* Linda Ellerbee told a story in her book “And So It Goes” about how covering presidential campaigns could be mentally grueling. She eventually learned a trick to keep her somewhat sane during the never-ending blur of multiple cities a day. Every night before she went to bed, she’d write a note to herself that included what candidate she was covering and what town she was in. That way, when she suddenly woke up with a start in the middle of the night in yet another strange hotel room, she could just look at her note to settle her nerves.
I told that story last night at dinner (or maybe it was the night before last - this week has been so busy), and then today I watched Rep. Jeanne Ives’ interview at Quad Cities TV station KWQC…
Interviewer: So, if you don’t live in Chicago you’re considered Downstate. The Quad Cities is not actually Downstate, it’s directly west. How will you make sure the rest of the state feels included?
Ives: We’ve traveled the state. I think they feel included. My, my, uh, uh, I’m sorry, my lieutenant governor selection is Rich Morthland. He is a farmer from Rock Island County, which is in the far western part of the state right on the border of Iowa. He’s also a community college professor. We, listen, I grew up in a small town in South Dakota. It was a farming community. And my three uncles farmed around the area. All of us grew up working on the farm. I’m just as much associated with farmland as I am the suburbs where I live. So, I, I, the entire southern, central Illinois, this resonates with me and my background.
Um, KWQC’s studio is in Iowa and sits 1.6 miles across the Mississippi River from Rock Island County. No explanation needed on that one.
And since she was just over the border from western Illinois, perhaps she could’ve mentioned that when talking about how the various regions resonate with her.
Look, sometimes candidates talk so much to so many people in so many towns and then get so tired from all that yakking that their talking points just automatically take over. If you watch the video, she looks relieved when she gets back to familiar ground.
I’m not trying to pick on Rep. Ives here. This stuff happens perhaps more often than you’d think. And, frankly, my brain is a little bit fried as well these days. I don’t know how these people do it.
Today the Biss campaign is announcing it has raised more than $2 million in the first two months of 2018, including $150,073.33 raised through a ten-day small donor matching challenge. Inspired by the success of small donor matching programs in other states as well as Daniel Biss’ legislation designed to take on the influence of big money in politics, the Biss campaign launched a small donor matching program of its own.
Between February 19 and February 28, all contributions of $150 or less were matched, up to $100,000. This small donor matching program was so successful the campaign surpassed its goal by more than 50 percent. During the ten-day period, there were 4,819 unique donors who made 5,928 contributions at or below the $150 threshold. The average contribution was $25.32.
“Our grassroots campaign is powered by thousands of people across the state who are investing their time, their money, and their energy to elect a middle-class progressive who will make transformational change in Illinois,” said Biss campaign manager Abby Witt. “When people hear Daniel’s message, it resonates. Despite the millions of dollars Daniel’s opponents are spending to self-fund their campaigns, we know Illinois voters want a governor who will represent their interests, not the billionaires and corporations. In an era of Bruce Rauner and Donald Trump, voters want a middle-class progressive with a record of getting things done to help working families.”
The Biss campaign won’t identify the person who promised to match the contributions, so I suppose we just have to look for the next person who contributes $150,073.33 to him. Shouldn’t be too difficult.
The Illinois Education Association (IEA) is proud of its work that helped kill Gov. Bruce Rauner’s plan to shift the cost of pensions from the state to local school and community college districts and universities.
Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, introduced a resolution last year that stated the pension cost shift is “financially wrong” and would harm local school districts and taxpayers.
McSweeney approached the IEA for help in talking to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to build support for his measure because of IEA’s history of bipartisanship. Together, they were able to get 66 House members to sign on to the resolution in a show of force that effectively kills the Rauner pension cost shift.
“The pension cost shift would result in a massive increase in property taxes and would jeopardize education funding. I’m proud of the bipartisan coalition of 65 House members, and working with the IEA, to oppose this cost shift and do what’s right for the taxpayers and students of this state,” said McSweeney.
The resolution reads: “States the opinion of the Illinois House of Representatives that the proposed educational pension cost shift from the State of Illinois to local school districts, community colleges, and institutions of higher education is financially wrong.”
“If the state quits paying its portion of pension benefits and pushes it off to the local school districts, it strangles local school funding and harms students,” said IEA President Kathi Griffin. “We need to be looking for ways to provide more funding for our students, not taking money away from them to pay for state obligations.”
For decades, the IEA has been fighting for changes to the way Illinois schools are funded to create a more equitable formula that ensures a quality education for all students regardless of where they live. This summer the legislature passed a new school funding formula.
“It’s interesting that now you have the governor talking about shifting pension costs to local school districts and community colleges. While at the same time, Rauner continually tries to take credit for passing the historic school funding reform bill, even though he originally vetoed the bill,” Griffin said. “You can’t give with one hand and take away with the other. Rauner is not a friend of education. Our kids deserve more than this.”
That is one odd coupling right there, kids. Politics, bedfellows, etc.
…Adding… I had this one saved up to post and then forgot to do it. Busy day…
NEIU tells #SenateApprop that @GovRauner’s proposal to shift pension costs to univ could “shut off the lights and close the doors”.
* Gov. Rauner has said that the state is looking at various options with the Quincy veterans’ home, including replacing the plumbing and putting up a new building. But that would take a lot of time and with 4 recent Legionnaires’ cases, the Quincy Herald-Whig has another idea. Move the residents two blocks down the street…
We strongly urge the governor and state agencies to give careful consideration to a feasible, transitional option that would address many of the stated safety concerns and achieve that short-term objective.
It would require the state to buy — or rent — the vacant Sycamore Healthcare Center facility just two blocks from the Veterans Home grounds and temporarily move the 75 residents now living in Elmore Infirmary — where most of the Legionnaires’ cases have been traced — there until Elmore can be renovated or replaced.
Sycamore Healthcare Center closed in April 2017, a victim of Medicaid funding cuts instituted in 2015 and a state budget impasse that began that year and lasted until last summer.
The skilled nursing facility at 720 Sycamore has more than 26,000 square feet of space, features 102 rooms and was licensed for 205 beds at the time of its closing. DLZ Capital of New York bought the facility out of foreclosure and has it listed with Mays Realtors of Quincy for $795,000.
There has been a growing chorus of politicians calling for residents to be moved to other facilities across Illinois, which also would carry a hefty price tag for the state. We strenuously object to any such plan and urge our readers to do the same.
First, it seems fitting to use what is essentially a belly-up budget hostage to fix the problem.
Second, why the heck didn’t any of the governor’s “super stars” think of this idea?
* The Democratic-controlled House and Senate pass a bunch of gun bills and right on cure, here’s the DGA…
Today, the Democratic Governors Association launched a new digital ad campaign holding Governor Bruce Rauner accountable for his failure to lead on gun safety. As Governor, Rauner has failed to take on the NRA or fight for bold reforms that will keep families safe. The DGA’s ad campaign will call on Rauner to show leadership on the issue of gun safety.
“Illinoisans are fed up with Bruce Rauner’s failure to show leadership on gun safety,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “The nation reels from one shooting after another, and in three years Rauner’s refused to take on the NRA and take charge in Illinois. Illinois families need the Governor to stop making excuses and start leading on gun safety.
The DGA confirms this buy will be in the “high six figures.”
Illinois has had enough. Enough with assault weapons. Enough with guns in the hands of the mentally ill.
And enough with Gov. Rauner letting the NRA call the shots and saying [Rauner appears on camera] ‘I am not in charge.”‘
Tell Rauner, enough excuses. Lead on gun safety.
*** UPDATE *** RGA’s response…
“The DGA knows full well that Governor Rauner is working hard to ensure that guns stay out of the wrong hands. This is the DGA desperately spending J.B. Pritzker’s cash to distract from shocking revelations that their favored candidate is a corrupt political insider with longtime ties to Mike Madigan and Rod Blagojevich.” – Republican Governors Association Spokesman Steven Yaffe
* Troy LaRaviere, president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association and candidate for mayor has endorsed Chris Kennedy. A campaign press release says LaRaviere “referenced JB Pritzker’s profits from social impact bonds for preschool.” He did more than that…
We have endured an endless stream of reckless budgetary practices from an administration and city hall that seems hell-bent on indebting taxpayers to the mayor’s campaign donors.
One of the most asinine examples of this reckless and incompetent spending is the so-called social impact bond for preschool. Three investors–all of whom are donors to the Emanuel Campaign–Goldman Sachs, Northern Trust and the Pritzker Group headed by J.B. Pritzker himself.
They loaned CPS $17 million and stand to gain more than $34 million from taxpayers in return. We’re paying $34 million for a program that cost $17 million, and we’re paying it to Sachs, Northern Trust and Pritzker. Yes. One of the many wealthy beneficiaries of this legalized theft is the Pritzker Foundation, headed by a man who wants to be your next governor.
The grant will follow participants for 14 years to determine if outcome measurements have been met. Metrics include increasing kindergarten readiness, improving third grade literacy and reducing the need for special education services. An independent evaluator will assess whether these measurements have been met. If analysis proves students have fared well after attending the early education programs, investors will get a return on their investment.
The city estimates that surplus will come from CPS savings of $9,100 per student for each student who avoids special education services. An additional $2,900 would be saved for each student deemed ready for kindergarten after attending the program, and a $750 savings for each student who scores above the national average on a third-grade reading test.
In a political attack ad paid for by Pritzker, a narrator assails his primary opponent, state senator Daniel Biss, for his 2012 vote “to increase funding for charter schools at the expense of neighborhood public schools.” The ad also says “he’s supported by a pro-charter group who’s fought for school privatization.”
