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* For a guy who constantly harps about the state not paying its bills on time, this is one embarrassing moment…
Some Chicago radio and TV stations have stopped airing some Bill Brady for governor ads due to nonpayment.
According to Patty Schuh, a spokeswoman for the Brady campaign, an accounting glitch led to the stop in payment on ads purchased by the group Citizens for Brady.
“We’ve paid our buyer,” said Schuh. “But there was a glitch with the buyer who purchased television and radio time for the Brady Campaign causing some stations to stop airing Brady for Governor ads.”
The glitch occurred overnight, Schuh said, and they hope to fix it by the end of business Thursday.
ABC7 plans to pull ads ordered by Citizens for Brady as of 1:58 p.m. Thursday.
Brady was asked about the embarrassing irony on WGN’s midday news…
Bizarre. Brady has raised a ton of cash. There are no indications that his campaign is broke. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that happening with a major campaign here. I wonder if this will come up during tonight’s WTTW gubernatorial debate. Paging Phil Ponce!
And, as the story notes, the RGA is now running ads, so Brady isn’t totally dark today. I saw it on the World Series last night. Here it is…
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Quinn campaign responded to the above story and then added something new. The campaign claims that Brady’s “Partner” ad has been pulled by some TV stations. I’m checking, but here is the statement…
Separately— one of the few Brady ads still on the air - “Partner” - was ordered to be pulled down today by television stations across the state. The ad attempted to link Governor Quinn and Rod Blagojevich, and makes claims found to be patently false.
Watch the ad in question by clicking here. It’s the Rod Blagojevich ad that claims Quinn stuck taxpayers “with a $250 million pay raise for government workers.” As I wrote the other day, the alleged “deal” with AFSCME was about layoffs. AFSCME’s contract, which included the pay raises, was negotiated by Rod Blagojevich.
…Adding… More from the Quinn campaign…
The first stations to report to pull it down were WIFR and WSIL. I’ll send the rest as they come in…but it may be everywhere it was playing.
*** UPDATE 2 *** I just got off the phone with Bill Brady’s campaign manager Jerry Clarke, who explained the situation. Jerry said the campaign placed a $2.2 million buy on Monday for the week. The Republican Governors Association was supposed to kick in $700,000 toward that ad buy today, but then decided to run its own ad instead. That meant the Brady campaign had to redo the buy and reduce it by $700K. The buyers, for whatever reason, did not pay for today.
Clarke said that the campaign is not dark. He didn’t know if WGN was in the current buy, but insisted that other stations have now been paid by his buyers and ads are running.
* As far as the Quinn campaign’s claim that Brady had pulled the “Partner” ad, Clarke said the ad was gone as of this morning because they changed traffic. “No station pulled it,” he insisted. According to Jerry, the “Future” ad is up as is the “Flatline” ad.
More info as warranted.
*** UPDATE 3 *** I called one of the two stations the governor’s campaign identified as “pulling” the “Partner” ad. WSIL TV general manager Steve Wheeler said the Quinn campaign claim is untrue. “We wouldn’t pull a candidate’s spot over its content,” Wheeler said.
This violates the old rule of letting your opponent twist in the wind. The Quinn campaign stuck their nose into this and screwed up the hit.
* Let’s add some semi-related stories while we’re at it…
* Officials scramble to send out vote-by-mail ballots
* Illinois Democrats botch absentee early voting push
* Tight timing on early voting for Chicago Democrats
* Local electorate taps the early voting option
* More area residents take advantage of early voting
* Gauen: Long campaign pain turns to decision time
* Daily Herald: Dirt may deliver, but it’s not right
* Record Spending This Election Season
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:12 pm
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Man, it’s not like Republicans not to pay their bills. Or at least make sure our kids and grandkids will pay them
Comment by I don't want to live in Teabagistan Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:15 pm
Quinn will hit him with this, and then Brady will explain that it is relevant experience.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:18 pm
So we guess it is now DeadbeatNoTaxBill
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:21 pm
Have you look at what Brady is taking in??… If he is truly broke what does that say about him??
