Richard Uihlein, CEO/founder of industrial supplies wholesalers Uline and major Republican donor, contributes $100,000 to GOP AG candidate Erika Harold. #twillhttps://t.co/0nGdqhqfh7
Speaker Madigan files nearly $1.9 million in contributions with the vast majority coming from union PACs. Madigan has raises more than $11.5 million since becoming a self-funded candidate and breaking the contribution limits in his own election. #twillhttps://t.co/HkVnP7dsjY
JB Pritzker sends another $1 million to the Rock Island County Democratic Central Committee. Pritzker has now supplied the committee with $3.6 million since May. #twillhttps://t.co/CFkBUNhfKt
This is a race where we wish there were other options. It comes down to this: Illinois residents need a governor who will work to stop the longtime Statehouse tradition of spending more than the state takes in. We need a strong advocate for the structural changes that are necessary to put Illinois on a better trajectory, and who doesn’t immediately turn to increasing taxes as the way to accomplish that.
Democrats are likely to remain in control of the General Assembly, and we don’t believe Pritzker will buck his own party if need be, or push for meaningful changes in how state government operates.
Rauner can serve as a check against one-party rule. He remains the best candidate to push for the reforms Illinois needs. We’re holding out a kernel of faith that he has finally embraced the business sensibility of adapting when one approach doesn’t work.
As we, with reservations, endorse Rauner for a second term, we challenge him to actively pursue steady incremental change, and to create and lead bipartisan coalitions to solve the problems facing the state.
The campaign for Democrat J.B. Pritzker is threatening to file a countersuit for defamation after 10 current and former campaign staffers accused the campaign of racial discrimination.
The campaign is eager to file a motion to dismiss, but has no way to pursue that path until the other party serves them with the lawsuit, which officially allows the case to proceed. […]
At the time of this publishing, plaintiff attorneys Shay Allen and Jeanette Samuels have not served the Pritzker campaign with the complaint. The case cannot begin until the defendant has been served. […]
Meanwhile, Allen and his co-counsel have conducted roughly a dozen media interviews and have scheduled a press conference for Monday, October 22nd, which is 15 days before the upcoming election.
Likewise, it has come to the Campaign’s attention that at least one of your clients left work early one day asserting that she was feeling unwell when, in fact, she then made at least one press appearance.
By the way, during Maxwell’s interview of Shay Allen, the lawyer said one of the reasons his clients sued was because job openings were not made publicly available to campaign workers. That’s kinda bizarre.
Democratic attorney general candidate Kwame Raoul on Friday said he wouldn’t judge a federal civil rights lawsuit recently filed against governor candidate J.B. Pritzker’s campaign, but also called it “shoddily drafted.” […]
Jeanette Samuels, an attorney representing the staffers, said in an email, “We respectfully disagree with State Senator Raoul’s characterization and wish him the best of luck on his campaign.”
Sen. Raoul is right. The lawsuit is without a doubt shoddily written.
Shay T. Allen (5th subcircuit): A solo practitioner, Allen was found not qualified by all three bar groups mainly for his short career and lack of experience. The Chicago Bar Association also mentioned problems with punctuality. Allen declined to comment on his evaluations through his attorney, Jim Doppke.
Allen also has a beef against him at the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
*** UPDATE *** I’m told two of these staffers were let go after the primary, and the third is the one who quit after Pritzker’s “least offensive” quote came out during the primary…
Tomorrow, Governor Rauner will begin a 6 day, 20 stop statewide tour to speak with voters and spread his message of cutting taxes, creating jobs, and ending corruption. The tour will focus on getting Illinoisans to the polls to vote early and make their voices heard.
To launch the tour, Rauner campaign Communications Director Will Allison released the following statement:
“Governor Rauner is fighting for Illinois families every single day. The Our Home, Our VOTE tour will get Illinoisans to the polls early to send a message to the corrupt political machine that has taken Illinois down the wrong path for decades. Governor Rauner is fighting for commonsense reforms that will cut taxes, create jobs, and end corruption in Illinois.” - Rauner campaign Communications Director Will Allison
* I suppose we’re going to hear more stuff like we heard from Gov. Rauner this morning. The governor was on “The Voice of Southern Illinois” WJPF radio and the host told him he’d come up with a new metaphor and wondered what the governor thought of it…
When you came into the governorship of Illinois, I think you tried to use chemo for corruption. And what the thing is, if anybody or any member of your family has gone through chemo, you find that very often you can’t tell the difference between the cure and the disease. And I wonder if that’s an accurate metaphor for your first four years and your attempt to do away with corruption and mismanagement in Illinois.
Well, you’re exactly right that Illinois has basically had a cancer in it for decades and that’s the corruption of Madigan and his political machine out of Chicago. It’s been eatin’ away at our jobs and causin’ our taxes to go up and hurtin’ our families. And I am trying to eradicate that cancer on our state. And it’s difficult, it’s a very difficult operation, the treatments are tough. And you know what? We are going to succeed. We gotta keep trying. We’ve gotta stop the Pritzker/Madigan corruption and tax hikin’. Stop the domination of this political machine. And you know what? I’m the one person who can do it. And I’m standin’ strong.
* Remember “Uncle Rob”? He’s not really my uncle, but I’ve talked about my friend here several times. Rob’s been an educator most of his adult life and now he’s running for Madison County Regional Superintendent…
That is one sweet-looking yard sign. You can learn more about Rob’s campaign by clicking here.
* Many years ago, I helped designed this yard sign for my brother Doug who lives in Texas…
I was pretty proud of that sign, but the “M” wasn’t visible at night because of the blue background. So, it looked like “Doug Iller” was running for council.
Oops.
* I liked this one so much I had it framed…
* And I bought this window sign/poster (not sure which it is) on eBay. It’s autographed by himself…
* You can always tell when there’s a strong ward or township organization when you see yard signs neatly arranged down the street like this…
* The Question: What are your own favorite yard signs?
In a memo obtained by the Daily Egyptian, Carbondale City Manager Gary Williams said to city council members President Trump could potentially be holding a rally in Carbondale on Oct. 27.
“Our PD was contacted on Monday from the US Secret Service (SSA) to inform us that President Trump is interested in having a political rally in Carbondale on 10/27,” Williams said in the memo. “Although these conversations were preliminary, it sounded to us that there was a decent chance that the event could happen.”
I checked around earlier and was told he’s planning to hold a rally for Congressman Mike Bost. President Trump traveled to Granite City in July for a rally with Bost and US Rep. Rodney Davis. Gov. Rauner noticeably skipped that event. He also didn’t attend Vice President Pence’s rally in Springfield this month.
U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is scheduled to visit World Wide Technology next week during a campaign stop for U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis.
Ryan plans to take a tour of the facility on Tuesday afternoon and discuss the tax reform signed into law last year.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Press release…
U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) today announced that President Donald Trump plans to visit Southern Illinois for a campaign rally on Saturday, October 27.
Individuals and media outlets planning to attend, visit HERE for more information.
“I’m honored to have the president visit Southern Illinois,” said Bost. “President Trump enjoys wide support in Southern Illinois for good reason. I’ve worked with him to bring 800 steel jobs back in Granite City, reform the VA, and give working families a $2200 tax cut.”
WHO: Rep. Mike Bost, President Donald Trump
WHAT: Campaign Rally
WHERE: Southern Illinois Airport
Hangar 6
605 Flightline Road
Murphysboro, IL 62966
WHEN: Saturday, October 27, 7:00 pm (CDT)
DOORS OPEN 4:00PM (CDT)
* WGN TV went on a safari of sorts to interview voters at a tavern in “feels rural” Moline…
WGN traveled to western Illinois where just south of I-80, you hit Ronald Reagan Trail. It takes you to Reagan’s birthplace and boyhood home. Farther west is Moline, one of the Quad Cities bordering Iowa. Moline is urban but feels rural.
