Cheryl Bruce, campaign manager for Secretary of State candidate Anna Valencia, released the following statement after Alexi Giannoulias released a new video “re-introducing” himself to Illinois voters after a 12-year absence:
“We noticed a few key pieces were left on the cutting room floor, so allow us to fill in the gaps: Alexi Giannoulias was senior loan officer for a bank that loaned money to convicted mobsters, he engaged in reckless lending practices that led authorities to seize his family bank, and he lost millions of dollars in college savings for thousands of Illinois families. Illinoisans rejected Alexi when he lost Barack Obama’s Senate seat to an opponent plagued by scandal. Now, Alexi on the ballot risks losing Jesse White’s Secretary of State office, too. Alexi’s ‘re-introduction’ video is a sorry attempt to paper over his checkered history in which Illinois families lost big when he served our state. As Jay-Z says, ‘this is all fact, I’ll never change.’
“Now, Alexi is refusing to be transparent with Illinois voters about what he’s been up to over the last twelve years while he worked as a Wall Street banker, including for a big bank with close ties to gun manufacturers, coal companies and even North Korea. While Anna — who was raised by working class parents in a union household and has delivered bold and innovative ideas as Chicago City Clerk — was fighting for our communities during the Rauner and Trump administrations, Alexi helped rich people get richer. His commitment to transparency and accountability is worth nothing as long as he refuses to come clean about his clients and investments from the last decade-plus. Illinois voters are waiting.”
