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Edgar says state is now worse off than during the Blagojevich years

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Former Gov. Jim Edgar was on Will Stephens’ WXAN radio program today. Click here to listen to the whole thing, but at about the 11:25 mark, he says this…

“The fact that we have gone now without a budget for over two years has put this state in the worst condition I can ever remember. Even during the Blagojevich years it wasn’t this bad.”

* And then a bit later…

“All our universities are great assets. I think that they are one of the most important elements in our economic progress. And the damage that’s been done now, it’s gonna take years to undo that. If people are worried about the economy, that alone ought to underscore why we need to get a budget.”

* Related…

* Greg Hinz: State gets new reminder of slipping finances

* Bob Reed: Illinois’ medical debt spiral injures people, economy

134 Comments

Pritzker goes up with new TV ad: “Think big”

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Today, the JB Pritzker for Governor campaign released its first TV ad, a 60-second spot called “Think Big.” The ad will air in markets across the state.

“Think Big” highlights JB’s progressive record of getting things done, including his work to bring new, good paying jobs to Illinois by helping build 1871, a non-profit technology small business incubator, by working with non-profits like Share Our Strength and Greater Chicago Food Depository to provide school breakfast to 55,000 Illinois kids, and JB’s work as a national leader in early childhood education.

“Today, I’m excited to release our campaign’s first TV ad and continue introducing myself to people across Illinois,” said JB Pritzker. “As I’ve traveled across the state, I’ve visited organizations and met with Illinoisans who are paying the price for Governor Rauner’s failure every day. It’s time we fight for what’s right and get our state back on track. By working together, I know that we can get real results for Illinois families and our communities.”

* Rate it…

…Adding… More where this came from…

@capitolfax $435k Buy Rich. And they are 60's, i.e. Long.

— Edward Marshall (@edmarshallcbs2) May 2, 2017

…Adding More… Greg Hinz…

In the spot, Pritzker takes only a passing shot at incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner, saying that, under him, “things have only gotten worse” in Illinois. And he completely ignores other rivals for the Democratic nomination.

Instead, under the theme of thinking “big,” Pritzker talks about how he founded a successful tech incubator and worked to arrange funding for early-childhood education and nutrition programs. “Small ideas won’t help Illinois’ future,” he concludes.

But the “big” line is used to self-deprecating purpose, too. I’m not sure if he’s ever been skinny, and the spot depicts him walking down a street, stomach bumping above his belt, hammering on the “big” line.

Kinda cute, I thought. But look for yourself. At least we’re starting what likely will be a bitter campaign on a humorous note.

65 Comments

Oppo dump! Pritzker on 2012 Obama campaign: A pick between “best of a mediocre set of choices”

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* We’ve already talked about JB Pritzker’s 2012 remark on a cable TV show how he hadn’t yet made up his mind whether he would support the Republican presidential nominee or President Obama’s reelection. At the time, the Republican candidates remaining in the race were Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

If you watch the video, however, you’ll see Pritzker first say “Look, I’m a Democrat and I tend to lean toward voting for the President,” and then he went on to say…

But I think this is gonna be a long campaign, we’re gonna learn a lot during this campaign. And ultimately, as in every election, it’s gonna be a choice between two people and two parties that you’re not a hundred percent behind either one. You just have to pick sort of the, the best of a mediocre set of choices.

Obama is visiting Chicago tomorrow, by the way.

* Video…

* Meanwhile, yesterday we discussed how a Chris Kennedy fundraising e-mail unfavorably compared Pritzker to Gov. Rauner. Greg Hinz reached out to the campaigns…

The Pritzker camp is shrugging off the attack. “J.B. looks forward to working with grassroots, Democratic and other organizations across Illinois to fight back against the failed leadership of Bruce Rauner and Donald Trump,” said his communications director, Galia Slayen. “And, unlike the current governor, J.B. doesn’t tear things down. He has a proven record of bringing people together.” […]

The Kennedy folks think they’re on to something here and intend to continue this line of attack. “We’ve seen what happens when someone like Gov. Rauner doesn’t need to reach out,” spokesman Mark Bergman said. “It’s resulted in gridlock” as GOP lawmakers who need Rauner’s financial help in their campaigns have refused to back a bipartisan deal, perhaps fearing that Rauner allies will oppose them in primaries as occurred in some instances this spring. Or, as the mailer put it: Big money “silences us. It says . . . that if you fight our fight for us, we’ll make you our king.”

