Anti-violence program promoted by Quinn mismanaged funds, audit finds

By Jamey Dunn

Republicans are calling for an investigation of Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration after an audit released today found mismanagement in an anti-violence program backed by the governor.

In the summer of 2010, Quinn announced $50 million in funding for the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, a violence prevention program. The initiative received nearly $55 million from October 2010 to October 2012. The bulk, nearly $45 million, came from Quinn’s discretionary funds and was not directly approved by the General Assembly. Lawmakers approved about $10 million for the initiative as part of the Fiscal Year 2012 budget.

The Neighborhood Recovery Initiative has been the target of scrutiny for a few years now. A 2012 report from CNN called into question some of the program’s spending, including paying youth to hand out fliers, attend yoga classes and march in a parade with Quinn. Later that year, lawmakers approved a resolution calling for an audit of the program.

That review, conducted by the office of Illinois Auditor General William Holland, was released today. The report describes the program as “hastily implemented” and says that the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority (IVPA), which oversaw the program, failed to properly document how money was spent. The funding for the program increased from $20 million to $50 million in less than two months.

Republicans are asking that the executive inspector general’s office to launch an investigation into the program. “This is the kind of information that indictments are made out of,” said Dixon Republican Sen. Tim Bivins. “Obviously there’s got to be an investigation. Everyone’s innocent until proven guilty.” He added, “I think there’s more than enough probable cause ... for an investigation to occur.”

The audit found that the IVPA did not use a competitive bidding process to select the providers that administered the services under the program, instead relying on recommendations from Chicago aldermen. The agency also did not have documentation on how it selected the communities that would receive funding. “The communities selected for NRI were not all the most violent in terms of crime in the Chicago area. Our comparison of NRI communities to the violent crime totals published by the Chicago police found seven Chicago neighborhoods that were among the 20 most violent neighborhoods that did not receive NRI funding. In Year 3 of NRI, another Chicago community, Hermosa, was added to the NRI program. This community ranked 48th in violent crime from 2005 [to] 2010,” the audit said.

The audit looked at 23 providers that participated in the program. Auditors found that 40 percent of the contracts with community providers in the program were approved after the contract work timeline was already completed. Providers were allowed to work on the program before they entered into a contract with the state, and 33 contracts either had no end date or were never approved. Only 30 percent of audited providers kept time sheets for staff paid with funding from the initiative. Holland found documentation indicating that some workers were paid for more time than they worked. More than 60 percent of providers' quarterly reports were late. Some agencies revised quarterly reports more than a year after they were due. Of the 23 providers, two closed, and the IVPA did not recoup unspent program founds. The audit found documentation indicating that $2 million in unspent funds from the initiative were never recovered.

Republicans point to the timing of the spending and accuse Quinn of using the program as a slush fund to try to build community support before the 2010 general election. Quinn narrowly defeated Republican Sen. Bill Brady in 2010 to hang onto his office. Brady is running for governor again “This is a very troubling report about a program launched by Governor Quinn just weeks before the 2010 election with little planning from what certainly appears to be a taxpayer-paid political slush fund,” Brady said in a prepared statement.

Quinn’s office brushed off the accusations. “These issues were resolved more than a year ago,” said a statement from Quinn’s office. “When the governor’s office became aware of the issues with IVPA in 2012, the administration acted quickly and, working with Attorney General [Lisa Madigan’s] Office and the General Assembly, passed legislation to have [the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority] take over the authority. The ICJIA has taken major steps to ensure responsible management of this critical violence prevention program and this issue has since been resolved. We are committed to providing effective work and educational opportunities for our youth to help prevent violence in communities across Illinois.”

The revamped version of the program, now called the Community Violence Prevention Program, is currently operating on an annual budget of about $17 million. The program serves 24 communities and plans to branch out to 33 next year. According to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, last year it administered job training to about 1,800 youth and placed young people in jobs, such as office and retail positions. The state pays the participants’ salaries in these summer jobs. Those in the program also participate in community service and receive mentoring. The program almost provided reentry services to nearly 450 young people who were returning to society after doing time in the state’s corrections system. “We’re excited about our program, and we’re going to continue to provide the effective work program that we’ve designed and continue to offer these opportunities for youth to help prevent violence in communities across Illinois,” said Cristin Evans, spokeswoman for the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

Republicans say a reworking of the initiative is not enough. They say they want answers about the years in which money was misspent. “Every once in a while, the truth comes out of this town, and I would hope that people have the courage to look at it and see what it shows,” said Palatine Republican Sen. Matt Murphy.

GOP candidates square off in Springfield debate

By Jamey Dunn

Republican candidates for governor traded barbs at tonight’s debate but avoided attacking state Treasurer Dan Rutherford, who has been battling sexual harassment allegations.

Hinsdale Sen. Kirk Dillard was the most aggressive when it came to criticizing his opponents. When candidates were given an opportunity at the end of the debate to make clarifications, Dillard took the time to list why he believes the other Republicans would not do well in the general election. He brought up venture capitalist Bruce Rauner’s business connections to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s crony, Stuart Levine, who is currently serving time in federal prison. Levine was a key witness for the feds in the case against Blagojevich and others charged with political corruption. He received a shortened sentence as part of a plea deal.

“He’s very very much someone with a pattern of pay-to-play politics in his personal, professional and political life,” Dillard said of Rauner after the debate at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield. Dillard also noted Bloomington Sen. Bill Brady’s very conservative social views and a recent story calling into question whether Brady took a vote on a tax issue that benefited members of his family. “I only bring up things that have been on the front page of statewide newspapers,” Dillard said when asked by reporters about going on the offensive.

Brady reaffirmed during the debate that he does not support abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, and that he does support allowing school districts to opt to teach creationism. But he said those issues are not the focus of his campaign. He also said that as governor, he would not have the power to end abortion in the state. “I do also realize there’s something called the U.S. Constitution,” Brady said “No governor in this country can eliminate a women’s right to choose, but I am not going to back away from my pro-life beliefs. I believe government has an obligation to protect innocent human life.”

After the debate, Brady dismissed Dillard’s negative comments as “desperate.” “He’s at the bottom of the polls. He’s got a fledgling campaign that’s just not getting off the ground, and he’s going to try to bring up things whether they make sense or not,” Brady said.

