* Background is here. As noted at that link, the governor’s campaign eventually said Rauner “believes that David Duke is a racist,” but Duke either didn’t get the memo or ignored it…
Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke is thanking Bruce Rauner for not calling him a racist. Duke posted audio and the following image on his website:
Around the 19-minute mark, Duke says: “I think that’s what happened to the Governor of Illinois. Probably at some point, he’s heard about David Duke a million times, he’s in politics, he goes to DavidDuke.com, he’s read some of the things I say, and deep down in his soul, deep down something’s happened inside of him, and he knows that I’m not really a racist.”
“While Bruce Rauner doesn’t have too many people in his corner as of late, he just picked up a new supporter: Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke,” said Pritzker campaign communications director Galia Slayen. “With one of the most avowed white supremacists by his side, perhaps Rauner would like to try out a different talking point on whether or not Duke is a racist.”
* I was actually listening to the Duke broadcast when the press release came through (a GOP buddy of mine sent me a link). Duke also said this…
But it’s very interesting that the governor wouldn’t do it. And I think in the course of discussions, in the course of a conversation, sometimes the truth is kinda blurted out, or the truth is stated sometimes in absentia because he wouldn’t call Trump a racist and he wouldn’t call me a racist specifically. The quotation is pretty amazing about what happened here. So he had a black guy interviewing him and a white guy interviewing him and said, ‘well is Trump or not racist? You won’t call Trump a racist? Will you call David Duke a racist?’ And he didn’t answer it. He answered in general terms: ‘Well, we have racism in this country.’
Governor, the next time Charles Thomas pitches you a softball, please, just swing at it.
…Adding… I stopped listening after just a few minutes, but someone else I know kept at it. Duke did address the campaign statement about him being a racist…
And of course the governor, after this happened, of course all of his probably Jewish advisors, they said quote ‘The governor believes that David Duke is a racist.’ He just didn’t say so in the interview because it wasn’t scripted then.
Ugh.
*** UPDATE *** Rauner campaign spokesman Will Allison…
Governor Rauner believes that David Duke is a racist and it’s shameful that Duke is blatantly making things up for his website. JB Pritzker should be ashamed that he is providing David Duke a platform by promoting his lies.
Gov. Bruce Rauner is building on his efforts to improve outcomes for individuals who are incarcerated in Illinois.
He toured Logan Correctional Center, the female inmate facility in Lincoln, just before signing House Bill 1479 and solidifying the creation of a new women’s division within the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC).
House Bill 1479 comes on the heels of passage of House Bill 3904, the Women’s Correctional Services Act. These historic pieces of legislation require the IDOC to appoint a chief administrator for the women’s division, incorporate gender-responsive programming, and address the specific challenges that female offenders face.
“Men and women respond to incarceration differently. It’s time we adjust our strategies and find solutions that set women up for success when they leave prison,” Rauner said. “Many of these women are mothers. If we don’t take steps to help put them on a better path, we will see their sons and daughters cycle through the prison system. We can’t have that.”
The department jump-started its efforts to restructure its operations for female offenders in 2015, after the Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform suggested it implement gender-responsive and trauma-informed treatment programs.
Now, incarcerated women are participating in courses tailored to help them overcome any physical, sexual or emotional abuse they may have experienced and get on a path to healing.
These pieces of legislation ensure IDOC staff is trained to work collaboratively with women to address their unique needs and improve safety and wellness throughout all women’s correctional facilities.
“We recognize that making real change also means investing in our staff, giving them tools that help keep them safe on the job,” said IDOC Director John Baldwin. “We’re teaching them how to use their authority effectively, how to understand the needs of female offenders, and how to help the women restructure their thinking about challenging situations. Our staff had never received these types of training before 2015.”
“As chief sponsor of this national model legislation, I was proud to work with the Illinois Department of Corrections and The Women’s Justice Initiative on such an unprecedented effort to improve safety and outcomes for justice-involved women in prisons and our communities,” said state Rep. Julianna Stratton, D-Chicago. “I commend my colleagues and the administration for coming together in such a bipartisan manner on behalf of this long overlooked population, which disproportionately impacts communities of color, and hope they will continue to be supportive throughout the implementation process.”
“Incarcerated women face a unique set of challenges, including higher rates of mental illness, histories of abuse, generational poverty and discrimination,” said state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Chicago Heights, who was the chief sponsor of the bill in the Senate. “Putting an increased focus on these challenges eliminates antiquated policy that for too long has failed to ensure women receive the rehabilitation needed to become successful members of our society.”
“The creation of a women’s division within the Department of Corrections is a major step forward for our state,” said Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield. “This division will focus resources to address the specific needs of women who are incarcerated and will make Illinois a leader on trauma-informed services specific to the female population in our correctional system. I applaud my colleagues who championed this legislation and Gov. Rauner for his commitment to reforming our criminal justice system.”
Criminal Justice Reform has been a staple of the Rauner administration. Rauner has worked with the General Assembly to remove barriers that prevented people convicted of crimes from receiving their professional licenses in healthcare industries and cosmetology. And, men and women who leave prison now have access to their birth certificates and state identification, making it easier to secure housing, find employment and open a bank account.
Within weeks of taking office, Rauner announced his goal of reducing the prison population by 25 percent by the year 2025. When Rauner was inaugurated in January 2015, the IDOC population stood at 48,214. As of mid-January of this year, the number is 41,050, a 14.8 percent drop.
A judge has ordered Illinois officials to add intractable pain as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana, a ruling that could greatly expand access to the drug.
The Illinois Department of Public Health had rejected intractable pain — defined as pain that’s resistant to treatment — but Cook County Judge Raymond Mitchell ordered the agency to add the condition.
A health department spokeswoman said Tuesday the agency will appeal the ruling. The change is expected to be put on hold while the appeal is pursued. […]
Mednick had previously petitioned the state to put intractable pain on the marijuana treatment access list, and the now-defunct Illinois Medical Cannabis Advisory Board agreed it should be on the list, voting 10-0 to recommend adding the condition.
But the health department’s director, Dr. Nirav Shah, denied the recommendation in January 2016, citing a “lack of high-quality data” from clinical trials to establish that the benefits outweighed the risks.
* This isn’t the first time Director Shah has lost in court. He ought to give up…
Bruce Rauner announced this month that he is in favor of imposing work requirements for Medicaid eligibility. His decision comes after the Trump administration released new guidelines supporting these work requirements, in yet another display of Rauner standing with Donald Trump instead of working families in Illinois.
Tell Bruce Rauner that these requirements are bad for Illinois.
Imposing these work requirements hurts the people of our state. The requirements could cause thousands of Illinoisans to lose their health insurance, decreasing their chances of ever becoming healthy enough to work. In addition, a great deal of time and resources would be needed to check every recipient’s eligibility. This would result in high administrative costs that would inevitably be passed on to taxpayers.
We need a governor who fights to make sure all Illinoisans have access to quality healthcare. Rather than try to kick people off Medicaid, my healthcare plan, IllinoisCares, is a public option allowing anyone to buy into a state healthcare plan.This would give Illinoisans a lower-cost option when faced with rising premiums, at no additional cost to taxpayers.
Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. The leader of this state should understand that, and work hard to ensure that all Illinoisans are covered. Instead, Bruce Rauner is cowering to Donald Trump and supporting policies that could result in thousands losing their healthcare.
Help put an end to Rauner’s harmful policies by calling and making your voice heard.
“I do support a work requirement for able-bodied adults in Medicaid and our administration is working on that,” Rauner said at a news conference after speaking to small business owners at Bradley University’s Peoria Next Innovation Center. […]
In Illinois, though, Rauner said “our first challenge is to make sure we’ve got jobs — good jobs — available for everyone.
“We don’t have jobs available for everyone and that’s got to be our priority, because trying to force people to work but if there’s no work opportunity, that’s not going to succeed,” he added.
Asked if he would push for a work requirement during the upcoming legislative session, Rauner, who is seeking re-election in the fall, reiterated a laundry list of other items he said he would prioritize first: reforming regulatory burdens, dropping the income tax rate and giving local governments more control over addressing property tax burdens.
Team Fritz is growing! With the endorsements of State Representative Will Guzzardi and Chicago’s City Council Progressive Reform Caucus Chair Ald. Scott Waguespack, we’re adding to the growing list of endorsements from some of the County’s most progressive leaders. They know that, together, we can take a stand against pay-to-play, partisan politics.
Join Rep. Guzzardi, Ald. Waguespack, and other progressive leaders on Team Fritz by chipping in $5+ today:
* Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios’ campaign…
Fritz Kaegi continues to deny his close ties to Republicans but the donations to his campaign tell a different story. He has accepted tens of thousands of dollars from Republican donors, who have also contributed to Republican Governor Bruce Rauner.
Kaegi has raised in excess of $20,000 in campaign contributions from the same donors that contribute to Bruce Rauner. Right-wing conservative Charles McQuaid not only contributed to Kaegi and Rauner but he also contributed to the Liberty Principles PAC, the Illinois Liberty PAC and the Chicago Young Republicans. It is also of note that he also contributed to the Illinois Citizens for Life PAC.
Shame on Kaegi for running away from his association with Wall Street Republicans, who played a reckless role in the financial collapse of our economy and also profit off the private prison system that disproportionately hurts working families, African Americans, and Latinos.
Plenty of Steelers fans currently are upset with the performance of coach Mike Tomlin, given the team’s inability to get back to the Super Bowl or, more specifically, to get past the Patriots. (And now the Jaguars.) A small group of Steelers fans who own pieces of the franchise’s equity are particularly miffed with Tomlin — sufficiently miffed that they want to see a change get made.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, some of the team’s limited partners intend to lobby owner Art Rooney to fire of Tomlin and to hire a new coach.
The limited partners, who became involved nearly a decade ago as member of the Rooney family sold their interest in the team after acquiring gaming interests that violate league policy, have no authority over the management of the team, but they have a pipeline to owner Art Rooney. Per the source, they plan to utilize it.
The group of limited partners includes Rob Citrone, Paul Evanson, Larry Paul, Stephen Paul, Bruce Rauner, Paul Sams, John Stallworh, Benjamin Statler, Scott Swank, David Tepper, Thomas Tull, Peter Varischetti, and Mike Wilkins.
Um, OK.
* From Pritzker’s campaign manager, who is a huge Philadelphia Eagles fan…
Governor Bruce Rauner’s campaign says thanks, but no thanks. The Rauner camp has declined an invitation from WMAY and the State Journal-Register to participate in a Republican primary debate against challenger Jeanne Ives next month.
The Ives campaign had agreed to take part, but without Rauner’s participation, the event has been canceled.
* The Better Government Association and Politifact Illinois take a look at Gov. Rauner’s attempt to blame the media for misreporting the dangers at the Quincy veterans’ home…
Rauner insists his administration did not drop the ball, and recently spent seven days living at the home to make a public show that it was safe.
He also took aim at the media for casting blame his way without telling the whole story.
In an interview with the editorial board of the Joliet Herald-News, Rauner said news reports failed to explain that the source of the disease is basically everywhere.
“The reality is, and this is what’s not getting into the reports, the Legionella bacteria is in most water systems in Illinois,” Rauner told the paper. “There were just two infections of Legionnaires at Northwestern Hospital, which is not even an old facility and I think is regarded as a really well-run facility. These things happen.”
The governor’s statement glosses over the reality that any such contamination is likely present at low and non-threatening levels. The use of the word “most” is also questionable since there’s no real quantifiable evidence. The CDC avoids quantifying the presence of the bacteria, which thrives on slime in poorly maintained internal water systems.
The governor has a point that the bacteria lurks in a number of water systems. But his statement makes an unprovable claim about the extent of the contamination.
The governor’s claim is overbroad and lacking in context. We rate it Half True.