Some people at Kavanaugh’s Bar in Rock Island discussed their views on the upcoming election.
Bob Westpfahl said there’s only one party and person to vote for: the Republican Party and Gov. Bruce Rauner. However, he said he didn’t necessarily like the governor, but said he’s better than “the second evil.”
Rod Simmer, a loyal Republican said he’s worried about the economy.
* Meanwhile, this Sun-Times headline, “Alderman’s wife works City Council floor to build support for city treasurer bid,” was indeed a bit much…
"Alderman's wife." That's a funny way to spell "State Representative." Like the Ervins, @thomascbowen and I work in the same industry. I'm incredibly proud to be his partner but can't tell you the # of times I've been defined as nothing more. Do better. https://t.co/8bC8ZDePjypic.twitter.com/EZQXrxQAbl
Conyears-Ervin, wife of Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), boldly violated the seldom-enforced rule that only former aldermen are allowed on the City Council floor.
Except for when they’re voting, my impression is it’s pretty wide open and loose in the council’s chambers.
* There’s plenty of time for another story, but it does seem like a pile-on…
There's a lot of dark money ($5.3M!) flowing to a group called the Economic Freedom Alliance, passing through Illinois Manufacturer's Association. It runs pro-Rauner, anti-McCann ads. But whose money is it? Several GOP sources think it could be Todd Ricketts. pic.twitter.com/BlHIdsk5Lg
The Ricketts family says there’s no truth to talk that they’re behind dark-money schemes to get Gov. Bruce Rauner elected and Ald. Tom Tunney booted—or that Todd Ricketts is trying to position himself as the next Illinois GOP leader.
Except for supporting Rauner through traditional donations and backing a candidate to battle Tunney, it’s all false, false, false, according to a source knowledgeable about the family’s personal and business interests. “This family doesn’t operate in the dark-money world. They are transparent about their giving even when it’s not popular.” The Ricketts family, the source points out, went public with their support for Republican Mitt Romney over hometown hero Barack Obama. And some within the family supported candidate Donald Trump even when the rest of the state overwhelmingly rejected him. Ricketts’ spokesman Dennis Culloton also points out that Todd Ricketts’ position as finance chairman for the Republican National Committee prevents him from getting involved in independent expenditure groups (IEs, also known as dark money).
The dark-money story line has popped up in news stories and across social media for weeks. And it’s been fueled by by humongous donations from the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association—$4.4 million just this month—to the Economic Freedom Association PAC that’s working to help Rauner. The PAC is running a stream of ads against conservative gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann. The thinking is Rauner might find a path to victory if McCann can be muscled out. Along with the $4.4 million to the PAC, the manufacturers group’s outgoing CEO, Greg Baise, has been linked to efforts to unseat Tunney—whom the Ricketts disagree with on a range of issues. Neither Baise nor his successor to lead the Manufacturers Association, Mark Denzler, returned phone calls and messages about the rumors or donations. Their silence only adds to the rumors’ intrigue.
As for Ricketts’ political aspirations and/or his interest in leading the Illinois GOP, Culloton says he has no idea. “Todd is enjoying what he’s doing now.”
I almost spit out my coffee reading those Ricketts family source quotes.
I mean, “This family doesn’t operate in the dark-money world”? You’re joking, right?
* These rumors started because of two Greg Hinz stories about the Ricketts family’s use of dark money against Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney…
* The Ricketts family targets Wrigleyville alderman Tunney: After some back and forth, spokesman Dennis Culloton told me in a phone call: “The Ricketts family is supporting Neighbors for a Better Lakeview in the same way and level that it is supporting other community groups. . . .They’ve been doing a good job.” In other words, the Rickettses paid for that flyer putting Tunney on the tax-hike hot seat, at least in part. Culloton declines to say how much the family spent, but the Rickettses have some familiarity with dark money.
* Secret money to boost Trump: Todd Ricketts, whose family owns the Chicago Cubs, has raised $30 million for a pair of pro-Trump groups and has discussed a $70 million goal before Election Day, according to three Republican fundraisers familiar with the effort. They and others in GOP finance circles say Ricketts is making a particular effort to win over donors who want to help Trump but are leery of having their names publicly associated with the polarizing Republican nominee.
* 45Committee: The 45Committee is one of the top 15 dark money groups examined by Issue One’s new “Dark Money Illuminated” report that has been spending millions of dollars in our elections since Citizens United without publicly disclosing their donors. … Brian Baker, a longtime political adviser to the Ricketts family, serves as the chairman and president of the 45Committee. Federal campaign finance records show that both the Adelson family and Ricketts family, which owns the Chicago Cubs baseball team, have also been major donors to the 45Committee’s sister super PAC, which is called Future45. Joe Ricketts’ son Todd Ricketts — who now serves as the finance chairman of the Republican National Committee — was, according to media reports, actively involved in raising funds for both groups ahead of the 2016 election.
* Scoop: Pro-Trump group plans 8-figure ad campaign for tax cuts: One of the biggest pro-Trump outside groups of 2016, backed by the Adelson and Ricketts families, plans to spend “eight figures” — at least $10 million — backing tax reform. The 45Committee is launching “The Middle Class Project,” a 501(c)(4) with an opening TV spot, “What’s In It For You,” that will debut nationally with tomorrow’s bill introduction.
* ‘Dark money’ group tied to Ricketts family buys ads targeting State Legislature candidates: A Virginia-based political committee with ties to the Ricketts family is running negative radio advertisements in two southeast Nebraska races for State Legislature. The ads were criticized as inaccurate and improper meddling by outsiders during a press conference called Friday by the Nebraska Farmers Union. The Nebraska State Education Association also condemned the ads, which target two farmers who are challenging Ricketts-backed candidates.
* National Politico Playbook today: FUTURE45 — the group backed by the Ricketts family — disclosed spending $4 million on ads against NANCY PELOSI, ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, BERNIE SANDERS, MAXINE WATERS and ELIZABETH WARREN.
Also, independent expenditure groups aren’t all part of the “dark money” network. Several openly disclose their donors.
Yesterday, Governor Bruce Rauner once again sought to deflect blame for his handling of the Legionnaires’ outbreak in Quincy, calling questions about how quickly his administration acted “false political spin for political gain.” Appearing on WMBD, Rauner claimed his administration “immediately” acted – “There was no delay. There was no waiting.”
In truth, WBEZ uncovered an email from Rauner’s office ordering the state’s veterans and health departments to withhold information about the outbreak. As reported, the children of Tim Miller and Gerald Kuhn both said they would have made different health choices if they were informed earlier. Melvin Tucker was reportedly only given Tylenol for his fever for days, despite confirmed reports of Legionnaires’.
While Rauner claims “political spin,” he eventually signed legislation requiring 24-hour notification of future outbreaks and his own administration cited itself for failing to tell staff in a timely manner.
“Bruce Rauner is moving from covering-up his administration’s fatal mismanagement at Quincy to shamelessly dismissing legitimate questions as ‘false political spin,’” said DPI Statewide Communications Director Sam Salustro. “The fact is, families of the 14 deceased residents aren’t playing politics, they’re sharing heartbreaking stories and holding the governor who failed them accountable.”
