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* Kristen McQueary really nailed it this week with this observation…
For weeks, political observers have questioned whether Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady is ready for prime time.
But the real question is whether voters are ready for him.
Good point.
Kristen goes on to give us some color behind the Bill Brady tax returns controversy…
A circle of Chicago-based reporters grilled Brady at an Illinois Republican Party fundraiser Thursday evening at the Drake Hotel about his inadequate attempt at transparency.
“Quinn e-mailed us his full tax returns,” one reporter asked.
“Why not give all of us copies?” asked another
“You are all available to go to Springfield. Three hours is plenty of time,” Brady responded, sweat building on his upper lip.
The back-and-forth continued for another 12 minutes.
Forcing Chicago reporters to travel to Springfield is probably akin to demanding that Pinckneyville residents pick up their tax refund checks in the Loop. It ain’t a popular move.
* Gov. Pat Quinn is doing his best to keep the Brady tax issue alive. Quinn took two whacks at Sen. Bill Brady yesterday. First, he criticized Brady for only allowing reporters to “glimpse” the returns on Friday afternoon. Second, he blasted Brady for not paying income taxes on his “very handsome” state Senate salary. It’s worth a watch it…
* Meanwhile, Quinn took some heat from Latino leaders last night. Quinn didn’t attend the event, sending his COO Jack Lavin and his Hispanic point person Billy Ocasio in his stead. Congressman Luis Gutierrez wasn’t exactly impressed…
“I appreciate that the Governor has sent Mr. Jack Lavin and Mr. Billy Ocasio to be with our group tonight,” he said, “perhaps the Governor can come to our next event instead of a fundraiser with the Speaker of the House.”
Oof.
Problem is, Quinn wasn’t at Speaker Madigan’s event.
Gutierrez continued…
He went on to say that one of the major positions in Illinois is CEO of Navy Pier/McCormick Place. That position belongs to Juan Ochoa. Mr. Ochoa was appointed by former governor Rod Blagojevich in January of 2007. Gutierrez commended Jack Lavin for recognizing Ochoa’s achievement of lowering the operational costs at the Pier and calling it a model of what the state as a whole needs to do. “Yet I have never heard the Governor stand up to defend Juan Ochoa these days when it comes to McCormick place,” said Gutierrez.
“Dime, quien te defiende?” (Tell me who’s defending you), he shouted to the crowd.
Quinn’s not defending Ochoa for good reason. McCormick Place is teetering on the brink of collapse. Not to mention that Speaker Madigan despises the guy.
* On the other side of the political spectrum, Sarah Palin is returing to Illinois for a state party fundraiser…
The Illinois Republican Party says the former vice presidential nominee will headline a party fundraiser May 12 in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont.
* And former Gov. Jim Edgar said last night that he will be voting for Sen. Brady, but repeated his vow to stay out of direct involvement with any campaigns…
Despite recent criticism of Bill Brady’s budget plans, former Gov. Jim Edgar says he will vote for the Republican nominee for governor come November. […]
Edgar said he’ll be voting Republican, arguing that Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has not made the most of opportunities to get spending under control.
“The incumbency has not been as good to him as I thought it might be,” Edgar, a former two-term governor.
Edgar, however, said he likely wouldn’t hit the campaign trail to help shore up support for Brady. He said he would rather sit this election out and spend more time in his role as an academic at the University of Illinois.
I had a two-hour lunch with Edgar and Samuel Gove yesterday while I was in Urbana to speak to the U of I’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs. It was absolutely fascinating. Too bad I can’t write about it, but we talked mostly about Illinois history.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 9:50 am
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Whatever his strengths, Ochoa brought zero experience to McCormick Place at a very critical time. He didn’t run it, the entrenched powers did. As with Fawell, Ocha’s appointment was strictly a very lucrative political reward.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 9:59 am
The Illinois Republican Party says the former vice presidential nominee will headline a party fundraiser May 12 in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont.
Classic.
Comment by George Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:01 am
Unbelievable. I know Edgar was a governor, but if I’m not mistaken, there are a few other former governors still living. Who would Walker vote for? Who will Blagojevich vote for? Who would Ryan vote for? Their answers would be just as politically spun as Edgar’s. But it seems that we’re hearing about Edgar’s issues with Brady on a weekly basis. This is ridiculous.
Brady has not handled this silly tax issue well. He is now making news on how he isn’t handling it, instead of making news about what is in it. Talk about political spin over reality. Get real. If someone has information out there about Senator Brady being a Goldman Sachs-like operator regarding his taxes, then get those facts out there. Brady is doing a poor job on a silly non-issue.
Then there is Palin. Good grief. Palin isn’t here to help the GOP, she is here to demonstrate that she can function politically in Obama’s home state. I know that national candidates won’t work free and that they have to have a motive to show up at your campaign rallies, but Palin and Illinois are not a good mix. She wins, but the Illinois GOP won’t.