As written, the Act requires non-public schools to be “recognized” by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) [in order to qualify to receive Invest in Kids scholarships]. This language creates an eligibility mandate from what is otherwise a voluntary distinction for which schools may apply. Eligibility should be expanded to also include schools that are registered with ISBE, a necessary precursor to becoming “recognized.” While it is prudent to require compliance with ISBE measures that protect the health, safety and well-being of students, the current timelines to become recognized will exclude at least 36 schools that are still in the process of registering for and moving toward recognition; the ramifications of this initial exclusion could potentially last for two years. The students attending or looking to attend these schools deserve the same access to Invest in Kids scholarships as those in already recognized schools. Their educational opportunities cannot wait for years.
By including those who have registered with ISBE as well as those already recognized, the law will better maximize the number of schools and therefore the number of children who can benefit from this promising new program.
The problem that’s being overlooked is that there are far more than 36 schools which could benefit from the governor’s proposed changed. Right now, in order to qualify for the scholarship program, schools have to be “recognized” by the ISBE. And that means several hoops must first be cleared…
That term — “recognized” — sounds bland. But it’s kind of a big deal. It’s the stamp of approval the State Board of Education gives to schools that meet a 17-page list of standards for curriculum, health and safety. For example, a school has to prove students are immunized, and that staff members have passed criminal background checks. Then all that information is verified by investigators who visit the facility.
* Under the governor’s amendatory veto, non-public schools would merely have to file some registration paperwork with the State Board of Education by February 15th and they would qualify for the new scholarship program…
Registration requires a simple 5-page form pledging “assurances,” and it’s on the honor system. No site visit required.
* With that in mind…
…Adding… From Patty Schuh…
From the ISBE website: “Please note that for purposes of registration, a nonpublic school is any nonprofit, non-home-based, and nonpublic elementary or secondary school (Section 2-3.25o(e)) of the Illinois School Code) that is in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and attendance at which satisfies the requirements of Section 26-1 of the Illinois School Code. Only such schools can register and re-register.
Gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy left the stage during a forum on Monday after Republican State Rep. Jeanne Ives argued the solution to gun violence in Illinois was having “more fathers in the home.”
Kennedy, a Democrat, replied by pointing out he had grown up without a father before standing up and walking out of the venue. […]
“It hit a very special nerve for me,” Kennedy said in an interview with NBC 5. “I lost my father to someone with a gun. For someone to say simply the solution is to have a father-in-law – I don’t know. How shall I react? What should my family have done?”
Kathleen Murphy, a spokesperson for Ives, said in a statement Monday night that the representative did not mean to offend Mr. Kennedy during the forum.
However, Murphy also reiterated the importance of fathers in domestic life, citing “similar statements” like President Barack Obama’s 2008 Father’s Day speech at the Apostolic Church of God on Chicago’s South Side. In his speech, the then-candidate said, “too many fathers also are is missing — missing from too many lives and too many homes.”
“Those are President Obama’s words, and that was what she was echoing today,” Murphy said. “She certainly meant no offense to Mr. Kennedy.”
Nobody doubts the importance of fathers. But that’s not what Rep. Ives said at the event. She claimed that putting fathers in the home was the actual solution…
“The problem is the gun violence in this city of Chicago, predominantly. And you know how you’re going to solve it? Fathers in the home,” she said. As the audience booed and shouted, she repeated, “Fathers in the home.”
A Democratic rival for the nomination, J.B. Pritzker, who lost his father to a heart attack at age 7, said of Kennedy’s response to Ives, “I think (there are) too many people unfortunately losing family members to gun violence. I don’t know what was going through Chris’ head other than I can only imagine the grief that he feels when he thinks of his father’s death.”
As for Ives’ solution for gun crimes, Pritzker said, “It’s not just an issue about how many parents are in the home. It’s about quality education. It’s about health care. It’s about jobs. If you want to avoid violence in a community, provide real economic opportunity. She doesn’t understand any of that.”
When Does the #MeToo Reckoning Come to Springfield?
Today, State Representative Jeanne Ives, a conservative reform Republican for Governor, and whistleblower Denise Rotheimer held a joint press conference during which Ives called on both parties to end their bipartisan protection racket and take the complaints of sexual harassment seriously. She demanded that:
(1) The Legislative Ethics Committee should invite Denise Rotheimer to testify to her claims against State Sen. Ira Silverstein at their next hearing.
(2) The 27 other complaints that were ignored for as long as three years should be immediately released to the public with the names of the accusers redacted.
We have elections in March and November. It is because of the failures of legislative leaders, the ethics committee and the governor that we’re at this point. They failed to do their job and ensure that a Legislative Inspector General was in place and that complaints were handled in a timely manner. The voters shouldn’t have to pay the price. Given the political gamesmanship, it is appropriate to give these complaints the opportunities to be adjudicated in the court of public opinion in addition to, where appropriate, public hearings and/or courts of law.
Let me be clear, I don’t know the names or party affiliations of the other legislators against whom claims have been filed. And I don’t care who they are.
We either have a system that checks the abuses of those in power or we have a system where those in power abuse.
Rotheimer’s testimony illustrated the bipartisan nature of the sexual harassment crisis in Springfield. She noted that she turned to Senate President John Cullerton and House Minority Leader Jim Durkin. Neither came to her aide. Both brushed off her complaints with lip-service, instead of action.
Rotheimer added that she is supporting Jeanne Ives in the Governor’s Race because of her independence as a State Representative saying, “Jeanne Ives is the type of leader we need in the Governor’s Office. Jeanne Ives will be in charge. She has already taken charge by using her leadership position to confront the culture of corruption in Springfield and to challenge the policies that enable it to exist.”
The video of the Rotheimer and Ives event is here.
The design of [Evidence-Based Funding] is to calculate an individual Adequacy Target for each Organizational Unit in the state. (In most cases, “Organizational Unit” refers to school districts.) That Adequacy Target is based on 34 individual cost factors, which include additional supports based on Organizational Units’ populations of low-income children and English Learners. Additional supports for students with special needs are provided based on the overall enrollment of the Organizational Unit. These students and their needs are further protected by the statutory requirement that each Organizational Unit provide a spending plan for the EBF it receives with specific detail regarding the expenditure of funds attributable to low-income children, students with special needs, and English Learners.
EBF has provided a more equitable distribution formula and a path toward adequacy. The fact remains that the primary funding source for education in the State of Illinois is the property tax system. At this point in time, the state has not fulfilled its constitutional mandate to assume the primary responsibility for financing the system of public education. Without that commitment from the state, there is a wide variance in what school districts can commit locally, with an inequitable result for students. As previously stated, preliminary Adequacy Target calculations show that Organizational Units in Illinois range from having 46 percent to having 284 percent of the resources necessary to provide a quality education to students. Federal funds support our highest-needs children and families and on average make up 10 percent of funds provided to districts, so we believe “primary responsibility” constitutes ensuring that every district can meet at least 90 percent of its individual Adequacy Target through a combination of state and local funding support.
The Superintendent is recommending $13,884,200,000 for FY 2019 to meet this 90 percent threshold and ensure adequate supports for all children in the State of Illinois based upon the singular definition of adequacy provided for in statute. The recommended appropriation level is preliminary and will be refined when FY 2018 EBF calculations are finalized later in the spring.
A rift has emerged as education leaders debate how aggressively to push lawmakers for state aid. At the heart of the issue is how to finance the state’s public universities following two years of almost non-existent state funding.
Presidents of the state’s nine public universities wrote a letter openly opposing the budget that the state higher education board presented at its meeting in December. In unusually blunt terms, the presidents told the board its request to state lawmakers was too conservative and would “place further burdens on public universities” after “two years of financial calamity.” […]
The [Illinois Board of Higher Education’s] funding proposal seeks about $3.47 billion for public universities, community colleges, grants and various higher education divisions for 2018-19. It would be a $254 million increase over current funding, according to the board report.
The share for public universities would be a little more than $1.1 billion, a $24.1 million increase from this year.
That isn’t enough for the school presidents. They want the board to request $1.2 billion from the state, matching the allocation for public universities in 2015, the last year there was a budget before the impasse began.
“We will introduce a plan to repeal the Madigan tax hike and require the budget to be truly balanced. No balanced budget — no pay for legislators,” said another Twitter entry.
If this is going to be a legitimate effort at repealing last summer’s income tax hike, then Rauner will include in his plan just how the state will cope with that loss in revenue. One way would be to once again let the bill backlog balloon to ridiculous amounts and put the state’s bond rating in jeopardy. That’s probably not the preferable approach, which makes it essential for the person or persons who propose getting rid of the tax hike to explain how the state will deal with it.
Somehow, though, that never seems to be part of the proposal.
The first six months of the state’s fiscal year are in the books and guess what? Income tax collections are up by about $2.2 billion over a year ago. As well they should be, given the income tax increase passed in July.
Plus, the amount of money from the feds grew by $2.5 billion because the state borrowed money and paid off Medicaid bills with it.
Still, the bill backlog was at $8.75 billion as of Friday. Worth remembering as the campaign season heats up and more people call for cutting state taxes.
Gonna be tough enough to do all that even without the aforementioned public pressures to increase spending.
* WVON’s Charles Thomas asked Gov. Bruce Rauner yesterday what he is currently doing to change the dynamic of black unemployment in Illinois (which, Rauner noted, is the highest in the country). The governor’s response…
Here’s the simple fact. We used to be the Land of Lincoln. Now, we’re the Land of Madigan. We used to be the land of opportunity, now we’re the land of unemployment and high property taxes. We used to be the land of achievement, now we’re the land of corruption.
What we’ve got to do together, Democrats and Republicans have got to unite to change the system, get Madigan and his crew out of power.
In his campaign speeches, Kennedy holds up higher education as the life boat to help rescue people from an island of poverty. But while he was Chairman of the Board at the University of Illinois, he repeatedly increased the cost of tuition while African American student enrollment suffered.
“When you have a 27 percent increase of tuition between 2009-2014 for in-state residents, you are talking about at least $2,500 extra in money,” said Gus Wood, an African American Studies Ph.D. student at the Urbana-Champaign campus. “I tie the rising of tuition directly to the pricing out and the lack of African-American people on the campus,” Wood said.
[Evan F. Moore, an adjunct journalism professor for Chicago’s DePaul University who has written extensively on education, violence and Chicago culture] said, “When the school raises tuition, that pushes out students, especially poor students. There is definitely a correlation there.”
The year before Kennedy became board chairman, African American enrollment was at 2,596 students, which made up 6.44 percent of the total student population according to data compiled by the Division of Management Information. The university raised tuition by 9.5 percent in 2010, 6.9 percent in 2011, 4.8 percent in 2012 and 1.7 percent in 2013.
In 2009, African American enrollment slipped slightly down to 2,572 students before a significant dropoff down to 2,276 in 2010. Black student enrollment eroded each consecutive year Kennedy was in charge for a total decline of nearly 15 percent until the admissions office reported a slight uptick in 2015, his final year on the board.
Kennedy denied there was a correlation between rising cost of tuition and the broadening diversity gap on campus during an interview with WCIA on Monday morning.
“No, I don’t think that is what occurred,” Kennedy said, suggesting the problems were already set in motion before he took the job. “I think the major decline in African American enrollment at the University of Illinois occurred between 2009 and 2010 before anything the new board did could have possibly affected those outcomes.
When a dramatic new element is introduced into a political campaign, it’s always instructive to watch how the targeted candidate responds. Did the candidate appear ready for the new turn of events, or was s/he caught flat-footed?
The JB Pritzker campaign appeared to pass that test last week when Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign unexpectedly (for some of us) launched a new TV attack ad against it.
It turns out, the Pritzker campaign already had a response ad in the can, just waiting for whatever might come. So, when the Rauner campaign’s new TV ad featuring an FBI-wiretapped conversation between Pritzker and Rod Blagojevich was leaked online last week, the Pritzker folks unveiled their counter-assault within minutes.
“It’s no surprise Bruce Rauner is already on TV attacking me,” Pritzker says to the camera in his 30-second response ad. “He’d rather play politics in the Democratic primary than defend his own record.”