Biss campaign spokesman Tom Elliott hit back, saying, “The height of J.B. Pritzker’s hypocrisy is astounding. While he spends millions of dollars on sloppy attack ads against Daniel Biss for voting for a bill that provides funding parity for all school children in Illinois, Pritzker tries to privatize education so he can profit off the backs of underprivileged families.” […]
“All of these guys are trying to claim the wing of progressivism when none of them have a record that supports that,” [Blogger and retired teacher Fred Klonsky] said. “I don’t think there’s anybody running for statewide office as a Democrat who can make a claim that they were defenders of neighborhood public schools and that they were opponents of charter schools. If they can make that claim, show it. Before you attack someone else, show us your record.” […]
Klonsky says Pritzker’s political attacks against charter schools is evidence of a larger nationwide shift in the political conversation around privatizing education.
“After nearly 20 years of corporate-driven education reform, they have nothing to show for it.”
* Meanwhile…
A day after reporting a $20k contribution from a nephew of former mayor Richard M. Daley, @KennedyforIL–who's ripped the culture of insiders in IL politics–reported getting $100k from the mayor's brother, former White House chief of staff Bill Daley. pic.twitter.com/7CRYE1My1q
Remember the days when Bill Daley was brought in as Kennedy’s finance chairman and was talking about raising $8-10 million?
Also, speaking of Daley, that Kennedy presser was held in front of Rauner Prep charter school, which Daley’s brother Mayor Richard M. Daley helped get off the ground.
Biss is the only candidate who has featured video of his home in a campaign ad, showcasing his family’s modest duplex in Evanston. He also owns a small home in Urbana, Illinois, that his wife bought before they were married and they now rent, he said. […]
Of those, Pritzker’s Astor Street mansion in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood has received considerable attention in the past, not just for its size but also on the topic of property taxes.
Pritzker owns the mansion next door, where the toilets were removed and it was deemed uninhabitable, resulting in a major reduction in property taxes.
Just north of the Illinois border, Pritzker also owns an expansive horse farm in Racine, Wisconsin, with several buildings on its grounds. And not far from that is the Pritzker vacation home, a mansion in Lake Geneva.
NBC 5 also obtained photos of another home, believed to be Pritzker’s, under construction in an exclusive area of the Bahamas with ocean views. The Pritzker campaign would only say that he has a home in the Bahamas, but would not confirm that the photos are of his property. […]
“My wife Sheila and I have a house here in Illinois, near her parents and her brothers and sisters, and then we have a house up in Cape Cod near the Kennedy compound, close to all of my brothers and sisters,” Kennedy said
Two leading female lawmakers have floated a set of recommendations aimed at improving the system for reporting and investigating sexual harassment at the Capitol, but questions remain about legislative leaders retaining control over complaints that are filed.
Democratic state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie and Republican Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez offered the “working draft” at a meeting of a House task force on sexual discrimination and harassment on Tuesday […]
Currie and Wojcicki Jimenez suggest that each legislative leader appoint a person who is responsible for receiving and reviewing complaints. That person would decide which ones should be turned over for investigation. Then, each leader would either employ their own investigator, refer investigations to an outside attorney or refer them to the legislative watchdog.
That structure reflects the current system, except that the roles of receiving complaints and of investigating them would be separated. Currie acknowledged that expecting staffers or lawmakers to complain to legislative leaders or their chosen representatives could have a chilling effect.
“There is an awkwardness, I recognize that,” Currie said.
* From the “Open Questions” section, which means they’re still discussing it…
Adding additional punishment options to House Rules for lawmakers such as reprimand or censure for violations of the Ethics Act.
Long way to go, campers.
* But some legislators are working on a different track. Sun-Times…
Democratic women of the Illinois House on Wednesday held a closed door meeting at the Capitol with Alaina Hampton — the woman whose accusations of harassment led to the firing of a top political aide to Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.
And while Hampton shared her perspective, women legislators are trying to look forward and introduce new legislation to help combat sexual harassment — and also to help empower women in politics. […]
“The broader context is to ensure that any legislation that comes out of part of a final package has the input of women around the Capitol who are impacted and will be impacted by the policies we implement,” [Rep. Ann Williams, D-Chicago] said.
Williams said the caucus plans to meet with female staffers, former female staffers, current lobbyists and other women at the Capitol to get their perspective.
* And this is from Rep. Kelly Cassidy’s constituent newsletter…
Last week, as stories of sexual harassment and abusive behavior as well as questions about how complaints were handled within Illinois political offices and campaigns swirled, I called for a proactive and truly independent investigation of the various entities involved with the House Democratic Caucus. Recognizing the challenge of finding someone locally that wouldn’t have some political or family connection to someone involved, I made clear that I intended to research both locally and nationally.
Over the last week, we have reached out to the local group Women Employed as well as nationally to the National Women’s Law Center, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the State Innovation Exchange. At the same time, we have been contacted by groups both locally and nationally who have expressed interest in the possible investigation. Each of these groups or firms were asked to submit a proposal outlining how they would accomplish a probe resulting in concrete proposals for change as well as to disclose any actual or perceived conflict along with their plan for addressing potential conflicts.
So far, four organizations have agreed to submit proposals. Once all of these proposals have been received, I intend to share them with the Speaker and the House Democratic Women’s Caucus in order to be as transparent as possible as we attempt to move forward and improve the culture of our operations. I am happy to share the results of my research with any of the other caucuses or members of leadership seeking to proactively make change within their own organizations as well.
* Rep. Cassidy also included a list of legislation to watch. Here’s one of the bills…
Provides that the Secretary of State or the Executive Ethics Commission, after the adjudication of a violation regarding sexual harassment under the Lobbyist Registration Act for which an investigation was initiated by the Inspector General appointed by the Secretary of State, are authorized to temporarily suspend or terminate any person, or lobbying entity for which that person is employed, registered under the Lobbyist Registration Act.
* I haven’t seen this covered any where else and I’m on deadline for Crain’s so I don’t have much time for a post, but here’s yesterday’s veto message…
February 28, 2018
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois House of Representatives,
100th General Assembly:
Today I veto House Bill 768 from the 100th General Assembly, which would eliminate a route for charter school applicants and operators to appeal denial or closure decisions made by their local school boards.
This legislation would deny charter school applicants and operators the right to appeal local school board decisions through the Charter School Commission, instead sending every appeal to the judicial system. Furthermore, it would strip the Charter School Commission of responsibilities that are rightfully under its jurisdiction as a check on local school board decisions. The Commission has only approved 6 out of 48 appeals since its inception in 2011, and has a track record of careful consideration of what is best for students within local contexts, as it is statutorily bound to do. Further, the decisions of the Commission are already judicially reviewable. Current law provides applicants a second venue before turning to the courts.
The Charter School Commission is more well-equipped to facilitate the appeals process than local courts, and should continue to be empowered with the charge of ensuring that all Illinois children have access to a high-quality education.
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 768, entitled “AN ACT concerning education”, with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. Removes provisions allowing the State Charter School Commission to reverse a school board’s decision to deny, revoke, or not renew a charter; makes related changes. Provides that if a charter school applicant submits a proposal to a school board outside of the process adopted by that school board for receiving charter school proposals on an annual basis, the applicant shall not have any right to submit its proposal to the State Charter School Commission as otherwise authorized. In a provision concerning a charter school proposed to be jointly authorized by 2 or more school districts and the school boards unanimously denying the charter school proposal with a statement that the school boards are not opposed to the charter school, but that they yield to the Commission in light of the complexities of joint administration, allows the charter applicant to submit the proposal to the Commission and requires the Commission to follow the same process and be subject to the same timelines for review as a school board. Allows the Commission to approve an application for a charter if certain conditions are met. Provide that the Commission may condition approval of an application on the acceptance of funding in an amount less than requested. Provides that final decisions of the Commission are subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review Law. Provides that if the Commission approves an application for a charter school, then the Commission shall act as the authorized chartering entity. Provides that if the Commission is the authorized chartering entity, then the Commission shall execute a charter agreement (instead of approve the charter agreement). Provides that the Commission has no authority to approve a charter school proposal that has been denied by a school board. Effective immediately.
State Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) released the following statement in response to the governor’s veto of her measure Senate Bill 768, which allows local school boards to make the final decision when issuing, denying or revoking charter school licenses:
“Governor Rauner wants to deny local officials the right to decide who educates their communities. By vetoing this bipartisan measure, Rauner keeps charter school permitting decision-making at the state level, where he can more easily influence outcomes and force communities to support charter schools that they may not need or want. School boards across the state know what is best for those that they serve and should have the final word on issuing, denying or revoking a charter school permit.”
* Up until this week, the JB Pritzker campaign has been very careful to not say much in the way of negative stuff about Chris Kennedy. Well, not on the record, anyway. But after launching a negative TV ad yesterday, I guess they have a new track. From a press release…
A claim that spurred backlash from Cairo students themselves landed Chris Kennedy in hot water with fact checkers. The Better Government Association rated Kennedy’s claim that “zero percent of kids in Cairo are college-ready” as false.
BGA: Fact Check: Chris Kennedy Flunks Data Interpretation 101 With Cairo College Readiness Claim
Kennedy tried to make a point about inadequate state school funding when he declared “zero percent of kids in Cairo are college-ready.”
But school officials in that deep southern Illinois community report a majority of current seniors have already received acceptance offers from at least one college.
Kennedy backtracked on his original statement when news media sought clarification, though he did not admit error. In the second go-around, he pointed to slightly better numbers from a different set of state-collected test data. […]
The confusing set of numbers and assertions reeled out by Kennedy to bolster his comments about Cairo students make it clear he didn’t do his homework before claiming initially that no members of the graduating class of 2018 were prepared for college. For that reason, we rate his statement False.
“Chris Kennedy should get his facts straight and take time to understand the needs of the communities he’s so thoroughly insulting from the campaign trail,” said Pritzker communications director Galia Slayen. “Public education is the lifeblood of the Illinois economy and students are the future of this state, but Kennedy seems intent on badmouthing them instead of bringing people together to move Illinois forward.”