* Buried under all the Madigan coverage in this story about a recent Decatur candidates forum was this little nugget…
Before the debates between state legislative candidates, potential voters got to pose questions to candidates for county office in a “speed-dating” format. Office seekers from both parties for county sheriff, county treasurer and county clerk spoke to six different groups of voters.
“It was a nice way to learn about the candidates,” said Dianne Lutt, a retiree from Decatur. “What you didn’t know you could learn from them (directly).”
I’ve never heard of that before, but it sounds really interesting. Thoughts?
For example, the Region 6 Office is placed in an unsafe location. The Footlocker next door was robbed twice in a week; two other stores nearby have been robbed; their office has been cased; a young woman was raped outside their back door; and a gunfight took place right outside their office. All of these crimes happened during the day.
Although an alderman offered to let them use space, for free, in a safer location, the request was denied.
* WCIA TV’s Mark Maxwell interviewed Shay Allen, one of the lawyers representing those eight current and two former campaign staffers, and asked him a simple question: What’s the name of the alderman who offered free space to the campaign? He wouldn’t answer…
Who was that Chicago alderman cited in Shay Allen's discrimination lawsuit against @JBPritzker? He wouldn't say. Will he tell us before the election? He wouldn't say that either. pic.twitter.com/CVn5jg3mqJ
Some of us would take this suit more seriously if the lawyers would offer up at least a little corroborating evidence from people who aren’t directly involved.
* Mr. Allen wouldn’t answer this question, either…
Attorney Shay Allen would not say who lived in the house that allegedly turned Kasmine Calhoun away because she was black. He argues the @JBPritzker campaign could be held liable for their alleged actions, even if they were only a volunteer. pic.twitter.com/c2MUazo12u
He claims in the above clip that the campaign can be held liable for the alleged actions of a campaign volunteer. I’m not a lawyer, but perhaps some of you who are can fill us in below.
* Allen also explained why his clients demanded so much money…
Preview of this Sunday's @CapConnectIL interview with civil rights attorney Shay Allen. 10 of his clients are suing @JBPritzker's campaign for $7.5 million. He says part of that price tag is for emotional trauma they suffered as a result of alleged discrimination. pic.twitter.com/1wp44F74zJ
Allen also tells me 5-10 plaintiffs could be added to the lawsuit against the Pritzker campaign. He says several people left the campaign because of alleged racial discrimination.
NBC 5 also spoke to several former staffers who also say they experienced racism and harassment as well. The former staffers spoke to NBC 5 anonymously out of concerns of retaliation. […]
However, four former staffers not named in the lawsuit tell NBC 5 after FBI tapes were revealed of Pritzker telling former (and now imprisoned) Gov. Rod Blagojevich that Secretary of State Jesse White was the least offensive choice to replace then Sen. Barack Obama— Pritzker and Stratton reached out directly to black campaign workers. That’s when the staffers say they first voiced discrimination complaints to them.
One ex staffer not named in the lawsuit said the working conditions were unsafe. Moldy carpet, dead bugs on the desks every morning and “we were treated very demeaning and micro-managed,” they said. That same ex-staffer said there were rats inside one Chicago office. […]
“The allegations made in the published complaint mirror the same treatment that I faced,” another former staffer tells NBC 5.
A third former campaign staffers reached out to NBC 5 to note what they referred to as the “unfair treatment, hostile and oppressive behavior” from a supervisor and that left that staffer “rebuffed, ignored and ultimately dismissed, fired for voicing my concerns over J.B.’s discriminatory practices” that are similar to what’s named in the lawsuit.
Keep in mind that the Pritzker campaign shed itself of several low-level staffers after the primary. I don’t know if any of these folks were among those folks, however. And, so far, they haven’t yet been added to the suit to my knowledge.
* J.B. Pritzker labels staff discrimination lawsuit as ‘untrue,’ ‘craziness’ at end of political campaign: “I think everybody who’s been involved in a campaign before has seen a lot of craziness in the last few weeks of a campaign. So, you know, this is just more, I guess, of what people expect to experience,” he said. “Being a first-time Democratic nominee for governor, you know, I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but here we are.”
With fewer than three weeks left before Election Day, the AFL-CIO has launched a massive digital ad campaign to mobilize working people across the country. This latest piece of a multifaceted political program will deploy a blend of Facebook, Instagram and Google ads to boost labor-endorsed candidates in 27 gubernatorial, Senate and House races. In Illinois, the ads will highlight J.B. Pritzker.
This single largest digital ad buy in the AFL-CIO’s history will reach more than 10 million voters in 15 states, including Illinois, by Election Day. It is part of a broader get-out-the-vote campaign that includes a nationwide member-to-member field program, direct mail and radio ads.
“The working men and women of the Illinois AFL-CIO are proud to stand behind J.B. Pritzker and against Bruce Rauner’s anti-worker agenda,” said Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan. “With just a few weeks to go, we are excited to add this digital campaign to our Labor 2018 program and ensure victory on Election Day.”
“In these final weeks, the labor movement is going to bring it home for pro-worker candidates at every level,” said AFL-CIO Communications Director Josh Goldstein. “For months, we’ve been mobilizing our members and getting ready for this moment, winning key victories along the way. Now, we’re poised for a labor wave across the country and this creative digital campaign is a key part of it.”
* From the Illinois State Board of Elections’ website…
Coming soon, a redesign to the SBE website. We want to hear from our users. Here is your chance to tell us what you would like us to change in order to build a website that creates a user friendly experience that serves your needs. Please be as detailed as possible when submitting your suggestions. If you have multiple suggestions, we encourage you to submit them separately.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent in September and nonfarm payrolls increased by +2,800 jobs over-the-month, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The August job losses were revised upward from the preliminary report (from -5,200 jobs to -3,100 jobs).
Job growth was flat during the July to September period (third quarter) posting an average monthly change of -100 jobs, significantly less than the prior 3-month average monthly gain of +9,200 jobs during the April and June period (second quarter). The 9-month period (year-to-date) is posting average monthly gains of 4,900/month, up from a year ago when the average monthly increase was 4,000 for the same year-to-date period.
“Nonfarm payrolls were up over-the-month led by gains in education and health services and manufacturing, and jobs were also up over 50,000 from a year ago, “said IDES Director Jeff Mays. “Illinois’ unemployment rate at 4.1 percent in September again matched the record low for the state.”
“Over the last year, Illinois has experienced a steady decrease in unemployment,” said Illinois Department of Commerce Acting Director Leslie Munger. “We are thrilled to see opportunity and investment expand across all communities in the state due to an increased focus on supporting our small businesses and marketing our assets to companies around the globe looking to expand.”
In September, the three industry sectors with the largest over-the-month gains in employment were: Education and Health Services (+3,300); Manufacturing (+2,300); and Construction (+1,400). The industry sectors with the largest payroll declines were: Professional and Business Services (-2,500), Other Services (-1,500) and Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-800).
Over-the-year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +50,300 jobs with the largest gains in these industry sectors in September: Manufacturing (+14,600); Government (+10,900); and Leisure and Hospitality (+8,900). The industry sectors with over-the-year declines were: Information Services (-3,800) and Other Services (-900). Illinois nonfarm payrolls were up +0.8 percent over-the-year in sharp contrast to the nation’s +1.7 percent over-the-year gain in September.
The state’s unemployment rate is +0.4 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for September 2018, which declined to 3.7 percent. The Illinois unemployment rate is down -0.9 percentage points from a year ago when it was 5.0 percent. Before last month, the Illinois jobless rate last stood at 4.1 percent in February 1999.
The number of unemployed workers decreased -0.7 percent from the prior month to 266,800, down -17.1 percent over the same month for the prior year. The labor force was about unchanged over-the-month but declined -0.3 percent over-the-year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and are seeking employment.
