* A new TV ad by Illinois Freedom PAC, a group funded by labor unions, began running last night. Some Rauner campaign guys I know saw the ad last night and dismissed it as ineffective. You can rate it yourself…

* Script…

- It was called “Severe corporate greed.”

A “scheme” to cash in on the elderly.

And in the middle of it? Bruce Rauner’s company.

Rauner’s company was accused of draining money from nursing homes, leaving seniors to suffer from malnutrition and dehydration.

Court after court ruled victims died from abuse and neglect.

Trust Bruce Rauner to be Governor?

His companies’ nursing homes made over a billion dollars while seniors paid the ultimate price.

* The accompanying press release…

Illinois Freedom PAC launched its second television ad today, holding gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner accountable for actions by his company that have been called a “callous disregard for human life” and “severe corporate greed”.

A jury found that Trans Healthcare, a company co-founded by Rauner’s firm—called a “vulture investor” that bought up scores of nursing homes–cashed in on the elderly by cutting staff at the homes, letting quality of care decline, loading the homes with debt and shuffling money between corporations to escape liability from lawsuits over extreme neglect and death. The ad and the facts can be viewed at www.IllinoisFreedom.com.

“Bruce Rauner brags that his business experience qualifies him to be governor, but what he leaves out is that his companies, such as Trans Health, prioritize corporate profits over human life,” says Michael Murray, spokesman for Illinois Freedom. “As a venture capitalist, Bruce Rauner owned a company that deliberately neglected the elderly to make a quick buck, and now he wants middle class families to believe he will look out for their interests as governor? Stuart Levine showed us that Bruce Rauner has a history of putting profits ahead of his ethics, but now we know that his company’s profits are even more sacred than human life. Bruce Rauner isn’t who he says he is.”

Representing hundreds of thousands of working families in Illinois, Illinois Freedom is dedicated to educating Illinois voters about the important issues at stake in this election. This ad is supported by an initial weeklong buy worth more than $1 million in the Chicago, Champaign, Peoria, and Rockford media markets as well as online.

*** UPDATE *** The Rauner campaign response…

Pat Quinn’s allies launched a desperate and disgusting false attack ad against Bruce Rauner.

“It’s shameful that Pat Quinn and his special interest friends are blatantly ignoring the truth and invoking others’ personal tragedies in an attempt at political gain,” said Chip Englander, campaign manager for Bruce Rauner. “This is politics at its worst and Pat Quinn, the Democratic Governors Association and the government union bosses behind this ad should be ashamed.”

Below is a fact sheet outlining the multitude of ways in which this ad is misleading and false. The first set of facts detail the wrongful statements made in the TV ad, the second set of facts outlines the nature of GTCR’s investment in the nursing home company, Trans Healthcare Inc., referenced in the ad. Following those facts are a series of facts about the specific cases referenced in the ad.

The facts are drawn from publicly available court filings, media outlets and other third party entities. Taken together they prove that the ad purposefully ignores the truth.

The fact sheet can be read by clicking here.