The [Paul Simon Public Policy Institute] survey, conducted Feb. 19 through Sunday, was made up of registered voters who identified their party preference to poll takers and said they were likely to vote in the March 20 primary. The sample was not weighted to reflect voters more likely to go to the polls based on past voting history and was not adjusted for historical racial and age demographics or turnout.
For example, African-Americans make up about one-third of the state’s Democratic primary vote. But of Democratic voters surveyed in the poll, only 19 percent were black based on those giving their race or ethnicity to pollsters. […]
Among African-American voters, a key demographic in Democratic elections, Pritzker had 45 percent to 22 percent for Kennedy and 6 percent for Biss, the poll showed. But the smaller sample of black voters also has a significantly larger margin of error.
In addition, Chicago voters cast one-third of the state’s Democratic primary votes in the 2016 presidential primary election. But only a quarter of the voters in the poll who said they would vote in the Democratic primary were from Chicago.
The Tribune almost never writes about anybody else’s polls, so this story makes me wonder if the paper is ever going to do its own poll. Usually, it does two and would have published one by now.
* Let’s go back to Speaker Madigan’s gun bills press release. He included a list of what passed and I then added the bill status as of about 10 o’clock this morning…
* House Bill 1465, which raises the minimum age to purchase an assault rifle from 18 to 21. [Passed the House 64-51 and is in the Senate]
* House Bill 1467, which bans the sale of bump stocks and other modifications like those used by the Las Vegas shooter to turn an arsenal of semi-automatic rifles into fully automatic machine guns. [Passed the House 83-31 and is in the Senate]
* House Bill 1468, which requires a 72-hour “cooling off” period on all assault rifle sales. [Passed the House 79-37 and is in the Senate]
* Senate Bill 1657 [Passed the House 64-52 and goes to the governor] and House Bill 1273 [House concurs 64-51-3 and goes to the governor], which ensure gun shops will comply with these and other state and federal laws by creating a gun dealer licensing system. These bills will hold gun dealers to the same standard as many other licensed professions including car dealerships, real estate agencies, and even beauty salons, to ensure gun shops meet basic levels of security and training.
Facing pressure to tighten gun laws after a Florida high school shooting and the slaying of a Chicago police officer, Illinois House lawmakers led by Democrats on Wednesday voted to create new rules for gun shops, ban the sale of “bump stocks” and restrict purchases of assault weapons.
The votes at the Capitol came as hundreds of gun control advocates including Cardinal Blase Cupich and Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson called for action, while opponents argued that Democrats in control of the legislature were exploiting tragedy to score political points in an election year.
Even so, some Republican lawmakers broke with most of their party, particularly suburban lawmakers who said the changes represented a reasonable response to violence.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner largely has avoided weighing in on specific gun proposals, saying it’s a matter for the federal government. He may have to soon, though, now that the House voted Wednesday to put on his desk a bill that would require gun retailers to get state licenses. Once the legislation arrives in Rauner’s office, he will have 60 days to act. That means he will not have to make a decision until after the March 20 primary election in which he faces Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton, who voted against the bill.
The proposed law requires background checks for gun dealers and their employees; allows the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to inspect businesses that sell firearms; and requires gun dealers to undergo training on conducting background checks, identifying straw purchasers, and properly storing firearms to prevent theft. […]
Harmon said he has received no indication from Gov. Bruce Rauner on whether he will sign the bill if approved by state lawmakers.
“I think the governor would be foolish to not embrace this bill, but he has a habit of surprising me,” Harmon said. “There have been no commitments, but there have been no threats to veto either.”
The day began with a plea to lawmakers from the influential leader of Chicago’s Catholic Archdiocese to pass “sensible” gun control measures in the name of “murdered children” in Parkland, Florida, and Newtown, Connecticut.
As the day wore on, Cardinal Blase Cupich’s call was echoed in emotional pleas from gun control advocates, many who have lost family members to violence, at rallies outside the Capitol.
And it ended with controversial legislation being sent to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk that would require gun dealers to be licensed by the state, and not just the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms. […]
The House, however, is still working to gain support on other measures, including one named after Chicago Police Cmdr. Paul Bauer, who was shot and killed while responding to an armed robbery in the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop earlier this month. The bill would ban the sale of body armor and high-capacity gun magazines to anyone other than police officers, licensed security guards and members of the armed forces. Shomari Legghette, charged with the murder, was allegedly wearing body armor and using a gun with an extra-capacity magazine when he is accused of shooting Bauer. Legghette also is a four-time felon.
Some cattle farms in southern Illinois have experienced attacks by black vultures, with one farm losing four cows.
Teresa Steckler, commercial agriculture educator at the University of Illinois Extension, said the vultures appear to be moving north in recent years and that Interstate 64 seems like the cutoff line.
Steckler said besides the reported cases, some farmers might not realize they are losing calves to attacks by the vultures. […]
Steckler said that the black vultures will use a coordinated attack to go after cattle, teaming up on a mother cow while others attack the calve from another direction. She said the attacks remind her of another predator, the hyena. […]
Steckler said the vultures will attack calves, adult cows and just about anything else. She said setting up Canada goose decoys could be a deterrent for the vultures. Additionally, Steckler said farmers should keep watch on their cattle and that the vultures are very brazen and will attack close to barns.
The birds also can recognize farm vehicles, Steckler said.
“They learn pretty quickly what your truck is like or your vehicle is like and they will fly off and wait until you leave, and they come right back,” Steckler said.
They’re also a protected species and can’t be killed.
* Gov. Rauner talked to reporters yesterday about his possible general election opponent, JB Pritzker…
The tragedy for the people of Illinois is Pritzker is a hand-picked candidate of Mike Madigan. Madigan has controlled our state for 35 years. He brought Pritzker in to run for governor. Pritzker, because he had, Pritzker inherited billions of dollars and he can put lots of money in the race, that’s why they want him.
Unfortunately, Pritzker’s part of the corruption in Illinois. He funded Blagojevich, he’s funded Madigan. He’s part of that machine out of Chicago.
And he’s a tax dodger, and he tried to buy the Senate seat from Blagojevich, he’s been on the FBI tapes.
He’s a bad, bad person and if he were to become governor he would hand the governorship to Mike Madigan. Disaster for the state.
In a nutshell, that’s pretty much your fall campaign preview.
* Related…
* Video: Why Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner thinks he should be re-elected
* Gov. Rauner talked to reporters yesterday about the gun bills moving through the General Assembly…
I’ll tell you, one of my frustrations, Speaker Madigan and his majority so far have not been willing to really bring Republicans in. Republican legislators have not really been included in much of the negotiations and my team has not really been brought in very much. I’m concerned that they want to just do a one party, partisan type of legislation. I don’t think that’s right. We should be a bipartisan negotiation to get good bills done.
* From a Speaker Madigan press release…
Today, Democrats and a few thoughtful Republicans stood up and answered the call, but the silence from Governor Rauner speaks volumes and is reflected in the fact that the majority of his caucus opposed even these most basic gun safety measures. While the successful passage of these bills is a critical step for safer communities, it should have been a step we took together rather than another example of the governor’s failure to lead.”
Ah, Illinois. What would I ever do without you?
* Meanwhile, Senate President Cullerton’s release looked outward…
With Congress paralyzed by partisan politics, Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton applauded his Illinois colleagues for taking action Wednesday to protect public safety and urged state lawmakers across the country to show similar leadership.
“I’m proud of the Illinois Senate’s continued leadership in pushing for safer communities. We all recognize the need for federal action on gun safety. But in the absence of federal action, I want to encourage our statehouse colleagues across the country to do what we did today, seize this opportunity to make a difference,” said Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton, who represents the state’s 6th Senate District in Chicago.
“And I want to specifically call on Indiana officials to finally do something about the flood of guns from their state flowing into Chicago and being used for crimes. If Indiana were to take public safety as seriously as we do, both of our states would be far better.”
The Senate President’s call for statehouse leadership across America followed the Illinois Senate’s approval of legislation regarding gun dealer licenses (HB1273) and creation of a process through which guns can be removed from people who family members believe are prone to violence (HB772).
Cullerton also stressed that annual studies have shown that lax gun laws in Indiana result in firearms flooding into the Chicago and being used for crimes. Between 2013 and 2016, 21 percent of the guns recovered by Chicago police had been sold in Indiana.
* You really gotta hand it to this guy. He just doesn’t care about how he looks to the populace…
With less than three weeks until election day, Democratic Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios went to court in an effort to keep the spigot flowing on campaign contributions from property tax appeal lawyers whose livelihoods can depend on the decisions his office makes.
On Wednesday, Berrios’ lawyers asked Circuit Court Judge Sanjay Tailor to void county ethics rules that place limits on campaign contributions to elected officials and candidates from those who seek “official action” from the county. Berrios’ team argued the county rules violate the state constitution because only the Illinois legislature has authority to set campaign contribution limits.
The county, however, maintained that it has the power to set its own, more-restrictive limits on campaign cash to avoid quid pro quo politics.
While the optics of the situation won’t exactly win the old-school Berrios praise from good government groups, a look at where Berrios’ campaign cash is coming from shows that property appeals lawyers remain a vital source of contributions. Since October, Berrios has collected more than $276,000 from those attorneys — about four-fifths of what he’s received in individual contributions during that time.
* Meanwhile…
Our Revolution Illinois/Chicago, candidates call on Commissioners to act immediately to Reduce Homeowners Property Taxes
WHO: Our Revolution Illinois/Chicago, along with Fritz Kaegi and other Our Revolution Illinois endorsed candidates, will hold a press conference Thursday at 11am, prior to the Finance Committee meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
WHAT: Commissioners are summoning Berrios to testify before the Finance Committee on the heels of a scathing report by the Civic Consulting Alliance—commissioned by Berrios himself—showing deep inequity in the way he values residential properties in Cook County. Further, Crain’s Chicago Business reported that the 50 highest priced commercial property sales in Cook County, whose total value is $17.1 billion, were only valued at $7.8 billion—46% of their actual value.
