They’ve been called inhumane, immoral, a private gulag.
But for-profit prisons only meant profit for Fritz Kaegi.
Kaegi personally managed a fund that invested in nearly thirty million in private prisons. Prisons where women refused food to protest abuse of guards. Immigrant children as young as five were held and detainees died suspiciously.
But Kaegi? Only saw profits. Fritzk Kaegi doesn’t share our values.
* Earlier today, the Berrios campaign claimed this…
Fritz claims that during his tenure at Columbia Wagner Asset Management he would not have allowed investments in private prisons because he finds them morally reprehensible. He is clearly misleading voters because as a senior portfolio manager of Columbia Acorn Fund (ACRNX) he designed and executed investment strategies for the fund. Most notable are:
$29 million invested in the Corrections Corporation of America, a private prison operator that lobbied for legislation increasing incarcerations in the U.S. Such policies have been shown to unfairly target African Americans, Latinos, and undocumented immigrants.
The Berrios team’s latest statement about Fritz’s alleged investments in private prisons is replete with blatant lies–hallmarks of Assessor Berrios’ disturbing flagrant perpetuation of economic inequality. This is yet another feeble Berrios attempt to deflect public attention from the Assessor’s own scandal by lying to voters. Their statement this morning calling lifelong progressive Democrat Fritz Kaegi a ‘Wall Street Republican’ would be laughable if the ease with which Berrios’ campaign lies to voters wasn’t so troubling.
…Adding… Berrios campaign…
Hey Rich,
Fritz keeps denying that he worked at Columbia Acorn Fund. Here’s the proof. See attached prospectus and the SEC and form NQ.
The Columbia Acorn Fund (ACRNX) Invested in CoreCivic, Inc. During the Six-Month Period Ending March 31, 2017; Company Reported Its CoreCivic Stock Was Valued at $29,111,038 at the Time. According to a semi-annual N-Q disclosure document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 26, 2017, ACRNX owned 926,513 shares of CoreCivic, Inc. Those shares were valued at $29,111,038. [N-Q, sec.gov, filed 11/28/17; N-Q, sec.gov, filed 5/26/17; Columbia Semi-Annual Report, columbiamanagement.rightprospectus.com, 12/31/16]
*** UPDATE *** Part of a press release from the Kaegi campaign, which calls the ad “slanderous”…
“The Berrios campaign keeps pointing to Columbia Acorn Fund holdings as of March 31, 2017. But Fritz was not a portfolio manager on the Columbia Acorn Fund at this date. He provided notice of his resignation on February 28, 2017, and stepped down from the funds he managed on March 13, 2017. This SEC filing reports the change.
“There are some companies appearing on the March 31, 2017 holding statement that Fritz’s successors purchased because Fritz was no longer there to block them. CoreCivic is among these. “There is not a single document listing CoreCivic as a holding that also lists Fritz as a portfolio manager, because he never was.
“Why did Fritz block the purchase of these kinds of companies? He has always believed these were bad companies in a bad business which have a devastating impact on communities. CoreCivic, previously known as Corrections Corporation of America, changed its name a number of times to hide the nature of its business. They have opaque accounting and contracting practices. They try to change how the market views them, dressing themselves up as real estate companies.
“Additionally, Fritz understood that these companies were running up against a pronounced change of attitude of the American people, toward our country’s failing policies of mass incarceration. Private prison companies were selling something that the American people and governments increasingly did not want. All of these dynamics made for a hugely risky, unattractive investment prospect. They were morally wrong, and they were bad investments. Every time someone suggested an investment in these sorts of companies, Fritz rejected it. The Acorn Fund never owned shares of these companies while Fritz was managing it.
“Assessor Berrios tells a malicious lie that Fritz Kaegi invested in or profited from these companies. Fritz demands a retraction and personal apology from Joe Berrios for making these slanderous charges.”
The measure failed 70-39 on Tuesday. An earlier try at an override failed 70-42. Supporters needed 71 votes to override Rauner. Democratic Rep. Scott Drury of Highwood, who is running for attorney general, voted for override last time but was absent Tuesday.
He filed the receipt for his Rep in General Assembly economic disclosure with his petitions. Cases go both ways.
From another pal…
My guess is this won’t end quickly because it requires interpreting 2 statutes [Election Code and the IL Governmental Ethics Act] that have to be read together. I bet a hearing officer tosses him; state board reinstates; and a court challenge ensues.
This morning an objection was filed against Neli Rowland in the Democratic primary in #IL04. This afternoon she officially withdrew, Sol Flores is the only remaining female candidate.https://t.co/3NguqCRDYL
That could prove crucial in a crowded race. If you have some time, take a listen to the new podcast from Mike Noonan and Victor Reyes. They talk about this primary in some detail…
* In other news…
Five candidates filed for the Democratic primary in the 8th Senate district. Every one of them, including incumbent Ira Silverstein, has had an objection filed against them.https://t.co/1YYBI4bP4T
A complete list of objections is here. A list of those who’ve withdrawn so far is here.
…Adding… Hilarious. The guy has no running mate and filed zero signatures…
None of the gubernatorial candidates had objections filed against them, all will appear on the ballot unless they withdraw. That includes Terry Getz, whose filing was clearly deficient, but no one objected.https://t.co/LXBFlvqWdn
* One week after filing, candidate drops out of 57th state Senate race: St. Clair Township Supervisor Dave Barnes has dropped out of the race for the 57th State Senate District, one week after filing to run. Barnes, who sought the Republican nomination in the March 2018 primary, declined to comment or give a reason for ending his campaign. Remaining in the race for the Republican nomination is Air Force Reservist Tanya Hildenbrand and local radio shock jock Bob Romanik.
* Joe Berrios is the Cook County Assessor. His office controls property tax assessments. It does not control the actual property tax levy…
Rauner held news conference in Wheeling at the home of Michael and Marianne Murphy. The governor accused Berrios of running a rigged system that benefits tax attorneys like the governor’s political nemesis, House Speaker Michael Madigan, and wealthy property owners such as his potential opponent for governor, billionaire J.B. Pritzker. […]
Mrs. Murphy tells ABC7 that several years ago they personally appealed the property taxes and were able to get them reduced by $100. She said she does not know enough about the way the assessor’s office operates to comment on whether Berrrios should resign.
“So in the last 10 years, our property value, our assessed value has gone down 25 percent and in the last 10 years our property taxes have increased 50 percent,” Marianne Murphy said.
So… you’re saying… Berrios… did his job?
One reason this property tax issue is so great for populist politicians is that not many people really understand it.
* As the Sun-Times noted earlier today, Gov. Rauner appointed Ms. Murphy to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board late last year…
The Rauner campaign said her appointment was to an unpaid, volunteer board, which was approved by the Illinois Senate.
Pritzker campaign…
Today, Bruce Rauner held a campaign press conference at the home of one of his government appointees, Marianne Murphy, calling into question what his exiled general counsel, Dennis Murashko, would say about his overlap of government and political work.
Rauner appointed Murphy to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board in December 2016. Murashko penned an eight-page memo — which reportedly did not sit well with Rauner — detailing ethical guidelines between Rauner’s government and political operations. The question is, would Murashko find this campaign stunt unethical?
“If Bruce Rauner hadn’t already gotten rid of Dennis Murashko, then surely the general counsel would have objected to today’s campaign stunt at the home of a government employee,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Until we know why Murashko resigned, questions will continue to swirl about this failed governor and his ethical boundaries.”
She’s not really an “employee.” She’s an unpaid board member. There’s more than a little difference here.
…Adding… DGA…
“Bruce Rauner has no shame,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner has consistently blurred the line between political and public events, and is actively trying to hide a memo from his own lawyer advising to be careful about mixing events. Now he’s using state board members he appointed to delivery his campaign message. Rauner’s hypocrisy knows no bounds.”