Another 60-second ad — which looks like it may have initially been intended only for online use because the quality wasn’t as high — featured TV news clips designed to whack Rauner over the ongoing problems at the Quincy veterans’ home, where 13 residents have died since 2015 after contracting Legionnaires’ disease. Rauner last week finally formed a task force in an attempt to prevent more deaths.
This is the first time in memory that a sitting Illinois governor has openly played in a rival’s opposing party primary campaign. We’ve seen this sort of thing in other states, but not here. Several Illinois unions did dump a bunch of money into the 2014 Republican primary to prevent Rauner’s nomination, so the governor can be forgiven for wanting a bit of payback against the unions’ candidate (Pritzker) this time around.
The Rauner folks have gone back and forth for months about which candidate they’d rather not face. Pritzker has unlimited money, but he has some opposition research issues (like Blagojevich, his ties to Speaker Madigan and his now-infamous decision to rip the toilets out of a vacant mansion to lower his property taxes). Chris Kennedy has had trouble raising money, but he does have a famous name, not many opposition research issues and is successfully positioning himself as an independent.
More likely, I think, somebody upstairs may have just decided that it was time to put the wood to Pritzker, who has been having a lot of fun attacking Rauner for months. And since other Democratic candidates don’t have the cash to do it, Rauner will.
The Pritzker campaign’s current ad buy is substantially larger than Rauner’s, I’m told, and they’re willing to increase that amount if need be. They’re also reportedly readying some more response ads.
Patti Blagojevich hit the local television news circuit Friday to slam Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign for using her husband’s FBI-wiretapped phone conversation in a political attack ad against Democratic primary frontrunner J.B. Pritzker.
“There is a federal court order not allowing these tapes to see the light of day,” Patti Blagojevich said in a sit-down interview with WFLD-Fox 32, one of at least four interviews she gave on Friday. “We fought so hard in court to try to get tapes just like this.” […]
“Somebody from the US Attorney’s Office (or one of their former employees) and Rauner’s Campaign should be criminally charged for breaking the still standing court order sealing the tapes,” Patti Blagojevich wrote in a Facebook post. “This is clearly a case of someone from the US Attorney’s office playing partisan politics, while they did everything they could to make sure we could not play the tapes that vindicated Rod.”
Rauner campaign spokesman Will Allison said they used the recordings that were included in the Tribune story. A representative for the U.S. attorney’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.
“This is a perfectly legal conversation between my husband and J.B. talking about different things that he wanted to accomplish with regards to President Obama’s Senate seat . . . These are all things we wanted heard at trial,” Patti Blagojevich told Fox 32.
“We’ve been fighting for five years to get those tapes heard. And now somebody leaks them and now they’re in a political attack ad.”
She says while she feels bad for Pritzker, the audio proves her husband isn’t guilty.
“One thing my husband loves to do is he loves to talk. And he loves to talk with his advisors, his lawyers. And all these people and do this war gaming. What if we do this? What if we do that? How about if we do this? How about if we do that? And unfortunately, what you saw in the trial was just one side of all those conversations.”
A sub-current of the Rauner ad controversy involves questions over how the un-played tapes were leaked. The portion used in the commercial was part of an 11 minute montage featured by the Tribune last year.
How the Tribune got those tapes, is not entirely clear.
“That particular tape was never played at trial,” Joe Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office confirmed. “We are working on it also—we want to know who gave it out.”
Fitzpatrick said it did not come from anyone in the U.S. Attorney’s office, and noted that copies had been distributed to all legal teams involved in the two Blagojevich trials.
“And that includes paralegals, their investigators, a lot of people get their hands on these,” he said.
The new ads feature taped conversations between Pritzker and Blagojevich, recorded during the time that the FBI was investigating the then-governor. In an exclusive interview with NBC 5, the candidate himself commented on the interview conducted by the FBI about the conversation.
“They just wanted to know more about the conversation, if there was more that I could tell them about the conversation,” he said.
Pritzker says that he was telling Blagojevich on the tapes that he would be interested in being the state’s treasurer, not that he would be interested in the Senate seat vacated by former President Barack Obama.
“It’s not surprising that looking to do more public service is something I was interested in,” he said. “Who knew that he was doing things that were against the interests of the people?”
Who knew? Lots of people. C’mon, man.
…Adding… I never noticed it in the original Tribune story last May, but Pritzker’s campaign has already admitted he talked to the FBI back in the day…
Pritzker did not directly ask for the Senate appointment on the calls the Tribune obtained. The Pritzker campaign acknowledged late Wednesday that “J.B. had one short interview with” the FBI as part of the Blagojevich investigation. Federal authorities did not call Pritzker as a witness at either of Blagojevich’s two trials, nor did they accuse him of any wrongdoing.
…Adding… Rauner campaign…
JB Pritzker Lies to Cover Up Ties to Blagojevich
JB Pritzker answered questions on Friday surrounding Citizens for Rauner’s new Pritzker-Blagojevich TV ad. Pritzker claims that he didn’t know Blagojevich was facing FBI investigations at the time of the wiretaps, which occurred just one month before the former governor was arrested.
Pritzker specifically says that “nobody knew that the FBI was investigating the man.” He goes on to say, “Who knew, you know, that it was, that he was actually doing things that were against the interests of the people.” Watch HERE.
As NBC Chicago reporter Mary Ann Ahern explains, it was “widely believed” at the time that the FBI was investigating Blagojevich.
Not only is Pritzker making a patently false claim – his own words on the FBI tapes show that he knew, at the time, that Blagojevich was being investigated and was facing legal trouble. In a conversation between Pritzker and Blagojevich towards the end of the tapes released by the Chicago Tribune, Pritzker specifically cites Blagojevich’s “legal problems” and says “we gotta get the legal thing behind you.”
This conversation, combined with years of well-publicized media reports, makes crystal clear that JB Pritzker knew Rod Blagojevich was under federal investigation, contrary to what he is now claiming.
TRANSCRIPT:
BLAGOJEVICH: If you can do for me what you did for [Lisa Madigan] before the end of the year, can you think about that?
PRITZKER: Well I can’t, uh, not while everything’s up in the air. But I hear ya. Yeah I, I hear ya.
BLAGOJEVICH: Yeah. But anyways, if we go in that direction though, if that does happen, I mean there’s some other people who can help us that you know.
PRITZKER: Sure.
BLAGOJEVICH: If you feel skittish about that, which I believe you shouldn’t. But go ahead.
PRITZKER: Yeah, I don’t think we should even talk about it, but I understand what you’re saying. Assuming no legal problems, that you, you know, your pitch is going to be, with all the other crap that you could say here, I’ve done real things.
BLAGOJEVICH: Right.
PRITZKER: And so, I think you’ve got a lot to run on. It’s just, we gotta get the legal thing behind you.
BLAGOJEVICH: Right.
PRITZKER: That’s for sure.
BLAGOJEVICH: Yeah but there’s statutes of limitations and things, and those dates are running. And those things will come and go long before there’s a re-election.
Charging gas taxes based on how many miles people drive instead of how much fuel they burn could pump up revenues to help fix Illinois’ roads and bridges, Democratic candidate for governor J.B. Pritzker told the Daily Herald editorial board.
Called a vehicle miles traveled or VMT tax, it’s an idea worth exploring, the billionaire Hyatt hotel heir said in a Thursday interview where he also pushed for a graduated income tax, but gave few specifics.
“We have to invest in infrastructure — it’s been too many years since we had a capital bill,” said the 52-year old Chicagoan, one of six candidates in the March 20 Democratic primary.
His plan would focus “on rebuilding roads, bridges and waterways and in my view we need statewide broadband internet access,” Pritzker said.
But with more fuel-efficient vehicles, traditional gas tax income is shrinking, Pritzker noted.
“In some states (such as Oregon) they have done tests recently for a VMT tax because we have more and more electric cars on the road, more and more hybrids, and because gas mileage is rising. It’s only fair if you’re on a road and traveling on that road that you should pay your fair share,” he said.
A VMT tax “is something we should look at … we have to careful how it gets implemented and that’s why it should only be a test at this point.”
Local 150 of the Operating Engineers, one of Pritzker’s earliest labor endorsers, is the top proponent of the VMT idea in Illinois.
* From the Republican Governors Association…
Illinois Democrat gubernatorial candidate and billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune J.B. Pritzker is already on record supporting a bevy of tax increases, including a major hike in the state income tax. Now, he’s proposing yet another tax – and this one could lead to an unprecedented government invasion of privacy.
The Daily Herald reported over the weekend that Pritzker is open to a new gas tax that would require the government to track how many miles people drive. Pritzker says that the tax and government tracking scheme is “an idea worth exploring.”
A similar tax was proposed by Illinois Democrats last year, and was rapidly shelved after “public outrage.” The proposal required a “tracking device to monitor mileage.”
J.B. Pritzker’s willingness to let the government install tracking devices in people’s vehicles underscores just how out of touch the Hyatt heir is with the concerns of voters.
Gov. Rauner said there was “no place in our political conversation” for vulgar language reportedly used by President Trump in a meeting on immigration, but would not call the president racist.
The governor, who was appearing on WVON radio on Monday, was asked about Trump’s description of places like Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations as “sh*tholes.” The president made those comments in a meeting to discuss a bipartisan agreement on immigration, according to Sen. Dick Durbin. Trump denies he used that language.
Rauner was asked directly by WVON’s morning show host Maze Jackson if Trump was a racist and Rauner wouldn’t answer, saying again that such language as no place in politics.
Co-host Charles Thomas pressed the governor again, saying “you won’t call him a racist?”
“You know what? We have racists in our society,” Rauner said. “We have got to come together to change the system in Illinois. Illinois is broken. Our system is broken. African-American families are suffering in Illinois. It’s worse than anywhere with unemployment. We have got to change our system.”
MAZE JACKSON: “The President of the United States used language that we’ve never heard before, we call – we said he said ‘shitolee’ on this show. You heard his comments. Is Donald Trump racist? Is he a racist?”
RAUNER: “I’ll say this. That language has no place in our political conversation.”
JACKSON: “But is he a racist?”
RAUNER: “That language has no place in our political conversation.”
JACKSON: “But we’ve got it. We heard it. He said it. So it’s in the universe. So, to a – to the Haitians that live in this city, in the state – what’s up with Donald Trump? How do you respond to that?”
RAUNER: “That language has no place in our political conversation.”
CHARLES THOMAS: “But you won’t call him a racist?”
RAUNER: “No place.”
THOMAS: “Is David Duke a racist? I mean, is… what about Donald Trump?
RAUNER: “You know what? We have racists in our society. We have got to come together to change the system in Illinois. Illinois is broken. Our system is broken. African American families are suffering in Illinois. It’s worse than anywhere with unemployment. We have got to change our system.”
“Donald Trump built his political career on pitting our communities against each other and now spews vile, hateful language from the White House on a daily basis,” said JB Pritzker. “From casual private conversation to tweets seen around the world, Trump’s racist views and words sadly represent our country. Strong state leaders have pushed back and defended the communities that are under attack by this president, but Bruce Rauner is sitting on the sidelines. To have the governor of this state remain silent and refuse to call Trump what he clearly is — a racist — is an embarrassing insult to communities across Illinois. Bruce Rauner’s corrupt pact with Trump, ratified by his silence, must end.”
Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner refused in a morning interview on WVON 1690 AM to apply the “racist” label not only to Trump, but to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. The campaign of J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat running to challenge Rauner, quickly pounced.
“The governor believes that David Duke is a racist,” Justin Giorgio, a spokesman for
Rauner’s campaign, said later in an email. “As he stated in his interview this morning, the governor is working to bring all Illinoisans together to overcome the racism that exists in our society.”
…Adding… Pritzker campaign…
During a WVON interview yesterday, Bruce Rauner refused to call former KKK leader David Duke a racist.
Rauner fell back on his favorite talking point, “our system is broken,” to avoid criticizing the notorious white supremacist. While a spokesman later attempted to clean up Rauner’s dodge, Rauner failed to answer a simple question about one of the country’s foremost bigots.
