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Madigan spokesman responds to some Rauner accusations

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Illinois

* Yesterday, Gov. Rauner said this about House Speaker Michael Madigan, among other things…

He controls, he’s rigged his primary. He has rigged his Democratic primary. He has rigged it, ladies and gentlemen. If you guys won’t report it, shame on you. He has rigged the system, he controls it. It’s a Mafia protection racket. And until he’s gone, we aren’t going to fix Illinois and we aren’t going to have a good future.

* Tina Sfondeles checked in with Brownie…

Madigan spokesman Steve Brown called the governor’s “mafia” comparison “incoherent.”

“I don’t know how that could be rigged if you got many, many candidates running,” Brown said. “It would seem to be incoherent.”

And asked about the speaker being “in charge,” Brown questioned state contracts and Rauner’s role in them, including controversy over the state renting out a Springfield warehouse to store records from the Department of Human Services and a consulting contract the Rauner administration doled out regarding the state’s Medicaid overhaul.

“If he’s not in charge, we got to find out who gave out the kinky contract to the guys who lease the Barney’s furniture warehouse. And who gave out the kinky contract to McKinsey to do God knows what,” Brown said. “If he didn’t do it, there’s someone handing out and spending a lot of money. It’s kind of crazy.”

Um, OK. Maybe it’s not “rigged,” but somebody is most certainly putting his apple-peeling finger on the scale, if not his whole body.

* Tribune…

Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said he didn’t know “what to make” of the governor’s comments.

“If he’s not in charge, we’d better figure out who is,” Brown said.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 12:56 pm

Comments

===Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said he didn’t know “what to make” of the governor’s comments.

“If he’s not in charge, we’d better figure out who is,” Brown said.===

When you deliver a line like this with a straight face, it’s as delicious as the most ripe of ripe apples.

“…“If he’s not in charge, we’d better figure out who is,” Brown said.”

That’s just fun.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 1:01 pm
I don’t know how that could be rigged if you got many, many candidates running,” Brown said. “It would seem to be incoherent.”

Oh I don’t know, an endorsement by Cook County Democrats as well as just about every single Democratic special interest group more than 6 months before the primary probably happed without any influence by Mike Madigan

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-cook-county-illinois-governor-met-0812-20170811-story.html

Comment by Lucky Pierre Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 1:05 pm
Rauner sounds more like Trump every day. Nothing but incoherent finger-pointing accusations.

Comment by IllinoisBoi Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 1:05 pm
I guess debating if it’s technically rigged or not is weather you think gerrymandering is a fraudulent system or not. Also election laws written by incumbents and the power’s that be write the laws to protect themselves and keep out as much competition as you can (I also realize this is not just Madigan, he just does it better than everyone else).

So again, is it fraud or just plain wrong? I think we’d be splitting hairs in that argument. The map and the laws that keep out independents and election competition is rigged.

Comment by Ahoy! Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 1:24 pm
= I also realize this is not just Madigan, he just does it better than everyone else =

He certainly did it better than Lee Daniels…

Comment by cover Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 1:34 pm
===think gerrymandering is a fraudulent system or not===

How does a governor’s race get gerrymandered?

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 1:36 pm
==Oh I don’t know, an endorsement by Cook County Democrats as well as just about every single Democratic special interest group more than 6 months before the primary probably happed without any influence by Mike Madigan==

Only Bruce’s last loyal defender would be goofy enough to argue that they did this solely because Madigan told them to, and not at all because they want lots of campaign contributions from billionaire Pritzker. Remember, like the ILGOP did when they abandoned Kirk Dillard for Gov Junk and his ATM machine?

Like I said last week, you really should be better at this by now.

Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 1:47 pm
= “He has rigged the primary”. =

Isn’t Madigan the democratic party chair? doesn’t he get to say in those races who his choice is? Hasn’t Rauner done the same? Rauner just isn’t effective in primaries. Rauner is just upset he couldn’t effectively rig democratic primaries like Ken Dunkin.

Comment by 360 Degree TurnAround Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 1:48 pm
==Oh I don’t know, an endorsement by Cook County Democrats as well as just about every single Democratic special interest group more than 6 months before the primary probably happed without any influence by Mike Madigan==

Look, I understand your confusion, because on the other side of the aisle, Rauner is so unpopular that no one wants to be caught supporting him, but a candidate gathering support in a primary is not “rigging”.

Comment by Arsenal Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 2:00 pm
Rauner is way entertaining these days. Keep talking, dude.

Has the ILGOP scheduled a gubernatorial endorsement session? You know, independent committee members voting their consciences?

Take a look at the ILGOP website, then check out ISBE to discover who their virtually sole bankroller is, then take a wild guess as to how that would go.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 2:01 pm
++He controls, he’s rigged his primary. He has rigged his Democratic primary. He has rigged it, ladies and gentlemen.==

When I first read this, I was wondering if the “his primary” referred to just that, “his primary.” Haven’t there been accusations for years that Madigan “sponsors” multiple Hispanic candidates in his district to dilute any anti-Madigan vote in the primary?

I’m not suggesting that this is true, I was just wondering if that was what Rauner was referring to in his presser.

Comment by G'Kar Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 2:12 pm
It would seem to me that is the very definition of rigging. Clearing the field before the campaign even begins for your favored billionaire candidate instead of letting the voters decide after a thorough vetting of the candidates. Letting special interests pick the candidates is not exactly Democratic.

Not limited to just Illinois and Chicago as Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Donna Brazile will tell you.

And you wonder why Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders did so well last year.

Comment by Lucky Pierre Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 2:17 pm
Because the governor certainly hasn’t used his campaign cash to try to rig legislative races.
Nope.
Not. At. All.

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 2:21 pm
I always chuckle at Brown’s statements as he appears to live in an alternate universe.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 2:22 pm
“Mafia protection racket”? Really?

I don’t think even Sullivan vs. NYT gets him out from under a defamation suit on that one.

Comment by JoanP Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 2:23 pm
== finger on the scale, if not his whole body ==

How many millions did #Unfit4ILGov toss @ GA to buy his way? And buy elections w/ millions more?

Thats a ‘whole body’, I’d say.

Comment by sal-says Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 3:09 pm
When Madigan also puts $20 million of his own dough and threatens both the House and Senate Dems… if they give him, Madigan, “$&@%# problems”…

… then let me know.

Rauner, the “irony” isn’t in response to how his Carhartt looks…

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 3:20 pm
Hmm and now Mr Not In Charge (GovJunk) “learns” the sweetheart, no bid McKinsey deal is canceled.

Comment by Annonin' Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 3:37 pm
JoanP I was thinking the same thing. A governor using a state press conference to accuse the speaker of committing crimes. Why isn’t this a story? Probably because there are so many other dumb and insanely chaotic things going on within this administration nothing is shocking anymore.

Comment by facts Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 3:45 pm
–It would seem to me that is the very definition of rigging. Clearing the field before the campaign even begins for your favored billionaire candidate instead of letting the voters decide after a thorough vetting of the candidates. –

Huh? Seven Democratic candidates have filed for the gubernatorial primary.

Unless they were cut during the recent unpleasantness, remedial English classes might be available at your local community college.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Dec 5, 17 @ 4:12 pm
calling Rauner out for lying repeatedly, this is his defense, madigan, so sad

Comment by Rabid Wednesday, Dec 6, 17 @ 4:16 am