Of course, Kennedy does not exactly reside in the poorhouse, having donated $250,100 to his own campaign. But that’s peanuts compared to the $7 million Pritzker donated to himself just in the campaign’s early days, Bergman said. “There’s a difference (between them). Chris has to raise money from people across Illinois,” Bergman said. “J.B. doesn’t.”

All of this will thoroughly delight GOP leaders. “Do the Democrats listen to any voice except Mike Madigan?” asked former state GOP Chairman Pat Brady.

There’s also some word going around that Pritzker may be going up on TV very soon. Stay tuned.

36 Comments

New Planned Parenthood TV ad targets Roskam

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tina Sfondeles…

Planned Parenthood on Tuesday released a poll and TV ad aimed at putting pressure on Rep. Peter Roskam — who is already being targeted by Democrats as a vulnerable Republican in a district that favored Hillary Clinton for president.

“Extreme politicians are trying to defund Planned Parenthood which would have a devastating impact on the more than 60,000 people who rely on Planned Parenthood in Illinois,” the ad says, while urging constituents to call Roskam to ask him “to protect women’s health.” The ad is paid for by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. The ads will run for at least one week in the Chicago area media market. […]

The Planned Parenthood poll conducted by Public Policy Polling found — out of 566 voters in the Sixth Congressional District — 57 percent opposed changes to health care that would “defund” Planned Parenthood. Of those polled 49 percent said they supported the Affordable Care Act, with 39 percent opposing and 11 percent unsure. […]

The poll also sought to learn whether Trump’s proposed actions to defund Planned Parenthood made them more likely to participate in grassroots activity: 51 percent said they were more likely; 26 percent said they were less likely; 22 percent said it didn’t make a difference and 1 percent said they were not sure.

* Rate it…

The full poll is here.

* Democrat and former Naperville school board member Suzyn Price has been hitting the incumbent hard in recent days on this general topic…

“If you have cancer, diabetes or if you’re pregnant, insurance companies will be able to deny you care or vastly increase the cost of it under the new Roskam-Ryan-Trump plan,” she said in a statement. “We need a representative in the 6th district that listens to what people want and stands up against this radical agenda.”

* Related…

* Poll: Majority of voters in 13 GOP districts oppose defunding Planned Parenthood

* Editorial: Come out, come out, wherever you are, Peter Roskam

16 Comments

“Revenue, cuts or both?” Kennedy won’t answer

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* WCMY’s Rick Koshko interviewed Chris Kennedy this week…

Koshko: How would you balance the budget if you were governor right now?

Kennedy: Well, the first thing I would do is I would abandon the need to adopt his Turnaround Agenda first. This isn’t a stalemate, this isn’t a logjam, this is a hostage-taking. Gov. Rauner is holding the state budget hostage for ideas that only he thinks are more important than what the rest of the state believes in. If he gave up on those ideas, there would be a balanced budget passed in Springfield within ten days.

Koshko: Revenue, cuts or both?

Kennedy: I think the legislature would figure that out in these next ten days. If you’re talking about what happens two years from now, I think we need to know what damage Gov. Rauner does. Enormous pile of unpaid bills that he has created under his own management, it leaves the state really at risk and I don’t know how bad it will get.

Koshko: With some Democrats saying, look, it’s Rauner’s job to propose the budget, it would be reasonable for them to say it’ll be your job to propose the budget. So what would you do, how would you propose the budget?

Kennedy: I don’t know what the size of the unpaid bills is. How can I answer that? Could you have predicted that he’d go with $12-14 billion in unpaid bills? Can you tell me what it will be like, you know, two years from now? I’m sorry, I can’t do that. We have one governor at a time. It’s his job. He ought to get it done.

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