Rauner Yesterday: “I’m So Proud Of What’s Going On In Washington, D.C.”
At a campaign stop yesterday, Governor Bruce Rauner sang the praises of the White House’s agenda on the same day that two of President Donald Trump’s close associates became felons. The Herald & Review captured Rauner’s full embrace:
“It’s an honor for me to work for you and I’m so proud of what’s going on in Washington, D.C. In Washington they are cutting taxes, they’re reducing regulation, they’re fighting against the illegal immigration, they’re fighting against unfair trade barriers and unfair trade deals. They’re creating more jobs and helping the American workers. We’ve got higher wages now and more jobs now because of that. Illinois is strong because of what is happening in Washington and what our doing in our administration.”
President Trump lost Illinois by 17 points, but a recent NBC/Marist poll found him with higher favorability ratings than Rauner (30% to 26%).
“As Donald Trump’s top advisers head to prison and his administration is enveloped in scandal, Bruce Rauner is proud of President Trump’s work in Washington,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “It’s no wonder that Illinois voters view Bruce Rauner, lacking in principles and lacking in accomplishments, as a failed leader.”
* Circling back on this story from last week because I missed this bit the first time…
Speaking after the rally, Pritzker said that, if elected, getting an infrastructure bill that will address Illinois’ roads, bridges and waterways will be “critically important” for him during his first year in office.
The last comprehensive capital plan in Illinois, the $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! plan, was signed by then-Gov. Pat Quinn in 2009.
When asked how to cover the cost of a capital plan, Pritzker suggested possible revenue streams such as legalized sports betting, online sales tax and legalizing and taxing marijuana.
Online sales tax money is already budgeted and sports betting won’t bring in huge state tax dollars.
He’s talked about taxing pot for a long time, but mainly for general revenue purposes, although he did seem to suggest once that it could be used for education funding.
Pritzker said in April that marijuana could be in the mix for a capital bill, along with his graduated income tax (which he still won’t detail).
I do not expect the man to produce a full state budget on his own. But he’s making a lot of promises and we don’t even have a coherent outline of how he’s gonna pay for them. I mean, even Bruce Rauner did that in 2014.
Pritzker is launching a new three-day tour of central and southern Illinois. Hopefully, he’ll get pressed on some of this stuff.
The latest Democratic mailers are accusing state Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst of voting against programs for veterans and the elderly.
That’s misleading. The Democrats have provided no proof she targeted those programs in particular. […]
The Democrats are using a similar tactic against Rep. Jerry Long, R-Streator, in La Salle County. A recent flyer accuses Long of opposing money for programs that track sex offenders, citing the same budget bill that he joined Parkhurst in voting against. The programs tracking sex offenders consume only a tiny fraction of the budget, which is tens of billions of dollars.
My own opinion is that if you vote “No” on a bipartisan compromise budget that’s signed into law, this is what you can expect. Yes, it’s ugly, but their vote is their vote. Those who voted “Yes” have had to answer for whatever’s in the bill, like money for the Obama presidential center.
So, while Parkhurst and Long may fully support those state programs in their own minds, their actual voting record is the only thing that truly counts. It’s public record. It’s fair game.
But I know from previous posts that many disagree. So…
* The Question: Is it fair game to ding legislators over the details of a bipartisan budget that they officially opposed or supported? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
…Adding… I should add that some of these mailers (that the Dems do all the time) can backfire on their candidates. As well they should. But that’s also part of the campaign process. Your opponent goes too far, you benefit. Saying somebody supports rapists or child molesters or whatever because they voted against a budget can cause the accuser problems if the hit isn’t believable.
* While looking out your house’s window in Wilmette you see a little girl walking her dog without any adults around. Do you 1) Ignore it because this is Wilmette and the kid is old enough to walk her own dog; 2) Go outside and ask the little girl if she’s OK because maybe she isn’t old enough and could’ve wandered off; or 3) Immediately call the cops? If you chose “3″ I just cannot understand you at all…
Just after returning home from a walk around the block with her dog, Marshmallow, an 8-year-old Wilmette girl expected a visit from a playmate. Instead, police officers arrived at the family’s door.
An anonymous caller had contacted police after seeing the girl walking the dog alone, said her mother, Corey Widen. While police never pursued charges, the seemingly common activity launched an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigation to see if Widen was neglecting her children, she said.