“Here in Cook County, we have a corrupt, abusive property tax system that is rigged to benefit political insiders. It is orchestrated by Boss Mike Madigan. He has his puppet Joe Berrios do his bidding on property tax assessments, and it’s all to benefit insiders like Pritzker who save themselves hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars through a rigged system, all of which hurts the middle class in the state of Illinois and here in Cook County.”
“Joe Berrios, Mike Madigan, and J.B. Pritzker are the unholy trinity of collusion, corruption, conflicts of interest in our property tax system. It’s given us the highest property taxes in America here, and it’s benefitting political insiders and the wealthy who get special deals from Madigan and Berrios while the middle class suffers from brutally high property taxes.”
“Every dollar that Madigan and Berrios take in savings for wealthy, connected downtown building owners is a dollar that your average working family in the state has to put in more into the system to properly fund the schools. It’s rigged, it’s corrupt, it’s wrong, and it has to change.”
Essentially what the governor and others are arguing for are higher assessments on downtown commercial properties to help out everyone else in the city and the county. It’s really hard to argue against that, unless, of course, you own commercial properties in the currently booming downtown area, or you have a business that can’t afford to pay even higher downtown rents.
You could even argue that forcing downtown properties to pay significantly higher taxes could damage downtown’s prosperity. And that area (along with O’Hare) is one of the biggest economic engines in the entire Midwest. Lots of regular folks depend on a robust, thriving downtown.
I’m just saying here that Republicans tend to use those sorts of arguments in favor of giving breaks to businesses.
* In other news…
Lottery drawing put Berrios on ballot first Kaegi second #ILMarchPrimary
A third Democratic candidate, Andrea Raila, filed on the last day and will have the third spot on the ballot. Kaegi will probably need to persuade her to get off the ticket to enhance his chances.
On Sunday, the Chicago Tribune published Jason Grotto’s fourth feature article about the mismanaged and corrupt property tax assessment system in Cook County. The headline, “Assessor’s Estimates Defy Logic, Benefit Lawyers” is stunning, yet entirely accurate. The paper’s editorial page followed up with a scathing opinion piece stating Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios is “bad at his job.” In response to the recent calls for Berrios to step down and the report itself, Republican candidate for Governor and State Representative Jeanne Ives issued the following statement:
“Governor Rauner is late to the game. His call for Berrios to step down is little more than political convenience. He is, once again, trying to hide from his record, while I stand on mine. In February, I filed legislation for a property tax task force that would evaluate our system statewide worked to expose and remedy many of the issues we are discussing today. When the Democrat leadership blocked my legislation, I approached the Rauner administration to run the task force through his executive order authority. My request was ignored. Despite his promises of property tax reform, Governor Rauner refused to take charge when he had the chance. He refused to lead on this important issue.
“I filed this legislation because I and my colleagues, including townships assessors, know how inaccurate assessments unfairly affect the school funding formula and unfairly shift the tax burden between different property owners. The fact that this is a statewide problem was revealed during a legislative committee hearing on school funding when I questioned superintendents about their property tax evaluations, one superintendent revealed that his county had not undergone a reassessment in 35 years.”
Governor Rauner looked the other way when he had a chance to effect the change Illinois homeowners desperately need. He could have taken charge in February. He didn’t.
“Today, I join Chris Kennedy in calling for Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios to step down from his position. Under his leadership the Cook County Assessor’s office has an accuracy rating three times worse than the normal range. His office has the highest appeal rate to the state property tax appeal board and the highest rate of those appeals being affirmed in favor of the property owner. His corrupt system failed to use best practices in assessing property, update their computer assisted modeling of assessments, and failed to respond to requests for transparency.
“Governor Rauner will try to tell you our Property Tax System is a ‘broken system.’ That is incorrect. Our property tax system is working exactly as intended by the Chicago Democrats who designed it. It benefits the politically connected at the expense of those in this state without their wealth and clout.
* Meanwhile, earlier today, the Berrios campaign claimed this…
Wall Street Republicans like Bruce Rauner and Fritz Kaegi have been reckless for the role they played in the financial collapse of our economy while profiting off the backs of working families.
From Rebecca Reynolds, campaign manager for the Fritz Kaegi campaign…
“The Berrios campaign has once again issued another obviously false statement. Fritz Kaegi is a lifelong progressive Democrat, and he has been endorsed by Congressional Democrats Robin Kelly, Danny K. Davis and Bill Foster, County Clerk David Orr, Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and many other progressive democratic organizations and local leaders. Suggesting otherwise demonstrates a disregard for the truth, disrespect for the voters of Cook County, and the same lack of honesty and transparency that has plagued Mr. Berrios’ office for many years.”
“No one has made life worse for taxpayers in Illinois than Bruce Rauner, and no one has done more to worsen economic inequality. They have both done lasting damage to the economic futures of low-income communities and communities of color. They should both be relieved of their posts in the 2018 election, or sooner.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Berrios campaign…
Fritz Kaegi denies that he is a Wall Street Republican but the donations to his campaign tell a different story. He has accepted tens of thousands of dollars from Republican donors, who have directly contributed to Trump and Rauner.
Fritz claims that during his tenure at Columbia Wagner Asset Management he would not have allowed investments in private prisons because he finds them morally reprehensible. He is clearly misleading voters because as a senior portfolio manager of Columbia Acorn Fund (ACRNX) he designed and executed investment strategies for the fund. Most notable are:
$29 million invested in the Corrections Corporation of America, a private prison operator that lobbied for legislation increasing incarcerations in the U.S. Such policies have been shown to unfairly target African Americans, Latinos, and undocumented immigrants.
$44 million invested in DeVry University, which was sued for false advertisements that target lower-income communities
$41 million invested in Celanese Corp, which was Accused of contaminating water with cancer-causing chemicals in 2014
$21 million invested in Centene Corp, Health insurer criticized for refusing to cover surgery for infant with brain tumor
$19 million invested in Navigant Consulting, a consulting firm accused of charging Long Island Port Authority exorbitant fees while assisting with response to Hurricane Sandy
$196 million invested in MB Financial, bailed out by federal government
$52 million invested in TransUnion, Credit tracking agency that settled claims from New York Attorney General that it failed to properly respond to consumer complaints about mistakes in credit reports
Fritz is a Wall Street Republican running as a progressive Democrat with strong ties to the people responsible for crushing our economy to the brink of a depression and causing the housing crisis that we are still recovering from. He will not be a good steward for Cook County residents’ hard earned savings.
We call on Fritz to return the millions of dollars he profited from the incarceration and defrauding of African Americans, Latinos and the undocumented community.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Kaegi campaign…
“The Berrios team’s latest statement about Fritz’s alleged investments in private prisons is replete with blatant lies–hallmarks of Assessor Berrios’ disturbing flagrant perpetuation of economic inequality. This is yet another feeble Berrios attempt to deflect public attention from the Assessor’s own scandal by lying to voters. Their statement this morning calling lifelong progressive Democrat Fritz Kaegi a ‘Wall Street Republican’ would be laughable if the ease with which Berrios’ campaign lies to voters wasn’t so troubling.
“Fritz’s commitment to progressive Democratic issues and his responsible and ethical investment record are all a part of the public record and can easily be found with little effort. However, the current Assessor has shown a shameless disregard for getting the facts right for the taxpayers of Cook County–so it should come as no surprise they didn’t get the facts right in their campaign attacks either.
“We understand that this has been a tough time for Mr. Berrios. Just last week, the ProPublica Illinois-Chicago Tribune analysis of tens of thousands of property records demonstrated conclusively that politically connected law firms got billions of dollars in property tax breaks from Joe Berrios on commercial real estate deals–and that Berrios, in turn, put that tax obligation directly on the backs of Cook County residents.