Our Revolution Illinois will offer specifics ways the Cook County Board can act immediately to start to correct some of the inequities and provide much needed property tax relief for homeowners.
…Adding… Rauner campaign…
As Berrios Takes Advantage of Middle Class Illinoisans, Pritzker Stays Silent
On Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reported that Cook County Commissioner and close Madigan ally Joe Berrios is going to court to fight limits on campaign contributions from “those who seek ‘official action’ from the county.” Berrios’ actions are clearly a conflict of interest, and yet another example of how corrupt and broken the property tax system is in Cook County: he receives help getting elected from Madigan, and in return, Madigan receives favorable reductions in value for clients of his tax reassessment firm.
From the Tribune:
The practice also was highlighted in “The Tax Divide,” a Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois series that concluded Berrios’ assessment practices favored the wealthy at the expense of the poor. Tax appeals, which have flourished under Berrios, only make the system less fair, the series concluded and a recent independent study commissioned by county officials confirmed.
In addition, how Berrios’ case plays out — and is perceived by the public — also could have implications well beyond the down-ballot campaign for assessor. Some of the state’s most powerful politicians, including House Speaker Michael Madigan and 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke, are lawyers whose firms make money handling property tax appeals. Berrios, chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party, is a key Madigan ally.
Pritzker, who has personally benefitted from property tax breaks from Berrios’ office, continues to be unwilling to stand up to entrenched political interests, to the detriment of hardworking Illinois families
* If it wasn’t already evident that the governor’s proposal to shift hundreds of millions of dollars of state pension costs to schools and universities was dead, it is pretty crystal clear now.
GOP Rep. Dave McSweeney’s HR27 declares “the opinion of the Illinois House of Representatives that the proposed educational pension cost shift from the State of Illinois to local school districts, community colleges, and institutions of higher education is financially wrong.” It now has 60 sponsors and co-sponsors…
Rep. David McSweeney - Sam Yingling - Jerry Costello, II - Jay Hoffman - Mary E. Flowers, Norine K. Hammond, Allen Skillicorn, Bill Mitchell, Linda Chapa LaVia, Cynthia Soto, Stephanie A. Kifowit, Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, Katie Stuart, Terri Bryant, LaToya Greenwood, Sue Scherer, Deb Conroy, David B. Reis, Natalie A. Manley, John Cavaletto, C.D. Davidsmeyer, Charles Meier, Randy E. Frese, Michael Halpin, John Connor, Emanuel Chris Welch, Anna Moeller, Tony McCombie, Will Guzzardi, Litesa E. Wallace, Peter Breen, Carol Ammons, Monica Bristow, Natalie Phelps Finnie, Kelly M. Burke, John M. Cabello, Daniel Swanson, Christine Winger, Luis Arroyo, Camille Y. Lilly, Mark Batinick, Jehan Gordon-Booth, Nick Sauer, Chad Hays, Lawrence Walsh, Jr., Steven A. Andersson, Thaddeus Jones, Barbara Wheeler, Jonathan Carroll, Steven Reick, David A. Welter, Joe Sosnowski, Dave Severin, Keith R. Wheeler, Lindsay Parkhurst, Brad Halbrook, Rita Mayfield, Arthur Turner, Marcus C. Evans, Jr. and Nicholas K Smith
The campaign of conservative reform candidate for governor State Rep. Jeanne Ives today released a book entitled The Governor You Don’t Know: The Other Side of Bruce Rauner.
The book provides Republican primary voters a factual history of Governor Rauner’s tenure, bumping his rhetoric up against his policy choices and connecting the dots between the candidate who promised “no social agenda” and an “Illinois Turnaround” with his numerous betrayals.
Authored by Chicago GOP Chairman and Ives Campaign Chairman Chris Cleveland with a foreword by respected conservative State Representative Tom Morrison (R-Palatine), the book provides a succinct and substantiated nine-chapter distillation of an extreme leftist record that Rauner has been able to obfuscate for some with his checkbook.
* Included in the new book are some neither-emasculating-nor-sexist-at-all passages like this…
Bruce Rauner strongly implied during his campaign that he was a Republican. Though wife Diana was a strong Democrat, it was reasonable for Illinois voters to believe that Gov. Rauner wore the pants in the marriage and would wear them in the Governor’s Mansion.
There appears to have been a wardrobe change. […]
Reports circulated widely that Rauner, true to his campaign pledge, had promised to veto House Bill 40. Among those who received such an assurance was Chicago Catholic Cardinal Blase Cupich. Rauner more than once said he would oppose the legislation because it was “too divisive,” especially as he was in the middle of a critical battle over the budget. Conservatives felt confident that Gov. Rauner had now promised them and effectively promised God that he wouldn’t do anything radical.
But in the end, he chose peace with Diana over the Catholic Church, and he signed the legislation. […]
There was a telling anecdote of Diana’s iron grip on Gov. Rauner in the midst of this battle. Before signing the “free” taxpayer-funded abortion bill, he met with Republican leaders to explain his decision. But he wouldn’t start the meeting until Diana showed up and was seated. It appeared to those present in the room that he was not allowed to speak until Diana had arrived to ensure that he didn’t stray from the decision that they had reached together.
(T)here has been a surfeit of “last straws” from Rauner’s term, with each failure (like on immigration) competing to be the most outrageous. Consider:
• Signing a voter registration measure to automatically enroll people on the voting rolls at drivers’ license and other state facilities when applying for, updating or renewing a driver’s license or state ID. That’s after he had promised a year earlier to veto such legislation.
That budget battle was a textbook example of how not to govern, of how politicians can dig in their heels while neglecting the public interest. The Democrats (as usual) deserve much of the blame for spending money Illinois doesn’t have. But Gov. Rauner, alleged deal maker and business genius, was simply AWOL when it came to new ideas or strategies. And his rookie political incompetence allowed a HUGE tax increase to pass. His stewardship has been a disservice to the people of Illinois.
New revelations today in the bribery cases involving Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown.
A court filing in a pending case against one of Brown’s former aides contains details such as one employee having told investigators that the “going rate” to a buy a job in Brown`s office was $10,000, to be paid to her personal bagman.
Another said in an FBI interview that it was well known that giving gifts to Brown could earn workers a promotion.
A “bagman” allegedly collected money for the clerk. And her employees generally had the impression that “financial benefits to the clerk could result in securing promotions,” according to documents filed by federal prosecutors.
The allegations revealed in the newly filed documents may date back at least to 2015. But they also indicate the feds are still conducting “an ongoing and active criminal investigation” which has involved allegations of lies told to a grand jury, bribery, wire fraud and extortion.
“We deny the allegations wholeheartedly,” Vadim Glozman, one of Brown’s attorneys, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Ms. Brown has engaged in absolutely no wrongdoing in her time in office.
Brown has not been charged with a crime. And she has survived politically in spite of the years-long investigation of her office. The new records are related to the case against Beena Patel, a one-time top administrator with Brown who allegedly lied to a grand jury about office politicking.
Another [employee] said in an FBI interview it was well known that showering gifts on Brown could earn you a promotion, citing a trip Brown took to India that was partially paid for by relatives of one of her top employees.
Financial records appeared to back up the claims, including transactions showing the alleged bagman — who is also a clerk’s office employee — paid $40,000 directly to Brown and a company she controlled. The clerk later deposited $30,000 of those funds into her campaign war chest. […]
Another employee, Sivasubramani Rajaram, was convicted in 2016 of falsely testifying to the grand jury that he had not talked with Brown after his 2014 hiring. Prosecutors alleged that to secure the job, Rajaram had paid a $15,000 bribe to Brown disguised as a loan to Goat Masters Corp., a goat meat supply company that Brown and her husband had recently founded. Rajaram was sentenced last year to probation.
In their 16-page response Tuesday, prosecutors wrote that they presented plenty of evidence to justify the search warrants, including interviews with current and former employees as well as records showing loans and other financial dealings between Brown and people who worked for her, including Patel and Rajaram.
The U.S. intelligence community developed substantial evidence that state websites or voter registration systems in seven states were compromised by Russian-backed covert operatives prior to the 2016 election — but never told the states involved, according to multiple U.S. officials.
Top-secret intelligence requested by President Barack Obama in his last weeks in office identified seven states where analysts — synthesizing months of work — had reason to believe Russian operatives had compromised state websites or databases.
Three senior intelligence officials told NBC News that the intelligence community believed the states as of January 2017 were Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin. […]
While numerous state election officials told NBC News that the Department of Homeland Security has been stepping up communications with them, many say they’re worried they are still not getting enough information from Washington. […]
Illinois itself had detected a “malicious cyberattack” on its voter registration system in the summer of 2016 and reported it to DHS, saying its voter rolls had been accessed but nothing had been altered. It is the only state to acknowledge actual compromise.
Board spokesman Matt Dietrich said he’s received “numerous calls” from voters who are worried that the Russians going to be changing votes at the precinct level.
“The Russian hacking that you’re hearing about is something that’s very much different than what we consider to be the integrity of the actual voting systems at the polling places,” Dietrich said. No votes were changed, no registrations were changed during the 2016 election, he emphasized.
But Dietrich said the Department of Homeland Security believes the attack threat “is still very real” and wants all states to stay on guard for the coming elections. Further attacks, DHS believes, could be multi-faceted, including cyber security, social media, disrupting the elections process, etc.
* Since October 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has performed weekly “hygiene scans” to detect potential vulnerabilities in our systems. None have been identified to date.