“For something like this to happen to me, there’s something really wrong,” said Widen, 48, who agreed to let her 8-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son get the Maltese puppy last year as long as everyone took turns walking her. Widen, who asked that her daughter’s name not be used, said the girl’s walk around the block — most of which Widen says she can see out her windows — is the only time her home-schooled daughter is unsupervised. “The funny thing is … I’m a joke with my friends because my kids are around me all the time.” […]
Like in many states, the law in Illinois is vague. It defines a neglected minor as a child younger than 14 left “without supervision for an unreasonable period of time without regard for the mental or physical health, safety or welfare of that minor.”
But DCFS investigations are separate from criminal ones; even if police decide a parent has not broken the law, there could still be child welfare repercussions.
.@RodneyDavis giving blood a year after the Congressional baseball attack to support blood donations. He also addressed questions about his former staffer saying “I haven’t spoken to him” and “My campaign didn’t send him”. pic.twitter.com/6ZV3fkNTHf
* Davis’ former staffer, by the way, posted this rambling story on the Young Americans for Liberty website several months ago…
Here at EIU the culture doesn’t allow for much freedom of speech. The PC culture is alive and well at Eastern Illinois University, so my Restore the 4th event was lackluster. Our campus and therefore student culture is dominated by authoritarian leftists who condemn free speech in favor of safe speech and false pretenses of being non-offensive. Unless you’re a “progressive” group, or advocating for whatever group is trending at the time, real open free speech is hard to come by. That’s why my event last week was unique. Since I could not get official university recognition, I had to get creative to spread the message. Instead of setting up a booth or informational table, I took to the street and canvassed to individuals who couldn’t be bothered to peel their faces from their phones. This in -your -face, aggressive guerilla style seemed like the most effective way to spread the message in a seemingly uninterested audience. Hearing many people argue that there are more important causes than worrying about the content of their phones was truly disappointing. Have we become so fascinated with everyone else’s lives that we simply don’t care what happens to our own? While I didn’t get the experience or levels of enthusiasm I was hoping for, I got something else. I acquired a desire to help spread the message of liberty across my campus. It is sorely lacking free-thinkers and those who challenge authority.
Several dozen people crammed inside the Stripmasters break room to hear Rauner speak for about 10 minutes. Calling November “the most important election of my lifetime,” Rauner stressed the importance of voting for GOP candidates down the ballot.
Well, yeah. Understandable because he appears to be very much on the bubble right now. I’d say the same if I was him, but maybe not out loud to a group of people.
Electing more Republicans would make it possible to enact more measures that Rauner has long supported, such as term limits for elected officials, he said.
“We’re going to work our tails off to pick up at least two seats in the Senate and pick up nine seats in the House of Representatives,” Rauner said. “Mike Madigan will be gone!”
He hasn’t yet contributed any money to the Senate Republicans this cycle. Just sayin…
…Adding… Oops…
For the record, @BruceRauner … Illinois doesn't have a "Macomb County" despite this link in today's campaign email.
It does have a McDonough County, though. The city of Macomb is there. Both are covered by the McDonough County Voice. pic.twitter.com/Z6a8Po9BUv
* Coverage roundup for the governor’s latest tour…
* Gov. Rauner shares views during Shelbyville visit: Rauner’s main point, which he mentioned several times, was his hope to get rid of corruption brought on by corrupt Chicago politicians. … Rauner encourages voters to, “Get Erika Herold in as Attorney General, because she’ll help prosecute corruption and investigate unethical behavior.”
* Governor Rauner stops in Macomb: He urged voters to make Illinois a Republican-majority state, saying it was “the only way” to effect meaningful change. “We have a Democratic Party that’s taken over the state (and) one-party rule for decades: Madigan, Blagojevich, Quinn - the whole crowd - and they’ve almost bankrupted us, morally as well as financially,” he said. “We can’t have that. Democracy doesn’t work on a one-party basis.”
The latest round of GOP mailers essentially has Democrat Lisa Dugan tied at the hip to House Speaker Michael Madigan. In one Photoshopped image, Madigan and Dugan are playing poker with each other.
* ABATE endorsed Gov. Bruce Rauner today. From its Chicago president, Patrick “PJ” Jones, who is referring to a recent JB Pritzker TV ad. Click here to watch it…
“Bruce was a member before becoming Governor and has been a friend to all motorcyclists in the state. He has gone on many rides with the Chicago Chapter, and has supported many of the charities that we support including the Chicagoland Toys for Tots Parade and Shriners Hospitals.
“Governor Rauner is a true motorcyclist, and we feel it’s a slap in the face of all motorcyclists for someone to have called his riding apparel a COSTUME – we take our riding gear serious, and so does he.”