“Especially in this political climate, voters expect and deserve the truth. We call on Mr. Berrios and his staff to at least try to make their case honestly and treat the voters with respect.”
* The 2017 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Senate Secretary/Admin. Assistant goes to Mindy Weir, who works for Sen. Manar…
School funding, automatic voter registration, a sprawling district that includes the Capitol … that’s a lot to stay on top of. Not only does she manage it, she manages it while always staying calm, polite and professional.
* The 2017 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best House Secretary/Admin. Assistant goes to the late Glori Ann “Glo” Cole Byrd, who worked for Rep. Bellock…
She was very diligent, always upbeat (even in her hard times), and knew how to make folks smile.
Over 40 groups associated with the Chicago Women Take Action Alliance on Saturday asked the [gubernatorial] candidates about how they’d address sexual harassment in the statehouse, as well as the economic and social barriers many face. The candidates largely said the answers to women’s issues, as well as curbing sexual harassment, is employing more women and protecting their rights.
Biss says that Rauner is turning everything into a personal fight between himself and House Speaker Madigan. Also said Pritzker is Madigan's candidate (to boos). Pritzker says Biss voted for Madigan to be speaker. Doesn't matter who speaker is, he's going to fight for his agenda
BISS: “First of all, what is Bruce Rauner even talking about? Why is he running for re-election, honestly, can someone explain this to me? It’s embarrassing, he’s genuinely just out there and embarrassing himself. But listen, let’s talk about Mike Madigan. He’s been there too long, he’s too powerful. I’ve said that for a long time. I’ve been fighting to limit how long someone can serve as speaker. This is fundamental, it’s important. Let’s just be really direct about what’s going on here. Bruce Rauner has chosen to be governor in the way of just turning everything into a personal fight with Mike Madigan. That’s terrible for the state of Illinois. JB Pritzker is Mike Madigan’s candidate for governor. I don’t think that’s the right way forward for the Democratic party. [Audience boos] I think we ought a have a new generation of real independence from the Speaker because I think his leadership which has gone on for a very long time, and has amassed an extraordinary amount of power that’s held the state back that’s held the Democratic party back and I think the right way forward is someone who will work with everyone, who has a record of accomplishment in the legislator, but is genuinely independent.” [Applause]
AHERN: “JB would you like to respond?”
PRITZKER: “I would like to respond. First of all, who here on this stage voted for Mike Madigan for Speaker? The guy at the end of the table. [Applause] Daniel Biss voted for Mike Madigan for Speaker, and voted for his rules, so it’s hypocrisy. Let me say that I have fought my entire life to change peoples’ lives across the state of Illinois to make their lives better. When I become governor I’m going to take that same record and go fight hard to put working families back in charge. It doesn’t matter who the Speaker of the House is, or who the President of the Senate is. It’s the agenda that I carry with me that I’m going to fight for.” [Applause]
…Adding… Biss’ retort…
“First of all, in my opinion it does matter who the Speaker of House and the Senate President are. I think it certainly matters. But I will say, yes I did vote for Mike Madigan for Speaker. He was the Democratic candidate for Speaker and I’m a proud Democrat. And I’m going to work with everyone in the legislature, including [Madigan]. I’ll work with him to elect the Democratic nominee for governor whoever that person is. You can be a loyal Democrat and be independent as well. That’s who I am.”
He’s a “proud Democrat” who spends much of his time bashing a guy he voted for and ran a super PAC with last year. It’s a free country, but I’m just sayin…
Mayor Nancy Rotering announced today that she earned the endorsement of Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (Rock Island - 17th District) in the race.
“Illinois needs a fighter like Nancy Rotering for our next Attorney General. Nancy is a working mom and skilled attorney who has the courage, principled leadership, and drive to make a difference for all of us in Illinois,” said Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. “Hardworking families are under attack from Washington Republicans and Bruce Rauner, and I trust Nancy to stand up to them and protect our rights. Nancy has a proven track record of fighting hard and getting real results which is why I’m going to work to help her win this race.”
“I am humbled by Congresswoman Cheri Bustos’ support. She is a role model and proven champion for the the middle-class. We share the belief that protecting working families from the radical right’s anti-union agenda is a priority. Whether it’s fighting against Rauner in Illinois, or Trump in DC, we share the same values and will always stand up for what is right and fight back against special interests,” stated Mayor Nancy Rotering.
As a two-term Mayor, Rotering shook up City Hall with a major reform of city government that resulted in transparency, accessibility, and ethics accountability. The founder of a legal aid clinic, she has ensured access to justice in the areas of immigration, domestic violence, and housing for hundreds of Illinois residents.
* Meanwhile…
Join Northeastern Illinois University’s (NEIU) Inner City Studies faculty and students, along with the Cook County Bar Association, NEIU’s Pre-Law Society, the New Black Leadership Coalition and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Sigma Eta Chapter, is hosting an Attorney General Candidates’ forum on Tuesday, December 12 2017 at 6:30PM at NEIU’s Bronzeville campus (700 East Oakwood Boulevard) Chicago, Illinois 60653. Special Co- Moderators
Chicago Sun times Columnist Maudlyne Ihejirika & WVON 1690 Talk Show Host Cliff Kelley.
We are proud that, this year 2017, the Inner City Studies Program at NEIU is ranked first in the nation by Issues in Higher Education as a degree producer for African Americans in the master’s category for Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender and Group Studies. We have been an esteemed academic program on Chicago’s Southside for over 50 years. We believe this election is very important for our students and faculty at NEIU’s Bronzeville campus and Chicago residents at large who need to hear the candidates discuss issues critical to the African American community in Chicago.
Confirmed Candidates; Scott Drury, Sharon Fairley, Aaron Goldstein, Renato Mariotti, Pat Quinn, Kwame Raoul, Nancy Rotering, Jesse Ruiz
* Related…
* AG candidate Mariotti emphasizes ‘economic justice’: “It’s one thing to write an op-ed about problems or write on social media — it’s another thing to go out there and do something about it,” Mariotti said. “We go to court and fight for people, and that’s what I can do as attorney general.”
* Attorney General candidate stops in Galesburg: “I care enough to go around this entire state. This is the 19th town that I’ve visited,” says Mariotti, “actually meeting people in your town and elsewhere who are going through problems, because I want to learn and figure out what the problems are that everybody is facing. I want to be the Attorney General for everyone around the state.”
Holy cow, that's old. 1926. George F. Harding. Alderman, treasurer, friend of Big Bill Thompson, founder of Harding Museum in Hyde Park (his armor collection now at AIC)
Harmon made so much bread running his ballrooms and other events that he founded Chicago Stadium & was able to finance ~30% of its construction on his own.
Harding followed his father in becoming an important Chicago businessman. From 1905 onward, he served as president of the Chicago Real Estate Loan and Trust Company, and, at the time of his death, was one of the largest landowners in the city and chairman of the board of the Consumers Company. In politics, too, Harding was a figure to be reckoned with. He became a major power broker as alderman of the Second Ward (1903–13), state senator for the First District (1912), city controller (1919–23), and Cook County treasurer (1926–30). His political importance even extended to the national level; he was named Illinois’ representative to the Republican National Committee in 1936.
At a meeting of Sangamon County Democrats last week, BILL HOULIHAN, who is an elected member of the Democratic State Central Committee, said he wanted gubernatorial candidate DANIEL BISS of Evanston to quit giving fodder to Republicans as he criticizes a rival.
“Dan Biss has been sending out some emails that I think are hurtful to the Democratic Party and J.B. PRITZKER, and I think we need to shut that down as soon as possible,” Houlihan said. […]
The day Houlihan spoke, Biss had tweeted about Pritzker, asking what was the billionaire’s “favorite offshore trust fund.” It was retweeted by WILLIAM ALLISON, the Rauner campaign communications director.