Governor Bruce Rauner is intensifying his attacks on his Democratic challenger J.B. Pritzker, with less than three weeks to go before the election. Rauner, who trails Pritzker in most polls by double digit margins, referred to the billionaire Democrat as a “Mercedes Marxist”, in an interview on the “The Big John and Ramblin’ Ray Show” on WLS.
“He’s proposing eleven billion in new spending, he’s a Mercedes Marxist, he’s a radical leftist, he’s proposing a massive new income tax hike and it’s gonna crush the middle class as well as job creators in this state.”
Thursday, Oct 18, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives that focus on serving their members and communities. Credit unions function like other financial institutions in many ways: they offer checking accounts, savings accounts, and credit cards, as well as personal, home, and auto loans, free ATMs, and more. However, credit unions exist as member-owned cooperative institutions. This means that when you join a credit union, you are more than just a member: you’re an owner, and your voice matters. Interested in finding the credit union that’s right for you? Visit ASmarterChoice.org to discover all the advantages that membership holds.
* You may remember that I posted this ad not long ago. Rodney Davis became the fourth embattled Republican congressman to try and tie his opponent to Speaker Madigan in this spot about the possibly fake Abe Lincoln hat…
The ad claims that his Democratic opponent Betsy Dirksen Londrigan lobbied Speaker Madigan for a taxpayer-funded bailout for the Lincoln foundation and calls her a “Madigan crony.”
Davis is matching the general Republican playbook in Illinois this year, as candidates from Gov. Bruce Rauner on down are linking Democrats to Madigan, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing but has been called corrupt by the governor.
“Anybody that goes to the General Assembly in Springfield … has got to go see Madigan’s team,” Davis said at a recent unrelated news conference. […]
The hat — part of the Taper collection of Lincoln goods bought by the foundation — was bought “years before I ever worked there,” said Londrigan.
“You know that, and you’re paying for that ad. But you’re going to lie about it,” she said. “I never met with Mike Madigan. You’re lying about that too, because you know better.” […]
Davis denied he lied in the ads, and noted that Londrigan for a time handled “major gifts” for the foundation.
I don’t know whether Madigan and Londrigan are tight, but the speaker hasn’t exactly been the foundation’s friend. Long before other politicians did the political calculus, Madigan treated Londrigan’s former employer as radioactive. “We have instances where the foundation, which is not elected, not appointed by a governor, is actually making spending decisions for the library,” the speaker tsk-tsk’d in 2015. Madigan also refused to cooperate with a foundation-funded study that – surprise – recommended that the state bail out the foundation and put it in charge of day-to-day operations at the presidential museum. “Madigan to museum foundation: Drop dead” – that was the headline in Illinois Times three years ago.
Meanwhile, Davis is ripping Londrigan for not denouncing an ad created by Women Vote that features footage of the congressman’s wife and kids, cribbed from the Republican’s own campaign ads. The congressman’s smiling kids are juxtaposed against Davis’ voting record on healthcare issues. Davis whines that his family is being attacked. “Leave my kids out of it,” Davis complained on Monday. “It’s not acceptable.” Couldn’t agree more. Quit using your family like cheap yard signs, congressman, and stick to issues.
Is Sam McCann just looking for his taxpayer-funded job in the Pritzker Administration?
We don’t know, but it may explain why he sent out attack mailers on a commonsense conservative like Tom Morrison.
Yesterday, mailers from Sam McCann’s campaign hit in the 54th House District portraying State Representative Tom Morrison as a Rauner Puppet. The mailers were funded by union-backed State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann.
These attacks on Morrison demand a response. They are patently false. Tom Morrison is one of the few state legislators in Springfield who stands up for conservative values every time they are under attack in the Illinois House. He is one of the most reliable conservative votes in Springfield on both fiscal and social issues.
Is Sam McCann working for Mike Madigan? Is he hoping to receive favorable treatment under a Governor Pritzker? Is he so clueless that he doesn’t realize how his platform is being used by the state’s vicious public sector unions? I don’t know. And I don’t really care.
McCann is lying about Morrison. Lying is not a conservative value.
Many Illinois Conservatives looking for a candidate who represented their values had found hope McCann’s candidacy. Illinois Conservatives have once again been betrayed.
* Sen. Sam McCann…
I am disappointed by the shallow political rhetoric that Jeanne Ives used in her attack against me. The hard-earned credibility from her primary campaign against Bruce Rauner is all but lost now that she has intervened as his defender, casting principles aside for political grandstanding. Legislators like Tom Morrison who are actively supporting Bruce Rauner are trying to con voters into the same bad deal and empty promises that conservative Illinoisans have suffered under for the past four years. Any legislator who stands with Rauner despite his phony RINO agenda and abandonment of conservative principles deserves to be called out for it.
The Jeanne Ives who so vehemently opposed Bruce Rauner during the primary is now too eager to put him back in the driver’s seat.
When conservatives are crying louder than ever for a change, Jeanne Ives has shown her true colors. She is not a leader, but a politician.
Tom Morrison has been supporting Bruce Rauner for more than 4 years.
Tom Morrison needs to go on the record and state whether he does or does not still support Rauner. As soon as he PUBLICLY states that he does not, I will PUBLICLY thank him for stepping up.
* And this is pretty darned funny. All four legislative leaders, including House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, attended Operating Engineers Local 150’s annual legislative banquet last night. McCann showed up as well and went live on Facebook to emphasize his point that everybody works with 150, not just him…
Illinois House and Senate RINOS… getting exposed LIVE for ALSO taking money from Local 150. Why is it okay when THEY accept a check from the union, but it’s called “Madigan Money” when Sam McCann gets support from that SAME Union?
Food for thought, folks
Conservative Party gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann collects $539,659 from the Fight Back Fund, which promotes union-friendly candidates. FBF has now provided McCann with $2.3 million this election cycle. #twillhttps://t.co/tSdasQttlI
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “body man” — a hand-picked assistant chosen to travel with the governor on a daily basis — was fired Monday on his first day of the job after a series of homophobic and racially insensitive comments were found on his Twitter page.
The exit is one of at least 20 since last week — when Rauner began a rash of firings, with others resigning in protest.
Ben Tracy was chosen by the administration to replace Kyle Haevers as the governor’s “body man.” Haevers on Sunday was told his services were no longer needed but that he could choose to work for another state department.
Ben Tracy learned the hard way the price one can pay for inappropriate posts on social media.
Tweets he wrote as a high school student came back to cost him a high-profile job in Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office, Tracy told St. Joseph-Ogden students during a presentation this week at the high school.
The event started with Tracy warning SJ-O students that he was about to share some regrettable tweets — authored by some of them — that he had tracked down using a simple search.
“It took me 10 minutes to find these,” Tracy said as tweets from SJ-O students filled the screen behind him.
Tracy then went on to tell students what happened to him a year earlier, after he had graduated from college and started working for political campaigns. Among the positions he held — for less than 24 hours, anyway: a job as Rauner’s “body man,” the governor’s own traveling personal assistant.
* Radical Candor lets loose…
Tip #1: Avoid posting racist comments on social media. Or saying racist stuff. Actually, just don’t be racist. Tip #2: If @BruceRauner calls you a “superstar” or part of the “Best Team in America ™,” run. #twillhttps://t.co/vVzrWQrm2H
One day @BruceRauner body man Ben Tracy’s new speaking career giving blindingly obvious social media tips gives me a great idea: the Best Team in America ™ Speakers Bureau. #BTIASpeakers#twill
My goal in speaking to young people is to help them use social media responsibly. The things I tweeted when I was a high school and college student were hurtful and hateful. I am deeply sorry for the things I said, and I faced serious repercussions. There is no place in our society for derogatory thoughts, words, or actions, even if they’re not maliciously intended. I make that crystal clear in my presentations.
