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NRI head will testify next week

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Illinois

* The Republicans will get more than just a “perp walk” next week…

The former head of the state agency Gov. Pat Quinn put in charge of his failed Neighborhood Recovery Initiative anti-violence grant program will answer questions from a legislative panel next week, her lawyer said Tuesday.

Barbara Shaw, the one-time director of the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority is regarded as a pivotal witness with firsthand knowledge of the preparation and roll-out of the $54.5 million grant program that is now under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in Springfield and Chicago.

“We’re prepared to respond to the questions that are asked of her,” Shaw’s attorney, John Theis, told Early & Often, the Chicago Sun-Times’ political portal.

“Naturally, it’s always a concern when people are out there, and there’s an active investigation, but Barbara won’t be asserting any 5th Amendment privilege,” Theis said.

The governor is going back into the barrel. And that’s a big reason why you’re seeing the oppo flow so fast and furious right now. We’ll have more on that topic in a bit.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 9:47 am

Comments

At this point, the Gov may be worse off if the Dems cancel the hearing. People might be left to assume the worst, and the media might feel there was no good reason to shield from the voters relevant information. And if the hearing goes forward, and some witnesses plead the 5th, possibly same deal.

Comment by Anon Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 9:59 am
They can dig up anything about the bad business deals all day long. The drip is all they have. It will have some undecideds not believe the tact… Especially if it is coming from the person that misused public money… Under investigation and NOT asserting the 5th amendment. Spin all you want. She has answers that PQ doesn’t want out. It’s either him..or close enough to bury him.

Comment by Walter Mitty Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 9:59 am
Quinn seems to be trying to blame Shaw for this
fiasco, but my guess is that she will come across as naive but well-meaning, based on her known history. She has been working in the domestic violence field for decades. Now, maybe Quinn should have hired somebody more competent, but how far can you go ad-wise with that, without appearing kind of mean. And Rauner is already having problems with mean.

Comment by Cassandra Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:06 am
- Especially if it is coming from the person that misused public money -

You mean someone that siphoned Medicaid money from nursing homes leaving them understaffed and short supplied, ultimately resulting in the death of seniors?

You’re right, people probably won’t like that.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:08 am
Cassandra… I am sorry, but if you are under investigation by the feds… you don’t talk… Ever… If you do talk.. Naive is not your defense… There will not be any ad’s generated. The newspapers and newscasts will report the news. Rauner will not need to spend a dime.

Comment by Walter Mitty Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:09 am
Boy Walter is a psychic this morning, in Quinn’s head as well as Shaw’s.

I hope you aren’t disappointed with the hearing, pal.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:11 am
I really think this is going to be a game changer. This could sink Quinn. It is a loose loose no matter what for him, in my opinion.

Comment by Yipperdo Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:12 am
I’ll lay money Shaw falls on the sword.

Comment by Cabildero Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:14 am
I won’t feed trolls… Just remember this.. The Feds bat .999… If they want to talk…Lawyer up.. If your lawyer says talk while they are looking.. You have the goods on someone much bigger than you.. And you did nothing wrong.. No psychic needed.

Comment by Walter Mitty Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:14 am
I have been saying for weeks that Quinn was hitting Rauner like a punching bag over and over. These hearings are why he kept up the beating, because now with this he is up against the ropes.

If Chicago office of DOJ dosent ask them to delay , then Quinn has big problem. My guess they do at last second.
If not PQ will be back behind in this race within a week

Comment by In the past Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:14 am
Walter Mitty, no need to feed the trolls. They expose themselves as fearful and overcompensating by their own words.

Comment by Quinntopia Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:16 am
- The Feds bat .999 -

No one has been indicted. You understand that, right?

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:17 am
Walter: That she is talking, which surprised me, might mean that she thinks she has nothing to fear from the Fed investigation. Doubtful her attorney is “naïve.”

You’re right, the bullet either hits Quinn directly, or with a close ricochet. Whether he’s “buried” by it depends on whether it is seen as corruption, or as a badly fumbled, poorly managed use of funds. Both hurt.

We shall see.

Comment by walker Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:20 am
The beating Rauner has gotten from Quinn has only given Quinn a +2 poll. Quinn needed more because October is going to be ugly and that +2 is going to be gone very soon.

If he stays at least even with Rauner in the polls, he may survive this if he also has a powerful GOTV organization in place. Quinn might get a boost of 4% if his GOTV delivers.

The +2 also helps Quinn today with early voting.

