Haw haw!
http://wuis.org/...
Springfield powerbroker William Cellini is back on the political scene, following his release from prison late last year. He was found guilty of participating in an extortion scheme when Rod Blagojevich was governor.
Cellini attended a Sangamon County Republican Foundation event Tuesday night, which featured Bruce Rauner, the party's nominee for governor.
Cellini says he backed State Senator Kirk Dillard in the Republican primary race. But now he's behind Rauner.
"Well I've been a Republican all my life and he's the Republican candidate," Cellini said.
Cellini says last night's event was the first time he heard Rauner, and says he was "impressive." - WUIS 91.9, 4/9/14
And of course Rauner wants nothing to do with him:
http://politics.suntimes.com/...
Bruce Rauner’s campaign Wednesday quickly distanced him from what sounded like an endorsement from convicted felon William Cellini, saying the GOP candidate for governor “obviously renounces” the Springfield power broker who praised Rauner as “very impressive.”
The statement released Wednesday morning came after Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign slammed Rauner for declining comment Tuesday night at a Springfield campaign event when asked if he welcomed what sounded like a clear endorsement from Cellini.
“Bruce is running against the corrupt, insider ways of doing things in Springfield and obviously renounces Cellini,” Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf said. “While you can’t control who endorses you, you can control who you endorse - and that’s why Pat Quinn is making another ridiculous attack.
“Pat knew about Rod Blagojevich’s corrupt dealings and vouched for him anyway, calling Blago ‘honest’ and ‘ethical’ and someone who ‘always does the right thing.’ This is the biggest lie yet from Quinnocchio,” Schrimpf said. “Quinn should have resigned and helped expose Blagojevich. Instead, Quinn stood by him.”
Cellini, who was convicted for his role with influence peddler Stuart Levine in a shakedown of a Hollywood producer for a $1.5 million contribution to Blagojevich, was one of several dozen attendees at a Rauner event Tuesday night in Springfield.
Rauner later was asked if he welcomed an endorsement from Cellini, and the candidate declined to answer, saying, “I don’t know. I didn’t even know he was here. I don’t really know him. I can’t comment on that.” - Chicago Sun-Times, 4/9/14
Wow, interesting answer from Rauner. He distances himself from Cellini, tries to make it all about Quinn but won't say if he would accept Cellini's endorsement. If Rauner really anted to paint himself as the anti-corrupt candidate in the race, he would've directly said "no" to an endorsement from Cellini. Rauner's campaign right now isn't exactly firing up voters:
http://www.sj-r.com/...
“I’m the one person in this race who doesn’t want to modify” pensions already earned, he said. “I want to freeze the current pension system … and for future work, create a second pension system that’s a defined contribution plan, more of a 401k-style plan.
Part of the message of about 75 demonstrators outside the Sangamo Club as guests arrived was that Rauner would harm pensions.
“He’s not for cutting pensions, he’s for gutting pensions,” said retired state worker Don Todd, who is also president of a local of retirees of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Rauner said Quinn has been “a massive failure on education,” and has been using education as a “political football to score political points and try to force the tax hikes. He didn’t have to cut education funding. He should have made it the top priority, not the bottom. I will make education a top priority.”
While Quinn has said that Rauner can’t add, claiming to want to fund education without extending the 2011 temporary income-tax increase, Rauner said it’s a matter of priorities.
“We can’t tax our way out of our problems,” he said. “We have to grow. If we cut our unemployment rate several percentages, that results in huge new tax revenues.” - The State Journal-Register, 4/8/14
And voters do have legit concerns about Rauner:
http://www.wics.com/...
"I'm very worried and if he doesn't say something, I'm not going to vote for him as a registered republican," said Margaret Niederer, an advocate with the Alliance for Retired Americans; which is affiliated with unions.
The group is afraid if Rauner makes changes to retirement plans, through increased privatization and cuts to vital services, seniors will be left more vulnerable.
"We want him to clarify his position so we understand what he's for and against. at this time, we don't know. He seems to be all about money and not about the people of Illinois," Niederer said.
Rauner said, "If folks are worried I'm going to cut senior services, I think they're misinformed. My opponents have tried to spin positions I don't have." - ABC News Channel 20, 4/8/14
Of course the Romney-esque, wealthy venture capitalist is trying to make himself look more like a moderate and less like an extremist so he's using his Democratic wife to help make the case:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Republican businessman Bruce Rauner, who is running to unseat Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D), aimed to moderate his message in a new campaign ad featuring his wife, Diana, who says she is a Democrat.
In the TV spot, which was released Friday, the Rauners explain that they don't agree on everything, including politics. When Diana Rauner explains that she's a Democrat, Bruce Rauner emphasizes that he loves her regardless of her political affiliation.
