* “You know JB Pritzker wants to raise your taxes like there’s no tomorrow,” a new Bruce Rauner campaign TV ad begins. “But it gets worse,” the announcer says.
Pritzker wants to “ban sporting rifles,” and tax handguns at 100 percent, according to the ad clearly aimed at Downstate voters (but which is also running on Comcast Sports Net Chicago).
“He calls his government-run healthcare plan ‘Obamacare 2,’” the ad warns viewers. “Pritzker even wants every city in Illinois to be a sanctuary city,” the announcer claims. “No wonder Pritzker campaigned with a left-wing extremist organization leading the ‘resist’ movement,” the announcer says as Pritzker is shown wildly cheering at a rally.
“JB Pritzker. Just another tax raising, big spending Chicago liberal.” Watch it…
A new ad by Gov. Bruce Rauner’s team looks and sounds more like something you might see in a red state—not Illinois. It’s aimed at uniting those Downstate conservative voters who supported Jeanne Ives during the primary. The ad uses catch-phrases describing J.B. Pritzker as a “Chicago liberal.” There’s a moment in the ad showing Pritzker cheering with a background voice saying “No wonder Pritzker campaigned with a left-wing extremist organization leading the ‘resist’ movement.” Problem is, he’s cheering at Chicago’s Gay Pride Parade.
* My buddy Keith Perks died last week after a long illness. He was part of a circle of friends I’ve belonged to that goes back to the late 1980s. He was a great cook with a kind soul and a fine mind. A live and let live type, he once scolded me for knocking a certain type of music: “Rich, music is like food. Everybody has their own tastes.” He was at times a complicated person, but you couldn’t ask for a sweeter human being.
I’m not happy that Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker has declined to participate in a spirited exchange with incumbent Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday morning at the Tribune Editorial Board. But I understand, as a matter of political strategy, why he’s taking a pass.
He’s ahead in the polls, and it’s customary for candidates who believe they have solid leads to limit their encounters with opponents. Such encounters are risky. Flubs, brain freezes and the inadvertent disclosure of uncomfortable truths are always possible, and merely sharing a platform with underdogs stands to give them traction with the public.
This reluctance is particularly true for well-funded candidates, such as the billionaire Pritzker, who don’t need the exposure and can safely reach voters with barrages of scripted commercials.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and his Democratic challenger J.B. Pritzker will appear together before the Sun-Times Editorial Board next month.
Both have agreed to meet for an endorsement session on October 9. The session will be live-streamed.
Pritzker declined to appear alongside Rauner in the Chicago Tribune’s Editorial Board endorsement session on Friday morning. The newspaper endorsed Rauner in the March primary.
While the endorsement sessions are intended for editorial board members to decide which candidate the newspaper will endorse, the meeting is a debate of sorts.
* I asked the Sam McCann campaign for a response to the governor’s Thursday speech and today’s Tribune editorial board meeting…
I heard nothing from Bruce Rauner but the same trite language making excuses for lying to his base and selling out the rest of the states citizens.
I also heard an apology for his failed policies as far as his ego would let him, however in his words when directly asked he has made no mistakes while governor.
The only statement made by Bruce Rauner that is of any consequence is that this is the most important election of our lifetime.
Yes it is governor, and our state can’t afford a Pritzker administration and another fours years of your failed policies.
Bost For Congress today released its second television advertisement of the 2018 election cycle. “At It Again” will air district-wide on broadcast and cable television.
I’ve spent 20 years fighting Pelosi and Madigan, my opponent has spent his career supporting them.
I’ve never stopped fighting for our families.
Whether it’s creating a stronger economy and bringing our steel jobs back, reforming the VA to ensure better care for our veterans or fighting for fair trade and a level playing field.
I’ve never wavered.
And you can always count on me to do what’s right for all of Southern Illinois.
* Related…
* Company spun off from business once tied to opioids gave $30K to Southern Illinois reps: U.S. Reps. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, and John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, were among the more than 600 recipients nationwide on both sides of the aisle that received money from AbbVie, which has contributed about $1.3 million to politicians during the 2017-18 election cycle. They’re being criticized for taking money from AbbVie amid the ongoing opioid crisis.