The truth is that young people don’t understand the lasting impact of the things they post online. Seventy percent of employers and 35% of college admissions counselors look at social media profiles of applicants. I learned this lesson the hard way, and I want to make sure others don’t make the same mistakes.
There have been examples of other people who have made similar mistakes in the news recently including Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader, and Sarah Jeong who now sits on the New York Times Editorial Board. Instead of celebrating getting a great job or making it to the big leagues, these individuals had to answer for old social media posts – and rightfully so. This is a reality of the world in which we live, and I intend to help others understand the impact of things they say online both to themselves and the people around them.
We are inundated by the presence of social media on a daily basis and our online lives aren’t going away anytime soon. Because of this, I want to help young people learn from the mistakes I made and better understand how to use social media in a positive way.
DeJuan Jackson, as a Regional Field Director, used to take many of the complaints of racial discrimination and harassment related to POD 4 to higher ups on behalf of the organizers.
However, in exchange for his silence, he was given a shiny new job title and pay raise. He was also strongly encouraged to cut his dreadlocks; therefore, he no longer comes across as crass and was the least offensive African American that could be put in that spot.
I reached out to Jackson, but didn’t hear back. I also asked the campaign for a statement because the lawsuit’s claim seemed so weird. They flatly denied that anyone told Jackson to cut off his dreads.
* And now we have this from Jackson’s Facebook page…
Pretty darned strong. That claim was just insulting on its face, so I’m glad he responded.
* Meanwhile, remember this tweet from one of the plaintiffs about an event the day her lawsuit was filed?
“I think the policies and practices that were put forth during the campaign have racial undertones and that my clients have been discriminated upon based on those policies,” said attorney Shay Allen.
Yet in a tweet posted by one of the workers in the lawsuit, Celia Colon wrote, “Had an amazing event tonight,” seeming to refer to an event the same day the lawsuit was filed.
When asked why eight of the plaintiffs are still working for their campaign, Allen said “even though the situation is horrible, they’re powering through it” so they can finish what they started.
The Region 6 office, I’m told, is the one on South Wentworth. As you can see, the campaign claims Pritzker has visited that office four times.
The only two he hasn’t yet visited are the ones which opened in September. His running mate Juliana Stratton visited those.
…Adding… The schedule says he was at the South Wentworth office on July 24th. That address is near Washington Park. Pritzker tweeted the following day to a staffer’s July 24th post…
I was glad to go to our Washington Park office! Keep up the great work! https://t.co/SPt3whCtPn
At all times relevant, the JB Prtizker [sic] for Governor campaign has been cesspool of racial
discrimination and harassment.
For example, Kasmine [Calhoun] travelled over one thousand miles to Illinois to work for JB Prtizker for Governor and was one of the few Blacks not herded into POD 4.
In fact, she was the only (and possibly first) Black organizer in Peoria; she was later informed by the campaign that she was hired meet a “Black Female organizer quota.”
Stationed in Peoria, Kasmine was supposed to be housed with a family that was friendly to the campaign. When the family found out Kasmine was Black, though, they denied her housing.
As a result, she was forced to sleep in her car and at the campaign office.
Eventually, Caitlin Pharo found her a hotel in an unsafe part of town.
When Kasmine complained that she did not feel safe there, she was counseled on the “financial budget” of the campaign and told to “make due.”
Even after the chairman of the Peoria Democrats informed the campaign that they could request cheaper rates at safer hotels, therefore not affecting the campaign budget, the Campaign still refused to move her to a safer location.
As a result, she resigned her position.
* Chris Kaergard was recently re-hired by the Peoria Journal Star (hooray!) and the Pritzker campaign gave him hotel receipts and other details…
They show that the night before Calhoun’s Sept. 4 start date, the campaign booked a room for her at the Econo Lodge Inn and Suites, 4244 Brandywine Drive, at a cost of $61.56.
The night of Sept. 4, the campaign booked her a room at the America’s Best Value Inn, 104 W. Camp St. in East Peoria, at a cost of $56.44, but the summary says she did not like the facility, leading the regional field director to book her a second room for the night at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, 200 Eastlight Court in East Peoria, at a cost of $122.08.
The next night, Sept. 5., Calhoun received housing from a supporter.
From Sept. 6 through Sept. 9, the campaign had a room booked for Calhoun at the Super 8, 1816 W. War Memorial Drive, at an average cost of $75.81 for each of four nights.
The campaign says Calhoun then indicated she didn’t want to stay there and brought her complaints to a local official who used credit card points to arrange a room that night at the Candlewood Suites Grand Prairie, 5300 W. Landens Way.
The campaign then arranged a room at the same hotel the next three nights at $119.99 per night.
The next two nights, the campaign said, Calhoun was at an all-staff get-out-the-vote training in suburban Burr Ridge and stayed with all other campaign staffers at the Sheraton Lisle Naperville Hotel.
On Sept. 12, the campaign found and arranged for Calhoun to stay with a Peoria area supporter that evening.
She quit the next day, the campaign says. “Effective immediately.”
And just because the lawsuit was filed only after the Pritzker campaign did not accede to demands enumerated in a letter sent to it last Friday that included a $7.5 million settlement and a threat to “pursue all available legal remedies” if the parties didn’t come to terms by Monday doesn’t mean that the lawsuit is simply phase two of a brazen extortion plot.
But the demand letter severely weakens the idea that these short-time field organizers are animated by an interest in racial justice as opposed to say, an interest in a significant payday from a billionaire candidate.
The final thing you notice is that there isn’t even an allusion to the existence of documentary evidence of specific problems, specific outrageous behavior and specific attempts to address these issues with Pritzker or members of his team.
Just three weeks ago, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan published an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune acknowledging his mistakes in handling claims of harassment and retaliation in Springfield and promising to be better in addressing such issues going forward. Madigan asserted that “harassment of any kind and workplace bullying will simply not be tolerated — period.”
Yesterday, news broke that ten African-American and Latino employees of the Pritzker campaign have filed a lawsuit against JB Pritzker for Governor accusing the campaign of discrimination and harassment. Madigan has been silent on the issue.
Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Travis Sterling issued the following in response:
“Much like his hand-picked candidate for Governor, Michael Madigan is a hypocrite. Just three weeks ago, Madigan claimed to the people of Illinois that he was making it ‘a personal mission to take this issue head-on’. Now that a lawsuit has been filed against his Democratic gubernatorial candidate alleging racial discrimination and harassment, where is Madigan?” - Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Travis Sterling
I asked the Democratic Party of Illinois for comment yesterday and didn’t get anything. I also asked all three of the Anti-Harassment, Equality and Access Panel for comment and either didn’t hear back (Sen. Melinda Bush and Comptroller Susana Mendoza) or was told she had no comment (Rep. Carol Ammons).
* The Rauner campaign posted a video this morning of some TV coverage, including a brief interview with one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers…
* And Shia Kapos interviewed the lead plaintiff Maxwell Little…
This is Little’s first foray into political campaigns. He’s otherwise passionate about education and has considered running for alderman of the 18th Ward. In July, he took a job as a field organizer for Pritzker’s gubernatorial campaign, a position that doesn’t require a degree so much as the patience and fortitude to talk to as many people as possible about the candidate. In this job, you don’t get to raise your hand and influence policy. For better or worse, it’s like the Army: you do what you’re told. Little had the added duty of organizing meet-and-greets on the West Side. Over the past three months, he’s been frustrated that his accomplishments have been overlooked. “I felt silence, I was ignored, and I was unfairly treated” compared to white staffers, he said. “Everyone deserves a work environment free of discrimination and harassment.”