While Brady and Dillard were critical of each other and Rauner, they avoided beating up on Rutherford, who is facing a harassment lawsuit. Edmund Michalowski, who worked for Rutherford from 2011 until he resigned this month, is suing Rutherford and his chief of staff, Kyle Ham. Michalowski alleges that both men pressured him to do campaign work on state time, including fundraising for Rutherford. He also claims that Rutherford sexually harassed him by groping him and offering him advancement for sex. Rutherford has denied all the allegations and called into question some of the timeline presented in the case. He has also accused Rauner of being behind the allegations, which come at a politically inconvenient time for Rutherford. However, Rutherford, who is from Chenoa, said during the debate that he has no proof that Rauner is involved.

“It’s very unfortunate,” Brady said after the debate. “If Dan Rutherford‘s innocent, this is a bizarre and terrible situation. If he’s not innocent, it’s a bizarre and terrible situation.”

Rauner, who is leading in the polls, refrained from going negative and generally ignored the comments that his opponents made.

In a segment of the debate that ran counter to many conservative talking points, three of the candidates spoke positively about public employee unions. “Illinois is not Indiana. We’re not Wisconsin. We are a state that has a proud organized-labor history,” Dillard said. The Illinois Education Association, a teacher’s union, recently endorsed Dillard. He noted that endorsement during tonight’s debate. Dillard said the way to get fair deals with unions is to talk with them, not to “demonize” them.

 “Certainly public and private sector unions have done a lot to assist in enhancing the quality of life for the people they represent,” Brady said. “They’ve been a pillar of our country, and they’ve been important to us.” Brady said that unions “provide for” the “skilled workforce” that is needed to run state government.

“I happen to believe in the right to collectively bargain, both in the private sector and in public sector,” Rutherford said. Dillard, Brady and Rutherford all agreed that as the percentage of union employees has grown, some jobs in state government have been unionized that should not be.

The venue of the forum may have been a factor in the praise. According to statistics from the city of Springfield, state government is the largest employer in the city by far. In fact, the state workforce has nearly as many Springfield residents as the rest of the top nine largest employers in the area.

Rauner, who frequently derides “union bosses” in his campaign ads, said, “I’m not against the existence of government unions, but workers should be free to choose whether to be in a union or not.” But Rauner also said: “When a government union boss has power with taxpayer-funded union dues to influence politicians through campaign cash and campaign workers that are free but actually paid or by taxpayers ... it’s a conflict of interest, and it’s a corrupting influence. And the result of it is, spending goes up, taxes go up and businesses leave our state.”

Rauner, who is from Winnetka, was the only of the four who did not stick around to talk to reporters after the debate. Rutherford fielded questions about his legal troubles. Most of the queries pertained to why he would not release the results of an independent investigation he initiated when he first went public with the fact that he was being accused of improper behavior by an employee. The treasurer vowed to make the findings of the investigation public but then did not because he said his lawyers advised him not to as long as he is the subject of a federal lawsuit. “I am absolutely not frightened,” Rutherford said of the findings of the investigation. However, he says that neither he nor his campaign advisers have read the report. “I have not read. I have not asked for it. No, I am not going to read the report right now.” He admitted that the suit has cast a shadow over his bid for governor. “I will say that our candidacy has a challenge, and I understand that. I would be better off, I believe, if this report was released.”

Cullerton: Lawmakers must address $3 billion budget shortfall

By Jamey Dunn

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton today highlighted the challenges lawmakers will face as they try to craft a budget for the next fiscal year.

Cullerton said at a Chicago news conference today that Senate Democratic staff members have been running the numbers as budgeting hearings will begin this week in the Senate. “We find that Illinois faces a nearly $3 billion budget hole for this coming [fiscal] year, and if not corrected, this could decimate classroom funding, send college tuition soaring and erode all the financial progress that we have made in the last few years.” Several factors are coming together to create the shortfall. The temporary income tax increase will begin to step down in the second half of Fiscal Year 2015, taking an estimate $1.6 billion in revenue with it. Expenses such as Medicaid, the state’s annual pension payments and personnel costs are expected to increase.

Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget address was scheduled to take place this week, but the General Assembly voted earlier this month to move it to March 26. Quinn’s staff says he needs more time because he intends to present a five-year budget plan. Republicans called the move political because the new date falls after the primary election, when Quinn would know whom his general election opponent would be. Quinn is the presumptive Democratic nominee, but four Republicans are vying for the GOP nomination. Two of them, Bloomington Sen. Bill Brady and Hinsdale Sen. Kirk Dillard, are sitting legislators.

Before the vote, Cullerton announced that the Senate would begin hearing budget ideas this week. “Surely people who have been running for governor for five years have some idea about what their budget should be,” he said. “For those who are disappointed in this, February 19th is the day to have your budgets ready.” A joint hearing of the chamber’s two budgeting committees is scheduled for Wednesday.

Today, Cullerton said he hopes to jump start a “discussion” on bridging the budget gap, and he called on Republicans in his chamber to present potential solutions. “We need to solve this $3 billion hole in our budget in a bipartisan way,” However, Cullerton said there is “no easy way to do it,” and he dismissed proposals such as cuts to Medicaid that Republicans have made in the past. “That would ignore the fact that we’ve already done that,” he said. Lawmakers approved and Quinn signed into law a package of Medicaid changes and new revenue in 2012.“This Medicaid reform package that was done in a bipartisan fashion — Republicans and Democrats — nothing was left on the table, and so it’s not like there’s $3 billion in savings that we ignored in our Medicaid reform bill.” Cullerton said lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have made tough choices to manage the budget in recent years, including approving changes to pension benefits for public employees. “We’ve gone right at the nature of the problems, pensions and Medicaid, and we’ve cut them.”

He indicated that finding more to cut could be difficult, and any large spending reduction could result in slashing the state’s education budget. “We’ve already closed prisons, closed mental health facilities and other centers, cut payroll, head count is down thousands from years ago. So when someone says, 'Well, just eliminate the waste and fraud,' you have to cross-examine them and ask them what they’re really talking about.” While budget cuts have been made, the tax increase, which was approved with only Democratic support in 2011, also provided billions in revenue that helped Illinois partially climb out of the estimated $13 billion deficit it faced just a few years ago.

Republicans see this week’s hearing as another political maneuver in an election year. Senate GOP spokeswoman Patty Schuh said the hearing seems to be intended to provide the governor some “cover” for presenting his budget late. “Our members will be looking to see what the Democratic majority plans to do to keep the promises they have made.”

Fact check: Republicans on the budget

By Jamey Dunn

If one of the Republican primary candidates ultimately wins the race for governor, he will face some challenging budget conditions. The temporary income tax increase, which was approved in 2011, will begin to sunset during the last half of next fiscal year. Projections from Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget office estimate that Illinois will have a $2 billion budget deficit by the end of Fiscal Year 2015 and $7.5 billion in unpaid bills.