“It is abundantly clear that former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke is racist and it is inexcusable that Bruce Rauner would rather mince words than answer a simple question,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Instead of having a spine and standing up for what’s right, Rauner dodges even the most basic of questions to avoid giving Illinoisans the answers they deserve.”
* Sen. Kwame Raoul…
Gov. Rauner’s refusal to call former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke a racist on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is flat out Trumpian.
Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us that our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter and Bruce Rauner’s inability to clearly state that David Duke is a racist is pretty damning.
In the spirit of MLK, I’m asking that we all speak out against the injustices that are taking place in our communities and across the state. We must speak a little bit louder against hate. We must speak a little bit louder against fear. And we must unabashedly speak louder against those who try to divide us!
…Adding… DGA…
Like clockwork, Governor Bruce Rauner was in the news again for failing to take a strong moral stand on an easy-to-call situation. Yesterday, during an interview with WVON, Governor Bruce Rauner was pressed on President Donald Trump’s most recent and outrageous comments on immigrants. Rauner fell back on talking points, refused to address the substance on Trump’s comments, and would not condemn David Duke as “racist.”
Rauner’s campaign later clarified that, of course, he believed David Duke was racist. But the WVON interview is another example, just in the past six months, of Rauner’s reluctance to show real leadership on moral issues:
Charlottesville and Terrorism: Rauner initially refused to use the term “terrorism” to describe the Neo-Nazi attacks in Charlottesville. Rauner had to be shamed into clarifying his language later that day.
Charlottesville and Trump: Rauner waited days to addressed President Trump’s “both sides” comments on Charlottesville, and only after Trump repeated his comments. Rauner was questioned by reporters why he initially didn’t use Trump’s name in his condemnation of his language.
Illinois Policy Institute Cartoon: Rauner infamously refused to look at a cartoon denounced by the Illinois legislature, but drawn by his close allies at the IPI. A week-long saga would eventually result in Rauner’s office issuing a statement that said, “as a white male”, he had nothing to add. Multiple communications staffers were fired.
Anthem Protests: Despite his tepidity to address pretty much any issue spurred by Trump, Rauner jumped into the debate on protests at football games, siding with the President.
The pattern is getting hard to ignore.
“Bruce Rauner’s wait-and-see approach to leadership really clarifies who he’s looking out for, and it’s not Illinois residents,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Time after time, Rauner has had to be shamed into taking a moral stand on issues offensive or upsetting to Illinoisans. Rauner’s reluctance to take on President Trump is only hurting Illinois families.”
* This legislation was pushed hard by former Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks, who is now the McHenry County Board Chairman…
Today I veto House Bill 171 from the 100th General Assembly, which would codify the authority of certain county board chairmen to create standing committees and appoint members to standing committees subject to those boards’ approval.
We should not be codifying in state law carve-outs and special solutions that only apply to certain counties to account for local concerns. Passing state law on such specific question of local authority undermines local control and the ability to create rules as elected Board’s may deem appropriate.
This legislation, which stems from a disagreement about a change in McHenry County Board rules that stripped the Chairman of his historical authority to create and appoint members to committees, does just that. While the county governance model introduced by this legislation may represent good practice and a healthy balance of power between the local officials for McHenry County, it is not appropriately addressed by state legislation.
Instead, questions concerning the balance of power within local governments can be most appropriately reconsidered by local voters. Just as the citizens of a county can vote via referendum on whether their county adopts an executive form of government, so too should they be able to determine the appropriate power balance in question in this bill.
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 171, entitled “AN ACT concerning local government,” with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
Leaving a dog inside your car in the summer could soon mean a broken window in Illinois.
Illinois is one of 24 states without a Good Samaritan law that allows people to rescue pets from hot cars. But that could change by the summer.
State Rep. David Olsen, R-Downers Grove, is pushing a plan to allow people to bust out a car window to rescue a hot dog from a hot car, and avoid any criminal liability.
Olsen said the idea is to let people help.
“If people act in good faith, in consultation with law enforcement,” Olsen said Wednesday. “This legislation is reasonable. It doesn’t allow for random acts of violence or criminal damage to property.”
Olsen said his legislation requires that people call the police before breaking a window, and then to wait with the dog at the car until police arrive.
“We’re looking to save animals and not make somebody liable for a lot of money, when they are just trying to be a Good Samaritan and help out,” Olsen said.
* The Question: Good idea or not? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* Old news by now, but everybody seems to be weighing in, so let’s get to it…
Sen. Dick Durbin left the White House Thursday “sickened and heartbroken,” after hearing President Donald Trump refer to certain nations as “sh*thole countries,” Illinois’ senior senator told reporters Friday.
“I cannot imagine that in the history of [the Oval Office], that hallowed room, where the president of the United States goes to work every day, there has ever been a conversation quite like that. It was vile, it was hateful, it was racist,” Durbin told reporters after attending a breakfast in the city to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Durbin said Trump repeated the term “sh*thole” during a meeting that was, ostensibly, a discussion about a potentially bipartisan deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA. Trump has since tweeted that he used “tough” language during the meeting but never used the derogatory language that has caused outrage across the globe.
I asked Sen. Durbin’s staff whether Durbin stood up to Trump at that meeting and took him to task for his remarks, but haven’t yet heard back.
* Gov. Rauner was asked today if he had anything to say about President Trump’s alleged comments…
Yeah, well, I’ll say this. That language has no place in our political conversation.
It ain’t the language, per se, it’s the sentiment behind the language. But, OK, at least he said something.
* From Sen. Kwame Raoul, the state’s most prominent Haitian-American…
As we approach Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the reported hateful comments spewed by the President remind us just how much further we have to go as a nation.
Today, I’m embracing the Kingian philosophy that darkness cannot drive out darkness and that only light can do that. That’s why today I’m using my light - as a citizen of this country, as the son of Haitian immigrants, as an elected official and a candidate for office - to call out the injustices committed on our watch.
I am revolted by Donald Trump’s vulgar dismissal and dehumanization of the people of Haiti, El Salvador and many African nations. Simply put, the President’s remarks are vile, racist and unbecoming of the office he holds. Donald J. Trump is unfit for the office of the Presidency of the United States. He should resign or Congress should do its job and proceed with the impeachment of the President.
My position isn’t simply about disagreements in policy, instead it’s about what type of country we want to be. Do we want to be a country with a corrupt racist at its helm or do we want to be a country which embraces King’s dream and those before us of to create a more perfect union? I choose the latter.
* JB Pritzker…
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Donald Trump is a racist and a xenophobe who has never had the dignity to be in the White House,” said JB Pritzker. “After unilaterally moving to end DACA and upend the lives of 800,000 young immigrants, including more than 41,000 in Illinois, Trump is resorting to offensive tactics to score a political win with his base. First, he insisted his senseless wall be part of an immigration deal and now Trump is spouting vile profanities about Haitian and African immigrants from the Oval Office. America deserves better, and when I’m governor, I’ll protect immigrant families and make Illinois a welcoming state for all.”
* Biss…
* Congressional candidate Chuy Garcia…
Donald Trump’s comments demonstrate his unfitness for the office. His ignorance, incompetence, and callousness make it difficult to distinguish him from a Klansman or a Nazi. As an immigrant and someone who has struggled to make our democracy inclusive of everyone, this is the most despicable comment I have heard from a President in my lifetime.
* AG candidate Jesse Ruiz…
In 2015, Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign by saying, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best…. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”
Ever since that day, Trump has been displaying his racist attitudes like a badge of honor. It seems like the only words that can come out of Trump’s mouth are vile hate or lies. His despicable remarks about “sh*thole” countries are simply the latest in a long and ugly string of insults, epithets, and attacks. Instead of begging for forgiveness from the American public, he lies like a coward. He should resign or be removed from office.
We must not let Trump’s contemptible words distract us from his even more deplorable actions. Trump made this remark while talking with members of Congress about immigrants living here under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. The TPS program has saved hundreds of thousands of lives, but it is clear that the lives of people of color do not matter to Trump.
Today, members of Congress from both parties are denouncing Trump’s disgusting words. That’s important, but it’s even more important to make sure that Trump’s vile attitudes do not destroy the lives of law-abiding immigrants from countries that have suffered catastrophic events. I call on Congress to move immediately to pass the SECURE Act, to continue the protections of the TPS program and create pathway to legal permanent residency in America, and to pass a clean DREAM act, to fix DACA and protect the futures of 800,000 promising young immigrants.
I hope Trump is out of office by next January, when I take office as Illinois Attorney General. If not, I look forward to standing up to the White House, holding Trump accountable, and taking him to court to protect the rights of everyone.
* Congressional candidate Sol Flores…
Flores said, “I’m deeply saddened by the incredibly disrespectful and racist remarks. This President does not speak for me or my community. Our country is stronger because of the diverse groups of immigrants that come here. I know this. I’ve lived this. And unfortunately President Trump doesn’t see what I see.”
* US Rep. Bobby Rush…
“It is disgusting and infuriating that the President remarks about immigration from “sh*thole countries” like Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries come on the 8th anniversary of the Haitian earthquake in which more than 200,000 people were killed.
“Is the President not aware that immigrants of all races, nationalities, and religions built this country?
“These comments not only highlight his pure ignorance, moral turpitude, and lack of judgment but his racism that has been a fixture of his career, campaign, and presidency.
“This is the same person who started his career being sued twice by the Department of Justice for racial discrimination because he would not rent apartments to African-Americans.
“This is the same person who launched the racist birther movement against the country’s first African-American President, casting doubt on Barack Obama’s birthplace.
“This is the same person who began his Presidential campaign calling Mexican immigrants rapists, murderers, and criminals.
“The President of the United States is racist.
“On the weekend where we should be honoring the spirit and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., who fought for racial equality, we have a President intent on dividing this country.
“Everyone should condemn the racist remarks made by the President, especially those who were present in the meeting. Their silence is deafening. I commend Senator Dick Durbin for giving truth power.
“We cannot continue to let this dangerous President erode this country’s reputation. We must stand up for our nation’s values because it is clear President Trump will not.”
* US Rep. Jan Schakowsky…
“Just when you thought Donald Trump could not get any more racist, he digs down to an even deeper low. These vile comments are unacceptable and unbecoming of the Presidency. It is time for my Republican colleagues to say so. Enough is enough. Silence is complicity.”
I have yet to receive any press release or see a social media post by an Illinois politician praising the president’s remarks. I’ll let you know if that happens.
“If true, the reported comments made by the President are disappointing and I urge him to reiterate his commitment to continuing America’s legacy as a welcoming country for those seeking a better life and those willing to play by the rules. Our country has opened its arms to legal immigrants from around the world and we should never disparage anyone from any country. Illinois’ 6th district has been a welcoming place for people from every nation, prioritizing missions and service to challenging regions across the globe to help make our world a better place. We must understand and appreciate that there are many people who wish for the opportunity to come to our country and live out the American Dream.”
Today, JB Pritzker was joined by State Senator Heather Steans and 48th Ward Democratic Committeewoman Carol Ronen at a press conference to lay out the importance of legalizing marijuana in Illinois and standing up to Donald Trump’s attacks on Illinois communities.
JB highlighted that no more studies are needed to show it’s time for Illinois to safely move forward with legalizing marijuana. He outlined how he would modernize drug laws and move Illinois towards a criminal justice system that gives all Illinoisans a chance to reach their full potential. JB also discussed the importance of regulating and taxing marijuana to generate much needed revenue for this state.
“Our state should legalize marijuana,” said JB Pritzker. “This is not a moment for a governor who stands with Trump. In the name of criminal justice reform, consumer safety, and increased state revenue, Illinois needs a governor who is ready to legalize marijuana in Illinois. There is an abundance of evidence that shows we can legalize marijuana in Illinois in a safe way. There is an abundance of evidence that shows the real benefits this would have on our state. Most importantly, it is a step forward in reforming our broken criminal justice system. Criminalizing marijuana hasn’t made our communities safer. What it’s done is disproportionately impact black and brown communities. The criminalization of cannabis never has been and never will be enforced fairly, and it’s time to bring that to an end.”