* Never make assumptions based on just one poll in August. Or at any time for that matter. For instance, a Tribune poll in September of 2014 had Gov. Pat Quinn leading Bruce Rauner by eleven points. That didn’t work out too well.
While those Tribune poll results went against the national pro-GOP tide four years ago, this new NBC/Marist poll seems to go right along with the national “blue wave” predictions. JB Pritzker leads Gov. Rauner by 16 and the Democrats have a huge ballot advantage in congressional races.
Even so, the poll has some very puzzling results in the crosstabs.
It’s not weighted too heavily for Democrats (38 percent), but polls of registered voters will tend to skew a bit more Democratic than polls of likely voters, and this one is of registered voters. It’s close enough on the geographical and racial splits, but it does look a bit on the young side.
* For me, anyway, the really odd results are in the collar counties and in central/southern Illinois. As you know, Hillary Clinton won every collar county except McHenry and Donald Trump did really well in Downstate.
Yet, when asked if they preferred a Republican or Democratic Congress, the collars chose the Republican Party 45-40 and central/southern Illinoisans chose the Democrats 44-40. The partisan margins in both regions were even more pronounced when asked which party they intended to vote for in the congressional elections.
Same for the governor’s race. The collars chose Rauner 40-34, while central/southern Illinoisans preferred Pritzker 43-33. A ten-point winning margin in that region would be an absolutely stunning upset for Pritzker and would reverse decades of trends.
* Now, even if the poll is dead wrong about those two regions, the overall results could be close to right. I’ve seen plenty of polls with some questionable crosstabs that wound up mirroring the final overall result. Also, Clinton won Illinois by 17 points and this poll has Pritzker ahead by 16. Another wave is almost assuredly heading our way. Etc., etc.
All I’m saying here is that either a couple of this poll’s regional results are off or are expectations are off. We’ll find out in November.
Also, for the small number of you who think that Pritzker should be leading by even more than 16 points, I’d point you to the very similar 2016 presidential results and the fact that the last time a sitting governor lost reelection by double-digits was 1960, when Otto Kerner clobbered GOP Gov. Bill Stratton by 11 points.
* Coverage roundup…
* Poll: Democrat leads expensive race for Illinois governor: And 57 percent of voters say their choice for Congress in November will be a message for more Democrats to “check and balance” Trump, while 32 percent say it will be a message for more Republicans to help pass the president’s agenda.
* NBC/Marist poll: Pritzker up by 16, Rauner 2-to-1 unfavorable rating: The poll showed Pritzker ahead of Rauner among self-described independent voters 43 percent to 25 percent and among those with a moderate ideology, 50 percent to 25 percent. Rauner had the advantage among self-described conservatives 55 percent to 20 percent and was backed by 71 percent of supporters of Donald Trump despite the governor’s aversion to speaking about the controversial president.
* Poll: Democrat leads expensive race for Illinois governor: With the state hosting at least four competitive U.S. House races this November, the poll also shows Democrats enjoying a 14-point advantage in congressional preference, with 49 percent of voters preferring a Democratic-controlled Congress, versus 35 percent wanting Republicans in charge. Inside those numbers, Democrats lead among women (54 percent to 30 percent) and men (44 percent to 39 percent); among voters in populous Cook County (59 percent to 23 percent); among independents (43 percent to 32 percent); and among whites with college degrees (54 percent to 34 percent).
* TV news poll shows Pritzker leading Rauner by 16 points: Poll takers were also asked about how President Donald Trump is doing. Of registered voters, 56 percent said they disapproved of his performance, with 32 percent saying they approved.
Beginning well before Labor Day, Sixth District congressional candidate Sean Casten’s campaign has placed a substantial cable TV & digital ad buy to counter false, negative ads being run by Peter Roskam and a Super PAC associated with House Speaker Paul Ryan. Today, the Casten campaign released their ad and the following statement:
“We’re proud that we’re in a position to offer voters the truth about Sean’s record as a successful green-energy entrepreneur who’s put thousands of people to work while fighting pollution and climate-change,” said Greg Bales, Campaign Manager for Sean Casten. “The ad features Charlie Bayless, one of the Directors of the Board Sean reported to, setting the record straight on Casten’s record of creating jobs and protecting his employees during their time working together for a clean energy company.”
Bales said that the new Casten ad would be seen on cable TV systems and digital platforms across the 6th District beginning on August 22nd and characterized the buy as “substantial.”