During the Republican debate last week, GOP candidates shared some of the ideas and qualifications they would bring to the table when looking to address the state budget.

Sen. Kirk Dillard touted his experience working under former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar. “We inherited a $1 billion deficit in a recession and left a $1.5 billion surplus, all without an income tax increase,” Dillard said. He noted that during Edgar’s time in office, the state’s credit rating went up and the backlog of overdue bills was paid down.

It is true that Edgar’s administration started off with a budget deficit and left office with a budget surplus and paying the state’s bills on time. Edgar made some difficult budget choices, including cuts to Medicaid. The income tax did not increase. However, after being elected in 1990, Edgar made a temporary income tax hike permanent. He told Illinois Issues at the time that the cuts that would be needed to allow the increase to sunset would have been too deep. “There's no way you can make that amount of cuts without cutting into programs that I think everyone agrees are necessary.” Making the increase permanent was part of the platform Edgar ran on. "I won with everybody knowing my position. Nobody can be surprised on that one,” he said.

The budget recovery was also helped along by the economic boom of the mid-1990s. When Edgar took office, the country was in recession and Gross Domestic Product growth was nonexistent. By the time he left in 1999, GDP growth was almost 5 percent. Over the same period, the federal government went from a $269.3 billion deficit to a $125.6 billion surplus. Economic growth could go a long way toward improving the state’s current fiscal condition, but the kind of economic bubble the country experienced in the '90s is not likely to reoccur in the foreseeable future.

State Treasurer Dan Rutherford said he plans to conduct a performance review of all state agencies, similar to one he did when he entered his current office. Rutherford pointed to budget cuts he has made as treasurer. “I cut the budget of the state treasurer’s office by 2 percent, next fiscal year 3 percent and then 5 percent — a total of 10 percent. I’ve got the experience to do that,” he said.

Rutherford has not yet made that 5 percent cut but plans to call for it under his budget for next fiscal year. He has managed to cut his office’s budget over the last few years. Some of the substantial reductions include closing the treasurer’s satellite offices throughout the state, reducing staff through attrition, cutting the vehicle fleet and reducing phone lines. The general fund budget for the treasurer's office in the current fiscal year is about $9 million. To call it a drop in the bucket of the overall General Revenue Funds budget would be an overstatement. While Rutherford’s cost-saving measures do seem to be effective for his office, many state agencies have made similar moves to cut costs. There are only so many cars, phone lines and employees you can get rid of and still do the business of state government. Agencies that provide social programs, such as Medicaid, must have offices throughout the state that applicants can reach. To bridge the revenue gap that will follow the sunset of the tax increase, it will take more than such nibbling around the edges of the budget.

Sen. Bill Brady pointed to recent pension reform legislation as a good start on tackling Illinois’ budget troubles. “It will save the taxpayers $190 billion,” he said.

Brady has his savings number wrong. In reality, the plan was originally estimated to save about $160 billion over 30 years. But new estimates from the retirement systems now peg the savings at about $145 billion. The new law will have to survive a court challenge to produce any savings.

Brady also said he would eliminate the Illinois State Board of Education.

Again, ISBE’s spending makes up a small fraction of overall education costs. Brady said he would create a department under the governor’s office to oversee education. Such a department would presumably have staff, need office space, phone lines, even a travel budget. So the spending now going to ISBE would not be totally eliminated. When former Gov. Rod Blagojevich proposed a similar idea, his department of education would have cost about 80 percent as much as ISBE did at the time. Brady said his idea is not just about the savings but would “end the bureaucratic red tape that harms our children’s educational opportunities every day.”

He failed to mention however, that most of the mandates imposed on schools are voted into law by the Illinois General Assembly.

Bruce Rauner said he would focus on fighting union bosses, who he says are driving up the cost of government operations. He said he wants to use creative negotiating tactics, such as those employed by former Indiana Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels.

Daniels put a merit pay system in place in Indiana and effectively ended collective bargaining for public employees through an executive order in 2005. He was able to do that because the collective bargaining provisions were originally put in place through a previous executive order in 1989. Indiana lawmakers voted to codify Daniels' move in 2011, so future governors would not be able to restore collective bargaining with their executive power. Daniels signed that legislation into law. “He used executive order and the power of the government office to stand up to the power of the government union bosses that control the state governments around the nation and are driving up costs and driving down productivity,” Rauner said. Since collective bargaining rights are written into Illinois law, such a move may not be so simple, or even possible, here.

Rauner, along with the other candidates, said he would find savings in the state’s Medicaid program, which he called “broken” and “corrupt” “Based on studies that have come to light recently, it looks like close to half of the enrollees in our Medicaid system aren’t entitled to receive the benefits they’re getting, based on the report so far.” As part of sweeping Medicaid changes passed last year, the state is checking on Medicaid recipients to make sure they are eligible to receive benefits. So far, 315,000 cases have been reviewed, and 40 percent of those were found to be ineligible. But the first cases being tested were ones that were suspected of not being qualified for benefits. The benefits in most of these cases were canceled because there was no response to the requests for verification. The department does not expect the number to remain that high as it continues the verification process. “The cancellation rate is expected to come down because the reviews started with cases that had been flagged for having a discrepancy,” said a statement from the department.

While much of what the Republican candidates said about the budget during last week's debate was true, or mostly true, none of the candidates has offered a comprehensive plan for how he would address the budget shortfalls that will come as the tax increase steps down.

To be fair, neither has presumptive Democratic candidate, Gov. Pat Quinn. So far, Quinn has refused to talk about whether he would support an extension of the tax increase. By law, Quinn is required to propose an FY 2015 budget that is based on current revenues. His budget address is scheduled for February 19.

Republican candidates highlight what they hope are winning qualities

By Jamey Dunn

Republican candidates for governor touted their electability at political events centered on the state fair today.

Four candidates are taking a shot at winning the Republican nomination this year. Three are familiar faces, and one is a newcomer. Businessman Bruce Rauner rode his Harley motorcycle into Springfield for today’s party breakfast and Republican Day at the fair. Talking to reporters on his way into breakfast, the first-time political candidate refused to get specific on a number of issues, including same-sex marriage and whether motorcyclists should be legally required to wear helmets. Rauner would only say that he always wears one. There is no law in Illinois that requires helmets, but there have been several attempts to pass one in recent years. Each time, the efforts have been defeated by the influential motorcycle lobbying group ABATE. “Today, it’s about victory and unifying the party,” Rauner said when asked to comment about his stances on social issues.