“With Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions attacking our communities, Illinois needs a governor who will do the right thing and stand up for legalized marijuana,” said Senator Heather Steans. “JB knows there have been enough studies on this. We know marijuana can be legalized in a safe way, and it’s time we do it. It will raise revenue for our state, and will help the communities devastated by the war on drugs. It’s time we elect a governor who will move our state forward on this issue, and JB is the leader to do it.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee)…
Currently alcohol is regulated as a legal product. To sell, serve, or produce alcohol requires a license. Federal, State, and Local laws control where liquor can be sold, require labeling, and who can purchase. It’s time for small amounts of Marijuana to fall under similar regulations.
Like many,I would like to see fewer people using and addicted to recreational drugs like alcohol and Marijuana. I also recognize that current prohibition is not working. Just like alcohol, Marijuana is a moral issue not a legal one.
As a serious fiscal conservative, I must point out the disservice to taxpayers this prohibition is. According to the Criminal History Records Information (CHRI) the average misdemeanor arrest costs $892. Illinois taxpayers spend over $25 Million a year on these arrests alone. Most of these cases are dropped, plead out, or withheld judgment. I would like these taxpayers resources to redirected to reducing addiction, fighting serious crime, and even refunded back to the taxpayers.
Regulating and taxing Marijuana sales is not some panacea for increased tax revenue. Regulating, testing, and labeling for THC levels does prevent unknown or extremely potent strains, eliminating the argument about today’s street Marijuana being more powerful than decades ago.
Personally I think smoking or consuming Marijuana is foolish and want to see fewer people, especially young people use it. Even with prohibition, it’s reported that illegal Marijuana is commonly available. It’s time to find a solution that works.
I will continue to advance limited government and free market solutions to Illinois’ problems and legalizing small quantities of Marijuana is one of them.
Now, I know that there are lot of people who look at this race and they say that all the Democratic candidates for governor agree on the issues. Well this is one place where we do not agree.
I want to end the injustice by legalizing, regulating and taxing marijuana. Chris Kennedy does not.
There are those, like Kennedy, who say this should wait. But the truth is, for far too long marijuana laws have led to discrimination and injustice. For far too long marijuana has been unregulated. And for far too long, our state has waited and watched and missed out on jobs and revenue that our economy so desperately needs.
After decades of studies, and of contemplation and of delay, the time to act is now.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Rep. Litesa Wallace…
JB Pritzker’s press conference on legalizing marijuana and criminal justice reform included no voices of those most affected by the racist and inconsistent application of current law. For decades we’ve had a war on drugs that has targeted black and brown communities. To have a press conference on the Northside of Chicago without any representation of those communities pays lip service to the issues JB is claiming to champion. Daniel and I will continue to fight to change the criminal justice system from a restorative lens.
Exactly three years ago today, Governor Bruce Rauner was inaugurated as Governor of Illinois and the state is worse off for it. Rauner spoke of an “opportunity to accomplish something historic,” to “fix busted budgets”, to “forge a new path” toward “a brighter future”, and make the state “a national leader in job growth and education quality.”
Illinois residents did not get that bright future. Instead, they suffered national humiliation as the state went two-years without a budget and had its credit rating nearly downgraded to junk bond status. They saw their Governor refuse to compromise, despite the toll his policies were doing on services and job creation. Crain’s Chicago wrote just one year into the two-year impasse, “by nearly every measure, the state is worse off since Rauner took office.” Illinois residents got everything but the turnaround they were promised.
Under Rauner’s failed leadership, Illinois suffered:
Slower Job Creation: Illinois is now growing jobs at a much slower rate than when Rauner came into office. Over the past 12 months, Illinois had one of the worst job growth rates in the nation and trailed its neighbors.
Accelerating Population Loss: Rauner’s not only failed to stem the population loss, it has gotten worse as more people are leaving the state.
Higher Debt: Two years without a budget tripled the state’s bill backlog, which topped off at $16 billion. Interest was due to cost the state nearly $1 billion a year.
Lower Credit Rating: Candidate Bruce Rauner used to attack his rival over lower credit ratings. As Governor, the rating dropped 8 more times and approached junk level.
Lost Services: Rauner forced the state to endure two years without a budget, devastating state services. Under Rauner, 1 million Illinoisans lost access to services.
It’s even gotten worse for Rauner. Illinois voters disapprove of the job he’s done at nearly double the rate they approve, making him the nation’s “most vulnerable incumbent.”
“Bruce Rauner’s legacy has been set – a failed governor who drove the state further backwards,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “His tenure will be defined by his refusal to compromise, his non-existent leadership, and the two-year budget impasse he said he exacerbated for political purposes. Under Rauner, Illinois continues to lose jobs and people, and debt continues to rise. Rauner claimed he could get it done three years ago, but he has only made things worse.”
Illinois is reviewing new guidance from the Trump administration that opens the door for states to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients, but there is no indication yet that it will follow the lead of neighboring states that are pursuing plans to tighten their rules.
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office and the state’s Department of Healthcare and Family Services said the new policy and its implications are “under review,” but the Republican administration has not signaled whether it supports Medicaid work requirements. Local patient advocates said they hope Illinois does not join the 10 states that already have submitted proposals to make having a job a condition of Medicaid eligibility, for fear it would leave tens of thousands of people without health insurance. […]
More than 1.2 million non-disabled working-age adults receive Medicaid in Illinois, and most do work. Two-thirds of Illinois’ non-disabled and non-elderly Medicaid recipients hold a full-time or part-time job, and more than 80 percent are part of working families, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s analysis of 2016 Census data. Many others are caregivers or go to school. […]
Work requirements also are opposed by the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, which advocates for more than 200 hospitals and nearly 50 health systems in the state. The group believes work requirements would limit access to care and leave hospitals picking up the tab for uninsured patients.
Thoughts on this?
* Related…
* Another Illinois Medicaid shake-up threatens hospitals: For years, nearly every Illinois hospital has paid into a pot of money that helps the state bring in more federal dollars. But the program, effectively a tax on hospitals, is dated and doesn’t reflect how much the health care industry has changed… The reality is that a lot has changed. Low-income Chicago neighborhoods that surround safety-net hospitals have emptied out, dwindling their patient base. The push toward outpatient care means fewer people need to be hospitalized. At the same time, the state expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, leading to crops of new patients who sought care elsewhere. The bottom line: The current assessment program doesn’t reflect where Medicaid patients seek treatment. “It’s a tough process to renegotiate,” said Rep. Greg Harris, a Chicago Democrat who is among the state lawmakers working to redesign the program. “Every hospital in the state is affected. There will be winners and there will be losers.”
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) submitted today its brief on the merits of the corporate-backed Supreme Court Case, Janus v. AFSCME Council 31.
Enclosed you will find the merits brief that AFSCME submitted to the Supreme Court today, along with a summary of this brief. If facts, law, and precedent matter, all nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in favor of working people in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 – just as they did more than 40 years ago when they found the state and local governments’ system of ordering their labor relations to be constitutional.
Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 is nothing more than a politically-motivated assault on the freedom of working people to earn a better life and an attempt to further rig the rules in favor of billionaires and corporate interests. In these turbulent times, marked by division and attacks on fact and reason, we hope the Supreme Court will consider carefully the facts, precedent, decades of labor peace and stability, and the motivations behind those seeking to undo it.
Now more than ever in the modern era, Americans must be able to trust their governmental institutions. Just as millions of Americans who rely on public service workers to keep their water clean, care for their families in hospitals, and respond to their emergencies quickly and professionally, millions of public service workers now rely on nine Supreme Court justices to decide this case on its merits — not on the ideological animus of the billionaires and corporate interests who are funding this blatant effort to silence the voices of workers.
In Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, 431 U.S. 209 (1977), this Court confirmed the constitutionality of “fair-share fees” to finance collective-bargaining activi- ties of unions obligated under state law to represent both union members and non-members. Abood should be reaffirmed.
Abood accords with the First Amendment’s original meaning, which afforded public employees no rights against curtailments of free speech in the workplace setting. Overturning Abood would thus mark a radical departure from the original understanding of the Constitution. Abood also aligns with more recent jurisprudence deferring to government management decisions by upholding public employers’ rights to limit employee speech as contrasted with citizen speech. This Court’s application of Abood to other non-employment contexts highlights its stature as foundational First Amendment precedent.
Nearly half the States have relied on Abood in their labor-relations systems. Currently, 22 States permit fair-share fees for public employees, two (Michigan and Wisconsin) permit agency fees for some public employees, and 26 States prohibit fair-share fees or public-sector collective bargaining completely. As this diversity of viewpoints reflects, the Framers’ design functions well when States are “laboratories of democracy.” State legislatures often debate these issues and periodically change their policies. Overruling Abood would remove this issue from the people and their elected representatives and override their policy judgments about managing public workforces.
Petitioner asks this Court to upend the collective-bargaining systems of many States – in a jurisdictionally flawed case without any record – based on numerous unsupported and inaccurate factual assertions. For example, petitioner claims all collective bargaining is inherently political and employees choose not to join unions because they object to the union’s collective-bargaining positions. Those assertions are false – and unsupported by an evidentiary record.
This Court’s jurisprudence should rest on evidence, not fiction, and arise out of cases over which the Court has subject-matter jurisdiction, which is lacking here. If the Court considers re-evaluating Abood necessary, it should await a case with a factual record that does not require overruling or ignoring a century-old jurisdictional rule.
* Illinois State Board of Education press release…
ISBE is committed to advocating for the best education system for Illinois to serve districts most in need. Last year the General Assembly passed landmark legislation that changed the way in which schools are funded in Illinois. While the State Board was working to implement PA 100-465 as passed by the General Assembly, it was discovered that the adequacy targets of 178 school districts would unfairly include local resources that those districts are not able to access – to the sum of $37.8 million. According to the sponsors of the initial legislation, this was not the intent of the legislature. To correct this large drafting error, the State Board requested the changes included in SB 444 (Manar/Davis) and requested that the Governor sign the bill that was approved by the General Assembly as soon as possible. On the last possible day, the Governor issued an amendatory veto to SB 444 which has caused a disruption for the agency as it continues preparations for tier funding distribution as quickly as possible. If PA 100-465 is not changed in accordance with SB 444, there will be further disruption and confusion for all 852 school districts.
The new Evidence-Based Funding formula creates a distribution system where each district’s state allocation is directly related to and dependent upon the needs of all 852 school districts. If the changes included in SB 444 are not enacted, 178 school districts will see a reduction in funding based on their inability to access local resources. The State Board is continuing to gather and clean data needed to distribute tier funding as we wait for the General Assembly to act on this amendatory veto. Time is of the essence to ensure that what districts receive from the state this year is equitable and fair.
“We believe it is unfair for critics to say that this amendatory veto will delay implementation of SB 1947,” she said via email. “The Illinois State Board of Education continues to work on the new funding formula, and tier funding is still several months from being sent out.”
Sounds to me like the ISBE isn’t exactly on board with that thinking.
*** UPDATE *** Biss campaign…
Today, Daniel Biss released the following statement after the Illinois State Board of Education criticized Bruce Rauner for his amendatory veto of SB 444, the bill to fix errors in SB 1947, and for creating disruption for the agency and all 852 school districts.
“After jeopardizing public school funding by vetoing SB1 and then diverting tax dollars to private schools through a last-minute voucher program, Rauner is only adding to the confusion now by refusing to fix major drafting errors in the bill. Our students and teachers are again left to wonder if their schools will receive funding—and if Rauner cares at all.”
* The eight Democratic attorney general candidates met with the Sun-Times editorial board yesterday. The whole thing is definitely worth a read…
And perceived frontrunner state Sen. Kwame Raoul, who on Thursday received the powerful endorsement of the AFL-CIO, took heat over a contribution from tobacco companies.