Houlihan also said that he contacted Biss weeks earlier, when Biss criticized Pritzker for taking a charter flight to Mount Vernon to attend the NAACP state convention after leaving a Sierra Club event in Chicago.
Houlihan said it’s a big state, and a candidate for governor shouldn’t be criticized for campaigning downstate.
“If he wants to charter a plane to come to Springfield two or three days a week, I want J.B. Pritzker in this town helping Democrats,” Houlihan said, encouraging other Democrats to tell Biss to “take that BS down.”
Durbin who has received $25,000 in contributions from Pritzker addressed concerns that the candidate’s support in the past had influenced his decision to endorse him.
“I value every donation, but we raise a lot of money to run for public office, and any individual isn’t buying my endorsement,” he said.
Durbin isn’t gonna be bought and bring his fellow US Senator along for the ride over a measly $25K. Any Democrat who tries to press that case is gonna look like a fool.
The two Senators are pretty darned popular in the Democratic Party, so attacking them for backing Pritzker will be nearly impossible for Kennedy and Biss. The endorsements also give everybody else who has already endorsed Pritzker some political cover.
“I think people made commitments early because they were told to, not because they chose to. That’s all the difference right there,” Kennedy told POLITICO after a recent campaign event. “I think there is an attempt to cram down democracy, where the head of the party is choosing the next governor. I think that’s the great parallel of what happened in the last [presidential] election, and it’s bad for the state. I don’t think the primary voter is going to put up with that.”
He can’t credibly say that about Durbin and Duckworth. And, frankly, it would hurt him politically if he tried to do it. Same for Biss.
More importantly, though, Houlihan’s speech suggests that Durbin himself might soon step up to say the same sort of thing to Kennedy and Biss.
“It’s laughable that Bruce Rauner is complaining about my taxes,” Pritzker said after a Democratic gubernatorial candidates’ forum at the historic Second Presbyterian Church on the South Side. “I released way more information than Bruce Rauner has, and it’s important to recognize that unlike Bruce Rauner, who, yeah, he paid taxes, but you know how he made his money? By cutting jobs. By buying companies and firing people.”
Rauner, a wealthy private equity investor, has made a practice of releasing 1040 tax forms that give just a hazy outline of his annual earnings and taxes paid. He released three years of tax returns — for 2010, 2011 and 2012 — when he first filed to run for governor in 2013 and has continued to release his 1040s every year since then. […]
The more telling information is contained in what are likely dozens or hundreds of pages of schedules, forms and supporting documents attached to 1040s that detail how investment and capital gains income was derived, business losses or gains, and deductions for charitable donations. […]
Rauner has never released those supporting materials, nor did Pritzker or Kennedy when they disclosed the contents of recent 1040s in late November. […]
When we asked what constituted “way more” on Pritzker’s returns, the Pritzker campaign pointed to a statement he also released about taxes paid by trusts of which he is a beneficiary.
Pritzker is descended from a family of wealthy entrepreneurs who launched the Hyatt Hotel chain, and his fortune is derived in part from inheritances passed down through trusts. Pritzker did not release the trust tax forms themselves, however, so there is no way to independently verify the accuracy of that disclosure.
That said, holding out the trust numbers as the evidence for more fulsome disclosure than Rauner is a curious tactic. As Rauner often points out, his fortune was self-made, he inherited no money and receives no income from trusts. In short, Rauner has made no trust disclosures because he says he has no trusts.
Needless bureaucratic hurdles are slowing ethics investigations and need to be removed, state Senator Cristina Castro said in filing legislation to streamline the process.
“We have a skilled investigator on the job. We need to empower her to do that job and deliver results quickly,” said Castro, an Elgin Democrat and the newest member of the Legislative Ethics Commission.
Here’s the problem with the current system.
When an ethics complaint is filed regarding lawmakers or legislative employees, the Legislative Inspector General cannot review the complaint until it first goes to the Ethics Commission and is approved for an investigation. This bureaucratic step can delay the start of investigation by weeks if not months.
Castro’s proposal simply removes the hurdle and gives the inspector general the authority to begin reviewing cases as they are filed.
“This unnecessary step is only delaying the inspector general from doing her job,” said Castro. “Getting rid of it will speed up the process and deliver faster results, which is what the public wants and expects. It is important that we make it as easy as possible for the inspector General to get to work as soon as possible on these time-sensitive issues.”
Not a bad idea. After all, the governor can’t nix an ethics investigation before it can proceed.
Illinois Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker picked up two huge endorsements on Friday, as Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth both added their support to his campaign.
“I will be in charge,” Pritzker said at the campaign event. “I won’t stand by mealy-mouthed.”
“That is an outrageous statement for a governor to make,” Ives said. “It’s just outrageous. It’s a total lack of leadership. You’re on the battlefield and the general says, ‘Well, I’m not in charge here.’ OK, then you know what? Put yourself in the rear, get behind me, cause I’m going to lead the charge. If you’re not going to be in charge, then let me lead it.”
It’s time for the governor step up, recognize the realities and responsibilities of being governor and offer a serious, balanced budget for the state that elected him.
Gov. Bruce Rauner made a startling statement last week — that he is “not in charge” of the state. The question for him now is whether he’s going to let the truth behind his words impede him trying to implement the changes Illinois desperately needs. […]
The governor can’t waste a year complaining — he should focus on the state resources and agencies he does control, and spend it trying to make progress on key issues, such as economic development.
He’s already wasted close to three years, so, yeah.
Rauner might want to retool that woe-is-me-and-I’m-helpless-until-Madigan-is-gone theme. But given the mileage his opponents continue to get out of it, it might already be too late.
This morning, Governor Bruce Rauner will hold a press conference to call for Joe Berrios’ resignation as Cook County Assessor. This is following a report by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois that revealed he and State House Speaker Mike Madigan have abused their power to enrich themselves and provide tax benefits for connected allies at the expense of the middle class and small businesses.
Governor Rauner will hold the press conference at the house of Michael Murphy, a homeowner in Cook County who is facing high property taxes.
* From yesterday…
Fritz Kaegi, a progressive Democrat running for the Cook County Assessor’s Office, earned the endorsement of Congressmen Danny K. Davis (D-7), Bill Foster (D-11) and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-2) on Sunday, adding momentum to Kaegi’s campaign to unseat embattled incumbent Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios.
During the press conference, Foster endorsed Kaegi, saying, “I am honored to endorse Fritz Kaegi to serve as our next Cook County Assessor. When elected officials fail to do their jobs fairly and honestly, or misbehave in their official capacities, it is essential that we use our democracy’s inherent capability to repair those wounds. Recent investigations by ProPublica/Chicago Tribune, the Economist Magazine, and others, have brought the failings of the Cook County Assessor’s Office into harsh light.”
Rep. Kelly said, “It’s truly an honor for me to be here to endorse Fritz in his candidacy to be the Cook County Assessor. I am very confident that Fritz will bring fresh ideas, direction and leadership to the office and that he will make a positive difference, not only in the office but also across Cook County. I represent an area that has been largely impacted by the assessment process. It’s very important that we elect someone who is going to change that process, so that taxpayers across Cook County have confidence that the Assessor is acting in their best interest.”
Rep. Davis added, “I am delighted to be here with two of colleagues as well as a number of community activists and individuals who are interested in the public interest. We are here for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to endorse, support and convey to general public that we are supporting Fritz Kaegi for Cook County Assessor. And we’re doing so because we believe that he is going to do a better job of generating the fairness that is needed in our County and in the assessment of our taxes.”
