The big names are hitting the campaign trail for Governor Pat Quinn (D. IL):
http://politics.suntimes.com/...
Last Thursday, it was President Barack Obama who dropped into town, headlining a Quinn fundraiser that raised more than $1 million.
On Sunday, Quinn was visited Martin Sheen – the actor many remember from his role as Josiah Bartlett, the crusading liberal president in the TV show The West Wing.
The two attended Mass together at St. Pius V. Parish in the Pilsen neighborhood. Then they held a news conference, advocating for one of Pat Quinn’s campaign cornerstones: a non-binding referendum that will ask voters if the minimum wage should be raised to $10 an hour.
Quinn says he has long-supported increasing the minimum wage. But the referendum is also part of his electoral strategy of highlighting the gulf between him and his wealthy Republican opponent, venture capitalist Bruce Rauner.
Quinn “reminds us that one heart with courage is a majority,” Sheen said, repeating one of his often-evoked speech lines.
Then he launched into a jeremiad reminiscent of a West Wing script.
“We search for something in our lives worth fighting for,” Sheen said, drawing a parallel with Quinn’s advocacy of a minimum wage increase. “Because when we find it, we will have found a way to unite the will-of-the-spirit with the work of the flesh. And the world will discover fire for the second time.”
Sheen later said he and Quinn have been friends for several years. He also called Quinn “one of my heroes,” citing the signing a law that abolished the death penalty in Illinois. That law came after a lengthy moratorium on the practice, put in place by former Republican Gov. George Ryan.
Since Quinn signed the law, the two have bonded over “the fight for social justice,” according to Sheen, who added that Quinn is “in a tough fight, but he’s going to win.” - Chicago Sun-Times, 10/5/14
President Obama and Sheen weren't the only big names to hit the campaign trail for Quinn:
http://www.daily-chronicle.com/...
Michelle Obama will encourage supporters of Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn to cast their ballots early this year.
The first lady is scheduled to hold a Tuesday rally for Quinn at the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion.
The Democrat-controlled Legislature passed a law late in the spring session to extend early and grace-period voting for the 2014 election only.
The deadline for regular voter registration is Tuesday. After that, people who haven't yet registered may do so, but must cast their ballot at that time.
Early voting begins Oct. 20 for the Nov. 4 election. - AP, 10/3/14
Meanwhile, Bruce Rauner (R. IL) is pissing away his money trying to win over this group of voters:
http://my.chicagotribune.com/...
Gregg Brown never met Bruce Rauner before the late summer day the wealthy Republican candidate for governor came calling with $1 million worth of personal checks and an army of news cameras at the offices of Brown's tiny credit union in a South Side strip mall.
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Brown, the institution's president and CEO, politely accepted the money even though he hadn't sought it and wasn't quite sure what to do with all of it. What's more, the windfall left Brown fretting over unrealistic expectations that it would bankroll significant new business loan activity in a low-income community in need of it.
"We are better off than we were before, but sometimes in the perception of the community we have all this money to give away," Brown later reflected.
Political campaigns often generate peculiar side stories. But in this year's race for Illinois governor, there may be few interludes more unusual than the one that brought Rauner and his money to Brown's South Side Community Federal Credit Union at 54th Street and Wentworth Avenue.
It is a Chicago tale about what happens when a white suburban Republican, in his first run for public office, sets out to court a Democratic-leaning African-American electorate that has long had trouble warming to the GOP.
Rauner's quest to navigate the complex landscape of the city's black political scene has been built on help from ministers, a magazine publisher, businessmen, self-proclaimed community activists and even a convicted former aide to disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
But nothing has generated as much attention as the $1 million for the credit union, a pledge made in response to a "put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is" dare posed at a candidate meeting. Rauner, already spending his fortune freely on the campaign, accepted on the spot.
Rauner came to describe the cash injection as an investment in economic opportunity, though the Democratic campaign of rival Gov. Pat Quinn accused the Republican of trying to buy black votes. - Chicago Tribune, 10/3/14
And the RGA isn't exactly helping Rauner win over women voters:
http://politics.suntimes.com/...
What better way to make your point than with a "Say Yes to the Dress" parody?
That's exactly what a new ad from the College Republican National Committee is doing to urge people to vote for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner.
Even in an election cycle with some wacky ads, this one sticks out. That's saying something, considering we've seen guns, a pooping parrot and some alligator wrestling.
It starts out with a woman wearing a classy, well-fit wedding dress, where she proclaims "the Bruce Rauner is perfect."
"Bruce Rauner is becoming a trusted brand," the woman says. "He has new ideas that don't break your budget."
It then cuts to the mother of the bride, declaring she likes a different dress, called the "Pat Quinn."
"It's overpriced and a little outdated," the mother says. - Chicago Sun-Times, 10/1/14
Things are looking better for Quinn according to the recent polls but the race isn't over yet. Clcik here to donate and get involved with Rauner's campaign:
https://www.quinnforillinois.com/