He was only willing to get specific on one issue. “We’re going to get term limits put on everybody in Springfield. All the legislature, as well as the governor, both today and in the future.” Rauner said that lawmakers and the governor should be restricted to serving eight years in office. Rauner would not say if he would support making Illinois a right-to-work state. But he did say he looks to former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels as a political role model. Daniels, whose name was in circulation as a possible presidential challenger to Barack Obama in 2012, signed legislation in 2012 making Indiana a right to work state.

While Rauner may look up to Daniels, the priorities he listed today did not sound too different from those in speeches given by Democrats on their political day yesterday. He said he wants to help grow jobs, employ veterans, address corruption by bringing efficiency and transparency to state government and improve education. Rauner highlighted the fact that he is somewhat of a political outsider who would bring business experience to the job. “I have never run for office in my life, but I love our state passionately, and I cannot stand to watch us go down the drain the way we are. I will not sit by and let it happen,” he said. “I’m going to bring business talent, business success, to the governorship in Illinois.”

Rauner said of himself, “I’ve been a leader at everything I’ve touched throughout my career.”

Treasurer Dan Rutherford pointed to his win for his current office as proof that he can defeat a Democratic opponent in the general election. “I’m the only candidate running for governor that has actually run a statewide race. I know how to win.” Rutherford has attributed much of that that victory to outreach efforts in minority communities. “I know how to win. I know that going into communities of diversity is imperative for us as Republicans to earn the right to governor — communities of diversity of ethnicity and religion. I’ve done it. A great part of success is just showing up.” He said he could appeal to the independents and even bring over some Democrats. Rutherford said he would be able to garner solid support in Cook County.

He took a veiled swipe at Rauner’s lack of political experience in his speech to party leaders this morning. “It is good to be back at the state fair. This is not my first time here.” Rutherford highlighted his own hands-on style of politicking. “I’ve been to every single [one of the]102 counties,” Rutherford said.

Bloomington state Sen. Bill Brady, who lost the 2010 race to Quinn, said that his failed bid for governor has helped him to gain name recognition across the state. He said that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, brother of former president George W. Bush, encouraged him to run again. Brady said Bush told him that his own failed bid for governor of Florida helped him to eventually win the office.

Some political observers say that Brady’s conservative stances on social issues helped sink his campaign in 2010 because he was unable to gain the support of upstate moderates. But Brady said today that candidates have to make their opinions clear, come what may. “People have to know what you stand for. They know what I stand for. I stand for less government, lower taxes more private sector business. Regardless of who your candidate is, if they don’t know what you stand for, they don’t know what their supporting or not supporting.” However, Brady said that he thinks the focus of the 2014 race should be economic issues and not social policy.

Brady and the other candidates will likely not be able to match the wealthy Rauner’s ability to spend on his campaign. “We’ve conceded the fact that we’ll probably be outspent,” Brady said. “I don’t think there’s any question the people of Illinois regret their choice in the last election, and we’re going to win this time around.”

When asked what his biggest misstep in 2010 was, Brady did not have an answer. “I don’t know that I can point to that. What I can point to is that we’re going to run a strong campaign, build on what we’ve done and finish the job we started.”

Hinsdale state Sen. Kirk Dillard lost the primary to Brady in 2010 by fewer than 200 votes. Dillard noted that many pundits have since speculated that if he had beat Brady, he would be governor today. Dillard said to Republicans today that he could be the “unifier between the conservatives and moderates of our party.” Dillard said that he has appeal throughout Illinois and the “right profile” to win a statewide office. “I’m a suburbanite with strong downstate agricultural roots. I will be a governor for all of Illinois. I am not a regional candidate.”

Dillard pointed to his time as former Gov. Jim Edgar’s chief of staff as proof of his ability work with lawmakers and get things done. “I have experience that money cannot buy. ... I once worked for the last clean and competent governor of Illinois.” Edgar is again supporting Dillard’s bid for office. “I am the one candidate that is electable statewide. I know how to govern a Democrat legislature to get it to do things, and I’ve proven it as state senator as well as a gubernatorial aide — to get that Democrat legislature to live within its means,” Dillard said today. “I’m tested. I’m proven. And I’m committed to reinvigorating the Republican Party, but most importantly, making this great state of Illinois, the capital of the Midwest, work again.”

House Minority Leader Tom Cross was not in attendance today. The official line is that he had a prior family commitment and would be seeing his daughter off to college. However, rumors were circulating all day that he is considering a bid for treasurer. Cross had been planning a run for the attorney general’s office if Attorney General Lisa Madigan vacated the position. However, Madigan passed on a bid for governor and instead decided to seek reelection. While Cross was mulling his run, other members of his caucus were stepping forward in hopes of filling his leadership position. Since the revelation that Cross might stick around, he has been met with hostility from some of his members who were eyeing his job. Today, people close to the leader speculated that he may not have wanted to field questions from the press about a possible run for a different statewide office until he had made up his mind.

Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno was on hand. She said she would not be endorsing anyone in the elections. “I could imagine endorsing all of them; consequently, I will endorse none of them. ... I think all of them could do a good job, so I am going to be 100 percent behind whomever wins.” Radogno urged all Republicans who will be out campaigning during the 2014 election season to “remind our voters to keep focused on the result of 10 years of Democratic control.” She added, “People in this state I hope are smart enough to realize at this point, 10 years of one-party control has not been good for them.”

Republican primary officially a four-way race

Sen. Kirk Dillard today jumped into the 2014 gubernatorial race.

In recent months Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican, made it no secret that he planned to run, but he officially kicked off his campaign today with a series of news conferences throughout the state. Dillard now joins three other Republican candidates in the race: businessman Bruce Rauner, State Treasurer Dan Rutherford and Sen. Bill Brady.

Dillard and Brady faced each other in the 2010 gubernatorial primary, which Brady won. Brady went on to lose the general election to Gov. Pat Quinn. Brady announced in June that he would make his third run for governor. “It’s time to finish the job we started four years ago,” Brady said at a Springfield stop on his campaign launch tour of the state. “Illinois can grow and prosper again. It starts with putting the right leadership at the top. There’s a lot of work to be done, and it is time to finish the job we started.” Brady made the case that his failed bid for governor helped to make him the best-known candidate out of the four Republicans. He also said that he and his team had “learned” from the defeat.