THE EQUALITY ILLINOIS PAC CALLS ON GOVERNOR RAUNER TO STOP CONTRIBUTING TO OPENLY ANTI-LGBTQ CANDIDATE ERIKA HAROLD’S CAMPAIGN AND TO DEMAND A RETURN OF LAST MONTH’S $1 MILLION CONTRIBUTION
Statement from John Litchfield, Chair of the Equality Illinois PAC, which is dedicated to securing and defending the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Illinoisans through engagement in the electoral process:
“Since Erika Harold is so out of step with Illinois values – the same values that are the foundation of LGBTQ-affirming legislation Governor Rauner has signed into law –– the Equality Illinois PAC calls on Governor Bruce Rauner to suspend any further contributions to Erika Harold’s campaign and to demand a return of his $1 million donation to her campaign last month. We were shocked and dismayed by Governor Rauner’s enormous contribution to Harold’s campaign because he has been supportive of LGBTQ civil rights in the past, even when those in his party opposed him. This is an opportunity for Governor Rauner to live up to the best values of Illinois by not financially supporting a candidate who has a demonstrated record of supporting harmful policies for LGBTQ families.
“Illinois is a state that values inclusion and fairness. That’s why our LGBTQ-affirming laws were passed and enacted with bipartisan support.
“Yet, in the race for Attorney General of Illinois, we also know Erika Harold’s disgraceful stances on LGBTQ issues, stances that would hurt our community and our families. Harold allegedly stated she would rather place a foster child in the care of an abusive straight couple than in the home of a loving same-sex couple; she advocated for a constitutional amendment to deny same-sex couples like my husband and me the freedom to marry – even after Illinois had enacted its marriage equality law; and she has opposed workplace non-discrimination laws that protect LGBTQ people from being fired or denied a promotion simply because of who we are or who we love. Based on this record, there is little doubt Harold, as Attorney General, would fail to enforce the very laws meant to protect LGBTQ Illinoisans from discrimination and provide them the opportunity to achieve security and safety for our families.
“On November 6, voters will select the state’s chief lawyer who will defend our families or not. There’s so much at stake here for us.”
Scores of elected officials from across Illinois met with Vice President Mike Pence and other senior officials Thursday at the White House to talk about state and federal issues.
The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs hosted about 140 state and local elected officials from Illinois on Thursday. Each state has a day where their officials are invited to the White House to be briefed on matters important to them.
No Democratic lawmakers took up the invitation, according to those who attended.
The officials spent the afternoon talking about transportation, housing, and tariffs important to Illinois with Pence, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and others.
“Every department is rolling back regulation,” said state Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, who attended with her husband. “Every single speaker talked about the need for reforming government and to roll back regulation from the previous administration.”
Anthony Bedell, deputy assistant secretary of intergovernmental affairs with the Department of Transportation, spoke about plans to improve rural infrastructure.
“They’re trying to get more money down to rural areas for infrastructure projects,” Rezin said. “He said about 60 percent of the money going out the door for infrastructure will go to rural projects.”
Lincoln Towing suit filed against the IL Commerce Commission today argues the license revocation should be delayed bc of the Cubs games and says the news is already “sparking chaos throughout the city” pic.twitter.com/yyVkbr96r0
TRIBUNE: “So Governor, my next-door neighbor just lost his job because of continuing fallout of the budget impasse. So how do you talk to Illinois voters who are still feeling the effects of that impasse?”
RAUNER: “I say every day what I said yesterday, and I’ll say tomorrow, that budget impasse was deeply disruptive, caused suffering. We should never let that happen again but we also can’t stop the struggle for reform. We cannot just think that deficit spending and higher tax rates will solve the problem. They won’t. That in and of itself causes even more suffering for longer periods of time, we cannot give up the struggle because of frustrations during that particular round of the struggle. One battle does not define the whole effort. My request of your friend, you neighbor, is to recognize that it’s a failure of all of us as a system. It’s a, we let the people down when we don’t get balanced budgets and we don’t change our system that has been failing us for decades. We have to keep trying and hopefully we don’t have any more disruptions while we struggle for the reforms. I hope we don’t ever have that. I will be willing to compromise on every possible way to find common ground and get incremental changes so we can keep making progress and not have major disruptions.”
TRIBUNE: “The tragic budget shortfall standoff was solved by Republicans coming and overriding your veto. So, I think the question is, how should voters think that we’re not going to see another standoff? Do you regret not signing that budget?”
TRIBUNE: “Given your speech yesterday, can you give us more of a window into why you said what you said, and why it took you so long for you to say it.”
