Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives
Previous Post: Rauner again denies any delays at Quincy veterans’ home
Next Post: Musical Interlude: Try (just a little bit harder)
Posted in:
* I told subscribers about some of the reasons behind this rumor yesterday…
There's a lot of dark money ($5.3M!) flowing to a group called the Economic Freedom Alliance, passing through Illinois Manufacturer's Association. It runs pro-Rauner, anti-McCann ads. But whose money is it? Several GOP sources think it could be Todd Ricketts. pic.twitter.com/BlHIdsk5Lg
— Mark Maxwell (@WCIA3Mark) October 18, 2018
The Ricketts family says there’s no truth to talk that they’re behind dark-money schemes to get Gov. Bruce Rauner elected and Ald. Tom Tunney booted—or that Todd Ricketts is trying to position himself as the next Illinois GOP leader.
Except for supporting Rauner through traditional donations and backing a candidate to battle Tunney, it’s all false, false, false, according to a source knowledgeable about the family’s personal and business interests. “This family doesn’t operate in the dark-money world. They are transparent about their giving even when it’s not popular.” The Ricketts family, the source points out, went public with their support for Republican Mitt Romney over hometown hero Barack Obama. And some within the family supported candidate Donald Trump even when the rest of the state overwhelmingly rejected him. Ricketts’ spokesman Dennis Culloton also points out that Todd Ricketts’ position as finance chairman for the Republican National Committee prevents him from getting involved in independent expenditure groups (IEs, also known as dark money).
The dark-money story line has popped up in news stories and across social media for weeks. And it’s been fueled by by humongous donations from the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association—$4.4 million just this month—to the Economic Freedom Association PAC that’s working to help Rauner. The PAC is running a stream of ads against conservative gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann. The thinking is Rauner might find a path to victory if McCann can be muscled out. Along with the $4.4 million to the PAC, the manufacturers group’s outgoing CEO, Greg Baise, has been linked to efforts to unseat Tunney—whom the Ricketts disagree with on a range of issues. Neither Baise nor his successor to lead the Manufacturers Association, Mark Denzler, returned phone calls and messages about the rumors or donations. Their silence only adds to the rumors’ intrigue.
As for Ricketts’ political aspirations and/or his interest in leading the Illinois GOP, Culloton says he has no idea. “Todd is enjoying what he’s doing now.”
I almost spit out my coffee reading those Ricketts family source quotes.
I mean, “This family doesn’t operate in the dark-money world”? You’re joking, right?
* These rumors started because of two Greg Hinz stories about the Ricketts family’s use of dark money against Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney…
* The Ricketts family targets Wrigleyville alderman Tunney: After some back and forth, spokesman Dennis Culloton told me in a phone call: “The Ricketts family is supporting Neighbors for a Better Lakeview in the same way and level that it is supporting other community groups. . . .They’ve been doing a good job.” In other words, the Rickettses paid for that flyer putting Tunney on the tax-hike hot seat, at least in part. Culloton declines to say how much the family spent, but the Rickettses have some familiarity with dark money.
* Why is Greg Baise out to defeat Lakeview Ald. Tunney?
* “They are transparent about their giving even when it’s not popular”? Right…
* Cubs owners help support Brett Kavanaugh’s ’strong moral character’ with TV ad
* Secret money to boost Trump: Todd Ricketts, whose family owns the Chicago Cubs, has raised $30 million for a pair of pro-Trump groups and has discussed a $70 million goal before Election Day, according to three Republican fundraisers familiar with the effort. They and others in GOP finance circles say Ricketts is making a particular effort to win over donors who want to help Trump but are leery of having their names publicly associated with the polarizing Republican nominee.
* 45Committee: The 45Committee is one of the top 15 dark money groups examined by Issue One’s new “Dark Money Illuminated” report that has been spending millions of dollars in our elections since Citizens United without publicly disclosing their donors. … Brian Baker, a longtime political adviser to the Ricketts family, serves as the chairman and president of the 45Committee. Federal campaign finance records show that both the Adelson family and Ricketts family, which owns the Chicago Cubs baseball team, have also been major donors to the 45Committee’s sister super PAC, which is called Future45. Joe Ricketts’ son Todd Ricketts — who now serves as the finance chairman of the Republican National Committee — was, according to media reports, actively involved in raising funds for both groups ahead of the 2016 election.
