying times, and they need to know their governor will clearly denounce hateful and racist actions and not shy away from calling terrorism what it is. Today, Bruce Rauner failed as governor.”
“This morning, Governor Bruce Rauner refused to call the actions of white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville terrorism. Rauner clarified his remarks hours later only after being shamed into it. This is an unacceptable failure to lead by Governor Bruce Rauner. Like many members of his party, Rauner should have forcefully denounced this horrific violence as terrorism from the start. Instead he stuck to political talking points.”