Raoul last year received 10 political contributions of $10,000 each from companies including Top Tubes, Republic Tobacco and Top Tobacco. Top is included in a national tobacco settlement enforced by Lisa Madigan that is still being negotiated in Illinois.
Sharon Fairley, who served as the chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, argued people “toe the line” they are given, while saying the contributions “fly in the face of the campaign finance laws.”
Jesse Ruiz, former Chicago Board of Education head, chimed in that the matter is still pending with the attorney general’s office.
“It will be most likely still pending when I become attorney general or if you were to be attorney general. That’s an advance bribe,” Ruiz said.
Raoul shot back at the accusation: “Coming from somebody who just stepped off of Exelon’s board and took a contribution.”
“You took Exelon money,” Fairley told Raoul.
“I did, but I’m not pointing fingers,” Raoul said.
* This campaign will definitely get more heated as we go along. Former Gov. Pat Quinn took off after two of his opponents earlier this week and they both fired back…
Quinn noted that two of his opponents in the March Democratic primary, state Sen. Kwame Raoul of Chicago and former Chicago Board of Education President Jesse Ruiz, have accepted maximum campaign contributions of $11,100 each from Peoples Gas. Indeed, state disclosure records indicate that checks in that amount went to the candidates from the company on Dec. 29, as well an identical $11,100 to a third candidate, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering.
“I don’t think you can take on Peoples Gas if you’re on the payroll,” snapped Quinn. “You’ve got to have an attorney general who’s independent,” he added, clearly implying that some of his foes are not. […]
“I guess Gov. Quinn is hoping that his voters are either suffering from memory loss or stupid,” says a spokesman for Raoul, referring to $19,000 in campaign donations Quinn got from executives of Commonwealth Edison and its parent, Exelon, in 2009-10.
Said Ruiz in a statement, “Pat Quinn became something of an expert on ethical violations and cronyism during his troubled tenure as governor of Illinois. An investigation into the Illinois Department of Transportation found that Quinn’s office exerted pressure on lower-level state officials to ‘onboard low-level politically connected candidates,’ with ‘little regard for the actual hiring need or whether the politically connected candidates were qualified to perform the stated duties of the job.’ The Chicago Tribune reported that, during his unsuccessful 2014 bid for re-election, Quinn’s office ignored standard protocols in distributing grants from a $54 million anti-violence program.”
* There was even a dustup yesterday over an endorsement…
We are deeply disappointed by the decision of Planned Parenthood Illinois Action to exclude Jesse Ruiz from their Illinois Attorney General endorsement interview process.
As the only Latino candidate, Jesse Ruiz brings an important perspective to the office of Attorney General. Jesse is a strong and unwavering advocate for women’s reproductive health. As the chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education, and as vice president of the Chicago Board of Education, he was instrumental in making sure that public school students had access to accurate, complete sexual health information and contraceptive care. As a longtime supporter of Planned Parenthood, I am very proud to serve on Jesse Ruiz’s campaign.
As Planned Parenthood’s website notes: “All women have concerns when it comes to reproductive health, but for Latinas, the lack of access to quality health care has an impact that will be felt for generations…. Four in 10 Latinas will become pregnant before the age of 20, and Latina teens are 1 ½ times more likely than their white non-Latina peers to have a repeat teen birth.” In addition, Latinas are more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer than women of any other racial or ethnic group.
In Illinois and across our nation, Planned Parenthood is doing important work to protect women’s health and assure equity in reproductive care for women in all communities. We hope that, in future, Planned Parenthood Illinois Action will be more inclusive in its political process, to ensure that all voices are heard and considered on this fundamental issue.
* Planned Parenthood’s response…
Planned Parenthood Illinois Action (PPIA) communicated to the Jesse Ruiz campaign yesterday that the PPIA Board of Directors is in the ongoing process of evaluating and interviewing candidates. This morning, prior to Mr. Ruiz’s statement, we reached out to his staff and offered two date and time options for the candidate to meet with the PPIA Board of Directors. Mr. Ruiz’s office has not responded. We look forward to working with his campaign to get a meeting scheduled. Candidate interviews are have not been completed, nor have decisions been made in any races.
* And the last word goes to the Ruiz campaign…
Jesse was not invited to participate in yesterday’s interviews with the Planned Parenthood Illinois Action board. In fact, he received a text yesterday from a board member asking why he wasn’t there.
Jesse received a text from a board member at 7:30 a.m. today, confirming that he had not been included in the candidate slate under consideration, and that the endorsement process took place yesterday. It was clear that they did not consider him a “viable candidate.”
After the board member notified us of their exclusionary decision, PPIA attempted to backtrack. But by then, as Jesse says, it was too little, too late.
This was an affront to the only Latino candidate in the race, and to the Latino community as a whole.
* Related…
* Candidate for Illinois attorney general robbed at gunpoint: Aaron Goldstein, 42, and several members of his campaign team were in the middle of taking publicity shots when the robbery happened, according to Goldstein’s campaign manager. The robbery took place about 3:25 p.m. in the 4600 block of North Albany Avenue in Albany Park, when three men in their early 20s approached them, according to a law-enforcement source. One of the men flashed a handgun and demanded the camera equipment and other personal belongings from the team, according to police.
Rauner Loses IEA Endorsement He Coveted to Pritzker
The IEA chose the big government Democrat over the big government Republican, despite Governor Rauner’s best efforts to cater to the IEA with Chicago Public School bailouts at the expense of suburban and downstate schools.
January 11, 2018 - The Illinois Education Association has announced it is endorsing Democrat J.B. Pritzker for governor. The 135,000 members of the IEA represent the state’s largest education employee’s organization.
“Republican teachers are reminded again that the union they are forced to fund is a far left-leaning activist group intent on growing government at all costs and bankrupting the state,” said State Representative Jeanne Ives, conservative reform Republican Candidate for Governor. “In his endeavor to betray all his promises of conservative reform, Governor Rauner attempted to woo the IEA with his ’state money for things, not students’ concept and massive CPS bailout on the backs of taxpayers. It must be disappointing that the IEA didn’t give him any consideration after all he did for them.”
But suggesting Rauner is trying to suck up to the IEA by helping CPS doesn’t track. That’s because the IEA doesn’t represent CPS teachers. A different education labor umbrella group does — the Illinois Federation of Teachers, which is affiliated with the Chicago Teachers Union.
The new funding formula, which Rauner has touted as a major success, is currently in limbo after he issued an amendatory veto this week of a clean-up bill to allow more private schools to be considered for funds from a new private school tax-credit program.
At any rate, the IEA wasn’t going to give its endorsement to Rauner, who has made weakening union influence part of his long-standing agenda. Still, Ives referred to the union as “a far left-leaning activist group intent on growing government at all costs and bankrupting the state.”
The IEA has a traditionally more Republican-friendly history. In the 2014 Republican primary, the IEA and the IFT backed Kirk Dillard’s unsuccessful bid for governor over Rauner. In the past, the IEA also has backed GOP candidates for governor including Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar and George Ryan.
Today, Citizens for Rauner launched a new digital ad to complement the 60-second TV ad released on Wednesday.
Pritzker was caught on FBI wiretaps encouraging Blagojevich to engage in a quid pro quo with Mike Madigan, opening up a statewide position to which Pritzker could be appointed.
Wednesday’s ad is just part of a much longer tape containing conversations between Blagojevich and Pritzker. Those tapes and transcripts can be found at pritzkerblago.com.
The ad released today focuses on the core themes from the longer 60-second version: Pritzker hoping for a jumpstart to his political career by helping Blagojevich’s campaign bank account.
It’s time for Illinois to know the truth about JB Pritzker.
Today, the Democratic Governors Association called on Governor Bruce Rauner to rescind the endorsement from Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, following a KMOV report that Greitens was accused of blackmailing a mistress to keep his extramarital affair silent.
Rauner’s campaign has spent $1.3 million dollars on an ad featuring governors of neighboring states, including Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, that has been running pretty consistently since October. And Rauner’s been a big fan of Greitens, sending him a check for $100,000 just a year-and-a-half ago.
Rauner’s response? Well, the ad has been quietly taken off his YouTube account. (Don’t worry, it’s still available here.) And when Rauner’s team was asked if they would take down the ad, they simply said it had run its course anyway.
“Bruce Rauner must renounce the support of Missouri Governor Eric Greitens and promise to stop using him in ads,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Bruce Rauner proudly accepted Governor Greitens’ endorsement this year; now it’s time for him to rescind it. Governor Rauner cannot simply wish-away the $1.3 million he spent promoting Gov. Greitens in Illinois.”
* Pritzker campaign…
Bruce Rauner-ally Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens is under fire after KMOV published a shocking and disturbing report: “In a recording obtained by News 4, a woman says she had a sexual encounter with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and that he tried to blackmail her to keep the encounter quiet.”
Rauner is closely allied with Greitens, airing campaign commercials featuring the Missouri governor badmouthing Illinois and previously contributing $100,000 to his political campaign. After these disturbing allegations, will Bruce Rauner ask Eric Greitens to resign?
“Our failed governor is a close ally of Greitens, but Bruce Rauner has quietly pulled ads featuring him from TV, while remaining silent on the Missouri governor’s behavior,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Eric Greitens is accused of engaging in disgusting conduct that disqualifies him from holding public office, but will Bruce Rauner call for his resignation?”
* Ted Slowik has a petition challenge story that shouldn’t be missed. It’s about Mat Tomkowiak, who filed to run against Speaker Madigan for 3rd State Central Democratic Committeeman.
Tomkowiak only needed 100 valid signatures, but the Madigan people had whittled his total down to just 107 before bringing in a handwriting expert, 80-year-old Diane Marsh of Westchester…
Tomkowiak, who represented himself, challenged Marsh’s credentials, saying some of the professional organizations that certified her skills ceased to exist years ago. Hearing officer Bernadette Matthews, the state board’s assistant executive director, dismissed Tomkowiak’s line of questioning as “speculative” or “lacking foundation.”
Matthews also ruled that Tomkowiak could not submit 38 affidavits he obtained from people who swore that they had, in fact, signed his petitions. The deadline was Friday to submit evidence to be considered at the hearing, Matthews said.
Tomkowiak pleaded that submitting the affidavits prior to the hearing would have allowed the handwriting expert to know which signatures had supporting evidence of authenticity.
“Can you see how that is unfair to me?” he asked.
Matthews deemed the affidavits inadmissible.
“My job as hearing officer is not to rule on the motives or intent of the objectors,” Matthews said.
Across the table from Tomkowiak sat Michael Kasper, general counsel for Madigan’s Illinois Democratic Party. Kasper, wearing a dark suit and bow tie, is a highly skilled attorney who successfully argued the Illinois Supreme Court should strike down the 2016 ballot initiative known as the Illinois Independent Redistricting Map Amendment.
Go read the rest, but (spoiler alert!) it ended as expected today…
Mateusz Tomkowiak, challenger to Mike Madigan for State Central Committeeman 3rd District, has been removed by the State Board.https://t.co/EXRxlCA6XL
* I was determined to make this a normal workday, with a subscriber edition and a full day of blogging. Well, I’m not gonna make it. I need a nap. This bug has really got me. I’ll be back in a couple of hours or so.
In the meantime, if you click here you’ll see Chris Kennedy’s economic plan. Take some time to read it through and then let us know what you think of it. Greg Hinz did a quick write-up as well.
* Bernie writes about how Gov. Rauner can’t seem to get his story straight on the proposed Rivian Automotive plant…
Last month, Rauner brought up the former Mitsubishi plant in Normal when doing an interview on a southern Illinois radio station, telling the Carterville-based WJPF audience that he couldn’t find another auto company to buy the facility.
“No auto company wants to invest in Illinois because of (House Speaker MICHAEL) MADIGAN’s power, because of regulations and the taxes,” Rauner said in that interview.
He didn’t mention then that Rivian Automotive had purchased the plant, or that he himself had appeared there last March with its CEO.