* Scoop: Pro-Trump group plans 8-figure ad campaign for tax cuts: One of the biggest pro-Trump outside groups of 2016, backed by the Adelson and Ricketts families, plans to spend “eight figures” — at least $10 million — backing tax reform. The 45Committee is launching “The Middle Class Project,” a 501(c)(4) with an opening TV spot, “What’s In It For You,” that will debut nationally with tomorrow’s bill introduction.
* ‘Dark money’ group tied to Ricketts family buys ads targeting State Legislature candidates: A Virginia-based political committee with ties to the Ricketts family is running negative radio advertisements in two southeast Nebraska races for State Legislature. The ads were criticized as inaccurate and improper meddling by outsiders during a press conference called Friday by the Nebraska Farmers Union. The Nebraska State Education Association also condemned the ads, which target two farmers who are challenging Ricketts-backed candidates.
* National Politico Playbook today: FUTURE45 — the group backed by the Ricketts family — disclosed spending $4 million on ads against NANCY PELOSI, ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, BERNIE SANDERS, MAXINE WATERS and ELIZABETH WARREN.
Also, independent expenditure groups aren’t all part of the “dark money” network. Several openly disclose their donors.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 10:16 am
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
Previous Post: Rauner again denies any delays at Quincy veterans’ home
Next Post: Musical Interlude: Try (just a little bit harder)
WordPress Mobile Edition available at alexking.org.
powered by WordPress.
As a democrats and a die hard Cubs fan, thank God for Laura Ricketts…
Comment by So_Ill Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 10:25 am
–“This family doesn’t operate in the dark-money world”–
Yeah, and Yu Darvish had a bad case of the flu, all year.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 10:35 am
Laura is complicit… just like Ivanka and Melania. Her money comes from the same place and she isn’t allowed to outspend the boys.
Comment by Rob Warren Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 10:38 am
Wow, that’s some serious hooey. As a spokesman, I try to avoid making statements that lead people to do spit-takes. Nuance is better than bald-faced lies, but I guess in a world with Trump and Rauner, it’s becoming the sad norm.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 10:50 am
This is why Democrats, Independents, and Republicans of good conscious should be Cardinals fans. That, and the fact they will no longer have to further associate with rank and file Cubs fans.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 10:50 am
Laura doesn’t get a free pass for this. They all make money from the same pot. Outside of that, it should bother a heck of a lot of people that they’re trying to anoint the two aldermanic positions that cover Wrigley Field so they can get whatever they want moving forward. They are mostly a far right bunch who support everyone from Kavanagh to Trump and are anti-abortion, anti-woman and anti-LGBTQ. This is not a family on the whole that represents Chicago‘s values. And they certainly shouldn’t get a free pass just because they on the Cubs.
Comment by Shytown Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 10:54 am
As a SOX fan I finally see something good coming out of the Cubs organization.
Comment by Texas Red Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:03 am
Who is the Rickett’s candidate for alderman?
Comment by City Guy Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:11 am
==Who is the Rickett’s candidate for alderman?==
Crane Kenney?
Ryno?
Comment by Henry Francis Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:15 am
Fixing it for ya…
This is why Democrats, Independents, and Republicans of good conscious should be White Sox fans. That, and the fact they will no longer have to further associate with rank and file Cubs fans.
Comment by I Miss Bentohs Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:18 am
Rich the Ricketts don’t like Tunney because he does not appreciate the personal $$$$ they are investing in the neighborhood. They want that Fire station so they can redevelop the whole left field area for one and other stuff.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:18 am
–Who is the Rickett’s candidate for alderman?–
Tyler Chatwood.
The dude has been walking Wrigleyville since April.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:19 am
Shytown 10:54
===This is not a family on the whole that represents Chicago‘s values===
Au Contraire…this is a family that reflects the most fundamental of Chicago values, [I]Ubi Est Mea[/I](Where’s Mine).