* Scheduling a “Risk and Vulnerability Assessment” with DHS, the most stringent cybersecurity analysis the agency offers
* Participation in numerous groups and associations dedicated to sharing cybersecurity intel and analysis, including the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center
* Working with state and federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to facilitate information sharing from the Federal level all the way down to the local level
* Continued partnering with the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology to leverage their cybersecurity services
* Purchased specialized hardware designed to further protect us from attacks
* Executive Director Steve Sandvoss obtained security clearance to attend national briefing with DHS in Washington, D.C., on cybersecurity and election integrity efforts on Feb. 18, 2018. SBE Director of Voting and Registration Systems Kyle Thomas and Legislative Liaison Cris Cray also attended the briefing.
The board also handed out an explanation of its “elaborate testing process” to protect the voting system’s “integrity and accuracy.” Click here for that.
Legislation that would help small business owners who supply durable medical equipment to Medicaid patients passed the Senate Human Services Committee last week. Durable medical equipment includes equipment such as portable oxygen, feeding tubes and ventilators.
State Senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) is the sponsor of SB 2262, which would require that the suppliers of the equipment are reimbursed the same amount as the Medicaid Fee for Service fee schedule.
“While some believe the state should have no role in assisting businesses, it’s different when we are talking about life saving equipment for young children,” Koehler said. “I don’t think we should allow this dog-eat-dog environment to put the safety and well-being of Medicaid patients and their families at risk. “
Senator Koehler said that comments made during the committee hearing were misleading and showed a lack of understanding of how the Medicaid system works, pointing out that any “savings” generated from rate cuts will not translate to savings for taxpayers.
“Cutting the rate at which small business owners are reimbursed serves only to send more tax dollars to for-profit medical corporations,” Koehler said. “Last I checked, the purpose of Medicaid is to provide quality health care services, not make money.”
This comes after a report from the Auditor General that found that the Rauner Administration has done little if anything at all to collect information needed to determine if the state’s largest contract in history is actually saving any money. The latest estimate places the cost of the contract at $63 billion over five years, nearly $23 billion higher than the Rauner Administration originally estimated.
* Press release…
In a unanimous vote on Wednesday morning, the House of Representatives’ Elementary & Secondary Education- Licensing, Administration & Oversight committee recommended approval of legislation sponsored by State Representative Peter Breen (R-Lombard) which would bring public school district administrative costs in line with national averages. The bill would also limit future administrative spending increases to the consumer price index or 5%, whichever is lower.
“It’s long past time to get control of our school district administrative spending,” said Breen. “Illinois schools are spending about 2 ½ times the national average on these costs. When our school districts bring these expenditures in line with national norms, we can either redirect that money toward classroom instruction where kids would directly benefit or use that money to reduce property taxes.”
According to Breen, the General Assembly last took up the Limitation of Administrative Costs section of Illinois law in 1997, and two decades later, the metrics in that section used have become outdated and insufficient. “Whether school districts use shared service agreements, intergovernmental agreements, or the consolidation tools available to them, there are a variety of ways to get administrative costs back to the national average,” Breen said. “The Better Government Association suggested last year that $400 million could be saved if Illinois schools limited administrative spending to national averages, as outlined in this bill.”
With the committee’s 8-0 recommendation for approval, Breen’s HB 4789 will now be forwarded to the House floor for a full debate and vote.
* Speaking of Rep. Breen, this is from Planned Parenthood of Illinois…
Through the introduction of HR 798, Rep. Peter Breen suggests that parents should give up earned benefits in order to pay for parental leave.
No parent should have to dip into her retirement in order to be able to spend time with her children. Rep. Breen’s proposal (HR 798) calls on Congress to create a paid parental leave program that allows parents to defer Social Security payments in order to pay for time off when becoming new parents.
Breen’s plan will disproportionately hurt women. This plan requires parents to give up retirement benefits that they’ve earned in order to have paid parental leave.
The organizations listed oppose HR 798, proposed by Rep. Peter Breen:
American Association of University Women – Illinois, Chicago Foundation for Women, Indivisible Brookfield, Indivisible Illinois, Lincoln Square Indivisible, Illinois National Organization for Women, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Rock Island County Indivisible, and Women Employed.
Women, in particular, need to have support for paid parental leave AND improved retirement benefits. According to the National Institute on Retirement Security, women are 80% as likely as men to live in poverty after age 65. Women cannot afford to trade retirement benefits for parental leave.
Only 15 percent of U.S. workers overall have access to paid family leave, and that percentage is even less for low-wage workers. One in four women return to work within two weeks of giving birth, and one in five employees — male and female — leave the workforce earlier than planned to care for a spouse or loved one.
The Trump-Pence administration, and Congress, have been attacking women’s rights at every level possible – Rep. Breen is just adding to the countless insults with this new proposal.
* Press release…
Yesterday, State Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) advanced legislation out of the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee that would reinstate the right of Illinois citizens to challenge pollution permits issued by state agencies. State Representative Steve Andersson (R-Geneva) has introduced identical legislation - HB5119 - in the Illinois House.
Due to several recent court cases where the courts have narrowly understood the law, currently “affected parties” only include the agencies that issue a permit or the companies that receive them. SB3005/HB5119 seeks to provide an opportunity for residents to challenge certain permits that, if issued, present a significant environmental and public health threat to their community.
“Because courts have narrowly interpreted current law, only the applicant for a pollution permit and issuing agency are considered “affected parties”, but the reality is that many others are affected by these decisions - affected by putrid air, fouled water, and other health threats,” said Senator Raoul. “SB3005 strengthens the law to recognize and protect the right of Illinois citizens to have a voice in what goes into their communities.”
“We’ve heard from communities across Illinois who feel ignored. We’ve talked to farmers and neighbors who have been left helpless as polluting industries or massive animal confinements go up in their backyards, threatening their air, water, and livelihoods. This legislation aims to give these people their voices back,” said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council.
SB3005/HB5119 would amend the state’s Administrative Review Law to allow residents to challenge permits issued by state regulators, such as the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture. Under the bill, residents would have standing to challenge new permits that may lead to environmental harms such as air pollution, contaminated groundwater, and offensive odors.
“This bill will provide justice by giving Illinois citizens who are adversely affected by certain wrongful environmental-permitting decisions the ability to challenge those decisions in court,” said Mark Templeton, director of the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Chicago.
Dani Diamond, from the organization Illinois Citizens for Clean Air & Water, which is a statewide coalition of family farmers and community groups, stated that “for too long neighbors and communities impacted by polluting industries had no access to the legal system to prevent pollution or contamination until it was too late. Thankfully, this bill restores fundamental rights for Illinoisans.”
SB3005 passed out of committee on a 10-2 vote, but will be heading back to committee for an amendment.
* I sent two questions to all gubernatorial candidates in both parties the other day. Their deadline was noon today. As with the AG candidate responses, their answers have been slightly edited to avoid repeating these two questions…
(1) Does your campaign have a written sexual harassment policy? (If so, please send. If not, please explain why.)
(2) Has your campaign conducted any sexual harassment training sessions? (If so, please include dates. If not, please explain why.)
* Posted in the order they were received. Pritzker campaign…
1) “The campaign has a written sexual harassment policy included in its employee handbook, which staff is required to review and sign at the beginning of their employment with the campaign. The campaign’s sexual harassment policy makes clear that the campaign is committed to providing a work environment that is free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, gives examples of prohibited sexual harassment, and outlines reporting procedures so that victims and witnesses of sexual harassment know who they can talk to if they experience or witness harassment, discrimination, or retaliation. The campaign ensures that reported sexual harassment allegations will be investigated in a timely fashion and by an independent and external body when appropriate. JB and Juliana’s administration will operate under these same policies and have zero tolerance for harassment of any form.”
2) “On December 14, 2017, the campaign participated in a comprehensive, all-staff sexual harassment training that was conducted by labor and employment attorney, Jeannil Boji. The campaign takes harassment very seriously and chose to devote time and resources to participate in this training so that our staff understands the campaign’s sexual harassment policies and reporting procedures as well as the campaign’s commitment to cultivating a fair, respectful, non-threatening workplace environment free of sexual harassment and intimidating behaviors. The training, entitled “Advancing Respect and Fairness in The Campaign Workplace,” aimed to go beyond what is merely required under the law, making clear that even if conduct does not fall under the legal definition of harassment, conduct which erodes a fair and respectful work environment is contrary to the campaign’s values, culture, and policies. The training provided an open forum for staff to ask questions, discuss the #MeToo movement, and examine specific issues and examples applicable to political and campaign settings. After the all-staff presentation, senior management received additional training focused on recognizing, rooting out, and investigating sexual harassment, and fostering a workplace where colleagues treat each other with the utmost respect and civility. Training participants were provided with the campaign’s written sexual harassment policies and were asked to sign a statement confirming their participation and pledging to abide by the campaign’s policies.”
See below for our campaign’s policy [click here]. It’s a part of our standard employee contract. In light of recent events, we’re working to ensure every employee and volunteer on the campaign has the appropriate resources and training to comply with our policy.
I followed up about the training date(s) and haven’t heard back.
* Biss campaign…
“Yes, our campaign has a written sexual harassment policy and yes, we have conducted a sexual harassment training session where we established procedures for reporting harassment. We signed on to the IDCCA sexual harassment policy and have posted the policy publicly in each of our field offices to make sure staff and volunteers are aware as well.”
I followed up about the training dates and was told “last week.” The IDCCA sexual harassment policy is here.
* This whole question idea came to me when Chris Kennedy announced a plan to combat campaign-related sexual harassment. Here’s his campaign’s response…
1) Yes, we have a written sexual harassment policy. It’s included in our overall campaign policy document signed by staff members when they start. [Click here.]
2) This is an important issue and one for which our campaign has developed a proposed policy platform that we released earlier this week. We are bringing in an outside expert to lead sexual harassment training for our campaign staff. We have an ongoing dialogue on our team about harassment and we have identified a staff member on our team who others can turn to with any concerns, complaints or allegations of workplace and sexual harassment.