Well, on Sunday, a Rauner campaign Twitter account had a post that said in part: “We brought Rivian Automotive and 1,500 new jobs to Normal.”
Sounds good, but the state isn’t quite there yet. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has promised $49 million in tax credits over 15 years if the company creates 1,000 new full-time jobs by the end of 2024. That state deal — granted by the Rauner administration — also initially calls for at least 35 new jobs by the end of 2018.
I still have trouble believing that this Rivian thing is really gonna happen.
More than two years after Legionnaire’s disease killed a dozen residents at a state-run veterans home in Quincy, Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday said he would convene a task force to look at how to best overhaul the facility and prevent another outbreak. […]
The governor, however, provided little in the way of details about how he plans to achieve that, beyond laying out some broad ideas for the task force to explore. That includes the possibility of replacing pipes, exploring whether to change the water source from the nearby Mississippi River, and constructing a new building on campus to improve resident rooms.
Ouch.
Even so, the governor received the most positive media coverage since before his staff purges.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner emerged Wednesday from a weeklong stay at a military veterans home beset by a deadly Legionnaires’ outbreak and announced that the state would replace the plumbing at the sprawling, 130-year-old site.
He told reporters that cutting-edge water distribution would quickly advance his goal of “zero risk” of Legionnaires’ at the Illinois Veterans’ Home in Quincy, where the disease has contributed to the deaths of 13 residents since 2015 and sickened dozens more veterans and staff members.
“The goal is, latest technology on material, latest technology on water flow,” Rauner said. “We do not want any places where any water could be standing for any period of time.”
Rauner, a Republican, also said he would assemble a group of experts to determine whether a state-of-the-art dorm should be built and whether a safer groundwater source was available for the home.
Gov. Bruce Rauner showered and drank the water at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy for the last week during his stay at the facility where 13 people have died of Legionnaires’ disease since 2015.
On Wednesday, Rauner held a press conference to talk about his stay at the veterans home where he ate and slept with residents. He also laid out his long-term plans for addressing water safety concerns.
“What I’ve determined being here and living here is, okay, let’s take it to the next level. Now let’s fundamentally change, replace and upgrade our water systems for this campus,” said Rauner, who toured the 200-acre campus and followed the water management team around during his stay.
The governor said they will be developing plans for a new plumbing system and work could begin in the coming weeks. He said he has secured a funding commitment from lawmakers, but will be looking to federal partners and philanthropists to contribute.
He slept in the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy. He drank the water. He got schooled in “Connect Four.” And he walked to the public shower with a towel wrapped around his waist.
Breaking his public silence after spending a week at the troubled state-run home, Gov. Bruce Rauner also said he wants to replace and upgrade “water systems” there and is considering the possibility of a brand-new facility on the campus.
Since 2015, 13 veterans have died from a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy. Now, after his weeklong stay at the troubled home, Gov. Bruce Rauner is vowing to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
The governor has taken some heat for the response to the outbreak. Now, however, CBS 2 Political Reporter Derrick Blakley reports Rauner received nothing but love while promising change.
In fact, after seven days of visits, chats, card games, shared meals, and even the same medical tests as the residents, Rauner was treated like a conquering hero.
* Meanwhile, you don’t usually see state government press releases issued on a Sunday, but IDPH did just that on January 7th…
A water pipe in the building that houses the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Chicago Laboratory at 2121 W. Taylor St. in Chicago burst Sunday morning, damaging several areas of the laboratory and pieces of equipment. IDPH has notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Illinois Central Management Services. Emergency clean-up crews are on site.
The IDPH Chicago laboratory performs testing for environmental hazards, arboviruses, pathogens, newborn screening, novel diseases and potential biological threat agents. Examples include Zika virus, Ebola, Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, influenza, measles, tuberculosis, meningitis, rabies, cystic fibrosis, plague, environmental lead, and more./blockquote>
OK, so that release seems quite responsible. All sorts of bad things could’ve happened (Ebola!), so the public should most definitely have been made aware of the potential hazards as soon as possible.
But if IDPH could immediately notify the public about the flooding of its testing lab, why do its top officials still insist that waiting 6 days to tell residents and their families about an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease was perfectly fine?
…Adding… Press release…
Irked by three years of inaction from Gov. Bruce Rauner, State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) filed legislation this week to begin fixing infrastructure problems at the Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy.
“Governor Rauner has had three years to come up with a long-term solution to protect these heroes of our nation, and during that time, 13 people have died from the spread of Legionnaire’s disease,” Cullerton said. “My hope is this time the governor will realize the severity of inaction and do his job to provide our veterans the service and care they deserve, not more bureaucratic red tape and band aids.”
Cullerton aimed to kick start progress at the facility by filing Senate Bill 2308, which would authorize infrastructure improvements at Illinois’ flagship veterans home. The improvements would include updates to the water systems or new construction to prevent the spread of Legionella bacteria.
A veteran himself, Cullerton serves as the Chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and is leading the way to a legislative fix to the spread of Legionnaire’s disease at any Illinois veterans home.
State Representative David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills), the chief sponsor of the bill in the House, is working on building a bipartisan coalition to ensure speedy passage in that chamber once the bill clears the Senate.
During the Veterans Affairs Committee hearing this week, Gov. Rauner’s agency directors made their first request for additional funding to begin construction and renovations at the veterans facility despite the three-year outbreak and 13 deaths at the facility.
“If we in the general assembly knew additional funds were needed to improve living conditions and eliminate risk factors for Legionella at this facility, it would have been approved in a heartbeat,” Cullerton said. “Sadly, we are once again waiting on the governor for answers and results.”
On Wednesday, the governor punctuated a weeklong, well-publicized stay at the Quincy facility with a theatrical press conference calling for funding to either fix water piping systems throughout the complex or build a whole new facility.
“The Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy is a home for our heroes. Not a hotel for the governor to check in and out of,” Cullerton said. “Now that he’s had his picture taken, I would hope the governor’s office will submit legislative language within the next week to begin discussions on how to prevent the death of even one more United States Veteran.”
While Cullerton is committed to fixing the problems with the infrastructure at the facility, he said he was impressed by the care and the staff at the facility during a recent tour.
“The care and service residents receive there is exceptional,” he said. “The staff comes to work every day and gives our veterans and their loved ones their very best. Still, our heroes shouldn’t have to wait three years for the governor’s “world-class” work.”
Cullerton is hoping to have some answers from the governor’s office within the next week.
“At the end of the day, 13 brave heroes have died on the governor’s watch,” Cullerton said. “We cannot afford to lose another warrior to a preventable disease. Let’s get to work and give our veterans the service and care they deserve.”
In a major upset, the Central Committee of the Chicago Republican Party voted 17 to 3 with 2 abstentions to back conservative challenger Jeanne Ives over incumbent Governor Bruce Rauner. The vote took place Wednesday evening at a general meeting of the city’s Republican ward committeemen.
Ives spoke to the group for nearly an hour before the vote. Governor Rauner had been invited to speak, but declined to do so. Rauner has avoided large gatherings of Republicans since signing a bill to create taxpayer-funded abortions earlier in the year.
“Jeanne impressed everyone with her determination to hit the state’s problems head-on. She also showed a command of policy details,” said Chris Cleveland, chairman of the Chicago Republican Party.
“It’s almost unheard of for a regular Republican organization to fail to endorse an incumbent governor,” said Cleveland. “The people in the room felt that Rauner had betrayed them.”
The vote kicks off a season of endorsement sessions by county and township Republican organizations in the run-up to the March primary. So far, two suburban organizations have announced endorsements, both for Ives.
The decision by the Chicago Republican Party to back Ives is significant because of the sheer number of votes produced by the City of Chicago. Republicans in the city produce 5% of the Republican primary vote, and 7.5% of the Republican vote in a general election. The number of Republican votes in the city is larger than the number produced by any county except Cook and DuPage. Primary voters often look to local party organizations for guidance on candidate selection.
* From Rep. Ives…
“I am proud to have won the confidence of the Chicago GOP. They are warriors for transparency and small government reforms in a city run almost exclusively by the Chicago Machine. Their bold advocacy will be critical to stoking the revolt, so that we can deliver the conservative reforms Illinoisans were promised in 2014, before Governor Rauner’s wholesale betrayal of the GOP. “
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
COOK COUNTY GOP CHAIRMAN CALLS OUT ILLEGITIMATE ACTIONS BY CHICAGO GOP CLUB LEADER
Chicago, IL – It has come to the attention of Cook County Republican Central Committee Chairman Sean M. Morrison that the Chicago Republican Party led by Mr. Chris Cleveland recently held a meeting of its club. Mr. Cleveland’s expressed intent for this meeting was to usurp the statutory authority of the Cook County Republican Party and its Chairman by illegitimately claiming the authority to appoint individuals to the position of Ward Committeeman.
Chairman Morrison believes that it’s imperative to publicly clarify that the Chicago Republican Party is a private club and holds no statutory authority within the Cook County Republican Central Committee. Thus, Mr. Cleveland has no authority to make any appointments to the position of Ward Committeeman and to indicate otherwise is pure deception.
“I recognize that Mr. Cleveland plays a very prominent role as Campaign Chair for the Jeanne Ives campaign for governor and he has a right to support the candidate of his choice. But, that does not mean that he can manipulate the use and influence of his role as Chairman of the Chicago Republican Club to mislead individuals into the belief that he can appoint them to the position of Ward Committeeman. His sole intent was to manufacture some sort of perceived endorsement for his candidate Jeanne Ives,” said Chairman Morrison.
Mr. Cleveland’s actions are nothing more than a blatant exploitation of his club and its By-Laws and are eerily reminiscent of the actions taken by former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz when she helped rig the DNC support and primary election in favor of Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. Mr. Cleveland’s unilateral actions are an attempt to de-legitimize the vote and influence of every single Republican Committeeman in Cook County.
Deputy Chairman Aaron Del Mar added, “Mr. Cleveland’s deceitful actions have raised grave concern from numerous legitimate Republican Committeemen throughout Cook County. These actions appear to indicate a level of desperation on behalf of the Jeanne Ives campaign for governor. I’m hopeful Jeanne Ives had no previous knowledge of this rigged endorsement stunt and I call on her to publicly disavow Chris Cleveland and the devious actions he took on behalf of her campaign. I would also hope that this is not an indication on how she would govern, if elected.”
* Mayor Emanuel’s people have been talking up this Chris Kennedy angle most of the week…
The mayor also said the heir to the iconic Massachusetts political family had asked for Emanuel’s endorsement.
Kennedy on Wednesday denied it.
“I did not. No,” Kennedy told reporters. “I didn’t do that, and frankly, I’m not sure his endorsement would be helpful with the voters.” […]
“Yes, he did ask,” Emanuel spokesman Adam Collins said later. “Chris knows the truth.”
* A source close to the mayor sent me this quote for publication…
“Sure, he didn’t ask for the Mayor’s support. Just like he didn’t ask Mike Madigan and John Cullerton for support. Just like he didn’t seek organized labor’s support. Just like didn’t ask for Toni Preckwinkle’s or Dick Durbin’s support. It’s one thing to try to rewrite history and cast yourself as an outsider. It’s another thing when that history was just last year.”
* So, there should be little doubt who was circulating this video yesterday…
It looks like Chris Kennedy may have stepped on his own foot with accusations that Mayor Rahm Emanuel is behind a “strategic gentrification plan” to push blacks out of Chicago.
On Wednesday, while the gubernatorial Democratic candidate was unveiling an economic plan that he claimed would help stem the “mass exodus” of minorities from the city, a YouTube video of Kennedy praising Emanuel’s leadership in 2014 was making the rounds.
The video shows Kennedy, framed by shots of cranes and renderings of a luxury high-rise tower, comparing Emanuel to Joe Kennedy.
“He saw something in Chicago that he thought was extraordinary … It had stable and powerful political leadership, and it had a confident group of business leaders … Those factors were at work 60 years ago, and now with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s leadership, they are still true in Chicago today,” Kennedy said at the time.