Dillard served as chief of staff to former Gov. Jim Edgar, and it seems likely his campaign will play up his experience. Edgar, who endorsed Dillard in 2009, has said that he would likely back Dillard if the state senator chose to run again. A new ad on Dillard's campaign website describes him as “more tested” and “better prepared” than his opponents. “He doesn’t need to go on a listening tour of the state; his entire life has been a listening tour. He’s heard the people of Illinois, and he knows what to do,” the ad says. The line appears to be a shot at Rauner, who took a listening tour of Illinois before announcing his own bid for the governor’s office. Rauner has already raised more than $1 million and has substantial private wealth to tap. He is expected to outspend his Republican opponents.

In Chicago, the first campaign stop of several that Dillard is making across the state today, he pitched himself as the Republican who can “win a general election” and go on to be an effective leader afterward. “It's not just enough to elect a Republican governor,” he said. “You have to be someone who can work with Democratic legislators.”

Brady concedes

By Jamey Dunn

Republican Sen. Bill Brady conceded the governor's race to Gov. Pat Quinn this afternoon.

Late Tuesday night, the two were in a dead heat. On Wednesday, Brady said he wanted to wait until the State Board of Elections certified the results, which could take as long as 30 days.

But Quinn's lead continued to grow, reaching more than 19,000 votes, and the Associated Press called the race in his favor yesterday afternoon.

“After days of counting ballots and looking at potential outcomes, we came to the conclusion that Gov. Quinn won this race. He worked hard for it. And you can’t take away his effort in this endeavor,” Brady said at a Bloomington news conference.

Brady would not venture a guess as to what went wrong in his campaign, noting that recent polls had showed him with a slight lead. “We’ll leave it to the pundits to decide what happened.”

Brady said the debate he and Quinn had throughout the campaign about the best ways to solve the state's financial woes "moved Illinois forward." He said he plans to work with Quinn but remains committed to opposing an income tax increase. Brady said he and Quinn plan to meet soon to share a meal at Manny's Deli in Chicago.

Quinn reacted to Brady's concession at a Chicago news conference this afternoon, calling Brady "gracious." He called for Illinois voters and lawmakers of all political stripes to come together and confirmed he will sit down for a meal with Brady. “We may have differences — strong differences on policy issues — but we are all Americans and all Illinoisans.”

As for many polls calling the race incorrectly, Quinn said: “The people call the shots, not the experts and not the pollsters and not the insiders.”

Quinn also reiterated his call for new revenue for education.

Candidates set to break spending records

By Jamey Dunn

As Democrats and Republicans battle it out in close races across the state, they are expected to break records for raising and spending campaign cash.

The candidates vying for governor likely will have spent more combined cash than any other gubernatorial race in Illinois history, according to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR).

The watchdog group projects spending by Gov. Pat Quinn and his Republican challenger, Sen. Bill Brady, will add up to about $30 million. The current record for the main party candidates is $23.7 million, set in 2006 by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and current Republican candidate for comptroller Judy Baar Topinka. Spending by independent candidate for governor Scott Lee Cohen, Libertarian Lex Green and the Green Party’s Rich Whitney would bring the total spending for the race up to a projected $33 million.

Blagojevich was the big spender in the 2006 race, shelling out $16.6 million, and holds the spending record for a single candidate in an Illinois general election. Brady may break that record this year. The ICPR estimates that his spending could reach $17 million. However, Brady’s final spending totals will not be available until the campaign files an expenditure report in January.

Brady brought in $6.5 million from the Illinois Committee of the Republican Governors Association. David Morrison, deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said he was expecting Republicans to make a strong spending effort in this election even before Brady was the nominee because they saw an opportunity to grab power in one branch of Illinois government. “The Republicans were going to make a very serious run at that office, just because they had to have the governor’s office to have a voice in lawmaking.”

He said a year ago, he never would have projected that Republicans could gain control of one of the chambers of the General Assembly, but that now seems possible, as well.

Candidates for the General Assembly are also breaking cash records. The number of races in which candidates raised more than $1 million is up to 15 and has broken the record of 11 in 2006. In the 2008 general election, only six races hit the $1 million mark.

The ICPR estimates that the race between Democratic Sen. Deanna Demuzio and Republican Sam McCann, both of Carlinville, for the 49th District Senate seat will set a new record for spending in an Illinois Senate race. The two are projected to spend more than $2.6 million. The current record is $2.3 million.

Demuzio has raised $1.7 million, with $1 million coming from Senate President John Cullerton. McCann has $818,000, with more than half coming from Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno.

Democrat Mike Smith and Republican Michael Unes are poised to break the more than $1.6 million spending record for a two-candidate Illinois House race with more than $1.8 million raised between them.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Kilbride’s bid to be retained for another 10-year term is the most expensive retention race in Illinois history and the second most expensive ever in the nation. Kilbride raised more than $3.2 million, while those trying to knock him off the bench — primarily JUSTPAC, the political committee for the Illinois Civil Justice League — have raised almost $700,000.

Candidates in the 25 state legislative races the ICPR characterizes as “in play” raised $24.8 million. More than 65 percent of that, or $16.7 million, came from legislative leaders or political parties.

“I think it explains why the leaders were so reluctant to limit their own giving [during recent pushes for campaign finance reform],” Morrison said.

He added that rank-and-file legislators have little motivation to change a system where, for the most part, political parties and legislative leaders hold the purse strings because that is what got them elected. “They may have decided to run for election because they care about taxes or jobs or whatever, but the one thing they share is, they know how to circulate petitions, knock on doors and win elections.”

Election day: Close races, big spenders and unhappy voters

By Jamey Dunn

As the candidates at the top of the ticket fly throughout the state trying to energize voters the day before the election, polls show Republicans have a slight edge in two close races.

A poll of likely Illinois voters released today by Public Policy Polling has U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk leading the race for U.S. Senate with 46 points to Democratic State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ 42 points. The same poll shows Gov. Pat Quinn, with 40 points, trailing Republican Sen. Bill Brady, who has 45 points. The margin of error for the survey is plus or minus 3.4 percent.

Meanwhile, legislative leaders are pouring money into General Assembly races. The Illinois Campaign for Political reform released a list today of 14 legislative races — seven from each chamber — where both candidates combined reported more than $1 million in campaign funds.

Kent Redfield, an emeritus professor at the University of Illinois Springfield and director of the Sunshine Project, a nonprofit campaign contribution database connected to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said the total number of races with more than $1 million in funds will likely be closer to 16 when all is said and done. “Republicans are seeing opportunity. Democrats are playing defense,” Redfield said.

He added that in recent years, Republicans have had to spend more to fight for suburban districts. But with Democrats — who have a demographic advantage in Illinois — facing high levels of voter frustration and apathy, Republicans have more money to target downstate districts.

