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Rauner won’t reveal who he’s talking to

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Illinois

* Mick Dumke has had no luck obtaining Gov. Bruce Rauner’s unredacted meeting calendar. He has history and the law on his side, however…

Five years ago I went through a similar battle with lawyers for the city of Chicago over schedules for then-mayor Richard M. Daley. They argued that releasing them would be too “burdensome” and could endanger the mayor.

But the attorney general’s office eventually rejected those claims and determined that the mayor’s schedule and meeting calendar were indeed public records. “The public has a legitimate interest in learning of its Mayor’s public meetings held in City Hall,” wrote an assistant attorney general.

I cited the ruling in a lawsuit against the city over its FOIA denials. City officials now cough up Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s schedule when asked. […]

And last month I requested a list of private-sector law firms hired to do state work—that is, firms paid with taxpayer money. McClernon refused to provide that information either, saying it too was protected by attorney-client privilege.

Is the governor really claiming that the public doesn’t have the right to know how taxpayer funds are spent? Public contracts are among the classic and longstanding examples of “information regarding the affairs of government” meant to be disclosed under the Illinois FOIA.

* And there was a follow up this week…

During a press conference Tuesday, he said that he and his administration are as open with the public as they need to be, and he doubled down on his claim that he has the right to conceal who has access to his office.

“It’s very clear where I’m going, and we do much more than other elected officials and much more than is required by law,” Rauner told reporters in Springfield. (You can see the video here; these comments start at the 8:40 mark).

The governor made the statement after Illinois Public Radio reporter Amanda Vinicky asked him about my story detailing his efforts to keep his daily meeting schedules a secret. The calendars involve state business, but Rauner doesn’t think the public should get to see whom he’s consulting, even weeks or months after the meetings occur.

“Why are you blocking so much of your public schedule?” Vinicky asked.

Rauner smiled and shook his head. “Boy, I don’t agree with your supposition,” he said.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:12 pm

Comments

Mick Dumke has had no luck obtaining Gov. Bruce Rauner’s unredacted meeting calendar. He has history and the law on his side, however…

Unfortunately, recent events have revealed Rauner’s limited respect for “history and the law”.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:16 pm
Rauner continued “How can I shake up Springfield, if I constantly have to show my work?”. Also, he added “Corruption is so much harder to prove if you can’t follow up on anything”.

Comment by How Ironic Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:17 pm
Madigan won’t let Rauner release his schedule, duh.

Comment by From the 'Dale to HP Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:21 pm
The Gov might take notice of the litigation over the former Chair of the ICC who was found to have 100’s of phone calls with regulated entities while a rate case was pending.
His explanation was that these were with old friends and did not involve official duties. The court found that this of serious concern at least on the appearances that it creates.
The public should have info on who meets with the Governor or other public officials.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:22 pm
Another screaming example of how he can’t handle the truth. He’s transparent only to those who saw this phony coming. Like Blago, he talks about shaking up Springfield but doesn’t shake it up in a positive manner.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:23 pm
I thought Rauner was going to be “Gov. Transparency.” Yet another turnaround.

Comment by Tournaround Agenda Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:24 pm
Bruce meant he wanted more “trans-parentin’” in Springfield during the campaign, not “transparency”.

Comment by Kasich Walker, Jr. Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:26 pm
Her supposition has been long established as fact. They call it ‘running for Public Office’. Maybe he missed that.

Comment by PAM Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:30 pm
Next on the Turnaround Agenda — repeal the FOIA.

“It just protects the political class, costs too much money, and isn’t needed with good people like me in office.” /s

Comment by cdog Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:32 pm
Maybe Rauner has something to hide.

Comment by DuPage Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:33 pm
I think that the word he was looking for was *facts* not supposition. Also, and this is a legit question, does her talk to make reporters like that, or was he just showing some #everydaysexism?

Comment by It's A Trap! Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:34 pm
Governor Rauner got elected by concealing the whole truth about his agenda, so why would he start after being elected?

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:35 pm
^he not her and ^male, not make.