To me, this is much ado about very little. It’s just politics. I meet with you about a possible endorsement, you go with someone else, I attack you. Such is life. The difference being that the Chicago media always works itself into a frenzy whenever any politician attacks the mayor. And not just this mayor, either.
Interestingly enough, usually in a planned development like Wolf Point Tower, a certain number of units have to be set aside for affordable housing. But with the help of a zoning lawyer, the Wolf Point project was able to avoid that requirement.
“It is nearly impossible when a building is 70 stories tall to create affordable housing because the construction cost itself is probably three times more expensive,” Kennedy told me, adding that the zoning for the land was put in place in 1973 when he was in grade school. […]
“Our new residents eat in restaurants and engage in neighborhood activities which provide entry level jobs to low skilled workers at a living wage,” he said.
Who knew that Chris Kennedy was a big fan of trickle down economics?
In response to our new TV ad featuring JB Pritzker encouraging Blago to engage in a quid pro quo, the Pritzker campaign issued a puzzling response.
Here’s a quick reality check:
Pritzker Claim: “JB was never accused of wrongdoing”
Reality Check: Just because Pritzker was lucky enough to avoid an indictment that doesn’t mean what he did was aboveboard or morally right. Pritzker encouraging Blago to pull off a quid pro quo so he could personally benefit should set off alarms for anyone concerned about corruption.
–
Pritzker Claim: The tapes are “selectively edited”
Reality Check: Nope. Just as the ad states, the audio was completely unedited. However, due to the laws of physics, we weren’t able to squeeze 11 minutes of phone conversations into a single 60-second TV spot. So if the Pritzker campaign would like to listen to the whole thing, we’ve got it posted here: www.pritzkerblago.com
–
Pritzker Claim: These are “nine-year-old tapes”
Reality Check: Surely JB Pritzker, as a lawyer, is aware that voters don’t have a statute of limitations. While this conversation happened in 2008, no one even knew about it until last May. Essentially claiming “but it was a long time ago” is a weak defense for an episode that demonstrates the nature of J.B. Pritzker’s character.
Some good points, although “lucky enough to avoid an indictment” is a bit much. There is zero evidence that Pritzker was even a minor target back then. The government never released the audio and neither did the judge, which probably says something. We only know about this because the Tribune published the audio, which had been sealed by a federal judge.
Ok, so, but, what if, and I’m telling ya this could happen, because I know how Madigan is, he says ‘I’ll give ya health care, I’ll give ya a capital bill, OK. We’ll work with you to balance the budget the way you want to do it and I’ll raise taxes on people…and you make Lisa the senator, OK?’
Speaker Madigan wouldn’t even consent to be in the same room as Rod Blagojevich by that point. Madigan refused to approve a capital bill because he believed Rod and his pals would steal every dime. But he’s gonna give away the store so his daughter could be appointed to a Senate seat she didn’t want?
The man was beyond delusional.
*** UPDATE *** Pritzker campaign…
Bruce Rauner is getting desperate. With no accomplishments to run on and growing turmoil surrounding the Quincy Veterans’ Home, this failed governor is desperate to distract from his failed record and inability to lead. Here are five of Desperate Rauner’s countless crises that he would like voters to ignore:
1. LEGIONNAIRES CRISIS TAKES 13 LIVES: Rauner’s fatal mismanagement of the Legionnaires crisis in Quincy led to 13 deaths and 11 families suing the state for negligence. After seeing the “beginning of an epidemic,” the Rauner administration waited six days to notify the public and residents’ families of an outbreak in 2015. Two more outbreaks occurred each year afterwards, but Rauner’s agency heads continue to defend their failed response. Rauner still refuses to take responsibility.
2. DAMAGE DONE FROM HIS BUDGET CRISIS: At social service agencies and medical providers across the state, services were cut, hours were reduced, staff were let go, and some were forced to close altogether. State bonds were downgraded to one notch above junk status while the bill backlog tripled to historic highs. After 736-days, Republicans and Democrats came together to end Rauner’s historic crisis.
3. SCHOOL FUNDING JEOPARDIZED: Rauner vetoed the first bipartisan school funding formula, then claimed credit for passing the historic legislation, only to amendatory veto a trailer bill that now puts the entire formula at risk.
4. MEDICAID DEAL COSTS SKYROCKETED: Rauner’s MCO scheme violated procurement law, skyrocketed in cost overnight, and has been shrouded in secrecy from day one. This historically massive deal could jeopardize Medicaid in Illinois as dangerously low reimbursement rates threaten to upend the entire system.
5. SECRET SCANDALS: Former communications chief Diana Rickert is suing Rauner for the public release of emails from First Lady Diana Rauner and top administration officials regarding a state agency and HB 40. Former General Counsel Dennis Murashko also abruptly resigned after penning an ethics memo on the separation of Rauner’s political and government operations.
“After spending three years lurching from crisis to crisis, Bruce Rauner is desperate to distract from his failed record as governor,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “With his fatal mismanagement of the Legionnaires crisis, damage done to working families across the state, brewing scandals, and new school funding turmoil, this Desperate Rauner can’t run on his record so he’s running scared from the truth.”
* Retiring GOP state Rep. Chad Hays spoke at a recent event and gave what he called “the most unvarnished presentation of my career.” He talked about several things, including last summer’s bipartisan budget deal…
“The fact of the matter is that had we not done something, the income tax rate would have been much higher than it is now, the unpaid bills would have been around toward $25 billion, headed toward $30 billion. Let that wash over you for a minute. We only had $15 billion of unpaid bills. If it gets to $25 or even $30 billion, the entire general revenue budget is only $36 billion. We could have been facing a situation at the end of this fiscal year where the unpaid bills in this state were as high as the general revenue taken in by the state. Can you imagine such a thing?” […]
Hays again disputed the claim advanced by some Republicans that the GOP lawmakers who broke ranks and worked with Democrats on the tax and budget issue overturned work being done by other Republicans.
“From my perspective, I hung in there a long, long, long, long time, and we were no closer to a budget the first of July last year than on the day the governor took office. We were not. Anyone who tells you that wasn’t there. And if they were there, they weren’t in a room where the negotiation was actually happening. And I’ve told those people that to their face. They know it.
“From the minority, any candidate who tells you that we’re just going to go over there and we’re going to tell them [in the majority party] how it’s done and we’re going to crack them in the back of the head with a 2 by 4 because if we hit them hard enough, they’re going to come around to our way of thinking, that sounds great. But the likelihood of that happening with the head count the way it is in the General Assembly (a 67-51 Democratic advantage in the House; 37-22 Democrats in the Senate) is nonexistent. This notion that we’re going to go over there and hit a 3-run home run and we’re going to drive everybody in (while in the minority) is fool’s gold.
“Let me tell you how it really happens in the minority, using a baseball analogy. You beat out an infield hit, you steal second and you bunt the guy to third and you score on a wild pitch. And you plant your flag in the ground and you take the progress you made and you live to fight another day. That’s reality.”
A campaign ad for Gov. Bruce Rauner featuring embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens will no longer be airing in Illinois, a spokesperson for Rauner said Thursday.
“It was pulled to run the Blago ad and won’t be running anymore,” said spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski.
News of the ad being pulled follows a bombshell news report as Greitens on Wednesday night acknowledged that he’s been “unfaithful” in his marriage. Greitens denied allegations that he blackmailed the woman he had an extramarital affair with to stay quiet.
The Republican governor and his wife released a statement after the St. Louis television station KMOV reported that he had a sexual relationship with his former hairdresser in 2015. The station’s report, released late Wednesday after Greitens gave his State of the State address, said the woman’s ex-husband alleged Greitens photographed her nude and threatened to publicize the images if she spoke about the affair.
KMOV, leaning on the recorded conversations, reported that Greitens invited the woman to his house and “scared her” by blindfolding her, photographing her and telling her not to talk about it.
The ex-husband described Greitens’ taking nude pictures of the woman as “blackmail,” and he and his attorney, Al Watkins, said they had been in contact with law enforcement recently, KMOV reported.
The woman told her ex-husband on the recording that Greitens apologized afterward and said he had deleted the photograph, KMOV reported.
The ex-husband’s attorney, Watkins, released a statement after they were asked about KMOV’s report.
“When a person in a position of power decides to belly up to the bar, it is always wise to belly all the way up,” Watkins said in an email. Asked for clarification, he continued: “I am strongly suggesting a fully forthcoming acknowledgment of his actions is a far more prudent course to pursue than a statement crafted to minimize his role and the ensuing devastation which inured to the detriment of innocents.”
Today, Personal PAC endorsed JB Pritzker for governor. For nearly 30 years, Personal PAC has fought to protect and advance reproductive rights for women in Illinois. With the endorsement, Personal PAC joins Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, the Illinois AFL-CIO, and over 30 individual unions in support of JB Pritzker.
“With Donald Trump trying to dismantle women’s rights in Washington, and with Bruce Rauner failing to stand up to him in Springfield, we are in the fight of our lives to defend women’s rights in Illinois,” said JB Pritzker. “I am so proud to stand with an organization on the frontlines of that fight. The women and men at Personal PAC are fierce and unwavering advocates for women’s health and the right to choose. When HB 40 came before Bruce Rauner’s desk, we stood together and demanded that Bruce Rauner sign it into law. Together, we will keep fighting for women’s rights in every corner of this state. Personal PAC knows how to win and that’s exactly what we’re going to do in this election.”
“Personal PAC is proud to join U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos, Mike Quigley and Luis Gutierrez, Secretary of State Jesse White, Comptroller Susana Mendoza, Treasurer Mike Frerichs, HB 40 Sponsors Senator Heather Steans and Representative Sara Feigenholtz, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, Chicago Treasurer Kurt Summers, Illinois AFL-CIO, Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), Illinois Education Association (IEA), Illinois Democratic County Chair’s Association and many others throughout Illinois in uniting behind JB Pritzker as the strongest pro-choice candidate in the Democratic primary and November general election,” said Personal PAC Board Chair Melissa Widen. “JB understands that reproductive rights are under attack in Illinois and across the country, and he has demonstrated a deep commitment to supporting pro-choice candidates, organizations and legislation. JB was a strong advocate for HB 40 and his campaign led a coordinated effort to pressure Gov. Rauner to sign the bill. Illinois needs a real pro-choice Governor who can be counted on to protect women and families at every turn.”
“It has become extremely clear to Personal PAC and most people in the State of Illinois that Bruce Rauner simply can’t be trusted to tell the truth,” said Personal PAC President & CEO Terry Cosgrove. “While Governor Rauner eventually did the right thing by signing HB 40, he took every conceivable position on the bill in the space of months, told different people different things at the same time, caused pro-choice advocates to spend countless hours and dollars getting him to keep his original written promise until he finally signed the bill. There is not a single pro-choice advocate in Illinois who can say with any certainty that if Gov. Rauner were re-elected, he would oppose the efforts to repeal HB 40. He sadly cannot be trusted to keep his word from one day to the next. On the other hand, Personal PAC has every confidence that JB Pritzker’s unwavering commitment to reproductive justice over several decades will ensure that Pritzker will be a pro-choice Governor that Illinois will be proud of every single day.”
* This probably didn’t help Rauner’s case, either…
Facing a primary challenge amid Republican unrest over his expansion of taxpayer-funded abortions, Gov. Bruce Rauner is offering a new answer to why abortion opponents should support him: Look at what his wallet has done.
“I am the strongest supporter of candidates for office who are pro-life. Nobody has worked harder to elect pro-life Republicans than I have and I remind everybody of that. I have fought hard,” Rauner said Friday on WJPF-AM 1340 in Herrin when asked what he was telling angry social conservatives.
“I supported Bill Brady when he ran. I’m supporting Erika Harold,” the governor said of the unsuccessful 2010 GOP candidate for governor and current Republican contender for attorney general, respectively. “I’m supporting legislators who are pro-life. I am a strong ally and strong supporter for pro-life candidates.”
