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* From the Illinois GOP…
“Daniel Biss’ actions don’t match his hollow words. Public records reveal that Biss is loyal to Madigan’s Chicago Machine, taking Madigan money, voting for his unbalanced budgets, backing him for Speaker, and even running his super PAC. Daniel Biss is just another unprincipled career politician who would sell out to Madigan as Governor.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot
In an interview with WCIA, longtime Madigan confidant and Democratic candidate for governor Daniel Biss revealed himself as just another unprincipled career politician. Watch the interview HERE.
Biss claims to be running against “money and the machine,” yet his campaign cash and votes show he is a loyal soldier of Mike Madigan’s Chicago Machine.
In 2011, one of Biss’ very first votes as a new State Representative was to make Madigan Speaker of the Illinois House.
Public records reveal Madigan is Biss’ largest campaign contributor. Since first running for office in 2008, Biss has personally taken over $300,000 in campaign cash from Madigan.
Biss even supported Madigan’s rigged legislative district maps, disenfranchising voters across Illinois.
In 2013, Biss moved from the House to the Senate, but that didn’t stop him from doing Madigan’s bidding.
In a nod to Madigan, Biss dropped his bid for Illinois Comptroller as Madigan endorsed his primary opponent, Susana Mendoza, clearing the primary field for the Chicago Machine.
Last May, Biss voted for Madigan’s out-of-balance budget that overspent by $7 billion, even as the budget vote failed and other Senate Democrats voted no. The Madigan-Biss budget was so unbalanced, it would’ve forced a $1,000 tax hike on every Illinois family.
And during last year’s election, Biss embraced both money and the machine as he ran a super PAC for Mike Madigan designed to block Governor Rauner’s reform efforts in Springfield. Biss’ super PAC received $650,000 from the Madigan Family. One Illinois Democrat operative called Biss’ super PAC a “Madigan joint.”
Is there anything Daniel Biss won’t do for money and the machine?
* Biss got raked in that interview, but he handled himself pretty well…
During his 2008 campaign, Biss warned against the “pernicious influence of money in politics.” Biss told the Chicago Jewish Star “I will not be beholden” to party politicians, highlighting that his campaign took no money from the Democratic Party. In that campaign, he took just $5,000 from three local Democratic organizations, and he lost.
Two years later, Biss altered course. He tapped into far greater sums of money which propelled him to his first election win, gaining himself a berth in Madigan’s House. Biss’ 2010 campaign took over $280,000 from Madigan’s Democratic Party and accepted more than $19,000 from Madigan’s personal campaign committee.
Biss claims Madigan opposed his 2010 primary campaign, but later backed his general election against the Republican opponent.
“[Madigan] worked very, very hard to stop me from being a legislator,” Biss said on Capitol Connection. He insisted, “Madigan tried very hard to bankroll a candidate against me in the primary.” That candidate never entered the race. Biss won the 2010 primary election unopposed.
Biss was also hit by the interviewer for taking money from “big pharma” and banks, but pointed to his voting record as proof that he wasn’t in the tank for them, either.
* Still, Biss is running as an independent and is pursuing the Bernie Sanders vote. He may not be pure enough for some of them. But, as far as the ILGOP is concerned, nobody is pure enough, including Ald. Ameya Pawar.
* Related…
* Bernard Schoenburg: Biss tells Sangamon Dems he’s inspired to run: Asked if he supports Madigan, Biss got applause when he said one thing the speaker has done “really well” is “said no” to Rauner. But he also said the Democratic Party led by Madigan “has not done what it needs to do” for decades — lay out “our own progressive agenda of how we solve the state’s problems in a way that lifts people up.” “I believe he’s been there too long,” Biss said of Madigan. “I believe he has too much power.” He said he has long backed 10-year term limits on legislative leaders… Madigan spokesman STEVE BROWN said later that while “everyone’s entitled to their own opinion … the Democrats in the legislature have supported, time and time again, progressive ideas,” from a tax on millionaires, to marriage equality and voter reforms. “The record’s there,” Brown said. “It speaks for itself.”