Comment by VoterUSA Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:23 pm
Proof positive, Brady is every bit as incompetent as Pat Quinn
Comment by PFK Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:24 pm
(Phone Rings)
Plummer “Hello, Plummer residence, Jason Speaking…”
Brady “Jason, buddy, is your Daddy there? It’s Uncle Bill …oh, and Uncle Jerry.”
Plummer “Really, cool! …Daaaaaaddddd! Uncle Bill and Uncle Jerry want to talk to you!”
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:25 pm
I certainly hope this issue is thoroughly covered in tonight’s debate. The people of Illinois deserve, by God, better than to be left in the dark on transactions between campaign media buyers and television stations. Let’s contract our discussion of the State budget, health care reform, unemployment and taxation so we may discuss the grave allegations that unknown problems befell a media purchase.
Comment by OttawaRoad Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:25 pm
“But there was a glitch with the buyer who purchased television and radio time for the Brady Campaign causing some stations to stop airing Brady for Governor ads.”
This is a curious choice of words. Did the buyer use the Brady cash to pay for RGA ads and then had no clean money to pay for Brady spots.
Remember the RGA is supposed to be uncoordinated
Hmmmmmm
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:26 pm
Snark
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
BRADY CONFIRMS OVER $8 MILLION ON HAND TO BE USED FOR “WALKING-AROUND” MONEY ON ELECTION DAY
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:27 pm
Ok… al though this is not Brady’s fault, and it can be explained, this is pretty embarassing. Not good.
Comment by ChrisChicago82-Independent Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:27 pm
OttawaRoad, campaign management is fair game, just like with the Democratic screwups on the absentee ballot apps that I posted yesterday.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:27 pm
Oh, it’s a media bill. Brady thought it was taxes.
Good he can keep smirking though.
Big question, what’s Tony Rezko doing over Brady’s left shoulder in that WGN clip? I thought he was in prison.
Comment by just sayin' Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:28 pm
Ottawa -
If Brady wins, more likely than not, this campaign crew is going to be in the Governor’s Office running Brady’s show, and they can’t pay bills when they HAVE money … how the heck are they going to manage a debt/defecit?????
Fiasco, Jerry!
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:30 pm
Sounds like a non-story. The reporter asks if there is any irony to this story. The irony is the MSM is fired up about a glitch that will be fixed in 48 hours, we could only wish the state was on a 48 hour pay cycle. Give me a break, this is the symptom of a media that is grasping for straws.
Comment by Moving to Oklahoma Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:30 pm
Words fail. This entire campaign is like watching a boxing match between two people that don’t have arms.
Comment by ILPundit Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:31 pm
Vote for Adlai E. Stevenson II! We know he’s competent and honest. And he’d do a better job than either of these two. Even if he’s been dead for decades.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:32 pm
It seems like Bill Brady has a long way to go before he can be compared to the inability of the State of Illinois to pay its bills. First of all, payment for the campaign ads would have to be 6 months past due. I predict all of the bills will be paid by COB today.
Comment by Anon 7 Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:33 pm
Maybe this is my bias speaking, but I don’t find this that relevant. A day-long accounting problem certainly bites at this point in the game, but I don’t see how this is a huge blow to Brady, other than not having as much air time for a day.
With the Democratic screw-ups yesterday, it seemed a little more damning given that voters were possibly being disenfranchised. This affects only the Brady campaign negatively.
Comment by lawyerlady Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:34 pm
He is only a day late paying the bill? Wow if it gets up to 100 days or more then he is ready to govern.
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:35 pm
Actually, until this happened, I found the Brady campaign enterprise to be noticeably better managed than the Quinn campaign enterprise. Shouldn’t somebody have been monitoring that buyer and those bills, given the extreme importance of ads in the modern campaign. If the buyer was running out of money, did they alert the campaign? When? I can see why the stations would want their money. After the election is over, I imagine collecting is much, much harder.
Sigh. I guess that’s one more thing Brady will have to try and pull it out tonight in the debate. I hope he is practicing.
Comment by cassandra Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:39 pm
I agree it’s fair game on this political blog, and could fairly be covered in other media. But making it “WGN’s top story” and covering it in a debate seems a little sensationalistic.
Comment by OttawaRoad Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:42 pm
Here is the Brady counter…
Governor I wish you were as concerned about the bills to our schools and service providers that are months late as you are about my day late media payment.