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:24 am
Mrs. Mustache and her family of cubs fans never hears the end of this from me. Financially supporting these nitwit #MAGA owners is only the latest in a long list of reason to make fun of cubs fans, but it seems to also be the one that stings the most. Every time they show up with a new piece of apparel, they get a reminder that a quarter of that money goes to some far-right org they detest - draws groans and looks of consternation every time.
Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:28 am
If you’ll recall, previous Ricketts’ dark-money schemes and Culloton’s shaky spin-skills cost them their bid for hundreds of millions in corporate welfare handouts.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/ct-xpm-2012-05-17-chi-emanuel-antiobama-ads-would-be-insult-to-nation-20120517-story.html
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:35 am
The candidate is Elizabeth Shydlowski, who is presenting herself as a moderate who is merely concerned about property taxes and lack of proper representation.
I like that this group’s beef is the low hanging, Berrios-n-taxes! fruit. First, you transplants deliberately moved nearby Wrigley Field, where property taxes have been rising because home costs have been soaring for 25 or 30 years, because it is an awesome neighborhood.
Secondly, the Ricketts themselves have been on a spending and construction spree in that neighborhood for the last six or seven years. Where once were t-shirt and donut shops, there are now corporate offices and hotels. But……Madigan and Berrios (and Tunney)!
I like the Ricketts more than most Dems because of Tom’s generosity to a charity I am involved with and of course the World Series win I wasn’t sure would ever happen. But this maneuver to take Tunney out is very disingenuous (not that Tunney is a saint, either).
Comment by Ben Gazzara Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:39 am
All I know about the Ricketts family is what I saw on “Undercover Boss,” when one of the boys had to be instructed on how to clean a toilet and one lied to a hot dog vendor about buying the hot dogs himself he was supposed to sell.
If they weren’t embarrassed, they should have been.
Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:42 am
Another reason for me not to spend a penny on the cubs.
Comment by JS Mill Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:42 am
==–Who is the Rickett’s candidate for alderman?–
Tyler Chatwood.
The dude has been walking Wrigleyville since April.==
Nice one.
Although I would see him more of a Uihlen backed candidate. Throw a lot of dough at him but he still can’t win anything.
Comment by Henry Francis Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:43 am
I hope the Ricketts put More Money into races that promote the brilliant Trump Agenda, and the races that are extreme positions in the democratic party. Love it.
Trump is a great President, and Rauner blew it by not embracing him and should have attempted to emulate Trump in some ways. Rauner’s npc-tendencies, as exhibited by his inability to think on his feet, are not part of the skill set of future successful politicians.
(I doubt this will get published on the blog though, probably too pro-potus for this crowd of “pundits.” /ha)
Comment by cdog Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:47 am
–This is why Democrats, Independents, and Republicans of good conscious should be White Sox fans. –
You forgot Mercedes Marxists, what with new Cominskey financed, built, maintained and owned by the proletariat.
In the Sox case, I guess that’s the state owning the means for lack of production on behalf of the workers.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 11:49 am
Austin Baidas is the aldermanic candidate.
Terry Cosgrove is the chairman of his committee. Politics. Bedfellows. All that.
Comment by Juice Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 12:03 pm
Well I guess that leaves us with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as the dark money funder.
Comment by Publius Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 12:17 pm
pretty weak attribution by Maxwell there — somebody “thinks” something so he reports it.
Comment by jim Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 1:07 pm
–Secondly, the Ricketts themselves have been on a spending and construction spree in that neighborhood for the last six or seven years.–
They’re not done, either. The muffler shop directly across from Addison finally sold out last summer.
My kid used to have an apartment in the Kingman House on Kenmore, just behind left field. The neighborhood chatter was that the Ricketts had set up a bunch of random-named LLCs and were buying everything in sight to eventually tear it down.
The Tribbies could have had the whole neighborhood for a song when they bought the team in 1981.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 1:16 pm
“–Who is the Rickett’s candidate for alderman?–
Tyler Chatwood.
The dude has been walking Wrigleyville since April.”
“In the Sox case, I guess that’s the state owning the means for lack of production on behalf of the workers.”
Dude, you are on a serious roll today. Have you been playing the rimshot after each one or just letting it be implied?
Comment by Chicago Cynic Friday, Oct 19, 18 @ 4:29 pm