A few weeks ago, Little talked to attorney Shay Allen at an event for Level Up & Vote. Little and Allen, a former prosecutor turned private attorney, both support the get-out-the-vote effort. Little vented about his campaign job, and that led to bigger conversations with other campaign staffers and soon a lawsuit was born. Allen and fellow attorney Jeannette Samuels , with plaintiff’s agreement, came up with the demand for $7.5 million. In a civil lawsuit, “there’s no formula” on how you quantify someone’s “self-respect,” Allen told POLITICO. He also cited emotional distress and “missed opportunities to progress in the campaign” as factors in coming up with the damages number.
(2 of 3) Jeanne Ives just called me threatening to call the IL Family Institute amd the Right to Life orgs and have them withdraw their support of me because we are calling out Raunerites. This is the same Jeanne Ives who said Rauner was a disgrace and NOT a republican in the
This is the mailer that @McCann_Sam is using to help Speaker Madigan win House races. It may have just cost him the endorsement of the pro-life Illinois Family Institute. pic.twitter.com/uzcshGtcZ6
* The mailers are paid for by the Conservative Party of Illinois, but Local 150 of the Operating Engineers Union is behind this, of course. And those guys have a lot more money than the Illinois Family Institute, which had $383.12 in its PAC at the end of the quarter. Plus, the “Conservative Party” is about to do pro-life mailers for McCann slamming Rauner.
And Rep. Morrison isn’t the only Republican who will be getting hit with these mailers, I’m told. Any conservative House Republicans who endorsed Gov. Rauner and are in tough reelection battles could get the treatment. That’s a target-rich environment.
Never mess with the trade unions.
* Meanwhile, I tipped subscribers about this earlier today…
* To give you an idea of just how bizarre and unprecedented the harassment lawsuit against the Pritzker campaign is, this was tweeted by one of the plaintiffs. Today. The day after her lawsuit was filed against the Pritzker operation…
It starts with this — looking the women in the eye who come forward and testify about a culture of harassment and abuse and saying three words: “I believe you.” Far too often, this doesn’t happen — yet it must if we want real change in workplace culture.
* Then again, most of the retweets and “likes” today on this African-American campaign staffer’s tweet late last night are from fellow Team Pritzker members…
Working on @JBPritzker campaign has been the experience of a lifetime. Quote me on that. 21 days till Illinois gets the Gov we deserve.
Following a lawsuit alleging discrimination and harassment by the Pritzker campaign, Governor Rauner made the following statement while speaking to the press:
“I think it’s troubling, these allegations are serious. They need to be investigated. I think the people of Illinois deserve to know the truth about Pritzker’s actions.
“…Unfortunately, this seems to be a pattern with Mr. Pritzker. I don’t think anyone should be surprised, as you all know, he was caught on the FBI wiretaps, on the phone with Blagojevich. He was trying use his inheritance to buy elected office. He used the language of racists in that phonecall. He was on tape using the language of racists. And he very specifically called African-American elected officials ‘offensive.’ So I am not sure that anybody should be surprised that his campaign may have engaged in discriminatory practices.”
Erika Harold, crowned in September as Miss America 2003, told reporters Oct. 9 she had been informed that morning by Miss America chief executive George Bauer there would be no restrictions on her discussion of chastity as part of her youth violence prevention platform. […]
Abstinence education is an important part of preventing teenage violence, because violence is directly related to sexual promiscuity, Harold told reporters in Washington.
“I think that if a young person is engaged in a promiscuous lifestyle, it makes them vulnerable to other risk factors, so I definitely see a tie-in there,” Harold said, The Times reported.
“Many victims of sexual harassment believe what is said about them, and they become very promiscuous. When they’re called a whore, when they’re called a slut, they think, ‘That’s what I want to be,’ and so they engage in a pattern of self-destruction that can be very detrimental to their lives,” she said.
Neena Chaudhry, general counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, said there is no evidence that harassment causes “many” victims to become “promiscuous.” She called Harold’s statement “egregious” — in 2002 or today — and said it “feeds into damaging stereotypes.”
“My deep concern is this is the kind of blaming and shaming that keeps young people from coming forward and reporting sexual harassment and sexual violence,” she said. “I think (the comment) is egregious whenever it’s uttered, and by whomever they’re uttered.”
Harold’s campaign stood by the remarks in a statement Wednesday and said she didn’t intend to blame victims.
“Erika was clearly referring to the labels bullies and harassers use on their victims and how it may negatively impact victims’ lives. She understands firsthand what victims of sexual harassment are going through because she’s lived it herself,” spokesman Aaron DeGroot said. “The fact is studies show that sexual harassment can cause anxiety, depression, negative body image and low self-esteem in some victims. That’s why Erika has made it her life’s mission to empower young people, combat bullying and prevent sexual harassment.”
* Remember Kina Collins? She’s the JB Pritzker campaign worker who quit her job after the FBI tape was made public with Pritzker saying what was deemed “racially insensitive” things about some black politicians.
During my time in the Pritzker campaign, the mid and senior level leadership did absolutely nothing to correct the culture of sexism, homophobia, and racism that ran rampant among staffers. There were racial slurs that were use, sexist jokes that were made, and the voices of women and staffers of color were being ignored. When I made my exit from the campaign and told my side of the story, instead of people believing me, I was told that I was seeking attention and “would be black balled or possibly sued for speaking out”. So not only was I working in poor conditions, but there was also an attempt to bully me into silence.
As a former staffer on this campaign I can assure readers that without a shadow of a doubt everything that I have read thus far in the suit can be corroborated from my time on the campaign and can be corroborated through other former staffers.
* Meanwhile, it’s no surprise at all that Pritzker did this event today with these three folks…
Juliana and I started off our morning with Secretary of State @JesseWhite2018, Comptroller @susanamendoza10, and State Sen. @KwameRaoul at the Southland Ministerial Health Network. In Springfield we will make sure that every Illinoisan is getting the health care they need. pic.twitter.com/NHi6f50QSQ
.@BruceRauner calls lawsuit filed by @JBPritzker "troubling…these allegations are serious." Denies that his own campaign was involved in any way (there's been no proof or suggestion of such, but a question that must be asked due to timing, unorthodox nature of suit) pic.twitter.com/KOoCNduQiR
The only people claiming Rauner involvement today are hyperpartisans and mad tinfoil hatters. He somehow convinced 10 Democratic minority staffers to file a lawsuit against their boss three weeks before an election? Right.
* The number of minorities Rauner has hired for his campaign doesn’t really matter at the moment because this story isn’t about quantity, it’s about how their respective campaign staffs are being treated. Last I checked, no Rauner campaign staffers had sued over discrimination and retaliation…
Pritzker campaign says 45-percent of staff are minorities. Rauner unable to say makeup of his campaign workers. "I don't know the exact numbers…we've got African American and Latino members," he said. "We value diversity. What we've achieved is real results" to help minorities. https://t.co/EXYeTJypF8
Shay Allen, a Chicago-based civil rights attorney who represents the plaintiffs, says Stratton’s statement is false, adding that Stratton has never reached out to any of his clients despite their complaints to the campaign.
“I have no idea how the person who made that statement could make those claims,” he said. “I’m positive that she’s never spoken to my plaintiffs.”