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:48 pm
This calls for an immediate full forensic audit and a 10% across the board cut in media spending!
Comment by WRMNpolitics Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:49 pm
Ottowa Road, in the last week of a campaign, complaining about “sensationalistic” is appealing against the thunderstorm. This is a major screw up, and the media firm should be shot at dawn. Brady needs to address it tonight- it will come up.
Comment by 42nd Ward Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:49 pm
Somebody screwed the pooch here. Stations wouldn’t have cut them off overnight if they had been extending credit, as seems to be the case here. There would have been plenty of phone calls and probably some letters.
The stations want the business and the money; it’s a very lucrative time for them and rates are sky high, given the demand. I’m actually surprised they were extending credit. Stations used to be cash-on-the-barrel for campaigns for good reason.
You never, ever, want to get stuck with a campaign owing you money after an election. Good luck collecting, especially if it’s a loser.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:50 pm
Wow!!! What the hell is Quinn doing here? Is he trying to defend Brady’s bill-paying ability?
Who cares if they got pulled for accuracy — that’s not what the stations are saying, and its not revelvant to the stronger message — which undercuts everything about Brady’s campaign.
Classic Pat Quinn — put your ego in the way of political good sense. Every freakin’ time.
Comment by ILPundit Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 1:58 pm
The news here is that clearly Brady doesn’t know what irony actually means.
Comment by MKA1985 Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:01 pm
On my visit to the dentist office yesterday, I brought along a $76 bill from July so I could ask about. The receptionist in the office said they were waiting for payment from the state(my wife is a state employee.)
I said from 3 months ago? She laughed and said they receive payment in about 6 months.
Presumably the Brady media bills were squared away in a day or so.
Is Quinn responsible for the Democratic screwups on absentee ballot apps?
Comment by Wally Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:08 pm
I’m more worried about the way the absentee ballots seem to have multiple hands on them…. many opportunities for mischief
Comment by Plutocrat03 Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:10 pm
I have never seen buys like Brady’s been doing the last few days. I know that includes other groups like cross roads etc. but this guy is gtone buying bonkers. I bet he’s broke.
Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:11 pm
Unless CFS is on to something, I’m not sure this is a big deal. Somebody screwed up in Brady’s campaign, or in one of his consultant’s shops. It happens to a lot of campaigns.
If the glitch is, however, due to comingling of RGA funds and Brady funds, or worse, some kind of embezzellment by the media buyer, then we have a good story on our hands. My guess is, even if there is more to this story, we’re the only people in the state talking about it today and the truth won’t come out in time to make any difference next week.
Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:13 pm
I’m more worried about the way the absentee ballots seem to have multiple hands on them
Wrong. You are thinking about absentee applications, not ballots. The ballots go from a voter straight to the county clerk (or election board).
Comment by dave Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:18 pm
Real World Business Experience™ to the rescue!
– MrJM
Comment by MrJM Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:20 pm
The Republican Governors Association was supposed to kick in $700,000 toward that ad buy today
So the RGA and the Brady campaign are coordinating together?
Comment by dave Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:24 pm
The rumor mill has it that Brady’s staff had to wash dishes after the University Club luncheon to pay for Big Bill’s surf and turf,
Another rumor has it that Big Bill asked Scott Lee Cohen for a loan to raise the funds to pay for the ads but Cohen told him he would have to pawn his Kingston Trio record collection.
I’m trying to confirm both rumors.
Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:24 pm
This Brady thing is big news.
Quinn’s budget has been unfunded for two years, schools and agency’s have been going broke as have state vendors. Quinn has been running around promising new money and program’s and the media has ignored the fact Quinn doesn’t have the money to pay the state’s current Bill’s. The Brady governor campaign has a vendor screw up payment and now somehow the campaign itself can’t pay a bill, give me a break.
Comment by Get Real Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:27 pm
Clarke offered a VERY good explanation, but in order to stop any potential bleeding Brady is going to have to explain it in the exact same crystal clear manner his campaign manager just did.