Kaegi, whose candidacy has already received endorsements from Cook County Clerk David Orr, Cook County Commissioner Chuy Garcia, and grassroots progressive group Our Revolution Illinois among others, enthusiastically accepted the endorsements by stating, “It a tremendous honor to receive the endorsements of these great U.S. Congressional leaders today. Each of them represents communities that have been severely impacted by the rampant corruption and pay-to-play tactics that we see in the Assessor’s office.”
Kaegi continued, “As the latest Tribune/ProPublica series has uncovered, the working families of Cook County are disproportionately penalized by the willful negligence of Joe Berrios. Annually, billions of dollars shift from the pockets of Cook County residents into the hands of large, wealthy property owners like Donald Trump, creating huge tax increases for the residents of Cook County. Together, we can end the pay-to-play politics, nepotism and corruption in the office. As Assessor, I will bring honesty, integrity and fairness to the office and the residents of Cook County.”
Foster concluded, “The current property tax assessment system is clouded by corruption, pay-to-play politics and nepotism. It’s imperative to elect a new leader who will regain the trust of our residents, and our business community. Fritz has a proven track record that demonstrates his qualifications for the job, and his commitment to ethics, accountability and transparency. I am proud to support Fritz Kaegi because he brings a vision to restore fairness, integrity and honesty to the Assessor’s office.”
* Food for thought…
This chart helps show how Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios failed at one of his most important job responsibilities — valuing property every three years Full story: https://t.co/oIdMuQnWVypic.twitter.com/AEMxymMJG5
Joseph Berrios for Assessor’s Campaign Manager Mario Lopez’s Statement on Bruce Rauner’s blatant political stunt
This attack is coming from a governor who just last week complained about being “not in charge” of the state. Like Donald Trump, Bruce Rauner relies on blatant political stunts in a bid to save his failing administration and re-election bid.
Wall Street Republicans like Bruce Rauner and Fritz Kaegi have been reckless for the role they played in the financial collapse of our economy while profiting off the backs of working families. Bruce Rauner has single-handled dedicated his tenure to attacking working families, women, and children. He has hijacked our state by preventing working families and children from receiving critical services, among other “accomplishments.”
On the other hand, Assessor Berrios has taken charge and focused on improving the assessment system he inherited by making it fair and equitable for every Cook County resident. He has increased the number of outreach events held across the county, made appeals easier, and successfully pushed for an increase in the homeowners and senior exemptions which will put more money back in the hands of homeowners statewide. The Civic Consulting Alliance is currently reviewing the County’s property assessment system, and Assessor Berrios plans to implement whatever changes and improvements are recommended to make the system even better.
It’s time for Bruce Rauner to “Shake up Springfield” by doing the people of Illinois a favor — he should admit that he has failed as governor and resign.
Calling Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios, Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker and Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan the “unholy trifecta of collusion,” Gov. Bruce Rauner stood in a suburban backyard on Monday morning in a campaign stop to call for the resignation of the longtime assessor. […]
Rauner’s example of a high property tax home, however, was a little unusual. The Wheeling home, where he held Monday’s news conference, is owned by Marianne Murphy — a Rauner appointee to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. Murphy was appointed in December 2016 and her term expires in July 2019.
Murphy is also on ALEC’s Private Enterprise Advisory Council, serving as its first vice chair, according to her bio. The American Legislative Exchange Council is an ultra-conservative group crated to influence state lawmakers. Goals of the group include privatizing public education, cutting taxes and cutting public employee compensation. The group also opposes Obamacare.
Notice that Ms. Murphy’s first name wasn’t on the media advisory, even though the house is listed as being in her name. Instead, the campaign only mentioned her husband’s name. Heh.
If you were worried that House Republican Leader Jim Durkin wasn’t taking his primary race seriously enough, think again.
As you already may know, Leader Durkin is being challenged by Burr Ridge Mayor Mickey Straub, who has backing from conservative activist Dan Proft and Operating Engineers Union Local 150. It’s a bizarre duo teaming up in an unprecedented attempt to take out a Republican legislative leader. Durkin is the favorite, but one doesn’t want to take any chances in these trying times.
So, Durkin has brought in the highly capable Mike Zolnierowicz to handle things on his campaign. Mike Z, as he’s known in political circles, was Gov. Bruce Rauner’s deputy campaign manager, then his first chief of staff, then ran Rauner’s massive campaign apparatus until this past July. Zolnierowicz resigned during Rauner’s Great Summer Staff Purge (and eventual re-purge) of 2017 and joined Xpress Professional Services as its political director.
Z simply could not stay around after Rauner pushed out most of the people he had brought in (including his replacement as chief of staff, Richard Goldberg) and replaced them with what turned out to be incompetent ideologues.
After allowing Proft the field to himself for the past several weeks, Durkin’s campaign is now running two new cable TV ads. One is a positive spot that appears designed to address questions about his record raised by Proft’s group.
“Jim Durkin’s record?” the ad begins, “Durkin stood up to [House Speaker Michael Madigan’s] machine, his tax increase, his unbalanced budgets. Now Jim’s pushing property tax cuts. He knows we need relief. Jim Durkin, fighting for families against Madigan’s tax hikes.”
Z didn’t pioneer the use of anti-Madigan themes. That’s been around for decades. But he’s the one who made those attacks ubiquitous with Rauner’s money in the 2014 campaign and all the way through the 2016 election, when the Republicans impressively took away four seats from the House Democrats in a presidential cycle. And Z was planning to do it again until he decided to leave Team Rauner.
The second, negative TV spot against Straub also brings in Madigan, and uses Local 150’s support for Straub against the candidate.
“Ever met Mickey Straub? Don’t bother. You already know the man behind ‘Madigan Mickey,’” the narrator says as a black-and-white photo of Speaker Madigan is shown on screen.
“That’s why Madigan and his union allies are revving up the Chicago machine to grease the skids for Mickey Straub,” the narrator then says, as a reference to my syndicated column in the Sun-Times about Local 150’s support for Straub is displayed. “Say No to Madigan Mickey.”
There’s also a mailer designed to warn voters that a “Million dollar Madigan front group is backing Mickey Straub.” And the Durkin folks have started a new website, MadiganMickey.com. “Straub’s campaign is being supported by a Chicago special interest group that’s funneled more than $1 million to Mike Madigan and wants to raise your taxes even higher,” a message on the front page says.
“And it’s no surprise they want to hike Illinois’ Gas Tax by 15 cents per gallon. They even suggested that Illinois drivers should be taxed for every mile they drive…as much as $65 per month for the average family.”
I don’t know about the cost estimate, but the union has been advocating for just such a pay-by-the-mile plan during the last year or so. Ironically enough, Z worked with a coalition of road builders and Local 150 on a constitutional amendment question last year.
The website also previews some other likely attacks against Straub, including campaign fines that he allegedly didn’t pay until he decided to run for the House, and four unbalanced Burr Ridge budgets.
So, considering that Gov. Rauner funds most of Durkin’s political operation, does Z’s hiring signal that the GOP establishment in this state is finally starting to patch things up after that huge July crackup?
I wouldn’t go that far. But with Rauner’s Republican primary opponent Rep. Jeanne Ives already giving Rauner fits (just look at his bizarre “I am not in charge” press conference last week if you need proof) and Proft looking to pick off House Republican incumbents who voted for the tax hike as well as win some vacant seats, they gotta start somewhere, and Durkin’s race is a good place to do so.
But Proft isn’t backing off. His Liberty Principles PAC has been spending about $70,000 a week on cable TV ads. His latest spots feature former Chicago Bears football player Dan Hampton.
Z and Durkin’s top campaign guy Joe Woodward have had a pretty strong relationship over the years, so they ought to work together well in the coming months.
WESTMONT – By a vote of its Executive Board today, the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) endorsed JB Pritzker for Governor in the Democratic primary election.
Elected leaders of the 100,000-member organization supported Pritzker for his commitment to strengthening public education and services, respect for workers’ rights, support for a progressive tax system, and ability to undo the damage done by Governor Bruce Rauner.