“It’s sad that Roskam has so little to say about his 25 years in public office that he can only throw mud at his challenger, and his ads are a complete distortion, as pointed out by Crain’s and the Better Government Association,” Bales said. “Now, with our first TV ad, voters will get the facts about Sean’s exemplary business record.”
So far in the general election, Roskam and his allies have spent millions of dollars on mailings, TV and digital ads. Yet, in the last two weeks, two different organizations that predict the outcomes of congressional races have moved the Illinois 6th District race from “leans Republican” to “toss up.”
In addition to the race for governor, 49 percent of respondents preferred a Democratic-controlled Congress, while 35 percent preferred Republicans in charge. The state has at least three tight U.S. House races slated for November.
The results also indicated 56 percent of registered voters in Illinois disapprove of President Donald Trump’s job so far. In 2016, Trump got 38 percent of the vote in Illinois.
“President Trump and his job rating at 31 percent is dragging down Republicans up and down the ticket potentially,” Murray said.
Twenty-seven percent of Illinois voters named economy and jobs as the most important factor in their vote. Another 19 percent said health care, 14 percent said immigration and 11 percent said federal taxes and spending, according to the poll.
The NBC/Marist poll of Illinois was conducted Aug. 12-16 of 831 adults (which has a margin of error of plus-minus 4.2 percentage points) and 734 registered voters (plus-minus 4.4 percentage points).
* As we discussed yesterday, the federal judge in Jason Gonzales’ lawsuit against Speaker Madigan and others ruled that Blair Hull will have to sit for a deposition by Madigan’s attorneys. Hull backed Gonzales’ 2016 Democratic primary campaign against Madigan and contributed to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s 2014 election.
Hull’s attorney filed a motion today for a protective order on his deposition. All emphasis is in the original…
However, [Blair Hull] is rightfully concerned that the deposition—which will essentially be conducted by a political rival within Mr. Hull’s party—will go far beyond Mr. Hull’s firm’s contributions and loans to Illinois United for Change. Instead, it could be used to pry into Mr. Hull’s own political activism, personal connections, and support for candidates that are opposed by Defendants, including after the March 15, 2016 Primary Election between Plaintiff Gonzales and Defendant Madigan.
Such limitless discovery would politically advantage Defendants, while undermining Mr. Hull’s own right to politically oppose them, turning the discrete constitutional dispute in this case into a “political proxy war.”
More importantly, such areas of inquiry are unlikely to lead to the discovery of evidence admissible at trial in this action, which, again, concerns Defendants’ conduct as to which Mr. Hull possesses no information. As such, the Court should enter the appropriate protective order limiting the length of Mr. Hull’s deposition to two hours and its scope to the contributions and loans made by Mr. Hull’s company during the Primary Election.
Rauner says the budget impasse was "not something I wanted or that I caused." Blames it on Madigan. "He wanted the impasse because he wanted the tax hike," the gov says.
“I apologize but we may have to go through a little rough times and we have to do what Ronald Reagan did with the air traffic controllers,” Rauner said referencing Reagan’s decision in 1981 to fire 11,000 striking air traffic controllers.
“We sort of have to do a do-over and shut things down for a little while, that’s what we’re going to do,” Rauner said. […]
“It’s going to be rough. It’s going to be hardball but I’m used to that. I’ve transformed a lot of business organizations in my life and I can bring that same discipline in Springfield,” he said.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner kicked off a campaign-style statewide tour Monday by indicating he’ll try to “leverage” the state’s money woes into securing a series of pro-business changes from a General Assembly controlled by Democrats likely to fiercely oppose them.
The first stop was at Tribune Tower, where the governor sought to frame up the last seven scheduled weeks of the spring session during an appearance before the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board. The governor and legislative leaders will try to craft a new budget before the May 31 adjournment deadline against the backdrop of a projected deficit of $6 billion and Rauner calling for major cuts.
“Crisis creates opportunity. Crisis creates leverage to change … and we’ve got to use that leverage of the crisis to force structural change,” said Rauner, borrowing from a political philosophy famously coined by his friend Rahm Emanuel that “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”
“It came down to three things: workers’ comp, parity in (the length of) the income tax and property tax and budget cuts. Cullerton’s position is, ‘This is the deal, take it or leave it,’ and as far as we’re concerned, it’s dead and there’s nothing more for us to do because we’re not going to take a bad deal and neither is the Senate (Republican) caucus,” [the Rauner confidant] said.
Radogno responded that no one in the governor’s office “speaks for the Senate (GOP) caucus.” She said the Senate’s grand bargain plan was “not and never has been a ‘take it or leave it’ from the Senate president and insisted talks on a “final version” were still taking place.