Comment by ChrisChicago82-Independent Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:30 pm
== The Republican Governors Association was supposed to kick in $700,000 toward that ad buy today
So the RGA and the Brady campaign are coordinating together? ==
Umm this isn’t a federal campaign, it’s the wild west, I don’t think that is an issue in Illinois
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:30 pm
Dave,
The RGA has been donating money to the Brady campaign for months. It was been disclosed and reported many times on this very blog. What is the great mystery? In this case they chose not to donate $700k and run their own ad instead.
My guess is that someone from the RGA thinks their ad is more effective and therefore chose to put their money behind their own ad.
Comment by Jaded Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:31 pm
Not to worry, Brady says this is only a glitch and his muckraking, bottom of the barrel, low road smears will restart shortly.
My advice to the citizens is enjoy it while it lasts.
Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:32 pm
Aren’t 527’s like the RGA prohibited from coordinating with a campaign under federal law? I think that may apply to state campaigns, but I’m not sure. Does anyone here know?
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:34 pm
===I think that may apply to state campaigns, ===
That’s only for federal campaigns. Not state.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:37 pm
== Not to worry, Brady says this is only a glitch and his muckraking, bottom of the barrel, low road smears will restart shortly. ==
Yes because the Quinn ads and the ads from related groups have all been non-gassed puppy dogs and happyness.
No negative stuff on Brady at all…
Grow up
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:38 pm
Just for the record, Carol Marin is hosting tonight’s candidate forum being co-sponsored by WTTW11 and the City Club of Chicago.
Phil Ponce did a great job with the Senate candidate forum last night.
Comment by Tweed Thornton Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:39 pm
Wally, if your dentist’s office is getting paid in 6 months, they’re better off than a lot of others. As of about a month ago, my doctor still hadn’t received payment from the state for a visit last DECEMEBER. I’ve called my doctor several times to see if I can just pay them what I owe and be done with it (I know the amount based on the statement I got from CIGNA eons ago), but they said to just wait. Once they get paid by the state, they’ll send me a bill. I’m still waiting.
Comment by Anonymous ZZZ Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:41 pm
Easy explanation by Brady tonight. Next question Carol, let’s get into the meat of this debate.
Comment by Wally Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:47 pm
Campaign management is fair game. Are these the kind of “professionals” Bill keeps telling us he is going to hire to “run state government like a business”?
Comment by ShadyBillBrady Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:47 pm
== I called one of the two stations the governor’s campaign identified as “pulling” the “Partner” ad. WSIL TV general manager Steve Wheeler said the caim is untrue. “We wouldn’t pull a candidate’s spot over its content,” Wheeler said. ==
Shady Pat Quinn?
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:54 pm
For those blaming Brady’s management skills, did you ever consider that the RGA failed to alert the Brady team (at the last minute it would appear) that they were pulling their money? Sounds like the problem was more one from the RGA than the Brady campaign, who at best can be faulted for not following up on the agreement on the previous agreement with the RGA who probably had a good past track record of coordination.
Comment by Cincinnatus Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:55 pm
So, the Governor’s campaign was LYING. Who would have thunk it???
More ammunition for Brady in tonight’s debate—Have fun with this Bill!
Comment by Wally Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 2:57 pm
So, the Guv doesn’t pay the state’s bills and his campaign is caught in a blatant lie—-wow, what a quick turnaround on this issue!
Comment by Wally Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:00 pm
Cincinnatus, the RGA *IS* the Brady Team. Have you looked at the campaign finance filings?
And, isn’t this “the ads were pulled because of lies” the same stuff the Brady team was trying to pull with some of the early ads about his voting record (or lack thereof)?
Comment by ShadyBillBrady Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:01 pm
Last night I started to think that it would be good for some publication-you obviously have more important things to do, for next time to create for debates like this a debate preview-what to watch for, what each candidate needs to do, ect, ways to tell whose having a good night and not, the way a sports section would preview a bears game.
Comment by shore Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:05 pm
Phineas J. Whoopee—Kingston Trio collection….I”m still laughing!
Comment by Who Cares Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:05 pm
== And, isn’t this “the ads were pulled because of lies” the same stuff the Brady team was trying to pull with some of the early ads about his voting record (or lack thereof)? ==
Heck of a defense of your guy, if Bill Brady is in fact Shady is it wise for Quinn to follow his lead?