As for the possibility of a Republican-controlled Illinois House, Redfield said: “I would be surprised, but I wouldn’t be shocked. … If the Democrats stay home, and the Republicans go to the polls, you could get something like 1994 [when Republicans took control of the House.]”

Redfield said almost half of Brady’s campaign cash has come from national Republican groups. He says close races for Senate and the governor’s office in a state that is typically Democratic might have compelled national Republican organizations to spend more this time around. “Nationally, Republicans have not spent a lot of money in Illinois [in the past] because there really wasn’t much point.”

There has been heightened involvement from national parties in governor’s races across the country, due in part to the fact that states will soon be redrawing legislative districts. “If you get a Republican governor, then that’s a stopper in terms of redistricting in Illinois,” Redfield said. Even if the General Assembly stays in Democrats’ hands, a Republican governor could refuse to sign off on any map they create.

A race thousands of miles away may also affect Illinois. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is battling in a close contest for his seat. If he loses and the Democrats hang on to the Senate, there is a good chance that U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin would take over as leader for his party. Durbin said he has no plans to challenge Reid if he wins reelection.

“I have no idea what anyone else is doing, but I told Harry Reid, gave him my word, I would do nothing in any way whatsoever to angle for his position,” Durbin said. He’s the majority leader. He’s going to be reelected as the majority leader.”

Redfield said that even though it seems Democratic voters in Illinois are disaffected, Illinois Democrats would still be power players in Washington, D.C. “We [would] have the Senate majority leader and the president from Illinois. That would be interesting.”

The economic downturn and a campaign season of negative ads and divisive rhetoric highlighting the state’s and the country’s ills will do little to inspire voters, according to Redfield. “If people were depressed before about the economy after this election cycle, they are even more depressed. … Where are you going to cast a positive vote tomorrow night?”

That outlook is reflected in the Public Policy poll, which says that no matter who voters choose as their next U.S. senator and governor, they will likely not be satisfied. More respondents had an unfavorable opinion than a favorable one of Kirk, Giannoulias and Brady. More than half of respondents did not approve of Quinn’s performance as governor.

Besides picking candidates, voters will also have to decide if they want to add recall power to the Illinois Constitution. If more than 60 percent of people who cast their ballots approve the amendment, voters — with the backing of 30 legislators from both chambers and both parties — would have the power to recall a sitting governor.

Quinn and Brady's last duel

By Jamey Dunn

In their last televised face-off before the election, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and his Republican challenger, state Sen. Bill Brady, tore into each other but failed to cover much new ground.

Last night’s event, which was broadcast by WTTW Chicago Public Media, was a more loosely structured forum, as opposed to a formal debate. The candidates did not face time limits or make opening statements. The more lax format resulted in Brady and Quinn arguing, interrupting each other and sometimes outright sniping while trying to get in the last word before moderator Carol Marin cut them off.

The two candidates bickered over the possibility of borrowing $4 billion to make the state’s required pension payment for the current fiscal year. The Senate plans to return to Springfield on November 4 to vote on a borrowing bill, which the House narrowly approved last May.

Brady said Quinn should look for other ways to make the payment and is borrowing because “he’s not willing to face up to the tough decisions that a governor must make.” Brady added that he would do “everything [he] can” to oppose the borrowing. Quinn accused him of working behind the scenes in block the bill last spring.

Quinn said the state must make the pension payment, and — given the dire financial straits he inherited — borrowing is the way to go. “Our problems did not begin the day I lifted my hand off the Bible when I got sworn in.” He called Brady’s budget plans “irresponsible,” “reckless” and “wrong.” Meanwhile, Brady criticized Quinn for borrowing money without a dedicated funding source to pay it back.

Brady addressed recent media reports that his campaign failed to pay for airtime for its ads. He says the campaign made a “tactical” change and there was a “glitch” in payment, which has since been corrected. Quinn said the failure to pay spoke to Brady’s management skills.

When the conversation turned to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues, Brady said he had no intentions of creating a “hostile” environment for the LGBT community. However, he stuck by his stance that the law should define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Quinn went after him on social issues saying: “The governor should be tolerant. …You haven’t been tolerant.”

When asked if he had any regrets, Quinn said he had been disappointed with the political climate after he was sworn into office. He said he “thought Illinois would have a bipartisan moment to really do hard things.”

Brady said he regretted sponsoring a bill early in his run that would allow for the mass euthanasia of cats and dogs, after Marin directly asked him about the legislation. He has taken political fire over the measure and quickly removed his name from the bill after it made news.

Report: 'MGT Push' got a bad rap

By Jamey Dunn

A report released today claims the media and politicians wrongly vilified the now infamous “Meritorious Good Time Release Push [MGT Push]” program and exaggerated the program’s affect on public safety.

The report, issued by the Northwestern University School of Law, claims the program — which awarded prisoners “good time” credit at the beginning of their sentences, causing some to spend only weeks in jail — was in line with previous steps taken by the General Assembly to combat overcrowding and rehabilitate criminals through community-based programs when possible.

From the report:

Even before [Corrections Director Michael] Randle’s arrival in June 2009, Illinois policymakers had been considering ways to reduce the number of short-term prisoners. The Illinois legislature expressly endorsed the concept of keeping a significant portion of this group out of prison altogether by passing the Crime Reduction Act of 2009.

The report was written by Malcolm Young, director of the Program for Prison Reentry Strategies with the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern University School of Law. He says the media and politicians mischaracterized the program by dwelling on the more sensational aspects and characterizing it as secret.

But he concedes that the complexity of the sentencing process and criminal justice system make it difficult to give a program like MGT Push context when explaining it to the public. “There’s two difficulties for the media on criminal justice issues. One, its very emotional for people. It produces a gut reaction. … The second is, it’s difficult to understand and explain.”

From the report:

While “MGT Push” was hardly secret, it also was not announced with a press conference. The Department treated “MGT Push” as what it was: an administrative change in a practice that was unsupported by law, the result of which was to credit prisoners with ‘good time’ to which they were entitled without an arbitrary 60-day delay and to reduce the cost of putting the Department through an expensive classification process, the outcome of which was irrelevant for prisoners soon to be released in any event.

Young — who is a member of the Quinn Administration's Illinois Adult Corrections Advisory Board but says he is not paid for his service and has never met the governor — said those aware of the program should have seen the controversy coming and done more to explain the need for early release to the public. “Those of us who heard [of MGT Push] or knew about it or talked about it, we’re guilty, too — of not really anticipating what the emotional trigger was or how it could be exploited.” The report accuses Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration of “bad public relations” during the public scandal that ensued.