Republican Rep. Jeanne Ives and Democratic candidates Bob Daiber and Tio Hardiman did not respond. Neither of the Dems have much of anything in the way of staff, however.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Daiber campaign insists they sent this to me last night, but I can’t find it. Here’s their answer…
1. The Daiber for Governor Committee adopted the IL Democratic County Chairs’ Association Sexual Harassment Policy and Pledge.
2. Yes, Friday, February 23rd. A review of the policy and pledge was discussed at the training.
So, the tiny little Daiber campaign has had a sexual harassment training and the Kennedy campaign, which recently unveiled a plan which would require every campaign to do harassment training, hasn’t yet done a training session.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Yikes…
Once again, the Kennedy camp proves they're not ready for prime time. The #metoo issue is proof that policies aren't worth the paper they're written on w/o leadership and follow-through. Issue a plan & flog it for all the press you can but don’t bother adhering to it. SMH #twillhttps://t.co/0tep0ExAtb
* I sent these two questions to all attorney general candidates in both parties. Their deadline was noon today. The answers have been slightly edited to avoid repeating these questions…
1) Does your campaign have a written sexual harassment policy? (If so, please send. If not, please explain why.)
2) Has your campaign conducted any sexual harassment training sessions? (If so, please include dates. If not, please explain why.)
The IDCCA sexual harassment policy referenced by some Democratic candidates is here.
* Here are the answers in the order they were received. Nancy Rotering…
“Every organization is a product of its leadership. Culture is set at the top. In my city government, we have a clear zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment. Every City employee is required to sign an acknowledgment form confirming receipt and understanding of the policy. In addition, the City mandates sexual harassment sensitivity training for all City employees.
Sexual harassment has no place in government, political campaigns, or frankly, anywhere. I have signed and my campaign has adopted the IL Democratic County Chairs’ Association (ILDCCA) policy.
I deeply understand the call for help. My own experiences in school, working in the car industry, practicing law, and frankly, walking down the street, led me to become an outspoken advocate against sexual harassment. As my campaign has a lean, all-female staff, we have not conducted sexual harassment training sessions.”
* Sen. Kwame Raoul’s campaign…
1) Yes and it has been signed by each member of Raoul for Illinois paid staff. A copy is attached. [Click here.]
2) No; however, Sen. Raoul is in constant communication with his colleagues on the Senate Sexual Discrimination and Harassment Awareness and Prevention Task Force about how we can prevent harassment in every workplace.
I’d also note that Sen. Raoul signed on to the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association (IDCCA) zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy and pledge last week. View his tweet here: https://twitter.com/KwameRaoul/status/965760862056337408 and learn more about the pledge here: http://ildcca.org/2018/02/sexual-harassment-policy-and-pledge/
* Gov. Pat Quinn…
1) Yes. We have adopted the policy of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association and the suggested policy for private employers that was developed by the Illinois Department of Human Rights. They are attached.
2) The sessions are ongoing. Staff, contractors and frequent volunteers have been asked to complete an online training course from Compliance Training Group and to certify to the campaign that they have done so. The campaign is paying for this service. Volunteers who work limited hours are given training materials that include information about our strict policy against sexual harassment.
* Gary Grasso…
1) Citizens for Gary Grasso is committed to a safe workplace environment with a zero tolerance policy for any form of sexual harassment. The campaign will investigate any allegations of sexual harassment immediately and if any staff member is found to have sexually harassed another will be dismissed immediately. All complaints of sexual harassment will be taken seriously and treated timely with respect and in confidence.
2) This policy was reviewed in December with staff at 1st meeting.
2) Friends of Scott Drury does not tolerate harassment or other misconduct. Friends of Scott Drury is in the process of finding a reputable entity that can provide meaningful training to its organization.
* Erika Harold…
1) The Citizens for Erika Harold campaign has a zero-tolerance policy [Click here] for any sexual or racial harassment. This policy applies to every employee of and/or agent working with the campaign. Any person deemed to have engaged in sexual or racial harassment will immediately be removed from his or her role with the campaign.
Every employee or agent of the campaign is clearly notified of the campaign’s position on sexual and racial harassment upon engagement with the campaign.
As a victim of severe racial and sexual harassment, Erika Harold takes these issues very seriously and ensures everyone associated with her campaign is aware of her strong, zero-tolerance position on these issues. Erika has a long history of personally championing the exposure of sexual and racial harassment and received a leadership award from the National Center for Victims of Crime for her national anti-bullying campaign.
I followed up to ask about training sessions. They only have one full-time official staffer, so no trainings have been held.
* Renato Mariotti…
* 1) We have a small staff, and Renato met individually with each staff member when they were hired. He informed everyone that if there was ever any inappropriate behavior by a staff member, they could come to him directly, and he would address it. We have formalized this policy using the Illinois Democratic Campaign Sexual Harassment Policy as a guideline.
2) We have not had any formal training sessions re: sexual harassment — Renato has made his stance on workplace harassment clear during the entry meetings as well as during the course of the campaign. We will not stand for inappropriate behavior from anyone on the campaign.
Democrats Jesse Ruiz, Sharon Fairley and Aaron Goldstein did not respond.
The gubernatorial campaign responses will be posted in a bit.
*** UPDATE *** The Jesse Ruiz campaign responded yesterday and I just didn’t see it. Here it is…
1) Yes. As a matter of fact, our campaign was one of the first to sign the IDCCA policy and pledge stating that our campaign will be sexual harassment free. The pledge has been shared with our campaign staff, consultants, volunteers, and interns.
We pledge:
- To not tolerate, condone, or ignore sexual harassment of any kind from anyone.
- To take action to prevent sexual harassment and create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all staff, consultants, volunteers, and interns.
- To take all reports of sexual harassment seriously.
- To ensure that all staff, volunteers, consultants and interns are aware of how sexual harassment should be reported and investigated.
- To educate ourselves and others about sexual harassment.
2) Other than sharing and prominently displaying the above mentioned pledge, we have not. However, we would actively participate in a democratic organization sponsored training session that would set the standard statewide for all campaigns providing guidelines and operating procedures regarding sexual harassment that would include reporting, investigation and resolution.
…Adding… Fairley’s response arrived just before 1 o’clock, but here it is…
1) We shared the written ILDCCA policy that Sharon signed with our campaign staff and used that as a guideline for our sexual harassment policy.
2) Yes, all campaign staff have been made aware of the process for reporting and investigation allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct.
* I told subscribers that a Pritzker his on Kennedy was coming. I didn’t know what it was, however. Turns out, it’s about college tuition…
* Script…
Five times. Five times Chris Kennedy voted to raise tuition as chair of the board at the University of Illinois. Kennedy’s votes drove up the cost of college nearly 30 percent for Illinois students and their families.
At the same time, Chris Kennedy voted for huge pay raises for administrators and coaches. [Overlay: Chris Kennedy approved $600,000 for university president, $1.6 million for football coach, $1.4 million for basketball coach.]
Pay raises for them, higher tuition for Illinois families. Chris Kennedy. Shouldn’t we judge him by his record?
Keep in mind that the idea here is not to knock Kennedy out, but rather to halt any surge.
*** UPDATE *** Kennedy campaign response…
According to the University of Illinois, Chris Kennedy’s leadership while Chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, “fixed tuition increases at or below the rate of inflation and precipitated a downward trend for the rate of tuition increases that continues.”
While the state failed to fully fund its obligation, leaving the University $500 million short of what it was owed from the state, Chris Kennedy’s leadership generated $100 million in new aid for students who couldn’t afford full tuition. This ad is a smear from a spiraling campaign with plummeting poll numbers that’s looking to stop Chris Kennedy’s surge among voters. JB Pritzker has opted to make false claims about Chris Kennedy to hide from his record of being caught on FBI tapes with Rod Blagojevich.
* Background info…
* It’s not true that Chris’s votes “drove up the cost of college nearly 30% for Illinois students and their families.” That 30% figure refers only to the tuition component of the cost of going to U of I. Room and board and fees are actually a bigger piece of the cost equation. The true total cost hike depends on which campus you look at. You can see his sleight of hand by comparing the language used in the narration versus the accurate “30% higher tuition” in the visual, which is what campaign do when they want to exaggerate but be able to claim they’re not lying.
* 2/3rds to 3/4ths of the compensation for the football and basketball coach was to be footed by corporate sponsors. It wasn’t coming out of kids’ tuitions or taxpayer dollars. (Moreover even the UIUC share was from athletic department “revenues.”)
* Finally, none of the votes was actually a “pay raise” in the sense of raising the pay of someone already on the job. The coaches and the president were new hires having their pay set for the first time.
Hours after Madigan released the abridged list of complaints, a group of Chicago Democrats opened discussions with campaign workers and a union group over how to prevent abuse and harassment in Illinois’ raucous political environment. About a half-dozen staff members and three lawmakers attended the meeting, which focused primarily on pay, long hours, troubles with temporary housing and sexual harassment.
Emma LaBounty, a member of the executive council of the fledgling Campaign Workers Guild, said the union is getting started by organizing individual campaigns throughout the country. So far, she said, the union has reached contracts with only a handful of campaigns but is working with dozens to organize at the local, state and federal levels. […]
[Alaina Hampton], a former foot soldier in Madigan’s political organization [who has complained about sexual harassment], attended the gathering and plans to meet with a legislative women’s caucus Wednesday. […]
“Now more than ever, campaign workers need protection and the kind of safe work environment I didn’t have access to,” Hampton told the Tribune late Tuesday. “The guild is a step in the right direction.”
A Chicago meeting is in the works.