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, May 8, 17 @ 10:09 am
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In re: The ILGOP press release: “When you’re explaining, you’re losing.”
But Biss is going to have a problem assembling something like Bernie’s IL coalition, and it all starts with SB1. He needs an answer about that as soon as possible.
Comment by Arsenal Monday, May 8, 17 @ 10:22 am
I was at the West Suburban Gov forum yesterday hosted by Don Harmon & Karen Yarbrough.
Biss was by far the best - Pawar seemed very low-energy - JB was OK, but not inspiring, if you didn’t know about his bank account you wouldn’t think he’d be the bee’s knees.
Chris Kennedy wasn’t there because he was at the Obama Profile in Courage ceremony - interestingly, former Sen Prez Emil Jones represented him - I didn’t know he was with Kennedy (and he didn’t know much of Kennedy’s positions so he largely spoke for himself.)
Comment by Fax Machine Monday, May 8, 17 @ 10:30 am
Those darn democrats. Why can’t they act like republicans who all refuse Rauners money.
Comment by Generic Drone Monday, May 8, 17 @ 10:31 am
=== The record’s there. It speaks for itself. ===
The temporary income tax hike of 2011 is part of that record. If it had been permanent, then the current crisis would be much less severe. No person who understood the budget when the temporary hike passed believed the State wouldn’t still need the revenue four years later.
Comment by anon2 Monday, May 8, 17 @ 10:31 am
I wonder if the GOP is inadvertently helping the Ds they attack.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Monday, May 8, 17 @ 10:49 am
I was at the forum yesterday and I thought both Biss and Pawar killed it. Pawar, however, was the only candidate to honestly discuss racism and race. That may be because he’s the only POC in the race so maybe he will be on playing that up more.
Comment by Berwyn Latino Monday, May 8, 17 @ 10:55 am
Biss carries a lot of baggage among teachers and other public employees. He was one of the architects of the attempted reduction of pensions of already retired teachers and state workers. The attempt failed when it was thrown out by the Illinois Supreme Court. Compared to Rauner though, he would be a much better governor.
Comment by DuPage Monday, May 8, 17 @ 10:56 am
Biss has no exclusive rights to Bernie’s supporters. Actually, any of the three other major Democratic candidates can make a claim. Pawar, of course, is explicitly running on a “New Deal for Illinois” agenda. Kennedy appears rather conservative philosophically, but he is still a Kennedy, and by his name alone has huge appeal among progressive Democrats. And Pritzker is in the running to become a consensus candidate out of a desire to avoid a divisive primary contest.
Comment by Quiet Sage Monday, May 8, 17 @ 12:51 pm
Quiet Sage, Pritzker is running as Hillary Clinton, so he deserves the Bernie vote? Kennedy is conservative, but he deserves the Bernie vote?
Not mine. Let’s get a real progressive in the race.
Comment by Chuy4Gov Monday, May 8, 17 @ 1:24 pm
ChUy4Gov–No one “deserves” the Bernie vote. They have to go out and get it. And given the situation in Illinois, “consensus Democratic candidate” has an entirely different meaning in this state, at this time,than what Hillary Clinton attempted to make of the term on a national basis.
Comment by Quiet Sage Monday, May 8, 17 @ 2:01 pm
==Quiet Sage, Pritzker is running as Hillary Clinton, so he deserves the Bernie vote? Kennedy is conservative, but he deserves the Bernie vote?==
Not what he said, but cool?
Honestly, besides Kennedy being a little mealy-mouthed on marijuana and progressive income tax, I’m having trouble seeing where any of these guys differ on policy.
Comment by Arsenal Monday, May 8, 17 @ 2:28 pm
HB1! It speaks for itself! That’s who Biss is. What would Bernie think?
Comment by Surge voter Monday, May 8, 17 @ 4:09 pm