“On behalf of our Executive Board and 100,000 members across Illinois, we are proud to endorse JB Pritzker for Governor,” said Dan Montgomery, IFT President and a high school English teacher.
“For two decades, JB has been working to advance early childhood education, expand school breakfast programs, and fight back against bigotry and hatred. As Governor, we know he will continue standing up for our students from their first day of school through college graduation.
“Unlike Bruce Rauner, JB respects workers and wants to work together to find solutions to our state’s problems. While Rauner made deep cuts and caused a crisis, JB believes that to increase funding for our schools and services fairly, Illinois needs a progressive income tax where the wealthy pay at a higher rate than those who can least afford it.
We’re confident that JB, along with his running mate Juliana Stratton, will put working families first and put Illinois back on track.”
The IFT’s endorsement comes after months of extensively vetting candidates and gathering member input. Candidates submitted questionnaires, participated in interviews with elected leaders, and attended meetings with locals across Illinois. The statewide union and several local affiliates also surveyed members to better understand the issues that mattered most to them heading into Election 2018.
“I’m so proud to receive the endorsement of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the 100,000 teachers, paraprofessionals, higher education faculty and staff and public employees they represent,” said JB Pritzker. “Every single child in Illinois deserves a quality public education no matter their zip code. It’s time for a governor who works hard for our students, listens to and respects our teachers and makes fully funding public schools a priority. Unfortunately, Bruce Rauner has decimated public education in our state, forcing five public universities to downgrade to junk status and it’s time for new leadership in Springfield. I look forward to working with IFT members to strengthen public education and services in Illinois and ensure strong neighborhood public schools in all of our communities. I’m proud to support the labor movement and the rights of IFT members to collectively bargain and retire in dignity.”
Endorsements for other statewide offices and legislative races will be forthcoming in early 2018.
The Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) is made up of more than 100,000 teachers and paraprofessionals in PreK-12 school districts throughout Illinois, faculty and staff at community colleges and universities, public employees under every statewide elected constitutional officer, and retirees. The Executive Board represents all constituencies and includes officers and 40 vice presidents elected from nearly 400 locals and councils throughout Illinois.
* I figure there will be several of these, so I opened up a new thread. Our first is from attorney general candidate and former vice president of the Chicago Board of Education Jesse Ruiz…
It is unfortunate that it had to come to this, but I believe that Forrest Claypool, the Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools, has chosen to do the right thing in resigning his position.
It is time for Chicago to follow the lead of major cities around the country and move to an elected Board of Education. I believe an elected school board will increase transparency and accountability in the leadership of our public school system.
* Chris Kennedy campaign…
Today’s resignation by Forrest Claypool is just another example of how our broken political system is failing our children. Our city and our state have been operating without a moral framework for far too long. The inspector general’s report shows irresponsible and self-serving leadership by Forrest Claypool at the expense of the more than 350,000 students who attend Chicago Public Schools.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed Barbara Byrd-Bennett, a school chief who is in prison, and Forrest Claypool, another school chief who attempted to skirt ethics laws. Emanuel’s track record proves where his loyalties lie: to his peers who benefit from a discriminatory public education system that works to rob our students of opportunity.
We need an elected school board to bring accountability, transparency and trust to the city’s public schools.
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
Gov. Bruce Rauner won’t say if he’ll commit to debating his primary opponent before the March 20 Republican Primary.
At a stop in Jacksonville Friday morning, Rauner was asked if he’d commit to debating state Rep. Jeanne Ives, who has filed to run against Rauner in the March 20 Republican primary.
Asked three times in a row if he’d debate Ives, Rauner only laughed and said “what I’m committed to is winning the general election and beating the Chicago machine.”
Ives reacted later Friday.
“It makes sense when he says that he’s not in charge,” Ives said.
Earlier this week, Rauner told reporters he’s not in charge, saying Speaker Michael Madigan’s influence is controlling the state. Rauner said Illinoisans need to have Republicans take back the state House and remove Madigan as speaker.
“[Rauner] also doesn’t understand the issues so no wonder he doesn’t want to debate it because it would be pretty obvious that he hasn’t been in charge for three years,” Ives said. “It’ll be very obvious that I’ve been leading the charge for good government in Springfield even as a state rep.”
Reporter: Gov. Rauner, will you commit to debating your Republican primary opponent?
Gov. Rauner: Um, well, what I’m, um, very excited about is, uh, this election process, we’re gonna get the truth out about what’s going on in Illinois. Illinois has been dominated by Speaker Madigan and his Chicago machine for 35 years. They have spent us into oblivion, they’ve pushed jobs out of this state, they’ve given us the highest property taxes in America, and they’ve given us massive cronyism and patronage. And we need to change the system so that Speaker Madigan and the Chicago is not in charge. I’ve been battling against that machine for three years, we’ve beat ‘em on some critical things, they’ve beat us on some critical things. They blocked term limits so far, but we’ve gotta prevail. They’ve blocked us getting property tax relief on our families, but we’re gonna prevail. Um, and we’re, we’re just never gonna give up or give in. We’ve gotta take on the machine, we’ve gotta have a democracy restored so the government’s working for the people. And we’re gonna win. We’re gonna win this election and we’re gonna beat the machine.
Reporter: Are you gonna agree to a debate with Rep. Ives?
Gov. Rauner: What I’m gonna do is win this general election and beat the Chicago machine.
Reporter: But will you commit to a debate with Rep. Ives? [Rauner and others laugh]
Gov. Rauner: What I’ve committed to is winning the general election and beating the Chicago machine.
* John Cullerton: Governor Rauner not in charge? Tell me something I don’t know: From day one, this governor has left budgeting responsibilities to the legislature and the courts, even though it’s one of the specific constitutional duties that comes with being the state’s top executive. The state’s backlog of past-due bills grew to a record $16 billion because he didn’t manage his administration’s spending. Keep in mind, the three-year Illinois budget impasse ended because lawmakers in both parties grew tired of waiting for the governor to do his job and took it upon ourselves to solve the problems he wouldn’t.
A Republican lawmaker challenged GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner Thursday to prove his claim that the Democratic House speaker improperly influenced an autonomous agency’s decision to cancel a state consulting contract.
Rep. David McSweeney said Rauner made a “really serious charge” when he alleged his political nemesis, Speaker Michael Madigan, pressured the state’s independent monitor to end the $12.5 million contract dealing with Medicaid services.
“I’ve seen no proof. I’d like to see proof, or the governor needs to apologize,” the Barrington Hills Republican said. […]
The chief procurement officer, Ellen Daley, who is appointed by the independent Executive Ethics Commission, found no evidence of that. She nullified the pact on Tuesday, finding it should have been offered to the lowest and best bidder.
Asked if he thought the procurement officer who’d voided the contract was controlled by the speaker, Rauner said he thought Madigan had “heavy influence.”
* Well, guess what? In March of 2015, Gov. Rauner’s chief legal counsel Jason Barclay sent a letter to the Executive Ethics Commission’s executive director Chad Fornoff recommending that Ellen Daley be hired as Chief Procurement Officer, along with two others for top procurement jobs…
Chad, as we discussed, we would like to offer our own recommendations of individuals for the three open CPO spots… We can give these individuals high marks and recommendations, and would like for the newly constituted board on July 1 to have an opportunity to consider them since they will be the ones working with them going forward.
The letter (with some privacy redactions) is here.
* Rep. McSweeney’s react…
Governor Rauner made very serious charges against Ellen Daley on Wednesday when he said that Speaker Madigan has “heavy influence” over Daley in a feeble attempt to take the focus off his Administration’s no bid $12.5 contract with McKinsey that was rightly voided. Now it turns out that Daley was recommended by the Rauner Administration. Governor Rauner needs to immediately apologize to Ellen Daley, members of the General Assembly and most importantly the people of this state for not telling the truth.