* I took video of the press conference. It’s in two parts because I had to stop and quickly answer some urgent text messages. Part One…
* More Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll results. Remember, these are registered voters, not likely voters, which may be why they’re not matching up with some of the tracking poll results I’ve seen…
In the most recent statewide version of the Simon Poll, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner leads challenger Jeanne Ives, a state representative from Wheaton, in the Republican Primary, by 20 points, 51 percent to 31 percent. Businessman JB Pritzker leads State Sen. Daniel Biss in the crowded Democratic primary by 10 points, 31 percent to 21 percent. Former University of Illinois Board of Trustees Chairman Chris Kennedy trails in third place, at 17 percent. […]
In hypothetical general election matchups, asked of the full sample, Gov. Rauner trails both leading Democratic candidates by similar margins: Pritzker leads the governor 50 percent to 35 percent, while Biss leads Rauner 48 percent to 34 percent.
“It’s interesting that Pritzker’s and Biss’s margins over Rauner are essentially the same in The Simon Poll,” said Charlie Leonard, an Institute visiting professor involved in the polling. “One explanation may be that in the minds of voters—who may know little about either Biss or Pritzker—the decision may come down to ‘Rauner versus not-Rauner.’ If the election were held today, I’d rather be ‘not-Rauner.’”
Both Pritzker and Biss lead the governor by wide margins in the City of Chicago and the Chicago suburbs (see Table 9), while downstate, Rauner leads Pritzer by three points and leads Biss by eight points—keeping in mind the smaller sample sizes and wider margins for error in the geographic subgroups.
“It is three weeks to go until the March 20th Primary and major events could still move these numbers,” said John S. Jackson, another designer of this poll. “However, for all the money and attention these two races have garnered, the results so far fairly faithfully reflect the bedrock strength of these two parties in the state of Illinois, and this advantages the Democrats.”
Those are not good Democratic primary numbers for Pritzker, to say the least. And Ives at 31 means she’d better get a big check soon. Rauner’s general election Downstate lead over Pritzker is very small, considering the recent trends in this state.
* Regional breakdowns…
* More…
In the poll of 1,001 registered voters across Illinois, conducted February 19 through 25, the margin for error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. It is important to remember that among self-identified primary election voters, the margin is significantly wider: plus or minus 6 percentage points in the 259-voter sample of Republicans, and 4.5 percentage points in the sample of 472 Democrats.
In the Republican primary for Attorney General, Harvard Law graduate and Champaign-Urbana attorney Erika Harold, well known in Republican political circles, leads the lesser-known Gary Grasso, a DuPage County board member, 18 percent to 14 percent, with almost two-thirds (65 percent) undecided.
The Democratic primary for Attorney General is as crowded as the gubernatorial field, with eight candidates vying for the nomination. State Sen. Kwame Raoul of Chicago leads the pack with 22 percent of respondents, vs. former Gov. Pat Quinn, with 18 percent. None of the other candidates registers double-digit support, and the undecideds total 39 percent.
Biggest takeaway: Gov. Rauner needs to start giving Erika Harold some cash. Now.
* The only crosstabs included…
* These are registered voters, not likely voters, so be careful with this…
In the poll of 1,001 registered voters across Illinois, conducted February 19 through 25, the margin for error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. It is important to remember that among self-identified primary election voters, the margin is significantly wider: plus or minus 6 percentage points in the 259-voter sample of Republicans, and 4.5 percentage points in the sample of 472 Democrats.
Today, the JB Pritzker campaign released a new TV ad, “Lead the Charge,” featuring the Chicago Sun-Times resounding endorsement of JB in the Democratic primary.
In the endorsement — which Capitol Fax called “one of the strongest I’ve ever seen for anyone” — the Chicago Sun-Times acknowledged that JB is best candidate to beat Bruce Rauner and praised his leadership and vision for Illinois.
“I’m so honored to receive the endorsement of the Chicago Sun-Times, and when I’m governor, I will lead the charge to put Springfield back on the side of working families,” said JB Pritzker. “Bruce Rauner has decimated this state’s future, but I’ll be a governor who works hard every day to create jobs across Illinois, expand healthcare, and invest in education so every community can thrive. This is a grassroots, statewide campaign ready to win this primary and beat Bruce Rauner in November.”
Man, do I ever hate being included in press releases like that, but I stand by my comment. That nod was super strong.
The Chicago Sun-Times endorses JB Pritzker for governor, praising JB’s achievements in both the private and public sectors.
JB’s future-focused approach to economic development is precisely what Illinois needs.
He offers Democrats the best chance to defeat Bruce Rauner.
And JB has a plan to properly fund public education that would ease the pressure on property taxes.
JB Pritzker has what it takes to lead the charge.
Thoughts?
* Meanwhile, from yesterday…
Today, the JB Pritzker campaign released a new Spanish language TV ad, “Un Aliado.” The ad features Congressman Luis Gutiérrez highlighting how JB will be an ally for every community in Illinois by investing in education, expanding healthcare, and standing up to Donald Trump’s attacks on immigrant communities and Dreamers.
“Congressman Luis Gutiérrez is a tireless fighter for Illinois’ families and I’m so honored to have his endorsement,” said JB Pritzker. “As governor, I will stand with Luis as an ally and a staunch advocate for every community in Illinois. Together, we will protect Dreamers from Donald Trump’s attacks, expand healthcare for Illinois families, and invest in the education that Illinois children need to thrive. It’s time for a governor who brings people together and lifts up our communities and that’s the leader I will be in Springfield.”
In his run for Illinois governor, billionaire J.B. Pritzker is investing an average of about $171,000 a day from his fortune to try to win a job that pays $177,412 a year and comes with major headaches.
The same enormous wealth that has benefited Pritzker’s campaign is now complicating what until a few weeks ago looked like an easy victory for him in the March 20 Democratic primary.
Rivals are pointing to his fortune to suggest the Hyatt hotel heir is out of touch with average voters. One opponent, State Senator Daniel Biss, has created an online calculator that pictures Pritzker in a tuxedo and asks visitors to enter their salary to see how quickly his team would spend that amount.
It adds to a separate perception challenge for Pritzker, in a party primary where non-whites are likely to account for a third or more of the vote. A recently released audio recording from almost a decade ago captured Pritzker and then-Governor Rod Blagojevich, now serving a long prison sentence for corruption, making crass comments about several of the state’s prominent black politicians.
Names were not included to preserve confidentiality, which [Madigan lawyer Heather Wier Vaught] pointed to when asked whether the people complaining were satisfied with the resolution. She said identifying the dates of each would give clues to the people involved, but that the oldest was in 2013 and the latest more recently. […]
Vaught said with reporters and lawyers calling multiple Madigan staff members to ask about harassment, and rumors swirling, “The point of this document, in part, is to show you, here’s what we really heard, here’s what we really received, here’s how we handled it.”
Vaught said specific dates were left off the list to protect the confidentiality of complainants who did not want to be named or identified. She also decried reporters for calling staffers to ask if they had lodged complaints in recent weeks as Madigan’s office has come under fire for its handling of sexual harassment allegations.
“That has led to a lot of concern, and very, frankly, frightened people who may have things in their lives… that they don’t want to discuss publicly,” Vaught said. […]
Madigan insisted there is no negative culture in any of his operations.
“There’s no culture with me, and if you read through how these [complaints] were processed, you can see that at the leadership level, we don’t tolerate inappropriate behavior,” he said. “We just don’t tolerate it.”
Madigan said the list, the product of an internal investigation by his office, was released in response to “a lot of questions from a variety of people, what kind of complaints come into our office about unwanted, unwarranted activities.”
He said his office prepared the list as an “educational document.”
The list contains nine entries that offer vague descriptions of staff complaints made about discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment or retaliation. Madigan said they were complaints that were brought to the attention of his chief of staff or any director, supervisor or ethics officer. […]
Senate President John Cullerton’s office released a statement saying “our personnel policies spell out that any complaints are to be treated in as confidential a manner as possible in order to protect the privacy and rights of the victim. Our priority is a professional work environment in which anyone who feels victimized can come forward with confidence knowing that their rights and privacy will be protected.”
Though state Democratic Party members have pressured the Speaker to stand down in recent weeks, Madigan says he’s staying the course.
“I’m not resigning, I’m moving forward. I’m, uh, working with this particular issue, and we’re gonna work our way through it. And we’re gonna provide good strong leadership, as I have for several years.” Madigan says.
Before speaking to reporters, Madigan distributed the memo during a heated closed-door meeting with House Democrats. Lawmakers peppered Madigan with questions after two of his top campaign aides were dismissed in recent weeks following allegations of sexual harassment and bullying.
“You’ve got a bunch of elected officials who were saying, ‘What’s going on? What’s going on? What’s going on?’ ” Democratic Rep. Robert Martwick of Chicago said afterward. […]
Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who has requested an outside investigation into complaints about Madigan’s statehouse and political organization, called the speaker’s Tuesday disclosure a “good start.” But she said more needs to be done to ensure people feel safe enough to come forward. Cassidy noted that the Capitol is not a traditional work environment, and it’s often unclear how to report allegations and who would be responsible for looking into them.
“I just think back on my experience when I was first down here, it didn’t occur to me that there was anyone I could turn to,” Cassidy said. “So for those nine on that sheet, that is no doubt just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more that doesn’t get reported.”
* Democratic attorney general candidate Sharon Fairley…
The memo of complaints about misconduct House Speaker Mike Madigan made public Tuesday should be evaluated for what it didn’t say rather than what it did. It didn’t list complaints by a member about another member. It didn’t list complaints by a member about a lobbyist. It didn’t list complaints by a lobbyist about a member. It didn’t list complaints by staff about a member regarding ill treatment or derogatory comments. It didn’t list complaints about another caucus leader, member or staff. Lastly, it didn’t list unresolved complaints.
Speaker Madigan would have the people of Illinois believe the nine complaints that he disclosed have been all tied up in a nice, neat bow. What the Democratic Party leaders don’t seem to comprehend is these complaints and the way they were handled are indicative of a profound lack of interest in accountability.