This will be a tough month for him and the September Rauner had - will be about what is to come down on Quinn.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:26 am
This whole campaign is becoming bizarre. If the NRI thing starts to hurt Quinn, I suggest his campaign simply role out direct quotes from the Rauner campaign about higher-ups not being able to be aware of everything going on in a large organization, there unfortunately being some of the wrong people in large organizations, etc. Before long they can all just cut and paste what the other campaign says about every attack on their own problems.

Comment by steve schnorf Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:38 am
*eating popcorn*

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BmlnltVzksg

Comment by Big Muddy Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:47 am
I don’t know how you roll, Mr. Schnorf, but your role here is clearly partisan; always has been too. You must know that Mr. Lavin was the Governor’s former Chief of Staff- that’s the highest person in the org chart save the Governor himself. So perhaps rather than offering unsolicited spin for the anticipated political fall out, it might be instructive to wait to see what plays out (or rolls out) at the hearings, bizarre or not.

Comment by Brenda Sullivan Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:57 am
John Theis is a top attorney. For him to say Shaw will testify and not take the 5th leads to two conclusions: she has little to say and won’t incriminate anyone, or she has plenty to say and will incriminate someone.

We will find out next week. All those harsh negative Quinn and Union ads may give us a few clues here.

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:04 am
Brenda - for pete’s sake, it’s a blog, and I’m guessing it’s one you don’t frequent. Everyone around here offers unsolicited advice to candidates. Perhaps you should remove the stick from your behind. Schnorf offers some of the more thoughtful commentary around here.

Comment by ??? Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:06 am
Wait a minute. Vanilla Man commented yesterday that the NRI scandal becoming front page news again is a reason why Quinn’s campaign is heating up their opposition ads (GTCR, etc - see link provided by Rich at the bottom of his comments).

However, wordslinger apparently thinks these are just routine September campaign ads (”And I’m pretty sure Quinn would be pounding Rauner in late September, regardless. Kind of how elections work” === wordslinger - Tuesday, Sep 30, 14 @ 10:59 am:).

What amazes me is that 1) I even remembered the exchange and 2) That I could even find it.

Comment by dupage dan Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:10 am
@Brenda:

Apparently you are a drive by commenter or you would know that Steve Schnorf is a Republican.

Come back when you know what you are talking about.

Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:11 am
@Brenda,
Steve Schnorf was the best Director CMS ever had. Unlike a lot of the wannabes on this blog, he really has been there, done that, and knows a lot of the past an present power players in Springfield and Chicago. You’d be well advised to listen to what he has to say.

Comment by Gantt Chart Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:26 am
Brenda Sullivan, you’re an idiot. If you don’t know who Schnorf is, you need to stop posting on this blog immediately.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:29 am
DD, do you have a point, or are you just happy that you can remember something that happened yesterday?

What campaign wouldn’t be running negative spots in late September, regardless of circumstances?

Take a look around the country. There are other races going on, and NRI isn’t an issue in any of them.

See any negative spots?

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:30 am
if shaw stabs quinn in the back will it be shaw shank redemption?

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:32 am
–if shaw stabs quinn in the back will it be shaw shank redemption?–

That’s a winner, lol.

At the very least, I’m guessing that Shaw has testified before the grand jury, chatted with the feds and is comfortable with the way the wind is blowing.

Just following orders is my bet on the gist of it. Orders from whom will be the key.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:42 am
You are correct DD.
I’m honored to have written something worthy of being remembered by you.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:48 am
What I predict you’ll get is “play by play” about how she saw things from her perspective. She’ll neither fall on the sword or go out of her way to be spiteful. She’ll tell the truth as she already has under oath apparently. It’s probably fresher in her mind as a result of doing so. The truth will be what it is; probably ugly. It is more than a perp walk in my opinion.

Comment by A guy... Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:51 am
== Before long they can all just cut and paste what the other campaign says about every attack on their own problems. ==

They’ll have enough material to do so on nearly every issue. They can just swap press teams for the last month and film a reality tv show like “Wife Swap”.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:58 am
=== Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:29 am:

Brenda Sullivan, you’re an idiot. If you don’t know who Schnorf is, you need to stop posting on this blog immediately.===

I second the motion! I am a Republican and know for a fact Schnorf is. I’ve questioned his partisanship for being too willing to accept the other side at face value at times. I’d never question his integrity, despite his invitation for me to “bite him”. Naturally, I did not. lol

Comment by A guy... Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:58 am
Brenda, this blog is made for and paid for by politicos from every nook and cranny of Illinois govt. Republicans, Democrats, unaffiliated, lobbyists, retired legislative staff. I think for the most part they try to have an honest conversation about government, which may come with a partisan perspective. Many times they are harder on their own party than the other party.

Your personal attack though, took away from whatever you were trying to say, because they don’t want the blog to turn into the yahoo comments section.