Comment by It's A Trap! Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:35 pm
Not sure where I stand on us all having the right to know everyone he talks to. The Governor needs to talk to all sorts of folks, in all sorts of places, on all sorts of topics, to effectively do his job. If we insist on seeing it, then some folks simply won’t be listed on his official schedule.

On the other hand, publicly providing the names of law firms being paid public funds is absolutely required. In no way can that be construed as “attorney-client priviledged.”

Comment by walker Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:42 pm
Does the Speaker or President release their schedules? Now those I would really like to see.

Comment by Just Me Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:44 pm
The Speaker’s schedule stays in his head.

Comment by walker Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:48 pm
Hmmm. Has anyone else noticed that Willy has been absent at some very odd times during this time period…Hmmm. Could it be? lol

Comment by A guy Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:49 pm
Any bets that he’s hiding the fact that his actual office hours are even worse than Blago’s?

Comment by Anon. Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:49 pm
==Next on the Turnaround Agenda — repeal the FOIA.==

Walker in Wisconsin recently tried to basically do just that. His proposal even made it through a general assembly committee. But eventually, even his own party backed off, when the story started making the rounds in the press.

Comment by Joe M Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 1:03 pm
Who’s on trovers/shrimp calendar? Meeting trib editorial board giving pointers

Comment by A guy Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 1:05 pm
No meetings with the Trib are necessary. The editorial board just takes dictation.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 1:09 pm
Why did this guy even want to be governor? He seems bothered by the every day aspects of the job.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 1:24 pm
==He seems bothered by the every day aspects of the job==

He could be bothered/annoyed. But remember he has never had one iota of public scrutiny on him since before he started campaigning. And governing is worse than the campaign.

So yes he could be bothered but my guess is that he doesn’t understand that this is PART of the job. Not an aspect to be deflected or avoided.

Big boy chairs demand big boy responsibilities.

Comment by Abe the Babe Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 1:42 pm
===And governing is worse than the campaign===

He is also governing worse than he campaigned.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 2:11 pm
Every new lawyer knows that only the legal advice given by an attorney is privileged from disclosure. The identity of the attorney giving the advice is not.

Comment by Southside Markie Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 2:31 pm
=== A guy - Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 1:05 pm:

Who’s on trovers/shrimp calendar? Meeting trib editorial board giving pointers====

Hey, whoever you are, pick a new name. I’ve got dibs on this one. Being an impostor here is totally uncool. Get a new name. And while you’re at it, make more intelligent observations.

Comment by A guy Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 2:58 pm
“- Anonymous - Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 12:22 pm:

The Gov might take notice of the litigation over the former Chair of the ICC who was found to have 100’s of phone calls with regulated entities while a rate case was pending.”

Which ICC Chair?

Comment by Chicago Cynic Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 3:02 pm
Maybe he’s not meeting with anyone at all, and would rather no one knew.

A couple of days ago, the governor said he, Cullerton, and Emanual could have had everything wrapped up by now, they were working so well together.

Cullerton said he hadn’t talked to the governor in two weeks.

Comment by Wordslinger Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 3:54 pm
This guy rauner puts blago to shame when it comes to double talk and being honest

Comment by 13thone Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 6:15 pm
The hilarious part is he’s trying to conceal a strategy that’s going to fail, well, hilariously.

He’s acting like he’s on the way to closing a historic deal, and they’re going to end up unveiling “New Coke”.

I guess these frat boys and private equity types never got over playing James Bond.

Comment by Daniel Plainview Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 6:55 pm
Clearly covered by FOIA, text book.

I wonder what Mr. Goldberg’s next smart alecky tome on transparency will say about this?

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 7:54 pm
Rauner continues to make my prediction about his state legal costs come true …

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 9:55 pm
RNUG- full props to you! You are so completely on it, there ought to be an award for that.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 10:40 pm
- JS Mill -

That was probably one of the easiest predictions I’ve ever made. It was clear during his campaign he didn’t have a clue about which of his proposals were legal. Plus, objectively, most of Rauner’s business model was using the bankruptcy court system to maximize his profits.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Jul 23, 15 @ 11:00 pm