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* The Better Government Association’s David Greising on WBBM today…

Tom Cullerton had, until he was charged a couple of years ago, he was thought of as a sort of a reformer and a progressive in the state legislature.

That’s… an interesting take. “Reformer” and “progressive” were not two words I would’ve ever used for him.

…Adding… Milhiser was a US Attorney based in Springfield and didn’t rack up a whole lot of corruption scalps…

Tom Cullerton is the latest to be put behind bars for his role in a corruption scheme, highlighting the pervasiveness of this problem in Illinois government. Republicans and Democrats alike can be corrupted, and it’s why we need a corruption-buster like John Milhiser in statewide office to root it out from the inside.

As a career prosecutor, John knows how to root out corruption and provide effective services as a chief executive of a large, multi-county office. He oversaw the U.S. Attorney’s office in the 46 county Central District, and is ready to take on the challenge of providing efficient services to all 102 counties as Secretary of State.

John Milhiser released the following statement on Tom Cullerton’s sentencing:
This sentence shows that we can’t just prosecute our way out of corruption, we need to root out corruption from inside and start to change the culture of Illinois government. This problem is pervasive through government, Republicans and Democrats, and it needs to change to restore the people’s faith in our leaders. As your Secretary of State, I promise we will have zero tolerance for public corruption so you know that every penny that comes through my office is focused on providing you the high-quality service you deserve.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 10:58 am

Comments

BGA 🤯🤯

Comment by NotRich Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:01 am
“That’s… an interesting take. “Reformer” and “progressive” were not two words I would’ve ever used for him.”

Ever.

Just goes to show you how clueless Greising is.

Comment by New Day Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:08 am
BGA continually surprises with their lack of insight into how our government operates.

Comment by walker Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:09 am
Nothing surprising about Greising having a bad take. Not sure if he’s just politically ignorant or if he thinks the reformer-gone-bad narrative is better for corporate fundraising. Given the BGA’s history of checkbook journalism, it’s probably the latter.

Comment by Telly Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:11 am
Seems like nothing more than a lazy way to discredit actual reformers and progressives by suggesting that they are all as corrupt as Cullerton.

Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:13 am
The BGA is the most IPI of all the phony watchdogs.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:14 am
Look BGA is good at unraveling ‘gotcha news’ but they don’t have the in-depth experience with individual legislators (or constits. officials’) political records, ideas, affiliations, and/or leanings or even their districts or region that they represent.

Comment by Pizza Man Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:17 am
=The BGA is the most IPI of all the phony watchdogs.=
I think the IPI generally knows who they are and where they are (though they try to portray themselves as more moderate than they are).
The BGA, in my experience dealing with them, always seem like they’re just flailing around chasing some idea of “good government” that they can’t seem to define, and they seem to not even know what their role is or what they’re supposed to be doing.

Comment by Wonky Kong Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:20 am
The BGA and IPI are now two sides of the same coin of the phony idea of what they seem to “watch”… one claims policy, the other points to process… both look for the bad to governing.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:27 am
His last name alone would make him a very unlikely “reformer.”

– MrJM

Comment by MisterJayEm Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:32 am
Are the 8 indicted state legislators and Senator A all members of the Illinois Democratic Party “good government”?

Tom Cullerton wanted to reform pensions and declined to enroll in GARS

Comment by Lucky Pierre Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:32 am
===he was thought of as a sort of a reformer and a progressive in the state legislature.===

He was a member of John Coli’s Teamsters union. Not a lot of progressive reformers come out of the Teamsters union.

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:32 am
== BGA is good at unraveling ‘gotcha news’ but they don’t have the in-depth experience with individual legislators ==

True. The BGA employs some good reporters who were involuntarily “retired” by the Tribune and Sun-Times or were lured away by better salaries. However, their work is tainted by Greising’s (and previously Andy Shaw’s,) fundraising activities among Chicago’s rich and powerful — some of the same folks a real investigative news operation has to investigate on occasion. It pays Greising a pretty handsome salary for his ill-informed punditry.

And just to make the conflict-of-interest worse, the BGA is a registered lobbying entity. Are they a news gathering organization or a well-paid public affairs shop? I’m guessing Greising’s journalism professors would say you can’t be both.

Comment by Roman Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:50 am
=== However, their work is tainted … fundraising activities among Chicago’s rich and powerful===

Two sides, same coin…

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 11:54 am
=== That’s… an interesting take. “Reformer” and “progressive” were not two words I would’ve ever used for him. ===

Yeah, but it sure gooses those anti-lib contributions…just sayin.

Comment by PublicServant Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 12:01 pm
Unless they were confusing Tom with John Cullerton.

Comment by Just Sayin Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 12:11 pm
I still think Milhiser doesn’t know what office he is running for. Everything he says seems to fit better with an AG run.

Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 1:03 pm
- BGA continually surprises with their lack of insight into how our government operates. -

It’s not surprising when you consider their mission which is to get wealthy conservatives to give them money.

Comment by Excitable Boy Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 1:13 pm
which or whatever, I’m sad about the entire matter as in my experience Tom is very nice.

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 1:25 pm
Milhiser just doesn’t get it. He’s gonna ride that anti-corruption train all the way to a primary loss because he’s running for the wrong job.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 1:57 pm
I live in the district and voted for Tom Cullerton. He came across as a middle-of-the-road Democrat, pro-union, decent guy. I was quite disappointed to learn about his bad behavior and won’t miss him at all.

Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Wednesday, Jun 22, 22 @ 3:42 pm