Young said he is disappointed that the backlash has resulted in early-release programs being shut down in Illinois instead of creating a debate on the best way to fix the correction system with the goal of rehabilitating criminals and reducing crime rates.

Republicans question the results of the Northwestern report, citing a scathing report issued by Judge David Erickson and members of Quinn’s own administration.

“[Those who wrote the] Erickson report had inside and in-depth knowledge of the Department of Corrections,” said Patty Schuh, a spokeswoman for Sen. Bill Brady, the Republican candidate for governor. “The bottom line is, what [Erickson] found was 1,700 inmates were secretly released — many after only serving days in prison. That is a problem. That is a public safety risk.”

Young’s report is critical of Erickson's findings. It also alleges that cutting early release programs may actually harm public safety because criminals whose sentences are reduced spend the time they would have spent behind bars under supervision back in society. The logic is that criminals who serve their full sentences would have to fend for themselves on the outside sooner after release and would be more likely to resort to crime.

Young said that MGT Push set the state back in terms of trying to address overcrowded prisons and rehabilitate felons through community-based programs when appropriate “In retrospect, it wasn’t worth it. It cost a huge amount. But the problem is not that someone tried to implement something as modest as MGT Push. The episode shows us that at any point in time, it would be very difficult to put in place any reform in Illinois that visibly shortens or reduces prison sentences.”

Debate includes third-party candidate

By Jamey Dunn

During last night’s gubernatorial debate, Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican candidate for governor Sen. Bill Brady took shots at each other, while Green Party candidate Rich Whitney advocated for free higher education.

Much of what Quinn and Brady focused on was a rehash of their talking points from previous debates and campaign events.

Quinn criticized Brady for wanting to eliminate the Put Illinois to Work program. Meanwhile, Quinn said that he has “taken on the crisis of state government with a heart.”

Brady, who was leading the race in a recent poll, called the program a cynical election ploy and characterized the work it has created for residents as “temporary tax jobs.” He said as governor, he would grow the public sector by being “business friendly” and create more permanent jobs.

Whitney took a swipe at Brady’s economic plan calling it “warmed over Reaganomics.” He added: “It didn’t work then. It doesn’t work now.”

Whitney's plan for recovery involved free public higher education for all. Whitney said it would create jobs at universities, which are, “well-distributed geographically around the state.” Whitney said the money students and parents would save by not paying tuition could provide economic stimulus and not having to take out loans to get an education would help residents avoid debt.

Brady took the opportunity to again slam Quinn’s deal with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which guarantees no layoffs until 2012 in exchange for $50 million in savings. The union endorsed Quinn shortly before the deal was signed, and Brady accused Quinn of making a trade to get the organization’s support. “Gov. Quinn has an endorsement. The union has a deal that will tie the hands of the next governor.”

However Quinn played up the fact that the union plans to make cutbacks under a contract that has already been negotiated. “I’ve been able to get concession from the unions … under the existing union contracts.” He also touted cost-saving pension reforms that he signed last spring.

Quinn and Brady both focused on the economic state of the state. Quinn highlighted manufacturing jobs that are new to Illinois in recent months. However, Brady said Illinois’ unfriendly business policies are running jobs out of the state. “Gov. Quinn’s the job governor all right, but it just happens to be for Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky and other states.”

Whitney said that until state government can pay its bills and “perform its most basic functions,” Illinois does not look like a good bet to the business sector. “What business wants to come to or stay in a state whose public sector is falling apart, whose schools are falling apart — the cost of higher education going through the roof. … Where the infrastructure is falling apart where health care vendors aren’t being paid on time. Where people dependent on social services aren’t being paid on time. Social services are crumbling. What business wants to stay in a state like that?”

The debate, held on Southern Illinois University’s Carbondale campus, was Whitney’s chance for exposure before three upcoming debates in which he will likely not participate. Sponsors in those debates did not extend an invitation to the Green Party candidate, citing his low numbers in recent polls.

Quinn and Brady duke it out in first debate

By Jamey Dunn

Gov. Pat Quinn and his Republican opponent for governor, state Sen. Bill Brady, talked policy and traded shots in a debate this morning held by Chicago's Union League Club.

Quinn started things off by outlining the difficulties he faced when he entered office last year after his predecessor, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, was impeached and removed from office. He said he was confronted with three major crises — the national recession, Illinois’ budget deficit and an “integrity crisis” — when he took office during “probably the toughest time in Illinois history.”

Quinn put a positive spin on the state’s current bleak situation by listing accomplishments from his year in office, including pension reform, campaign finance reform, budget cuts and getting a recall amendment on the November general election ballot.

“I took on those crises. And rolled up my sleeves and took the oath of office. And [I] have worked hard ever since,” Quinn said at the Chicago debate.

Brady focused on his ability to bring a business perspective to a state budget that is drowning in red ink. “As a businessman, I know what those challenges are like. … Our state when you look at it like a bus is in a difficult spot. … When you look at the liabilities section of the balance sheet, the numbers are horrifying.”

Brady reiterated his plan to eliminate the gasoline tax and the estate tax, as well as reduce fees. He repeated his plans to balance the budget without a tax increase and to cut agency budgets by 10 percent. “We cannot work our way out of this crisis with higher taxes, more borrowing and more spending,” he said.

Quinn said the best way to create more jobs is through working directly with businesses and tailoring tax cuts to get the most bang for the buck. “The way you grow jobs is you have a governor that can work with CEOs and small businesses, and actually talk to them about targeted tax cuts — not the estate tax on multimillionaires. That’s not going to grow our economy. What really is going to grow our economy is targeted tax cuts that really help businesses grow jobs.”

Quinn touted his role in bringing Ford Motor Co. manufacturing jobs to the state and persuading Navistar, a producer of large truck parts, to remain in Illinois.

Brady took several shots at Quinn over the department of corrections’ secret “Meritorious Good Time Push” early release program, which let prisoners — some of them violent offenders — out after serving only weeks of their sentences. Brady said Quinn’s mismanagement of the budget and the agency put Illinois residents at risk. He said public safety would be his top budget priority, followed by paying off pension and bond obligations.

Quinn said Brady can’t have it both ways by cutting the corrections budget 10 percent while still promising to safely house prisoners. “Under his plan., we’ll cut the Department of Corrections. We’ll close prisons. We’ll endanger the people of Illinois.”