RAUNER: “Yesterday, I felt it was very important to speak directly to the people of Illinois at this critical juncture in our state’s history. I believe that this election is the most important election of my lifetime. I was born in Chicago and lived in Illinois for most of my 62 years. I don’t know of a more important election. This election will determine the future for our state for decades to come and two very different potential paths. The voters of this state will have a crystal-clear, stark choice to make in this election. It’s essential that we choose to support my efforts with Evelyn Sanguinetti to get our state reformed and turned in a better direction. In my first term, we’ve made important progress but also have had some important frustrations. We’ve learned some lessons from those frustrations. And I’d like to build on the successes we’ve had, progress we made, and lessons learned, and try to get even more done in my 2nd term. And I felt it was critically important now with basically less than 60 days to go until the election that the people of Illinois heard directly from me about that. About what’s at stake in this election. And that we can together, Democrats as well as Republicans, reform minded people, independent voters, everyone, we come together to get done what has to get done to create a better future. We cannot tax our way to a better future. We cannot give more power to the same insiders that have created the problems in our state for the past 35 years. We need to get reforms. And these are reforms that are not partisan reforms. They are not Republican reforms. They are reforms that Democrats in other states have done.”
“I am cautiously optimistic that the dynamic in the General Assembly is different. I do not believe that the speaker is as powerful and dominant and domineering as he was four years ago and as he has been for much of the last 35 years. I think there’s more willingness within his caucus to stand up and challenge him on issues,” said Rauner, who has spent millions of dollars attacking Madigan, who also is state Democratic chairman. […]
He said, in retrospect, he would have accepted smaller changes in such issues as workers’ compensation, local mandate relief, property tax controls and state pensions. During his first term, Rauner pulled back from Senate Republican-led efforts to fashion a “grand bargain” aimed at trying to resolve differences between the governor’s agenda and the Democratic-led General Assembly because it didn’t go far enough.
“The simple fact is I’ve learned. I’ve learned a lot. I was highly successful in business by being very aggressive, very dynamic, very quick to act, innovative in thinking. I’ve tried to be the same in government and what I’ve learned is that doesn’t work very well in a political process where we are in the super-minority and now the minority,” Rauner said.
“We just have to take wins where we can get them. We have to change the system slowly. It takes time. We have to gradually convince not only the legislators but also the voters — and communicating about these issues with 12.8 million people is hard and takes time and we’ve just got to stay persistent,” he said. “What we can’t do is let our frustrations, let our frustrations stop us from continuing to work and continuing to try to make progress.”
* Coming late to this because of all the other stuff yesterday. Sun-Times…
Susana Mendoza hasn’t ruled out running for mayor of Chicago.
Now someone is trying to sway her decision by forming a committee to draft her to run.
That someone is Marty Castro, former chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, who plans to launch the committee to get Mendoza, already running for re-election as Illinois comptroller, into next year’s mayor’s race.
Castro ran against incumbent U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez in the 2002 Democratic primary for the 4th Congressional District seat. Since then, Castro co-chaired the mayoral campaigns of Gery Chico in 2011 and Chuy Garcia in 2015. But this time around, “more is at stake than ever before,” Castro said in a statement.
“I can think of no better person at this point in time to lead our city. On day one, she will bring a fresh voice and ideas, free from the reins of a longstanding broken political system, to create lasting change for our city,” Castro said in a statement. “Susana understands Chicago. She is Chicago. No one is more qualified or has a more compassionate understanding of the struggles that so many residents and families face.”
Castro said in the statement that he has spoken to the comptroller and urged her to run. Mendoza’s camp confirmed that Castro spoke to her.
But in a statement, Mendoza reiterated that she’s focusing on her re-election campaign.
“I am nothing but flattered and honored by the many calls of support urging me to run for mayor of Chicago, which would be an honor and a privilege, but right now I am focused on running for reelection and supporting the statewide Democratic ticket,” Mendoza said in a statement. “After nearly four years of a disastrous administration led by Bruce Rauner, we can’t take anything for granted.”
Nice dance.
Last month, Secretary of State Jesse White was asked whether he intended to serve out his full term in office if he’s elected in November. I think Mendoza should be asked the same question until she answers it.
Rauner claimed that the impasse deeply affected him. He told the Tribune editorial board that to see how much, they should compare photos of him from four years ago to today.
The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the limits set in a 2009 [Illinois] law do not violate First Amendment free-speech rights . […]
Illinois Liberty PAC argued limits on individuals’ contributions shouldn’t be lower than those for corporations or unions. It complained that political parties and “legislative caucuses” formed by lawmakers may make unlimited contributions and that all limits are off when a self-funded candidate chips in enough.