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:07 pm
Does anyone believe he can run the States budget when he can’t keep track of his campaign spending? This guy is shaddy. This seals it for me. All he’ll be in another Illinois Govenor that will end up in jail for stealing.
Comment by Giustino Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:11 pm
So, Brady’s campaign has a media buy mixup and it gets its own post and commentary full of phrases like “embarrassing irony”, and then the Quinn campaign is caught lying about why ads were pulled and its casually mentioned in updates?
Look, I’m pregnant and cranky and can’t sleep because of all of this painful election drama, and I don’t mean to be “thenthitive”, as Rich said the other day to someone, but that seems odd.
Comment by lawyerlady Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:26 pm
Gasp. You mean the Quinn campaign told an untruth. I am shocked. I thought only Republicans did that. Maybe “ShadyBillBrady” should change his nickname to “Spin-in Pat Quinn”
Not as catchy but way more accurate.
Comment by Jaded Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:27 pm
One must congratulate the Quinn campaign. If this were a poker game, I believe they just said: “I call your campaign stupidity, and raise”
Comment by ILPundit Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:29 pm
Sorry Pundit, in that poker game, the Quinn campaign just went “All In” with absolutely nothing!
Comment by Wally Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:32 pm
===its casually mentioned in updates? ===
Are you nuts? Did you see the freaking headline?
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:37 pm
Rich she is PG and cranky…
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:39 pm
How important is it to not mess up TV time time-buying in the last week? Back in 2002 I heard from a TV industry pro that in his opinion the Vallas crew seriously messed up their buys statewide in the final week of the Dem Primary, helping them lose by 25k or so to Blago. The rest is history!
In the case of the Brady mess-up, this is really last-minute mayhem, so I wonder if time lines for checks clearing in different places too late to satisfy the TV stations may have been in the mix. Why did the RGA change their mind and run their own stuff?
Comment by Ad Anon Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:39 pm
==Why did the RGA change their mind and run their own stuff?==
Because they can.
Comment by Jaded Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:44 pm
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 3:37 pm:
===its casually mentioned in updates? ===
Are you nuts? Did you see the freaking headline?
***************************
Of course I’m nuts, but I don’t see how that’s relevant here!!
I would respectfully argue that the headlines don’t in any way connect the fact that one station didn’t pull ads to Quinn’s campaign’s statements, and there are two ad pull issues here- the nonpayment issue and the misleading issue.
Also, I would have really appreciated it if you had used the phrase “liar, liar pants on fire” or at least “the lyingest liar who ever lied” in your commentary. Although then people might get confused, thinking you were talking about Kirk (I kid, I kid!).
Comment by lawyerlady Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 4:02 pm
Call out the national guard….call out godzzira…call out the hammer of thor! One might get the feeling reading some of the posts here that there are some desperate folks out there, in the 42nd ward or shadybillbradyville or MrJMworld….etc. This is a tempest in a teapot IMO.
Comment by RobRoy Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 4:10 pm
so in other words Quinn lied when he claims the Brady ad was pulled. After his use of Hendon as an attack dog and then his pathetic gay comments Quinn is a sad sad loser, he did learn from his partner Blago about making crazy outlandish statements just to get on the news.
Comment by fed up Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 5:18 pm
I guess when there’s nothing important to talk about we’re left to fight over scraps, and this is a scrap.
Comment by steve schnorf Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 5:19 pm
It’s a one day story, but not a good one on Televised Debate Day.
Comment by Bubs Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 5:23 pm
–Look, I’m pregnant and cranky–
Be good to yourself and take it easy. It’s all arithmetic and will work out in the end. God bless you and congratulations.
Schnorf, I’m warning you. If you try to introduce reason and civility into the equation again, I’ll accuse of you being a Commie. Or a Democrat.Or a Republican who doesn’t like tea. Or being from Cook County. Or from south of I-80. Whatever is worse in the present climate, I’m warning you…
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 8:26 pm
It’s probbaly an extremely simple situation…..the RGA ran an IE (which is weird but whatever), and the Media Buyer screwed up……i’m guessing they miscommunicated or had difficulty trafficking the new spot that wasn’t partially paid for by the RGA….these things happen, admittedly if i’m a camapign i’m not hiring them any time soon.
Comment by JCIII Thursday, Oct 28, 10 @ 10:17 pm