Allen said his clients were treated poorly.
“There were instances where they were spoken to very unprofessionally,” he said. “There were instances of physical intimidation.”
Allen said his clients are asking for more effort on behalf of Pritzker’s campaign to include minorities in positions of consequence, something he claims has almost exclusively gone to white staffers.
“Almost all of them have prior [campaign] experience,” he said. “A couple have come from other states to help with the campaign.”
I’m not sure why the running mate should be involved in a low-level staff issue.
Once seated, [Field Operations Director] Caitlin Pharo intentionally positioned herself between two Black males in an attempt to further intimidate and silence them at cultural sensitivity training.
And as far as including “minorities in positions of consequence,” the candidate’s running mate Juliana Stratton, his deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks and his deputy field director for the South and West Sides Ebonee Dawson are all people of color. Also, his campaign spokesperson is Jordan Abudayyeh. I also don’t recall a major campaign with so many women in top positions.
Three weeks before Election Day, staffers who have worked for J.B. Pritzker’s campaign have filed a federal lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in their months on the job, accusations the Democratic governor candidate quickly called “just not true.”
The lawsuit comes in the final stretch of an increasingly bitter campaign between Pritzker and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner that has seen both sides break spending records and accuse one another of criminal activity.
* There are actually two stories in this One Illinois piece about the passage of HB40, so let’s take them one at a time. I’ve confirmed this part myself…
Staffers for Gov. Rauner lobbied behind the scenes to quash a controversial abortion-rights bill last year in an attempt to keep it off his desk and avoid a politically fraught decision on whether to sign it, according to state emails obtained by One Illinois. […]
The emails, obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request with the state Department of Healthcare and Family Services, show state staffers planning to “shore up” opposition among 13 Democratic representatives, most of whom they considered “ours” on the issue. […]
“This is who we need to shore up on HB40,” Donovan Griffith, Rauner’s senior House liaison, writes in an email Feb. 9, 2017, to Director of Governmental Affairs Wendy Butler and DHFS Chief of Staff Shawn McGrady. What follows is a list of 13 representatives — all Democrats, and all of whom eventually voted for HB40 when it passed the House by a 62-55 tally the following April.
“They worked to defeat it because they didn’t want the bill to end up on Rauner’s desk so that he would have to just sign it or veto it,” said Terry Cosgrove, president of Personal PAC, an abortion-rights group that actually received a candidate questionnaire from Rauner in 2014 promising to support the bill. The Rauners also lent financial support to abortion rights as well with contributions to various agencies.
By April 2017, however, Rauner was promising GOP legislators he’d veto the bill as a way of keeping them in line opposed to a budget.
That was probably a smart political move, considering the governor’s consistency issues, the grumbling within the caucuses about the impasse and the pressure he was feeling from Mrs. Rauner. Just keep it off his desk and he doesn’t have to make any decisions. A commenter who clearly has insider knowledge filled us in earlier this week on our question about Rauner’s biggest mistakes…
5) Signing HB 40 after promising the GOP caucus that he would AV it. Polling was clear that vetoing the public funding but favoring the trigger language would be net positive with voters. He had Cupich for cover. And he could bash Democrats for holding up his AV which enshrined the basic right to choose — in other words, if Dems rejected the AV, they put women at risk. This move led to his primary and the rest is history.
* You may recall that after the governor said he would veto HB40, Healthcare and Family Services Director and former Planned Parenthood Vice Chair Felicia Norwood cut a video to defend Rauner’s decision. Here’s that backstory…
Emails also find first lady Diana Rauner joining efforts to organize responses before and after the governor signed HB40 into law last September. She also suggests that DHFS Director Felicia Norwood was not informed of the governor’s decision to sign the controversial bill until moments before a news conference on the signing, and that Norwood was also instructed to withhold information on the bill’s ultimate cost when it was still in play in the General Assembly. […]
The original bill had established that there would be no economic impact from expanding abortion coverage in Medicaid and the state’s employee insurance program, but suddenly there were suggestions that there would be a significant cost, and Norwood wasn’t clarifying the issue. “There were all kinds of numbers floating around, which was our first indication that they were trying to sink the bill,” Feigenholtz said.
DHFS issued a $1.8 million annual cost estimate, which differed from an analysis of identical legislation the previous year that claimed no cost.
In return for her loyalty on the issue, Rauner apparently left Norwood hanging out to dry. After the bill cleared the House in April and the Senate in May, it was held until being dropped abruptly on the governor’s desk on Sept. 25, 2017.
Three days later, Diana Rauner writes to Norwood again in an email, seeming to suggest the DHFS director was left in the dark about Rauner deciding to sign HB40 until just moments before a news conference on the announcement.
“Felicia somehow you were not looped in and the presser is at 3,” she writes. “This was such a close hold that no one knew who was in charge of telling you.”
According to the FOIA’d email, that was sent at 2:57 p.m. the same day.
Democrat J.B. Pritzker has pumped more of his own money into a campaign than any other self-financing candidate in U.S. history.
The Gold Coast billionaire’s $146.5 million has bought him a place in the record books, breezing past Republican Meg Whitman, who set the previous record in 2010, when the former eBay honcho churned $144 million of her own fortune into her losing battle against Democrat Jerry Brown.
The combined $234 million that Pritzker and Gov. Bruce Rauner have raised in their bitter battle falls short of the combined $280 million that Brown and Whitman ultimately spent.
But with three weeks left, the meter is still running. And expensive television ads remain the top expenditure fueling spending in this year’s gubernatorial contest.
Among some of the more interesting expenses found on the quarterly reports filed by the major gubernatorial candidates were a few items from Rauner.
He spent $459 for a T-shirt cannon, $600 on a petting zoo from Wild Times Exotics of Springfield and $4,360 to rent a party boat on the Chicago River and paid $3,750 for a plane-towed aerial banner.
An SUV driven “nearly exclusively” by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s security chief was improperly used to transport political materials, Inspector General Patrick Blanchard concluded in a report released Monday.
Blanchard’s finding is the result of an investigation into a bizarre incident during the early morning hours following the 2016 election, when a Chevy Tahoe assigned to Preckwinkle’s security team was discovered abandoned near suburban Lemont. On that Election Day, the security chief drove Preckwinkle to campaign events, but said he did so in his personal car, according to the report.
A sheriff’s police officer found the vehicle stuck in the mud with its engine still warm, and a witness told police that the driver had abandoned the Tahoe and walked away, Blanchard said in his report.
All the tires were slashed, as was the driver’s seat, the center console and the dashboard, Blanchard said. The car’s rear cargo area contained bags of political literature, a button adorned with an image of Preckwinkle’s face and a dry cleaning receipt bearing the telephone number belonging to her chief of security, Delwin Gadlen, according to the report, which identified Gadlen only by his title. In the report, the security chief is quoted saying that the vehicle was stolen, but the alleged theft was never reported to police, Blanchard said.
Blanchard’s investigators spoke to sheriff and county officials with “significant experience in law enforcement” and executive protection who said the damage in the vehicle “appears inconsistent with damage typically associated with vehicle theft.”
Instead, the damage “looked hurried and staged where it appeared to have been done all at once, in the same manner and primarily in close proximity to the driver’s seat,” they said, according to Blanchard. All keys to the vehicle are accounted for and there were no signs of the car being forcibly started, the report said.
* Speaking of the Cook County Inspector General, this is from the county assessor’s office…
Because the Assessor’s Office promised Capitol Fax all information and facts we learned regarding why we never received a copy of the report from the Office of the Cook County Independent Inspector General, here are the results of our review, which concluded yesterday.