Liberty Justice Center is representing Liberty PAC. President Patrick Hughes says it plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Illinois Policy Institute’s John Tillman and Hughes are both prior chairmen of that PAC. Liberty Justice Center is a project of the Illinois Policy Institute.
Illinois Liberty PAC, Edgar Bachrach, and Kyle McCarter (collectively, “Liberty PAC”) sued Illinois officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that certain campaign contribution limits set by the Illinois Disclosure and Regulation of Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Act (“the Act”), 10 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/9-1 et seq. (2016), violate the First Amendment. Invoking the intermediate-scrutiny framework of Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976), Liberty PAC challenges four parts of the Act that it contends are not closely drawn to prevent quid pro quo corruption or its appearance. First, the Act sets lower contribution limits for individuals than for corporations, unions, and other associations. 10 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/9-8.5(b)–(d). Second, the Act allows political parties to make unlimited contributions to candidates during a general election. Id. Third, a waiver provision lifts the contribution limits for all candidates in a race if one candidate’s self-funding or support from independent expenditure groups exceeds $250,000 in a statewide race or $100,000 in any other election. Id. 5/9-8.5(h). And fourth, certain legislators may form “legislative caucus committees,” which, like political party committees, are permitted to make unlimited contributions to candidates during a general election. Id. 5/9-1.8(c).
The district judge dismissed the first three claims at the pleadings stage, reasoning that Supreme Court precedent foreclosed them. The judge then held a bench trial to determine if the Act’s more lenient regulation of legislative caucus committees—classifying them with political party committees—shows that the Act is not closely drawn to prevent quid pro quo corruption or its appearance. The judge ruled for the defendants, finding that legislative caucus commitees are sufficiently similar to political party committees to justify their identical treatment under the Act.
We affirm across the board. The Supreme Court’s campaign-finance cases plainly foreclose any argument that the Act’s contribution limits for individual donors are too low or that the limits for other donors are too high. To overcome this impediment, Liberty PAC argues that the Act is fatally underinclusive by favoring certain classes of donors over others. But the Court has repeatedly upheld a similar federal campaign-finance scheme setting lower contribution limits for individuals than for other categories of donors, including political parties. See, e.g., McConnell v. FEC, 540U.S. 93, 187–88 (2003), overruled on other grounds by Citizens United v. FEC, 558 U.S. 310, 319 (2010); FEC v. Colo. Republican Federal Campaign Comm., 533 U.S. 431, 455–56 (2001); Buckley, 424 U.S. at 35–36. The Court has also said that a waiver provision like the one Illinois has adopted would not be unconstitutional. See Davis v. FEC, 554 U.S. 724, 737 (2008). Finally, on the record before us, we see no basis to disturb the judge’s factual findings that legislative caucus committees are sufficiently akin to political party committees to justify Illinois’s decision to treat them alike.
Madigan puppet Sean Casten pledged his full loyalty to the Illinois Speaker this week by entering into a new joint fundraising agreement with Mike Madigan and the Illinois Democratic Party to set up a K Street operation.
Casten for Congress and Mike Madigan joined forces to funnel more funding into the Casten campaign, signing the fundraising agreement on September 12, 2018. This should come as no surprise since earlier this year, Casten stood with Madigan in defiant opposition to a property tax freeze that would have protected Sixth District residents from the ever-growing, out-of-control property taxes imposed by Madigan and Illinois Democrats.
“Casten already mirrored all of Madigan’s views in raising taxes on Illinoisans and blocking bipartisanship, but now Casten has committed to accept Madigan’s money and do his bidding,” said Roskam for Congress Veronica Vera. “The last thing the Sixth District needs is a carbon copy of Mike Madigan representing them in Congress.”
To date, four key political prognosticators like Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Election Projection, and Larry Sabato all list this race a toss-up. And the New York Times latest public polling confirms that.
* AP: Humbled Illinois governor admits errors, pleads for 2nd term: A humbled Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, one of the most endangered state executives in the country, promised Thursday to be less confrontational and more understanding of his political opponents’ views if voters give him a second chance in the November election. Fighting an uphill battle for re-election in a Democratic-leaning state, the first-term Republican delivered an unorthodox address that was part apology, part State of the State address, and part stump speech. Gone was the brash talk of the private-equity investor who once suggested a government shutdown might be necessary to reform the state. Rauner acknowledged that he misjudged the difficulty of government change, and that his stubbornness helped enable a painful, two-year budget standoff with majority Democrats in the Legislature.