Comment by Modest proposal Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 12:22 pm
WOW, it’s brutal here today. “Bloodtober” comes to the Blog!

Comment by huh Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 12:58 pm
wow, so exactly who is Brenda?

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 1:30 pm
He’s a Republican? Right. Next someone will say the same of the spelling-challenged Oswego Willy. You people are funny.

Comment by Brenda Sullivan Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 1:36 pm
Brenda, this is a very smart “room” in which to comment. People are thoughtful, funny, bring great personal charm to things they write, and, yes, are political. It’s a political blog. There are people here who are Republicans, Democrats, Independents, but first and foremost, people who are interested in government and politics and try, even here, to strive to make things better. Occasionally each one of us gets smacked down, by the blog helm, by others. The only way you get in the mix properly is to mix it up well, and with some real concern to collaborate with others. do that.

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 1:44 pm
Brenda, I’m willing to bet that was your last post.

Comment by A guy... Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 1:45 pm
This is wacky Wednesday. I agree with frisky Amalia. I’m going to mark my calendar! lol

Comment by A guy... Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 1:46 pm
Brenda, it is okay. These guys can be mean sometimes. Big ole bullies!

Comment by Wumpus Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 1:49 pm
A CapFax blog post from February 2012 titled “Some Schnorf Love”:

https://capitolfax.com/wp-mobile.php?p=15242&more=1

So, Brenda, be prepared for pushback in your criticisms of the guy.

Comment by ??? Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 2:05 pm
@ A guy…. “….frisky Amalia….” huh?

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 3:13 pm
- Amalia - Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 3:13 pm:

@ A guy…. “….frisky Amalia….” huh?

Yes Amalia, that comment is part of the Republican war on women.

Comment by Western Ave. Doug Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 3:22 pm
@ Western Ave. Doug, I just don’t know what A Guy means by that term applied to me and am looking for clarity.

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 3:51 pm
FakeBrendaSullivan twitter parody?

Comment by Frenchie Mendoza Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 3:53 pm
== Amalia - Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 3:13 pm:

@ A guy…. “….frisky Amalia….” huh?==

Amalia, just going back to the referenda on birth control. You were self-admittedly frisky. I don’t know why, it’s just tattooed on my brain. Good on you.

Comment by A guy... Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 5:17 pm
Oh, Brenda, Brenda, Brenda. Where do we begin?

Schnorf posts under his actual name, so you could try this: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Steve+Schnorf

I don’t know how you define Republican (it appears you are one of the “small tent” varietals), but Schnorf was Republican enough for Jim Edgar.

And you don’t have to be a Democrat to dislike Bruce Rauner — although, admittedly, it helps.

Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 5:30 pm
Amalia, if you don’t have “self-admittedly frisky” on your business cards already, you might consider it.

Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 5:33 pm
@ soccermom…hilarious

@ A Guy…wow, what a tracker!

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 5:53 pm
Brenda, I’m sorry I disappoint you. But, I’ve been around long enough to know neither team is perfect, and neither are the players. I am a Republican, and as I’m fond of saying I’ve never voted for A D for Governor or for President. I will admit that under the old three member districts I occasionally gave one vote to a D I personally knew well and thought well of. I’m a social moderate and that means I have disagreements with the policy positions of some of our party members, but I’ve never let that stop me from voting for them if I thought they were good people capable of discharging the office they were running for.

I consider myself as fairly conservative on financial matters, but I may define that somewhat differently than others do. I don’t hate government or government employees. I don’t hate public sector unions nor their members. I admit I’ve had some vigorous disagreements with some of the union leaders over the years, but I understand they were doing their jobs, just as I was doing mine. I believe government having more than 30-45 days worth of unpaid bills is a sin and must be addressed. I believe spending more than we take in is a serious mistake, other than as part of a truly workable plan to short term smooth out economic dislocations. I tend to rely more heavily on information and research than I do on gut hunches. That’s why I believe government here in Illinois neither overspends nor overtaxes, though I’m fully aware that gobs of people think we do.

I could go on, but it’s growing kind of tiresome. You now know a heck of a lot more about me than any of us do about you.

BTW, I do dangle participles far too frequently, but then I think of what Churchill said regarding that practice and I forgive myself.

Comment by steve schnorf Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 8:11 pm
“prepositions”. It was so tiresome I got even more sloppy than usual.

Comment by steve schnorf Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 8:14 pm
Brenda, If there is anybody on this blog who deserves the “been there, done that, got the t-shirt” description, it is Steve Schnorf. Regardless of his political affiliation, he is more on target in his analysis than 90 some percent of the commentators here.

Comment by RNUG Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:48 pm