Some Republicans joined Democrats in July to end the impasse by passing a major income tax hike and spending plan over Rauner’s vetoes. As a result, the governor said the state had “lost” an opportunity for economic change.
“We had the possibility of a transformation for the state with the crisis that we had — if we had a principled caucus. It’s the primary reason I ran. We had the opportunity for a massive transformation. We lost that,” the Republican governor said.
* You know it’s been a pretty horrific season when your favorite team’s two biggest highlights are a nun’s outstanding ceremonial first pitch and tonight’s first big league game by a highly touted pitching prospect.
First, the nun. Sister Mary Jo Sobieck from Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights…
Pritzker’s bottomless checkbook is feeding get-out-the-vote efforts, campaign staff, candidates, mailers and foot soldiers statewide. Will the media now refer to Illinois’ Democratic Party as Pritzker’s Democratic Party, as they have Rauner’s Republican Party?
They should. It is.
So, it’s no longer Speaker Madigan’s state party? Won’t the governor’s campaign be upset about this?
* The Question: Should Illinois political reporters now refer to the state Democratic Party as JB Pritzker’s party? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation Monday, sponsored by State Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) and State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield), giving motorists the option to register their vehicles for more than one year at a time.
House Bill 4259, which passed the House and Senate unanimously, allows motorists, beginning in 2021, to register their vehicles for one or two years. It also allows owners of trailers to register their trailer up to five years. The price per year would be the same, but motorists would be able to pay multiple years up front and would not have to change their sticker every year.
McConchie and Batinick say this legislation provides a convenience and saves the state money.
“About a year and a half ago, my dad came into the house frustrated after trying to put his renewal sticker on his license plate in the bitter cold saying, ‘I don’t know why we can’t renew our plates for more than one year at a time,’” McConchie recalled. “I remember thinking, ‘What a great idea!’ We could save the state money and provide greater convenience to taxpayers.
* Other bills…
* Illinois School Resource Officers to Undergo Training: Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill over the weekend that requires school resource officers, also known as SROs, to be better prepared to deal with the student population. The training will focus on de-escalation, crisis intervention and cyberbullying.
* Rauner: Won’t sign bill to ease voting by jail inmates without changes: Representative Juliana Stratton, who sponsored the bill, said she is “clearly disappointed” by the governor’s response. She said that that supporters of the bill had negotiated with the Illinois Department of Corrections and Illinois Sheriffs Association to decide on a procedure for delivering “know your rights” information to inmates exiting custody, and that it would simply involve adding information on voting rights to a packet of information that inmates already receive upon completing their sentences. “It’s lost on me why the governor would not be in support of this information being distributed,” Stratton said.
* Illinois Governor Blocks Bill To Tell People With Criminal Histories About Their Voting Rights: In his veto, Rauner didn’t object to helping people get access to ballots during pretrial detention, but specifically took issue with the requirement that officials provide voter registration forms to people leaving jail and voting rights information to those leaving prison. He said he’d support the bill if lawmakers eliminated those elements of it.
* More than 10,000 FOIDs yet to be renewed from June: Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a law Friday giving a 60-day grace period for gun owners to renew their state firearms identification cards and still own a firearm, but it won’t help the thousands of gun owners that have let theirs expire. The law allows for a Firearm Owner’s Identification, or FOID, card to remain valid for 60 days after the owner has sent in for renewal. This means a gun owner can submit their renewal for the card and still be a legal gun owner if it expires before the Illinois State Police processes it.
* Law allows Medicaid flexibility for ‘medically fragile’ kids: The law means that their expensive, highly technical care which is covered by Medicaid is exempt from managed-care organizations. The state has moved 80 percent of its Medicaid clients to managed-care organizations to cut costs.
On Saturday, Helene Walsh was appointed by Lake County Republican Chairman Mark Shaw to represent the 51st District in the Illinois House, despite her controversial views on guns, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, civil rights and more.
Today, Helene Walsh scrubbed her Facebook page of all radical views and photos.
“Helene Walsh should be straight with the voters of the 51st District. If, for instance, she believes that children should be separated from parents who are applying for legal asylum, she shouldn’t be afraid to say so,” said Nancy Shepherdson, Sixth District Democratic State Central Committeewoman and Co-Chair of the Illinois Sixth Congressional District Democrats. Walsh deleted a July 3, 2018 post that stated: “Don’t want to be separated from your kids…don’t break our laws.”