And yet it appears that Diana Rauner's political contributions don't match up with her stated party affiliation. The Chicago Tribune reported Saturday that 77 percent of the more than $500,000 she's given since 1995 has gone to Republican candidates and causes. Ninety-one percent of her $238,150 in political donations since 2009 went to GOP candidates and conservative groups.
Rauner campaign spokesman Mike Schrimpf told the paper that Rauner "voted Democrat throughout the last decade and every time for Barack Obama" on the statewide ballot.
"If that doesn't make you a Democrat, I don't know what does," he added. - Huffington Post, 4/4/14
Yeah, we'll see. Meanwhile, Quinn is standing firm on a key part of his budget:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Gov. Pat Quinn of Illinois on Wednesday announced his plan to make permanent an unpopular temporary tax increase, stoking a debate that is becoming central to his bid for re-election.
“The truth is, those that are telling you Illinois can tax less and spend less and still expect to fund education are simply not telling you the truth,” Mr. Quinn said, proposing a five-year financial plan in his budget message to the legislature.
In a state with an estimated $5.4 billion backlog of unpaid bills, his election-year budget, which favored revenue to spending cuts, is perhaps the clearest sign yet of the mounting tension between political and fiscal challenges that lay ahead for Mr. Quinn, a Democrat who is seen by Republicans as one of the most vulnerable governors in the nation.
Mr. Quinn, no stranger to populist messages, has grappled with low approval rates amid a struggle to deal with Illinois’s deep financial problems, including a series of credit downgrades and a pension system that was considered one of the most underfunded in the country. - New York Times, 3/26/14
He's been speaking out strongly for equal pay:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Passage of the Federal Equal Pay Act in 1963, and Illinois' own Equal Pay Act in 2003, one of the strongest state pay equity laws in the nation, have paved the way for women to transform our workplace and economy.
But today there are too many areas where progress is lagging, and it's holding our economy back.
Today women make up half of the workforce and heads of households across the nation. Yet discrimination and a lack of training often prevent women from accessing good-paying jobs.
This is troubling on several fronts. For one, it's not fair.
The average woman in Illinois earns just 79 cents of every dollar earned by men--a gap of 21 percent. Men earn an average income of $51,260, while women earn an average income of $40,300. Over the course of their lifetime, the average woman will earn between $700,000 and $1 million less than the average man.
Two, this "gender gap" hampers our economic potential. 70 percent of our economy is based on consumer demand. When women earn less, they spend less, driving less local growth in communities. This hurts their ability to provide financial security for their families and it hurts our ability to build the middle class.
The fact that a disproportionate majority of workers who are earning the least in our nation are women is also a troubling statistic. Nearly seven out of ten minimum or below-minimum wage workers are women.
Many women who make minimum wage are working full-time while raising children. Can't we all agree that nobody should work 40 hours a week and be relegated to raising their family in poverty?
If we are serious about building an economy that works for everyone with more jobs and opportunities than ever before, we must be serious about addressing all barriers that prevent women from reaching their full economic potential.
As women take on more financial responsibility, particularly in these tough economic times, making sure they have access to job training and professional support they need is crucial.
That's in part why I'm pushing a proposal to provide tax cuts to businesses that provide job training. And that's also why I'm pushing to raise the minimum wage in Illinois. Everyone should have a fair chance to support themselves and their families.
While we're making progress, there's much more work to do. - Gov. Pat Quinn (D. IL), Huffington Post, 4/9/14
And he's proposing real investment in infrastructure:
http://www.journalstandard.com/...
Gov. Pat Quinn announced an $8.6 billion construction program Wednesday to improve roads and bridges in Illinois.
Federal money will be used to cover the six-year program, unveiled by the Chicago Democrat at the state Capitol, with about $1.5 billion from the state and local municipalities.
Quinn says the program would improve 1,845 miles of highway and replace or rehab 384 bridges.
Projects include $29 million to reconstruct Illinois 2/North Main Street in Rockford; $585 million for new Metra commuter cars; $222 million for a new passenger rail service between Chicago and Moline; and $74 million for Interstate 70 resurfacing and bridge work in the Effingham area.
An unspecified amount would be earmarked to continue land acquisition and pursue final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration of a south suburban airport.
Quinn also wants to form a bipartisan working group to develop plans for crafting a capital bill, and coming up with ways to fund it, in the next six weeks, with a structure similar to the 10-member committee that was instrumental in developing a plan to overhaul the state’s pension funds.
“I want to hear their ideas,” Quinn said. “We have ideas as well. Clearly what we did five years ago was historic.” - AP, 4/10/14
If you want to help Quinn get ready to take 1% Bruce, you can click here to donate and get involved with his re-election campaign:
https://www.quinnforillinois.com/