* WSIL TV: Gov. Rauner reflects on time as governor, reveals plan for future: Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner made his case to voters with less than two months to go until election day. In a 30-minute-long speech Thursday, Rauner reflected on his four years as governor and the lesson’s he’s learned as head of state. “I’ve grown in office, I’ve changed,” Rauner said “We’ve made progress. I know we can work together to get even more done.”
* ABC 7: Rauner slams Pritzker in speech: Pritzker’s character was the target for the last half of Rauner’s speech, as he accused the Democrat of having off shore bank accounts and avoiding property taxes. “His behavior shows him to be a person utterly lacking in the integrity and character we need in public office,” Rauner said. “Well, Bruce Rauner has no character when he doesn’t get a budget passed and cost working families jobs,” Pritzker said
* Politico: Will voters buy Rauner’s apology speech?: Bruce Rauner isn’t the first governor to stand, hat-in-hand, in the homestretch of an election. After a combative three-and-a-half years, the embattled GOP incumbent — trailing badly in the polls — wants voters to know that a second term would be different. … It’s a tough speech for the usually brazen private-equity-investor-turned pol who allowed the state to go two years without a budget. Rauner was remorseful talking about the toll the budget stalemate had on regular folks. “It kept me up at night worrying about the disruption that many families experienced,” he said.
* Sun-Times: Rauner, Pritzker agree character key to race, but each says other has none: Rauner delivered his speech at the Hilton, which is one of 26 hotels where workers are on strike in Chicago. Thousands of workers are fighting for better healthcare and higher wages. Pritzker’s campaign sought to make light of the location, asking reporters — many of whom are union members — whether they’d attend the governor’s speech. Several television cameramen opted out. But two of the hotels on strike are Hyatts, which are owned by the Pritzker family.
* Tribune: In mea culpa to voters, Rauner pleads for second term by saying he’s not perfect but has grown: “Admittedly I may have overdone it on the courage part at times. I’ve done things that cost me politically, because I was more focused on doing what was right,” he said. “I stand before you today a man of no less courage, but perhaps greater understanding.” Rauner’s admissions were reminiscent of the 2015 Chicago mayoral run-off campaign, when a re-election seeking Rahm Emanuel ran ads in which he donned a sweater and acknowledged he can “rub people the wrong way or talk when I should listen” and said he could do better. Still, Rauner defended the disruption and dysfunction created in a politically divisive first term that pitted a rookie Republican governor against a Democratic legislature along ideological lines.
* Illinois Public Radio: Gov. Rauner Tries to Reset Campaign: Rauner acknowledged problems with his time in office — like the two-year budget stalemate. But he framed that as a fight for HIS ideas about reform, which he said required “courage.” “I may have overdone it on the courage part at times — politically — because I was more focused on doin’ what was right.”
* WGN TV: Rauner: Pritzker ‘lacking in the integrity and character’ to be Illinois governor: “A man caught on FBI wiretap trying to buy political office from a criminally corrupt politician is not worthy of the highest office in our state,” he said. Rauner is warning voters that if elected, Pritzker will raise taxes and allow a culture of corruption. But Rauner was introspective. “I’m a better governor now than when I took office because of what I’ve learned,” Rauner said. … Rauner accused Pritzker of dodging the press. The governor did not take questions from reporters before or after Thursday’s speech.
…Adding… Heh…
.@WCIA3Mark@capitolfax In Rauner's speech yesterday he dropped 15 g's out of 88 opportunities, a paltry 17% score on the FolksyMeter, which is why I have formally retired the device. Must I do all the serious work around here?
Sneed is told former U.S. Commerce Secretary Bill Daley, who was once President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, is planning a bid for mayor.
Word is Daley will make an announcement Monday, a source told Sneed.
It was unclear whether Daley plans to announce that he is forming an exploratory committee or a formal run for a seat once held by his brother, former Mayor Richard M. Daley, and his father, Richard J. Daley.
Many county commissioners think it likely that if Preckwinkle moves to City Hall, County Board Finance Chairman John P. Daley would emerge as the acting board president — assuming this son of one Chicago mayor and brother to another wants the job.
A dozen years ago, five financially strapped city of Chicago pension funds invested $68 million in a shaky real estate deal put together by a former boss of President Barack Obama and a nephew of Mayor Richard M. Daley. […]
And not only did the pension funds not make a profit, records show they will end up losing a combined $54.2 million for the retirement plans, which cover Chicago teachers, police officers, municipal workers, garbage collectors and bus drivers.