Patrick Watson Sixth District Democratic State Central Committeeman and Co-Chair of the Illinois Sixth Congressional District Democrats, noted that Walsh also deleted extreme racist, xenophobic and divisive comments posted this year. Watson noted: “If Helene Walsh wants to represent us, she should tell us that she believes without holding back or trying to hide behind platitudes.”
The Helene Walsh Facebook page was scrubbed after a statement was released by Adam Didech, county board candidate in the 20th District, condemning Walsh’s extremely candid and divisive comments.
The seat Helene Walsh has been appointed to was left open after State Representative Nick Sauer resigned two weeks ago when allegations of “catfishing for men” using an ex-girlfriend’s nude photos were made public. Helene Walsh is the wife of former Congressman and right-wing talk show host Joe Walsh.
The Illinois 51st District stretches from western Waukegan and western Mundelein in the north to Vernon Hills, Long Grove and Barrington in the south, with most of Libertyville in its center. Helene Walsh will run against Democrat Mary Edly-Allen, a bilingual teacher who is a champion for freedom and rights for all.
I’m guessing that some folks were able to save much of her online activity, however.
* From her Democratic opponent…
I’m distressed that Nick Sauer’s appointed replacement, Helene Walsh, is on record attacking the integrity of sexual assault victims. In the era of #metoo we can’t afford to replace someone accused of sexual violence w/one who scoffs at sexual assault victims. #bluewave#il51st
@michaelianblack You're coming to Chicago? Give a special shout out to Republican Helene Walsh, just appointed to the IL state legislature, and wife of Joe Walsh. Yes, she posed at a GOP rifle raffle weeks after the Las Vegas mass shooting. https://t.co/6bGEevbLwgpic.twitter.com/pJZZ5R9Zpx
…Adding… Miller-Walsh has been a fan of conspiracy theories, and now she’s being hit by one. This thing has spread around Facebook and Twitter…
????BREAKING: According to sources Joe Walsh's recent transformation into being Anti-Trump was part of an agreement to have his wife Helene Walsh appointed to house district 51 in Illinois……developing pic.twitter.com/nYV6XBZPal
Former President Barack Obama has recorded a video supporting Democrat J.B. Pritzker for Illinois governor.
The roughly 90-second video released Monday is the first Obama has recorded for the fall election. In it, he says he’s backing Pritzker to lead his home state because “J.B. gets things done.”
Former President Barack Obama doubled down on his endorsement of Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker.
“I am proud to endorse J.B. Priztker to be the next governor of my home state of Illinois,” he said in a new video. “And let me tell you why. It’s simple. J.B. gets things done.” […]
Wednesday’s endorsement marked the second time Obama has backed Stratton. While he was president in March 2016, Obama offered his support in radio and television ads to help Stratton, a political newcomer, unseat embattled Rep. Ken Dunkin in Illinois’ 5th District on Chicago’s South Side. That contentious Democratic primary battle was the most expensive House race in Illinois history, drawing Obama back into the local politics of his hometown.
Statewide, Obama also endorsed state Sen. Kwame Raoul for Illinois Attorney General. Raoul faces Republican Erika Harold in the race to replace longtime AG Lisa Madigan, who announced in 2017 that she would not be seeking re-election.
Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker’s campaign on Monday unveiled a web video featuring Barack Obama, marking another foray into his home state’s politics for the former president. […]
It’s not a surprise that the former Democratic president would back Pritzker over Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, and Obama this month released a list of endorsements that included Pritzker. The digital spot released Monday, though, gives the campaign another video to spread across the internet in the months before the November election.
Obama has gotten involved in state politics from time to time since heading to the White House, including backing Ald. Sophia King in her City Council race last year. […]
In a March 2012 Bloomberg TV interview, Pritzker hesitated on supporting Obama’s re-election efforts. “We’ll have to wait and see. I don’t know who the nominee’s going to be on the Republican side,” Pritzker said at the time.
Obama and Pritzker do share another connection that Rauner has highlighted in his re-election campaign. Pritzker was recorded on FBI wiretaps in 2008 speaking to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about being appointed to the Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, something that would ultimately put Blagojevich in prison. Blagojevich and Pritzker also discussed possible campaign donations.
* But the Illinois Policy Institute’s former news service has nothing on The Onion’s take. Click here for that one-line jab. Ouch.
Obama taped the video in his personal office in Washington a few weeks ago.