Are Illinois voters ready for Brady? I’m not, and I am conservative. Quinn is a proven loser, but I’m not ready for a guy with such a disconnect and disinterest with folks from Chicagoland. Electing Brady to govern Illinois is like bringing in Amish woodworkers to build a skyscraper - it isn’t as good a fit as they claim.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:08 am
Gov. Pat Quinn is doing his best to keep the Brady tax issue alive.
How about running on a real issue, Governor? How about giving us a reason to vote for you? We know what this is, and it isn’t working. Spin this crap all you want, but if that’s all you got, then get out of the race now. You barely won the nomination, and since then you’ve floundered. You and Giannoulais need to do a Cohen and get out of the race to save your party’s chances in November.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:16 am
VM, great point on Palin’s visit.
but the reason Edgar’s endorsment is more important than opinions of other ex-govs is (1) he is not a crook and (2) he’s been critical of fellow repub Brady in the past
Comment by Robert Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:17 am
Shouldnt Luis be more concerned more with shady real estate deals with criminal developers? Oops.
Comment by imbland Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:18 am
Lunch with Sam Gove is a treat! Probably knows more about Illinois political history than any other Illinoisan!
Comment by truthman Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:19 am
Do real people care that a candidate doesn’t present his or her tax returns? Members of the media and partisan hacks do, but I can’t see this being an issue for the people who are actually still undecided.
Whether the voters are ready for Brady will be less of an issue than whether the voters are happy with Quinn. I don’t think either candidate is right for the job, but at least Brady has the possibility of getting things done. Quinn has done nothing to demonstrate that he is capable of solving the State’s problems.
Comment by Pelon Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:23 am
- How about running on a real issue, Governor? -
Grow up. First of all, transparency is a real issue, and Brady can defend his tax release by bringing up Quinn’s past and current releases all he wants. Second, this is a campaign, should Quinn’s staff just throw away opportunities that aren’t a huge deal in the grand scheme of things?
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:24 am
“Electing Brady to govern Illinois is like bringing in Amish woodworkers to build a skyscraper - it isn’t as good a fit as they claim.”
Oy! that’s gonna leave a mark.
Comment by Northsider Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:27 am
I thought Brady was the most self-serving Republican in the state…until I learned today that Sarah Palin is coming. It appears extremist-right politicians come in twos!
Comment by jonbtuba Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:32 am
Yesterday the SunTimes reported that “Daley suggests McCormick Place ‘eliminate 99 percent’ of employees”.
Comment by chuckT Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:33 am
Samll Town Liberal:
Does Quinn have a campaign staff?
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:37 am
Luis G. on the prowl is not a pretty picture. His language and attitude are not helping his city, his state, his party, OR his “community” at large. In fact, some observers would posit that his effect is quite damaging to all of the above. Does he even care?
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:40 am
Thanks to a computer error, my last posting appeared within the wrong blog line - please delete. Sorry for the incovenience Rich.
VM
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:41 am
Well, I guess we know who Juan Ochoa’s clout is.
Quinn should hve made McCormick Place reform a cornerstone of his primary campaign and now the general election. He allows the Speaker and Daley to headline grab when they were asleep at the wheel during the crash.
Now Gutierrez wants to rewrite history and make his patsey a hero. More like the captain of the Titanic. Quinn doesn’t have to swallow this and I hope he won’t
Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:42 am
Grow up.
Get real. This is a non-issue and a waste of time. I agree with wordslinger on this - tax returns show nothing and have never revealed anything about any candidate. Pursuing this demonstrates a complete lack of focus from our current governor. Like that is anything new.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:46 am
=Does he even care?=
Luis can retire an extremist to pass the gavel so that any successor appears as a moderate.
Comment by Brennan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:47 am
=Pursuing this demonstrates a complete lack of focus from our current governor.=
It’s April. The Governor is going to talk about anything other than his plan to raise everyone’s taxes.
Brady fumbled the ball, but he still has time to recover it. Quinn is just kicking it around until Brady dives on it.
Comment by Brennan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:49 am
- tax returns show nothing and have never revealed anything about any candidate. -
Maybe you’re right, but Brady was concerned enough to almost not release them. Maybe Brady will be hesitant to release details of other things he’s not sure will be popular.
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:54 am
Not sure Ryan and Walker can vote. Rod can. For now.
Comment by BigTwich Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:54 am
It’s April. The Governor is going to talk about anything other than his plan to raise everyone’s taxes.
You could have wrote this a year ago. Nothing has been done by this governor. We’ve been dead in the water since 2005. Quinn is demonstrating that Pay to Play at least got something done, and Playing Politics gets nothing done.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 10:55 am
Incredible outrage by Quinn over Brady’s tax returns. Maybe some courageous reporter could ask Quinn what he thinks about our US Treasurer not even paying his taxes.
Quinn realizes he is dead meat on the issues.
Comment by Downstater Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 11:53 am
Voters are going to give Brady a chance because the DEMs have failed miserably. Ready or not, here he comes. Brady by 5.
Comment by Cousin Ralph Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:33 pm
OMG! Pinckneyville in the CapFax! Even as a reference, that’s big news! I bet that makes the DuQuoin Evening Call. Big news for Pinckneyville!Bet that hasn’t happened since…well, did you cover Duster Thomas’s basketball champions in the Cap Fax, Rich? Pinckneyville is a great little town with it’s eye on the future.