* We didn’t get very many responses to yesterday’s question and that may have been because people were at the Third House holiday party. On a side note, congratulations to new Third House Speaker Erin O’Brien!
Anyway, let’s try this again. If you already submitted your nomination yesterday, you don’t need to repost it today…
* Best House Secretary/Admin. Assistant
* Best Senate Secretary/Admin. Assistant
Remember to explain your nominations and please try to nominate in both categories. Thanks.
Charles Thomas: What did the mayor know and when did he know it? When did you brief him on the LaQuan McDonald shooting and what that videotape said?
Garry McCarthy: The shooting I believe happened on a Monday night, so it would’ve been at my Wednesday briefing that we did the shooting review. And after that, I spoke to the mayor and I told him all about it.
Maze Jackson: Did he know about it?
Garry McCarthy: I told him about the shooting and the video a few days afterwards.
Maze Jackson: Did he see the tape?
Garry McCarthy: Now, that, I can’t answer.
Charles Thomas: How did you tell him about the video? Did you tell him that the video did not jive with what the officers on the street said about it?
Garry McCarthy: Well, Charles, you’ve got to realize, I didn’t know that. We didn’t know that at the time because the investigation was underway. I got a high-level briefing from Dave McMartin, who’s the chief who conducted the preliminary investigation. And what I told the mayor was, the officer is going to have a problem explaining what’s going on here. And [Officer Jason Van Dyke] was stripped of his authority.
Authorities said the city’s Independent Police Review Authority opened an investigation into the shooting within hours, and Van Dyke was stripped of his police powers nine days after the shooting.
* Now, some caveats. McCarthy is talking about running for mayor. So, the timing here could possibly be suspect. And as far as I can tell, this is the first time McCarthy has said anything like the story he told this morning. For instance, from a 2016 Tribune story…
In his first public remarks since the Laquan McDonald controversy cost him his job as Chicago police superintendent, Garry McCarthy distanced himself from any responsibility in the handling of the fatal police shooting, saying by law his only role was to strip the officer of his police powers.
During a panel discussion on policing earlier this week at Harvard University, McCarthy said he viewed the video of Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting the black teen 16 times on the day after the Oct. 20, 2014, incident.
“That was the end of my involvement until the Independent Police Review Authority recommended that I take the only disciplinary step that I could take by Illinois state law, which is to strip that officer of his police authority, which I did immediately,” he said Tuesday, according to a recording of his appearance. “After that, I was completely not involved in it.”
As numerous people including myself said yesterday, unless and until Nazis are given protected class status under the state’s public accommodation laws, then this is a ridiculously horrible take.
We reached out to editorial page editor John McCormick, asking about the tweet and whether the Tribune considered taking it down.
McCormick emailed us: “We often receive impassioned responses to editorials, op-eds and other content we share on social media. All of us promote our work to promote conversations. In the editorial, the line excerpted in the tweet acknowledges that it’s hard to understand the First Amendment issue of compelled speech if you don’t share the baker’s beliefs on homosexuality — so let’s try an example you can relate to, something you wouldn’t want to express. The most important word in this three-paragraph passage is the word ‘required.’”
Today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth endorsed JB Pritzker for governor at a campaign event in Chicago. The two endorsements come as support for JB Pritzker continues to grow throughout the state with endorsements from Secretary of State Jesse White, Comptroller Susana Mendoza, Treasurer Mike Frerichs, the Illinois AFL-CIO, and over 30 individual unions.
As the Senior Senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin has served in the U.S. Senate since 1997, and is currently the Democratic Whip. He is a tireless advocate for our state, fighting to strengthen the economy through infrastructure funding and standing up for immigrant families and Dreamers. Senator Tammy Duckworth was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 after representing Illinois’ Eighth Congressional District for two terms. She is an Iraq War Veteran, a purple heart recipient, and one of the first Army women to fly combat missions in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She has been a relentless advocate for working families and Veterans during her time in public service.
“Senator Duckworth and Senator Durbin are fighting for our values every single day,” said JB Pritzker. “But they can’t do it alone. They need all of us. I’ve introduced bold plans to move our state forward and I will continue to do so throughout this campaign and as governor of this state. We’re going to have to unite and turn our energy and ideas into victories. With Senator Durbin and Senator Duckworth on our side, with over 30 individual unions and the 900,000 members of the statewide AFL-CIO, with elected leaders and issue advocates speaking out on behalf of this campaign, and with the support of hundreds of thousands of working families across this state, we are united and ready for the fight.”
“I’m proud to endorse JB Pritzker for governor because he will be a strong partner and an effective leader for our state,” said Senator Durbin. “I’ve spoken with all the Democratic candidates and heard their visions for our state, and JB has emerged as the clear choice for governor. JB has traveled across Illinois, hearing from people in Rockford and Cairo, Macomb and Danville, and everywhere in between. He has thoughtful and comprehensive policy plans on the issues that matter to Illinoisans. He has shown continued support for immigrants and the Dream Act, protecting health care for all, and creating new and good paying jobs in Illinois — all things that will make Illinois stronger.”
“I’m proud to endorse JB because I know he is ready to fight for working families in Springfield,” said Senator Duckworth. “With JB, I know I’ll have a partner in the governor’s office who will work to create good jobs, help give Veterans the support and opportunity they deserve, and make sure every child gets a quality education. JB understands that pitting Illinois communities against each other is no way to govern, and I’m confident he will work for every Illinoisan as governor. I know JB can bring Democrats together to beat Bruce Rauner and win up and down the ticket, across the state.”
I have no particular desire to see former Gov. Rod Blagojevich released early from his 14-year prison sentence. And despite claims about bias by U.S. District Judge James Zagel, as someone who testified in both of Blagojevich’s corruption trials I found Zagel to be consistently fair, objective and reasonable.
Nineteen Illinois politicians signed a letter asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review Blagojevich’s case — and while I don’t see Rod’s fate as an especially valuable use of the court’s time, I do agree that virtually everyone working at high levels of government and politics across the nation could use clearer guidance as to what is legal and what isn’t.
The petitioners argue that the court needs to “distinguish the lawful solicitation and donation of campaign contributions from criminal violations of federal extortion, bribery and fraud laws.”
They have a point. For as long as politicians are allowed to freely solicit money for their political campaigns, there is always going to be an intersection of campaign donations, taxpayer funds and government spending. Giving elected officials, their government staff, their campaign staff and donors abundantly clear rules and guidance can only help reduce corruption, change the social norms around pay-to-play politics (especially in Illinois, where it’s still seen as a cost of doing business), and give the taxpayers far more confidence that the system is corruption-free.
I see this frequently in my work as a venture capitalist. I founded a firm that works with and invests in startups in a variety of regulated industries. My company does business with virtually every state, every major city and the federal government, so I’ve seen how things work pretty much everywhere. Time after time, the entrenched interests our startups are disrupting try to use pay-to-play politics and campaign donations to stifle competition, limit innovation and preserve the status quo.
Pay-to-play politics is a potent threat to innovation, and the lack of clarity about what is allowed and what isn’t only makes things worse.
It’s been one day since the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois published their investigative story about our rigged property tax system that benefits the well-connected and political insiders at the expense of homeowners, communities of color and working families, and my opponents have yet to join in the call for Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios to resign.
This is a clear signal that a JB Pritzker administration will do nothing more than protect the political establishment while the rest of Illinois residents are left navigating a system that is working against them. Will JB help end the racket and adopt my proposed reforms, including banning elected officials from holding outside jobs as property tax appeals attorneys?
I just don’t see how the government can legally block tax appeals attorneys from holding elected office, but whatever.