Quinn emphasized education as his top spending priority. “I have the courage to tell the truth to the people of Illinois. We need more revenue for our education. … I don’t want to lose a generation of children. I don’t want to take away scholarships.” He highlighted his ability to bring in federal dollars, while Brady said Illinois must stop looking to U.S. Congress for bailouts.

“Last time I checked, the people of Illinois paid a lot of money to the federal government in taxes, and we are entitled to some of that money back,” Quinn said.

Perhaps Brady’s sharpest barb was his renouncement of Quinn’s “secret” deal with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which allows the union to avoid layoffs until 2012 in exchange for at least $50 million in cost-cutting measures. He called on the governor to rescind the offer, which came on the heels off the union’s endorsement of Quinn for governor. “It’s wrong, and you know it,” Brady said.

Quinn said Brady lacks a record of accomplishments, even after spending more than 15 years in the legislature. “This is how you roll up your sleeves and get the job done in Illinois. You don’t just talk about it. You have a record. I have a record of accomplishment. … Brady has no record. He talks about great things, but he doesn’t deliver,” Quinn said. He played off of Brady’s home building business to criticize the Republican's lack of a specific budget plan: “Who in the world would ever buy a home from some one without seeing the blueprint?”

Brady did choose to focus primarily on what is wrong in Illinois instead of any past successes he may have had as a legislator. On the topic of overdue payments to service providers, he said: “The people out there are on life support because your government has left them with an IOU. And they’re having to let people [go.] Those are real jobs.”

Both candidates, usually not known for their strong public speaking styles, seemed to have stepped up their games for the debate.

Quinn and Brady vague on the budget

By Jamey Dunn

Both Gov. Pat Quinn and his Republican opponent, state Sen. Bill Brady, have yet to publicly spell out all the details of their plans for the state budget.

Quinn claims he has made about $3 billion in cuts during his time in office, and Brady said he plans to cut a “dime on every dollar of government spending.

“We’ve cut the budget this fiscal year by $1.4 billion. We have laid out the exact blueprint,” Quinn said.

Republicans have called on Quinn in the past to produce a list of his cuts, but he has not obliged. When Quinn laid out agency cuts at the beginning of the 2011 fiscal year, he said the budget was a moving target. He issued new budget numbers for agencies this month.

David Comerford, a spokesman for the Illinois Federation of Teachers, describes Quinn’s plan as “built on quicksand.” He says Quinn must do more to reassure school superintendents that the $415 million that Illinois is set to receive from the federal government to help save education jobs will be spent to bring back teachers who got pink slips in the spring.

Quinn said of the federal funding: “Primarily it is for our K-12. However our education budget in Illinois, it’s somewhat seamless. … In a lot of ways, when we get help from Washington [D.C.] for our grammar schools and high schools, that does help us in other parts of our education budget.”

Comerford said there is still uncertainty surrounding the governor’s budget, and administrators will not know what their budgets will look like until Quinn makes his intentions clear. “We’d like to see people hired back. That’s why this was passed. Certainly a comment like that doesn’t help that situation,” he said in response to Quinn’s statement.

State Superintendent Christopher Koch says a special legislative session will be needed to dole out the money, but Quinn disagrees.

“I think people have a choice. They have a governor who tells the truth before the election. ... The other guy just wants to tell a bunch of fairy tales and raise your taxes, especially your property taxes after the election.”

Meanwhile, Brady has done next to nothing to inform voters of his specific intentions for the budget. He said he can’t build his plan unless he is in the governor’s office with the access to fiscal information and staff that the position entails. “I know we’re going to cut a dime on every dollar. … I don’t have the professionals in place to fully analyze the highest priorities.”

Brady said Quinn has limited access to budget information. “The lack of transparency from this insider government is creating an environment that — you can’t give specifics to those details.”
He has claimed to be able to balance the budget in a year without a tax increase while avoiding massive layoffs in education. That task could prove difficult, since education costs make up about a quarter of all state spending. He said he would consider cutting entire programs and that every state program is on the table for such cuts. “I will demand of every agency to come back with a budget of 90 percent. Show us what your priorities are within that 90 percent,” he said.

While neither candidate has presented a specific plan, that doesn’t stop them from taking jabs at each other's stance on the budget.

Brady said Quinn’s proposal to increase the state income tax from 3 percent to 4 percent would seriously damage the state’s economy and that the governor’s policies have chased jobs and tax revenues out of the state. “The Quinn government has been spending money we don’t have. We need a fiscal conservative to step into state government and live within our means.”

Quinn said failing to pass an income tax increase and making the kind of cuts to education that he says would be necessary under Brady’s plan would result in increased property taxes on the local level. “He doesn’t want to tell people what his budget plan is. We know what it is. It’s to wreck education, wreck health care, wreck public safety and harm the people of Illinois.”

Brady accepts Republican nomination

By Jamey Dunn


Sen. Bill Brady from Bloomington accepted the Republican nomination for governor today.

Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican, conceded and endorsed Brady earlier today. “It was a hard-fought race, and it was close ...,” Dillard said in a news release. “But it is now clear to me that my friend and colleague Bill Brady has won the Illinois Republican primary for governor.”

The final totals certified today by the State Board of Elections showed Brady with a 193-vote victory. He received 20.6 percent of the GOP votes for governor, compared with 20.4 percent for Dillard.

Brady said he plans to make job creation a priority of his campaign. “You know you’re going to get tired of hearing me talk about what I’m going to talk about in this campaign because for me this campaign is about two things: jobs, jobs, jobs; and reform, reform, reform,” Brady said in the acceptance speech he delivered in Chicago.

Gov. Pat Quinn's campaign is already criticizing Brady's voting record in the Illinois Senate.
From the Quinn for Illinois reaction statement to Brady's nomination:

In his legislative career, Senator Bill Brady has voted against the Family Medical Leave Act, equal pay for men and women, and raising the minimum wage. He has also proposed repealing anti-discrimination laws, would ban all abortions -- even for victims of rape and incest -- and even voted against a bill funding mammograms and pap tests. … He may represent the extreme fringe of the right-wing, but he certainly does not represent the people of Illinois.

Brady wins Republican governor nomination

Bloomington Sen. Bill Brady beat out his opponent Sen. Kirk Dillard from Hinsdale by 193 votes for the Republican nomination for governor.

The State Board of Elections certified the votes this morning.

Dillard previously said he would not seek a recount unless the margin was less than 100 votes. He would have to pay for the preliminary recount. If those results indicated problems with the votes, then a statewide recount would be conducted with public funds.

Both candidates are holding news conferences later today. Check back for more details.