The Inspector General emailed the Assessor’s Office copy of the report to the wrong e-address. It is that simple. In fact, the Inspector General sent it to an e-address not on the Assessor’s Office domain/email server. Every one of our email addresses ends in “@cookcountyassessor.com.” The Inspector General later told us he used “@cookcountyil.gov.”
The Inspector General has acknowledged using the wrong email domain to contact the Assessor’s Office in this instance. This problem would have been somewhat offset if the Inspector General’s office had delivered the hard copy. That also never occurred.
The Inspector General graciously introduced me to the employee who delivered all hard copies. He also provided the specific delivery location and a one-hour window in which that was done here. However, two viewings of Assessor’s Office security video for a 1.5 hour period including that hour showed nothing was delivered and the Inspector General’s employee was not here.
After he was informed of those facts, the Inspector General’s Office found the envelope (unopened) this week. It was located in an Inspector General’s inbox, two floors above the Assessor’s Office, in an office area unrelated to our work. The Inspector General believes it was initially “likely misdelivered,” and we certainly agree.
We originally stated the Assessor’s Office never possessed a copy of the Inspector General’s report, in electronic or hard copy form, before the Chicago Sun-Times published it and other media called us. We now add that the Inspector General acknowledges our statements were and are correct. Thank you.
Illinois officials assured voters Tuesday that their Nov. 6 tallies “will be securely counted” after a data breach that’s part of the Justice Department’s investigation of Russian meddling in U.S. elections.
Board of Elections Chairman William Cadigan and a group of state and local officials — including Illinois National Guard leaders — said in Chicago that beefed-up measures to monitor and spot cybersecurity risks will ensure a fair and free election.
“We’re as prepared as we ought to be right now, given the information we have,” Cadigan said. “People should get out and vote because your vote is going to count and at the end of the day, we believe it’s going to be securely counted.”
The board hired three cybersecurity experts to watch elections and voter-data systems for irregularities, Cadigan said, including one housed at the Illinois State Police Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center. Local elections administrators have undergone rigorous training and the National Guard is on call for emergencies.
On Election Day next month in Illinois, hundreds of National Guard troopers will be standing by for action.
If needed, they won’t depend on rifles and bayonets but will be armed with laptops and IT expertise.
The unprecedented move comes after cyber attackers, believed to be Russians, hacked the official Illinois voter database before the 2016 presidential election.
“We can have a guardsman-expert dispatched within an hour to anywhere in Illinois. We’ll have boots on the ground in whatever county, in whatever election authority, is affected within an hour,” said Chuck Scholz, a board member of the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Election officials said they have installed greater firewall protections for voter records and election results, thorough and detailed cyber training for clerks and election judges and are working with national agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and now for the first time in Illinois election history—the National Guard.
The Department of Homeland Security has secured about $13 million that will go toward Illinois voting security programs to ensure the system isn’t hacked again.
Officials said Illinois keeps a paper record of every ballot cast, ensuring an accurate final tally once the results are certified weeks after Election Day even if hackers compromise voting systems.
“Voters here should feel confident in the fundamentals,” Cook County Clerk Director of Elections Noah Praetz said. “Because in Illinois, we can ensure that every legal voter can vote, and we can deliver results that are trusted and true.”
NBC News this week reported that a federal Department of Homeland Security intelligence assessment warned of a “growing volume of cyber activity targeting election infrastructure in 2018.”
Even with additional training, some counties are finding it difficult to implement security upgrades without more resources, according to NBC 5’s anonymous survey.
“Our county does not have the money,” one respondent wrote.
An October-surprise lawsuit filed by some J.B. Pritzker campaign workers alleges “discrimination and harassment,” prompting the Democrat’s camp to call the claims “baseless.”
The story broke late Tuesday night. According to the Cook County Record newsletter, the lawsuit, filed Oct. 16 in Chicago federal court, alleges some black and Latino campaign workers are “packed into majority minority neighborhoods, often in unsafe working conditions, and are denied benefits and advancement opportunities available to their white colleagues.” […]
In a statement to POLITICO, Pritzker running mate Juliana Stratton called the suit “baseless” and describes the lawsuit in terms of extortion or a shake-down
The lawsuit is here. The letter from the staffers’ attorney demanding $7.5 million and personal letters of recommendation from Pritzker by Monday, October 8 is here.
Saying the Illinois gubernatorial frontrunner’s campaign has routinely “herded” and “marginalized” its workers of color, a group of African American and Latino workers for Illinois Democratic gubernatorial nominee JB Pritzker has sued Pritzker’s campaign organization for discrimination and harassment.
“JB Pritzker for Governor has a serious race problem,” the lawsuit said. “Contrary to the candidate’s many public avowals, rather than working to meaningfully address discrimination, racism is perpetuated, condoned and ratified by the Campaign.”
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 16 in Chicago federal court, specifically alleges the black and Latino campaign workers are packed into majority minority neighborhoods, often in unsafe working conditions, and are denied benefits and advancement opportunities available to their white colleagues.
Named plaintiffs in the action include Maxwell Little, Jason Benton, Jelani Coleman, Celia Colon, Kasmine Calhoun, Erica Kimble, Nathaniel Madison, Tiffany Madison, James B. Tinsley and Mark Walker. All of the plaintiffs either currently work or have worked for the Pritzker campaign as field organizers in 2018, according to the complaint. The complaint also asserts many of the plaintiffs also worked on past Democratic campaigns, including on the presidential campaigns of former President Barack Obama and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Democratic campaign organizations for candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in Illinois and other states. Others also worked as social justice and reform activists, and for labor unions, according to the complaint.
I’ve never seen anything like this anywhere in all my years watching politics.
With less than 3 weeks to go — a civil lawsuit has been filed by 10 staffers who work for Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker’s campaign. The suit alleges repeated racial discrimination and harassment.
The allegations include that one of the Pritzker field offices is located in an area that was not safe for staffers. The suit, announced Tuesday night, alleges Pritzker himself would not even visit and staffers were allegedly told “he’ll visit when they stop shooting.”
* From JB Pritzker…
To be clear, this is just not true. I am incredibly proud of our campaign, how diverse it is, and how inclusive our administration will be.
* From Rep. Juliana Stratton…
I am very proud of the campaign that JB and I have put together. The majority of our senior team are African American and almost 45% of our entire staff are people of color. When people feel like they have been harassed or discriminated against, they have the right to come forward and have their voices heard. In this case, we had a letter delivered to us asking for $7.5 million dollars in 24 hours or they threatened legal action and to go to press. That’s not a good faith effort.
The incidents listed in this complaint are baseless and make offensive claims in regard to several members of our staff. We stand by our staff and that’s why we are not afraid to litigate this to the fullest extent of the law. I couldn’t be prouder to be on the ticket with JB and of the statewide, grassroots campaign we’ve built.
*** UPDATE *** ILGOP…
“The lawsuit filed against JB Pritzker’s campaign is simply the latest in a long line of incidents that prove that when it comes to the African-American community, Pritzker’s actions don’t back up his words. Here, we have his own staffers — seasoned political operatives — alleging racial discrimination and harassment. We have heard from Pritzker’s own mouth referring to Black elected officials as “offensive” on an FBI wiretap with Rod Blagojevich. It’s finally time for JB Pritzker to answer for his actions.” - Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Travis Sterling
Other allegations in the lawsuit said field organizers were told to “go round up 40 black guys” for an event, and were told that Pritzker would visit an campaign office in a low-income Chicago neighborhood when “they stop shooting.”
