Senior citizens braved sub-zero temperatures in Chicago last week to protest Bruce Rauner, GOP front-runner for Illinois Governor. Outside the Republican Gubernatorial debate, they voiced their concern about Bruce Rauner's ties to dangerous nursing homes; they expressed strong concerns about his putting profits before people.

Recent news and ads raised alarm bells for Illinois residents, detailing issues of abuse and neglect in Florida nursing homes by a company that Bruce Rauner helped found and on whose Board of Directors he sat.

Charlie Hogan, a 73-year-old AFSCME retiree, took public transportation to the protest outside ABC studios in downtown Chicago. He said:

“Rauner needs to know that the seniors are on to him and we’re spreading the word. Today I’m sending an email to everyone I have an address for to tell them about the role of his corporation with the nursing homes.

We have to redefine what citizenship means these days. It used to be you stayed informed, you read the paper. Since Citizens United, it’s changed the nature of how we’re represented.” He said “We have to teach ourselves, we’re gonna have to teach our children and grandchildren to fight back. And we have to find new ways to do it."

Scott Marshall, a United Steelworkers/SOAR retiree, said:

"For all of us, particularly in the retiree movement, this guy is just scary.

When he talks about running the state like a business, that’s just scary as hell because we know what kind of business he does. ... It’s not just the nursing home thing although that is horrible. He’s a hedge fund guy; these guys are basically gamblers that don’t give a damn as long as it turns a profit."

They'll be at the University of Chicago's Logan Center for the Arts tomorrow at 4pm in advance of the 6pm debate.