* In case you missed it, this is Pritzker’s comment yesterday…
As I’ve stated, we need to reform our flawed and inequitable property tax system. But I’m not here to score political points by attacking other Democrats. That’s what my opponents are doing when we should be focused on defeating Bruce Rauner. The voters will ultimately decide if Mr. Berrios deserves another term.
* From a fundraising e-mail from Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman…
I hope your week is going well. I wanted to reach out and thank you for your support this year. You know that reforming our state government is not for the faint of heart.
Entrenched politicians – like Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan – have rigged state government to benefit themselves and their special interests.
Uprooting this decades-old system is not easy. But that’s exactly what we’re doing here at the Illinois Policy Institute.
Thanks to your support, here’s what we’ve been able to do this year:
You helped us convince entrenched, bureaucratic politicians to resign. When lawmakers debated a multibillion-dollar tax hike over Independence Day weekend, we connected with more than 40 percent of the state’s population. Tens of thousands of taxpayers called their lawmakers. And as a result, more than 30 state lawmakers have already either resigned their seats or will not be holding on to their seats in the next General Assembly. This is an exodus unlike anything Springfield insiders have ever seen. And most importantly, it’s a sign that power is shifting back to where it belongs: you.
You helped us lead the fight against forced unionization: In just a few months, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for Janus v. AFSCME. Our litigation partner, the Liberty Justice Center, is representing plaintiff Mark Janus. The historic case has the opportunity to provide right to work for every government worker in the nation, freeing millions of people from being forced to pay money to unions.
You helped repeal the Cook County soda tax: This fall, the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to repeal its penny-per-ounce sweetened beverage tax. Leading up to the vote, our team generated massive support in favor of the repeal. And our policy experts educated the public about the wasteful spending in Cook County government that was being fueled by this regressive tax.
This was a historic victory for millions of Cook County residents. Tax repeals are a rare species in Illinois. And most importantly, this victory proved that even the most powerful machine politicians – including Mike Madigan – are not above the wrath of the voting public, especially when people are given the tools necessary to make their voices heard.
None of this would have been possible without the support of principled Illinoisans like you.
As you think about your year-end giving, will you consider supporting the Illinois Policy Institute? We rely on the support of donors like you to help teach Illinoisans about the policies that affect their everyday lives. When your fellow citizens see the truth, they can’t help but join this movement to take back our state from crony politicians like Mike Madigan.
Bruce Rauner paints Mike Madigan as a villain. How do you see him?
We have two options. There’s the Rauner option, which is a constant personal war with Madigan. And there’s the Pritzker option, which is, “Hey, I’m Madigan’s guy.” Those are both the wrong path for Illinois. I’ve been independent of Madigan, and I’m proud of that. He has been there too long and he’s too powerful. But I also don’t pretend that the problem is a person; the problem is a system.
In October, you were polling at 6 percent. Have you considered dropping out?
I’m not well known across the state. But we’ve been successful raising money. Spending it to get in front of voters—that hasn’t happened yet. In the meantime, the other candidates haven’t taken off. And that creates a striking opportunity for a progressive middle-class candidate.
So you wouldn’t say that J.B. Pritzker has taken off?
I think it’s actually quite shocking. He’s just written his fifth $7 million check [to his campaign], so he’s $35 million deep, and in that poll he’s still stuck in the 30s.
* Thursday, August 24th Rauner administration press release…
General Counsel Dennis Murashko will leave the Administration at the end of August to pursue opportunities in the private sector. As part of the legal team’s succession planning, Kenton Skarin will assume the role of Acting General Counsel to the Governor.
That press release was issued not long after Gov. Rauner told reporters there would be no more major departures.
But Murashko’s departure didn’t happen at the end of August, which would’ve been a week later. It happened the very next day.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s top attorney – whose end of August departure was announced Thursday – was escorted out of the governor’s office at the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago on Friday [August 25th], according to published reports, nearly a week ahead of his planned exit.
What happened? It’s been the object of much speculation.
But Murashko also authored a memo to the governor raising the question of whether the administration was properly keeping politics out of the office, sources with knowledge of that memo say.
That didn’t turn out to be totally true.
* I obtained a copy of the memo this morning. Click here to read it. It’s addressed to Gov. Rauner and his then-chief of staff Kristina Rasmussen as a response to their request for info on “best practices for interactions between employees of the Office of the Governor (including the Governor) (collectively, ‘Governor’s Office employees’) and members of the Governor’s 2018 reelection campaign.”
I’m told that the governor did not react well to these proposed restrictions, some of which were pretty strict.
I support Representative Ives call for an EOIG investigation of the overall Murashko situation. The EOIG needs to also immediately respond to the press report about an existing or closed potential investigation of Murashko alleging that he “abused the powers of his office.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** From the governor’s office…
You appear to have an internal document prepared for internal use — one of dozens of legal memos prepared to provide advice to the office on various topics.
As to Mr. Murashko, he resigned from our office. (see attached.)
“Bruce Rauner fired a senior advisor, spent months trying to hide the Murashko memo, and he refuses to answer any questions on the subject,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “As questions about potential ethics violations mount, it is time for Bruce Rauner to come clean to voters about why Dennis Murashko was fired.”
* I’ve been working on a couple of interesting stories this morning and am completely distracted. Keep it Illinois-centric and be nice to each other, please. Thanks.
Today, Crisis Creatin’ Rauner is wrapping up RAUNER TOP FIVE, a five-day series highlighting the lasting damage, misplaced priorities, and embarrassing stumbles that led Bruce Rauner to be crowned: ‘The Worst Republican Governor in America.’
Social service agencies were hit the hardest throughout Bruce Rauner’s manufactured budget crisis. Without state funds, services were cut, hours were reduced, staff were fired, and some agencies were forced to close altogether. While a budget was finally passed by the legislature over the #WorstGov’s vetoes, social service agencies are still reeling and trying to rebuild to their pre-crisis capacity.
“Bruce Rauner decimated social services in Illinois, all so the failed governor could gain leverage to force his special interest agenda on our state,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “It will take years to restore services that help Illinoisans build better lives after the damage done by ‘The Worst Republican Governor in America.’”
* ILGOP…
“J.B. Pritzker is willing to throw the middle class and those in low-income neighborhoods under the bus just so he doesn’t make Joe Berrios and Mike Madigan angry. His statement yesterday is a sad response to a scathing report indicting the corruption at the highest levels in Cook County. The next time J.B. Pritzker says he’s working to help the middle class, no one should believe him.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot
In response to yesterday’s troubling report from the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois about Joe Berrios’ and Mike Madigan’s property tax racket, J.B. Pritzker clearly stated where he stands. Instead of standing up to a corrupt Chicago machine that has been caught shifting taxes from the wealthy to the poor in a scheme that’s been called out for its “institutional racism,” Pritzker stood with them. Pritzker is willing to let Mike Madigan make millions off the backs of the poor, so long as Madigan continues to support Pritzker’s campaign behind the scenes.
For Pritzker, campaign endorsements and backroom deals with Madigan and his allies are more important than doing what’s right.
* Running way behind this morning, so chew on this one for awhile…
It is ok kids to lie to authorities. Go ahead do it multiple times. Even try to get other people to lie for you. However after you are caught admit it. We will support you. #CPS#ClaypoolLessonPlanpic.twitter.com/zoQlZJik58
Claypool: Lies in an ethics investigation. Berrios: Rigs tax system to favor the wealthy and lawyers Preckwinkle: Relies on regressive soda tax to solve budget crisis. Emanuel: Fails to address police misconduct. How are those Democrat policies working out Chicago voters?#twill
Embattled Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool plans to resign Friday, sources familiar with his decision said.
Sources said CPS Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson, who has long been seen as the heir apparent to the district’s top office, is expected to be named as interim CEO.