On top of that, they spent $2.6 million on lawyers to fight DV Urban in court, litigation that finally came to an end last month when the retirement plans also agreed to pay $14,400 in copying fees that the company incurred during the court battles.
While I can see Bill Daley deciding to run for mayor, he has a bad habit of not following through on stuff. Also, I just can’t see his path after so much Daley fiscal wreckage. Then again, I haven’t seen any polling data.
“Then there are areas in the sales tax system that we could look at, to expand sales taxes into services,” he said. “Those are three areas we can bring revenue into the state.”
Asked later if he had any specific services in mind, Pritzker said he did not.
“It’s just that if we have to look for revenue sources, that might be a place we can look,” Pritzker said. […]
“As J.B. said in the past, he opposes a sales tax on services,” said campaign spokeswoman Galia Slayen. “J.B. has been clear in his support for a fair tax that would require the wealthy like himself and Bruce Rauner to pay more, while Bruce Rauner thinks he should be paying the same rate as a childcare worker struggling to make ends meet.”
The campaign also referred to a debate Pritzker attended in January with other Democratic candidates for governor in which he was the only one to oppose extending the sales tax to services.
Gov. Rauner also pushed for a sales tax on services during the 2014 campaign.
I happen to think a tax on services is long overdue. All of our tax bases (sales, income and property) are too narrow in Illinois, and that pushes up our tax rates.
But, dude, if you’ve made a big deal out of opposing something, then stick with it. This ain’t some sophomore dorm room debate. It’s a gubernatorial campaign in a major state.
* Rep. Jerry Long (R-Streator) made a big mistake yesterday when he tried to downplay the harassment accusations against him. The House Republicans had to keep their press release vague because the alleged victim in the case wanted to remain anonymous and didn’t want any details shared, so Long deliberately took advantage of that and it apparently didn’t go over well with the victim.
From the House GOP…
Statement attributed to the complainant:
“Representative Long’s denial of his actions and behavior are troubling and disappointing.
“While there was an incident of physical harassment, the verbal abuse and abuse of power on a daily basis resulted in a hostile work environment that put anyone around him at risk.
“It is my sincere hope that Rep. Long resigns from his position and gets the help that he needs.”
Long said Friday he plans to run a grassroots campaign and that his district office in Streator is still open to assist residents of his district. […]
Travis Sterling, executive director of the Illinois Republican Party, said the state organization will also pull support from Long’s campaign.
“We support their decision,” he said. “They’ve done their investigation.”
Campaign flyers and ads that were authorized prior to the results of the investigation will continue for a short while, but after that, Long will have to fund any further literature.
The speaker spoke for nearly five hours on Thursday, but didn’t provide any “smoking gun.”
That’s the way the plaintiff suing state House Speaker Mike Madigan described the deposition Madigan gave, saying the powerful Southwest Side Democrat denied putting up two sham candidates in his own legislative race and accused Gov. Bruce Rauner of putting his own plant in the race.
The deposition began at 11 a.m. and ended around 4:30 p.m., according to Jason Gonzales, who filed the federal lawsuit against Madigan.
Gonzales argues in the suit that Madigan put up two “sham” candidates with Latino names to try to split the Hispanic vote in the March 2016 primary. Madigan beat Gonzales 65.2 percent to 27.1 percent. […]
“He pretty much played the denial game. He basically said he didn’t know anything or that he doesn’t remember. He said he had no involvement with the two sham candidates,” Gonzales said. “It’s to be expected. We didn’t expect that he would hand us his own smoking gun.”
On August 9, 2017, Plaintiff emailed Mr. Hull saying that it was good to see him and that “[w]e can’t get rid of Madigan without you.” On October 6, 2017, Plaintiff sent Mr. Hull an email with the subject line, “Remaining Invoice for Legal Fees – Anthony Peraica,” in which he said, “I appreciate you supporting me in this and now that the case is moving forward with discovery, I think we have a great shot at finding even more dirt on MJM.”
This morning, JB Pritzker delivered a speech on mental health, a speech that yet again highlights Pritzker’s agenda of more government spending.
Rauner campaign spokesman Alex Browning issued the following statement:
“JB Pritzker continues to talk about his ’specific plans’ that lack specifics. He touts more and more government programs, more than $10 billion in additional spending with no reform whatsoever while keeping taxpayers in the dark about how high their taxes will go. This speech is more of the same from Pritzker: higher taxes, more spending, NO reforms.”
