J.B. Pritzker continues to struggle to answer questions about his ties to Mike Madigan and Rod Blagojevich, with his connections to them on full display at last night’s NBC Chicago forum. Pritzker’s opponents blasted his conduct on the Blagojevich FBI tapes and his support from Madigan, and post-forum coverage almost universally framed Pritzker as a part of the Chicago political machine that both Democrats and Republicans are fed up with.
Pritzker Can’t Explain Why He Didn’t Know Blagojevich Was Under Investigation
The Chicago Sun-Times reports, “Pritzker again denied any wrongdoing regarding the FBI wiretap conversation with Blagojevich…’Hundreds of people were speaking with Gov. Blagojevich at the time, and the bottom line is that, frankly, I did nothing wrong,’ Pritzker said. ‘And I was never accused of anything.’”
The Associated Press even included an entire section in it’s write up on Pritzker’s Blagojevich mess, highlighting how Pritzker can be heard saying “That’s a deal I would take” on the wiretap.
“BLAGOJEVICH QUESTIONS
“Kennedy renewed attacks on Pritzker over the recordings of him talking with the now-imprisoned Blagojevich about a possible job, saying Pritzker has become ‘the poster child for pay-to-play in this state’ and that would cause him problems in a general election.
“On the audio, Blagojevich and Pritzker discuss the possibility of Blagojevich appointing Pritzker attorney general. Pritzker is heard saying, ‘That’s a deal I would take.’ Blagojevich was later sentenced to prison for corruption.
“Pritzker reiterated that he did nothing wrong and ‘was never accused of anything’ and accused Rauner of running the ads to distract from his own ‘failed record.’
“Asked whether he should have known better than to talk to Blagojevich because prosecutors had said the Democratic governor was under investigation, Pritzker said hundreds of people spoke with him, and many more supported him.
“‘He never would have been governor of the state if people knew what he was doing.'”
Pritzker Called Out For His Ties To Mike Madigan, Opposition To Term Limits
J.B. Pritzker was blasted at the forum for his ties to Mike Madigan. ABC 7 Chicago’s post-debate coverage highlighted Pritzker’s refusal to criticize Mike Madigan or Joe Berrios, as well as Pritzker’s opposition to legislative term limits – a view also shared by Madigan.
ABC 7 Chicago reports, “It was a question to JB Pritzker about whether his reluctance to criticize Madigan and Berrios was due to his benefitting from them that turned a forum with decorum into a finger-pointing shouting match between Pritzker and Daniel Biss.”
“But when he was asked if he agreed with Governor Bruce Rauner on term limits, he said, ‘I am not in favor of term limits for everybody in the legislature.'”
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