Comment by Fan of Cap Fax Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:42 pm
How do we (the voters) put ourselves in the predicament? Can’t we come up with better choices for Governor than Quinn & Brady?
Illinois deserves to be a laughing stock.
Comment by Stones Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:48 pm
I hope Brady wins and appoints some UI board trustees to look into that sweetheart gig Edgar has at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. Tution gets raised, staff is furloughed but Slim Jim just keeps drawing a huge paycheck for giving a few lectures a semester.
Comment by Edgar Schmedgar Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:07 pm
I just checked and Edgar makes $177,630.00 as a “full-time” Distinguisehd Fellow at the IGPA. If he is now going to spend “more time” at his duties does that mean he was spending less than full-time before? Hypocrite.
Comment by Edgar Schmedgar Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:25 pm
Edgar Schmedgar…is that in ADDITION to his pension?
Comment by N'ville Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:38 pm
Yes it is.
Comment by Edgar Schmedgar Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:48 pm
And it gets even worse. There are some people currently employed by the UI Foundation at a salary over $200k who also draw over $200k pensions because they worked for (get this) the UI.
Comment by Edgar Schmedgar Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:50 pm
Jim Edgar reminds me of my neighbor. Especially when my neighbor mows his law shirtless exposing his chest scars and gray back hair. If Edgar had a gray mustache, he’d look just like my neighbor.
BTW, my neighbor holds pretty much has the same opinion of Brady that Edgar holds. Neither of them like the gassing puppies bill, but wouldn’t mind it for any dogs that poop on their lush lawn.
His wife even looks kinda like Brenda. They have no kids at home and look at me with my brood of pre-schoolers, like Yoda looked at Luke Skywalker on planet Dagobah.
The two of them sit and sip chilled beverages in a spotless air-conditioned sun room and chuckle wisely when they see me trying to keep cage matches from erupting in the backyard sandbox.
Kinda like Jim Edgar does. I guess he earned the right to sit back in his spotless air-conditioned sun room and chuckle wisely at our political sandbox scuffles. I guess the fact that he didn’t end up in Oxford, or Thomson, or wherever Rod Blagojevich will end up, makes him some kind of Yoda for the GOP.
But frankly, after a decade of this, don’t you just want to snatch that gray hair helmet off his proud head and let the dog run off with it? We’re sweating here Jimbo, cut us some slack!
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 3:03 pm
–I agree with wordslinger on this - tax returns show nothing and have never revealed anything about any candidate.–
I did say that, because I don’t think a tax return will show that you’re a crook.
But in this case, it shows the dude took some pretty sweet paychecks and took business losses to avoid taxes. Not illegal, but don’t cry about the backlash, especially when you’re bread-and-butter is moaning about taxes.
Alexi and Brady are very similar. They’re both wealthier than the average bear, and obviously have the resources of sharp bean counters to work the system that isn’t practical to the average schnook.
They should both acknowledge that and stop acting like victims.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 3:33 pm
ES, I’m intrigued by your analysis (BTW, the Foundation doesn’t spend tax dollars). Should there be no such Institute and job(s)? Or, is Edgar the wrong guy for the job (if so what are some examples of who might be the right person? Or, is it just that the pay is too high? If so, what should it pay?.
Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 4:22 pm
Hey Congressman Gutierrez - Keep defending all the people that indicted Blagojevich hired under his illegal regime. How much money did Juan Ochoa and you have to raise for Blago to give him that gig ? Can you say “pay to play”.
This was just a lame attempt to embarrass the Governor because Quinn and Ocasio don’t play your old school games.
So you feel disrespected because all your former employees are not being treated well at the Govs office, maybe if the actually worked and cared about the people of the State and not their salaries and titles they wouldn’t be isolated.
Comment by The truth hurts Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 4:52 pm
Schnorf–
BTW, the Foundation spends tax exempt dollars, so even aside from its association and affiliation with the UI, the public has an interest in seeing it operated efficiently and not to benefit your friends there.
Comment by Edgar Schmedgar Wednesday, Apr 28, 10 @ 9:21 am
And as for the Institute, when you have a former governor saying he needs to spend more time at his permanent, full-time job, something is wrong. If anything, those should be year long appointments like at the Kennedy school.
Comment by Edgar Schmedgar Wednesday, Apr 28, 10 @ 9:27 am
I’ve yet to see Quinn, Madigan, Cullerton, or any brave souls in the General Assembly respond with a bill that would require members of the assembly to pay full state taxes on their state salaries.
I’d like to see Edgar’s tax returns….
Comment by Champaign Wednesday, Apr 28, 10 @ 11:14 am
ES, thanks for not answering any of my questions. Were they too hard?
Comment by steve schnorf Wednesday, Apr 28, 10 @ 10:14 pm
There should be no Institute. It does not produce scholarly works of any note and legislators/state govt largely ignore it.
Comment by Edgar Schmedgar Thursday, Apr 29, 10 @ 1:16 pm