Obama spokesman Eric Schultz told the Sun-Times, “President Obama of course wants to be helpful to Democrats as we approach the midterm elections. President Obama wants to help Democrats win at every level this year. He’ll ask voters to take a good look at candidates and their records — not just the top of the ticket — but critical local races, too. We need a strong pipeline to help the Party grow beyond 2018. We need activists poised to engage, volunteers motivated to mobilize and voters motivated to vote.”
Obama on Aug. 1 endorsed 81 Democrats, including many from Illinois: Pritzker, Kwame Raoul, who is running for Illinois Attorney General, and U.S. House hopefuls Sean Casten, Lauren Underwood and Brendan Kelly.
On the sidelines no more, President Barack Obama flexed his political muscle in his home state on Monday.
In a boost to billionaire Democrat J.B. Pritzker’s gubernatorial bid, Obama went beyond his customary political comfort zone, leaning in hard by cutting his first video on behalf of a candidate in the 2018 midterm elections.
Um, the dude cut an Internet video in his office. And if doing that is outside his comfort zone, then what was this?…
As the governor said on Governor’s Day at the State Fair, “we’re here because we’re fighting for what’s right, and what’s just, and what’s good, and for a better future for our children and grandchildren.”
This week, the governor is touring the state with that exact message. He knows that home is worth fighting for, and he will never give up the fight for the future of Illinois.
Each day, he will make stops throughout the state speaking with voters. At least one stop per day will be accompanied by Bruce’s BBQ Big Rig, a tractor-trailer outfitted to serve BBQ to attendees at the events. [Emphasis added.]
So, now we know why he has a refrigerated truck, which, I’m told, is owned by Raymond Poe’s company. Poe, now the Agriculture Director, was a state Rep. when he ran for lt. governor in 2006 and had a truck built that could serve, if memory serves, something like 200-250 chicken dinners per hour. It was quite something to see. He wanted to set it up in Chicago, but said he couldn’t get a permit.
* The DGA claims there’s deeper meaning to the truck…
Rauner Brings Tractor-Trailer Filled of Failure to Illinois Communities
Yesterday, Governor Bruce Rauner began a new campaign swing called the “Fight for What’s Right” tour that unfortunately only highlights how wrong Rauner’s failed leadership has been for Illinois. Each community Rauner visited yesterday has been negatively impacted by his two-year budget fiasco. As a metaphor for his failed governance, Rauner’s campaign vehicle, a tractor-trailer, doesn’t list any accomplishments from the Governor’s first term.
“The only thing that Bruce Rauner’s tour will accomplish is reminding voters that they now have a tractor-trailer full of debt thanks to his failed leadership,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Every corner of the state is worse off after Bruce Rauner forced the state to go years without a budget and Illinois families will not forget that in November.”
Or, maybe it’s just a truck filled with tasty meats for hungry potential voters.
An 18-wheeler with an American flag motif on the cab and trailer wrapped in Rauner campaign blue, including the “Home is Worth Fighting For” slogan, has been provided to Rauner’s team by Poe Enterprises. That’s a farming and catering operation in which Poe is still a shareholder. Poe told me at the Governor’s Day rally at the Illinois State Fair — where the truck was parked on the road in the director’s lawn area as Rauner and others delivered their speeches nearby — that expense of the signage on the truck is shared by Rauner supporter Jason Fletcher of Athens.
On a Quincy TV station yesterday, Bruce Rauner claimed his administration did “an excellent job” responding to the Legionnaires’ crisis that took 14 lives since 2015.
“Well our team has done, by and large, an excellent job. People aren’t perfect. Occasionally some things stumble here or there,” Rauner said on WGEM Monday. Legionnaires’ has plagued the Quincy Veterans’ Home since Rauner became governor, sickening Veteran residents and staff in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and killing 14. The Rauner administration waited six days to publicize the first outbreak, a delay one infectious disease expert called “mind boggling” and “inexcusable.”
“The fact that Bruce Rauner thinks Veterans and spouses in Quincy losing their lives to Legionnaires’ is him doing ’an excellent job’ is all we need to know about his failed leadership,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Fourteen people died on Rauner’s watch, but he still has the gall to go on a Quincy TV station, rewrite history, and insult those who lost loved ones.”
How is it 13 Vetereans die and you think everything was done right? Why did other government officials have to tell you too ask for funding to build a new home? Why did it take 5 days after the vets home got the warning too tell anyone. Do you really think you will be re-elected?