If these complaints took place over the last five years, they should’ve been referred to the Legislative Inspector General office for an independent investigation. What is the point of having a Legislative Inspector General to investigate allegations of misconduct if lawmakers are simply going to take complaints and then sweep them under the rug? If the Speaker wants to show Illinoisans “new and unprecedented action,” then he should release all complaints—including those against other legislators. Voters need to know what else is out there. There should be full disclosure and full referral to the inspector general for independent investigation.
If these complaints took place during the three-year absence of the LIG, then this makes clear Madigan was aware of the need for this position to be filled and did nothing. The veteran legislator needs to step down as speaker and the General Assembly needs to step up to select someone to fill the LIG’s position permanently. These disclosures also illustrate the need for fundamental changes to the statute governing the Ethics Commission and the LIG. In particular, the Speakers disclosure clearly sets out the case for including a duty to report misconduct to the LIG for independent investigation.
These recent revelations of sexual harassment and sexual assault give credence to Springfield being a frat house. It’s the lack of transparency and tepid response that allows improper behavior to go unchecked.
Contrary to those who believe asking Madigan to resign would be like firing a general in the midst of an important battle, in my view, the only battle the Speaker seems to be waging is the one to keep challengers to his slate of candidates from prevailing in the Democratic primary. There’s precedent, however, for taking a general off the battlefield. In an historical article I recently read it says, “Sometimes during the emergencies of war even senior officers are found to be lacking in brains, skills, or character necessary to win the war.” So, I say let Madigan be the Illinois version of George S. Patton, shall we.
For now at least, a vote for Andrea Raila in the Democratic primary for Cook County assessor won’t count.
Circuit Judge Robert Bertucci on Tuesday agreed with a county Electoral Board decision to kick Raila out of the primary race against Assessor Joe Berrios. The board determined her campaign engaged in a “pattern of fraud” while collecting nominating petition signatures.
But Bertucci denied a motion by primary rival Fritz Kaegi asking to remove Raila’s name from city and county ballots and touch screens. Election authorities said doing so was “impossible” this close to the March 20 election.
Instead, officials will provide notices that votes for Raila won’t count. And they’ve agreed to print notices in newspapers, including the Tribune, advising voters of that fact.
“It’s not a perfect world,” Circuit Judge Robert W. Bertucci said after election officials argued it’s too late to physically remove Raila’s name from printed ballots or electronic touchscreen voting machines.
Instead, voters will receive printed notices in their polling places that any votes for Raila will not be counted. Election officials also said they will place legal notices in newspapers. They even offered to pay for broadcast commercials to spread the word. […]
Raila’s lawyer, Frank Avila Jr., said he will appeal. […]
[Circuit Judge Robert Bertucci] acquiesced to the election officials when they told him election tabulating equipment used in the precincts would not work properly if Raila’s name was removed from the electronic ballots but left on the paper ballots. Both systems are used in polling places, then the voting results merged. […]
A similar situation is unfolding in the race for the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring Cook County Clerk David Orr, where lawyer Jan Kowalski McDonald filed petitions to run against Karen Yarbrough, who currently holds the office of county recorder.
McDonald was kicked off the ballot, but her case won’t be heard in court until March 7th. Sheesh.
Legislative candidate Burt Minor strongly denies uttering a homosexual slur in front of Republican attorney general candidate Erika Harold and says he used a racial epithet during their October conversation only after she asked him to explain the meaning of the term “N-word.”
Minor, 58, a candidate March 20 in the GOP primary for the 42nd Illinois House, says he’s willing to take a lie-detector test to support his version of what happened. […]
But Harold on Monday said Minor has given “multiple versions” of the story.
“My story has never changed,” said Harold, 37, of Urbana. […]
Harold is calling Minor’s description of what happened “preposterous.”
* The Daily Herald also has a story with this passage…
Suzanne Heffner Hackenbruch, who has been a GOP committeeman for roughly 20 years, said she was “shocked and offended” when Minor told a group of fellow Republicans about his conversation with Harold.
She said Minor recounted how he asked Harold a series of questions that culminated with asking whether she was a lesbian.
“I couldn’t believe what I heard,” she said. “At no time did he indicate that Erika had invited him to ask her any tough questions … I don’t see how her personal life has anything to do with (issues in DuPage).”
• In his lengthy statement last week, he failed to specifically deny the slurs attributed to him. That did not come until he spoke to our Editorial Board days later. If the claims were untrue, wouldn’t those be the first things you’d deny?
• In our conversation with him, he referred to reports he’d heard in December that his meeting with Harold may create problems. But as much as we asked him about where he’d heard those reports, the more he danced around the subject. It left us with the impression that something is missing in his story of what happened.
• Under what circumstances would anyone, much less an African American like Harold, ask what the N-word means?
• Minor’s answer to that question was that he thinks Harold may have been setting him up. But he hadn’t announced his candidacy for the House yet; what was there to set up?
Not only had he not yet announced his candidacy for Rep. Ives’ seat at the time of that meeting, Ives hadn’t even begun circulating petitions to run for governor.
Today, the Rauner campaign launched the latest ad highlighting JB Pritzker’s ties to disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Earlier this month, the Chicago Tribune released another set of wiretaps featuring Blagojevich and Pritzker discussing Barack Obama’s Senate seat with Pritzker calling Jesse White “the least offensive” African American. These tapes, as well as the Tribune’s first bombshell report, show Pritzker’s insider status and self-interested approach to public service.
Chris Kennedy said “J.B.’s conversations with Blagojevich are disqualifying and they’re a reflection of his integrity.” State Sen. Daniel Biss called the conversation “horse-trading for more power” and made clear that they “can’t afford to nominate JB Pritzker.”
His fellow Democrats have summed it up best - JB Pritzker is unelectable in Illinois.
If you’re forced to put an African-American in the spot, which I, my guess is, you’re not forced to do anything, but my guess is a lot of pressure to do it. Um, of all the African-Americans I can think that are sort of like qualified and vetted and people will say, ‘Oh, that’s, you know, that’s, that’s a pretty good pick,’ the one that I, you know, that’s least offensive and maybe gets you the most because it gets you that secretary of state appointment is Jesse White… the one that I, you know, that’s least offensive and maybe gets you the most.”
I’m told by a Democratic campaign that they believe there are 400 ratings points behind this ad for the week.
…Adding… Pritzker supporter…
Sorry, @GovRauner, you don’t get to do this. Your cabinet is virtually devoid of black folk. GTCR’s team looks like a sheet of computer paper. Your budgets decimate ppl. of color. Your commitment to black entrepreneurs is non-existent. This is laughable hypocrisy. #twill#ilgov
…Adding… It should be noted that three of Rauner’s cabinet members are black: Erica Jeffries, Felicia Norwood and Janice Glenn. His first Lottery director was an African-American.
* WBEZ has obtained internal state e-mails about the 2015 Legionnaires’ outbreak at the Quincy veterans’ home. You should read the whole thing and we may circle back to this again today, but here’s one excerpt that jumped out at me…
A previously undisclosed email chain involved deliberations over the crafting of an Aug. 27, 2015 press release issued jointly by the state Veterans’ Affairs and Public Health departments confirming eight cases of Legionnaires’ at the home. By that point, the state had known for six days it had an “epidemic” on its hands.
The day before the press release went out, part of the email chain included a draft release and messaging bullet points, including one from Yantis, the Veterans’ Affairs spokesman, reinforcing that “there is no cause for alarm; this is a manageable situation and we are focusing talents, efforts and appropriate resources to meet the needs.”
The draft release ended with a rundown of how staff at the facility had cleaned ice machines and common bathing and shower areas, among other things, to try and kill the waterborne bacteria that causes Legionnaires’.
The head epidemiologist at Quincy’s Blessing Hospital, where many of the Legionnaires’ victims were taken for testing and treatment, questioned that phrasing in an email later that night.
“The last paragraph sounds like the cleaning is a new activity; did they not clean these before and what did they do as a result of the first cases in July? A smart reporter will eat the spokesperson alive,” emailed Dr. Robert Merrick.
“They should have had you write the release,” Merrick continued in his note to the hospital staffer. “Overall I think it is poorly written, confusing and in my view just a smoke to cover peoples [sic] butts.”
The press release later issued publicly by the state had the reference to cleaning removed.
* Meanwhile, here’s the political react. Biss campaign…
Daniel Biss released the following statement in response to the latest WBEZ story revealing Gov. Bruce Rauner’s failure to acknowledge and address the Legionnaire’s crisis at the Illinois Veterans Home.
“Bruce Rauner was apparently more interested in avoiding another PR crisis than doing his job and addressing the crisis that cost veterans their lives. When he had the opportunity to protect our veterans and prevent their untimely deaths, he chose to look the other way. It’s irresponsible and immoral—and entirely disqualifying.”
* Ives campaign…
“The contents of these emails confirm our worst fears and suspicions about this Governor. It is not that he was inept, an outsider trying to figure his way around state government. But that he and his administration were as cold and calculating at they seemed. These emails revealed that they were more concerned with appearances, status and protecting their seats of power, than they were with people who were suffering – and, in this case, dying. Those who had taken ill in the Illinois Veterans Home were discussed as political obstacles, instead of people in need of care. No one should be treated the way these men and women have been treated, least of all veterans and their families who have served their country and sacrificed in ways most of us cannot imagine.
“I’ve asked before, ‘What the hell is wrong with this Governor?’ This morning, I am afraid we know.”
* Pritzker campaign…
“Bruce Rauner put managing headlines above managing the care of our nation’s heroes,” said JB Pritzker. “As Legionnaires’ spread in the Quincy Veterans’ Home, the Rauner administration moved quickly to stop the public relations crisis while leaving Veterans and their spouses behind. This is what failed leadership and fatal mismanagement looks like. Illinois Veterans deserve better than a governor who refuses to take charge and has no regrets after 13 Veterans and spouses died on his watch. When I’m governor, I will treat our Veterans with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