@GovRauner This is what legionnaires looks like it’s not just pneumonia this is my fathers flag draped casket right before it was folded and handed to my oldest brother! pic.twitter.com/Kv3zK0dwfy
* Rauner says improvements at Illinois Veterans Home moving at quick pace: The first step in the plan involved buying the nearby Sycamore Healthcare Center, which closed as a nursing home in April 2017. The state paid $625,000 for the facility and is gutting the complex so it can be rebuilt to house veterans during construction on the Veterans Home campus. It also can be used for other veterans-related services in the future. “The Sycamore facility is going to create a lot of options for us, so getting that done quickly — in the next few months — is a goal. And we seem to be on track to do that,” Rauner said. “We’re putting in all-new everything. We’re going to make it a world-class facility.”
* In August of 2014, gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner’s “Shake Up Express” made a swing through Mt. Sterling, Rushville, Macomb and Monmouth…
* Almost exactly four years later, Gov. Bruce Rauner took his “The Fight For What’s Right” tour on a swing through Mt. Sterling, Rushville, Macomb and Monmouth…
Sometimes, I just don’t understand how candidates can do this all day, day in and day out. Giving the same speeches, constantly smiling, shaking hands, making quick small talk and then heading to the next stop. That can’t be easy.
* I often get tired by just reading Rep. Tom Bennett’s Twitter posts. A small sampling…
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said Monday that he did not personally send a campaign field director to a fundraiser for his opponent last week where that staffer was arrested for allegedly harassing the Democratic candidate and her supporters.
“There is no way that I would ever send anyone to go sit at a bar for multiple hours and become intoxicated with my opponent’s supporters,” Davis said when asked if his campaign sent Levi Lovell, 25, to the event for candidate Betsy Dirksen Londrigan at J.P. Kelly’s Pub in downtown Springfield.
Asked if his campaign might have sent Lovell to attend the event, Davis said, “I did not send anybody there. I don’t believe anybody on my campaign has ever said that they sent Levi to that event, and I certainly don’t condone the behavior. … I think it’s wrong, and frankly, there probably would have been disciplinary actions without the video that was in question.”
Sitting congresscritters don’t usually have direct control of their campaign trackers, so I’d be shocked if Davis personally sent that guy to Londrigan’s event. And I’d be even more shocked if the candidate ordered a tracker to get drunk and harass his opponent’s supporters. That sort of stuff just doesn’t happen.
But, notice this line, which was uttered after Bernie tried multiple times to get Davis to say if his campaign sent the guy: “I don’t believe anybody on my campaign has ever said that they sent Levi to that event.”
Right, they never said they sent him because Davis’ campaign refuses to answer questions about who dispatched the tracker.
* And now, this…
NEW: From the Springfield Police Report: Former @RodneyDavis field director Levi Lovell told police he was acting on behalf of the campaign in an act of "dirty politics" where he tries to catch her on camera saying something embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/vZxS3eIpiW
* Last month. Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) went on WJBC Radio and urged Gov. Rauner to be more optimistic and forward-looking on the campaign trail. This week, Sen. Barickman had a somewhat similar message to WGLT Radio…
“I don’t think Republicans win elections in Illinois simply by saying we’re the defense to (Illinois House Speaker Michael) Madigan’s offense. We don’t get to earn the right to govern simply by saying Madigan is the boogeyman,” said Barickman.
Barickman said attacking Madigan is part of the strategy since the speaker is one of the most unpopular politicians in the state.
But Barickman said Rauner will have to show how he can lead in the future, beyond obstructing Democrats.
“I think the public will want more. I think the path forward for a Republican has to be demonstrating the leadership necessary to advance our state regardless of whether Madigan is speaker or not. That message, I think, wins a general election,” said Barickman.
Thoughts?
…Adding… This tweet is a good fit for this post…
When Kankakee County residents see photos of House Speaker Mike Madigan in their mailboxes, those images come courtesy of the GOP. In Republican mailers, Madigan's head hovers over Democratic state rep hopeful Lisa Dugan.
Today, the Rauner campaign is launching a new statewide TV ad titled “The Main Thing.”
The ad centers around the main thing JB Pritzker would do if elected: raise taxes. Featuring quotes from newspapers across the state, it’s clear that Pritzker is deadset on raising taxes on hardworking Illinois families.
Illinois can not afford the Pritzker-Madigan agenda of higher taxes and more corruption.
The main thing JB Pritzker wants to do is raise taxes. An immediate increase in the current tax rate. A short and long term plan to increase income taxes. A threat, a promise, a plan that will punish Illinoisans. Madigan and Pritzker want more money. As soon as Pritzker takes office, a significant increase that will affect all taxpayers. JB Pritzker and Mike Madigan. Higher taxes. More Corruption.
