Newsroom

Posted on

Illinois Should Be Asking Chris Kennedy A Simple Question

Chris Kennedy has yet to respond to reports of his corrupt, insider dealings

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy is traveling Illinois claiming he is some sort of reformer – but a new Chicago Tribune investigative report details Kennedy’s troubled past as a corporate insider who used family connections to rake in millions, while leaving others to pay for his mistakes.

The Chicago Tribune report sheds light on a botched no-bid contract Kennedy scored in Cleveland through “a longtime family friend.” The plan was to build “a convention center and Medical Mart in Cleveland” which required an unpopular and controversial sales tax to pay for it.

Kennedy told Cleveland residents the convention center would be a “Disney World for doctors” – instead, it turned into a massive failure.

The Chicago Tribune explains, “the project was plagued by accusations of insider dealings, secrecy and failed promises. Kennedy’s company made millions of dollars, while residents are stuck paying more on items they purchase.”

“…the building sits eerily empty most days — the glassy high-tech showrooms of its few tenants unstaffed and deserted.”

Chris Kennedy’s company walked away with millions, shortchanging Cleveland by $20 million while raising sales taxes on hardworking families to pay for his false promises.

So Chris, is this your plan for Illinois? Shortchanging the taxpayers with your empty promises and corrupt dealings?

###

Posted on

Durbin and Duckworth Should Immediately Give Away Money Received From Al Franken

Following allegations and a photograph of his sexual misconduct, Durbin and Duckworth have yet to take action on campaign cash from Franken

“Calls for an investigation are not enough. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth should put their money where their mouth is and immediately give away the dirty money they’ve received from Al Franken. Some of their Democratic peers in the Senate have already taken action and given away the campaign contributions. It’s time for Durbin and Duckworth to do the same.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

Following reports on Thursday of sexual harassment levied against U.S. Senator Al Franken, Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth have not taken any definitive action to distance themselves from his alleged actions.

Early Thursday, allegations surfaced that Al Franken kissed and groped a woman without consent in 2006. Released along with Leeann Tweeden’s allegations was a photograph of Franken groping Tweeden as she slept.

Since the allegations surfaced, numerous Democrats have spoken out, denouncing Franken and giving away campaign cash received from Franken to charitable organizations.

Durbin and Duckworth, though tweeting their support for an ethics investigation, have yet to give away the money they received from Franken, unlike their counterpart in Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin. Durbin and Duckworth have received $5,000 and $21,000 in campaign contributions from Franken, respectively.

The Illinois Republican Party is calling on Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth to follow the example of their peers and immediately give away the campaign cash they received from Al Franken.

###

Posted on

Mike Frerichs is “Standing Tall” for Mike Madigan’s Handpicked Candidate

With a record of standing in Madigan’s shadow, no surprise Frerichs has lined up with Pritzker

“With yet another Madigan ally lining up behind Pritzker, it is clear that the Madigan Machine will stop at nothing to secure the nomination for Pritzker. Mike Frerichs has repeatedly stood with Madigan to gerrymander legislative maps and hike taxes on Illinois families. Now, Frerichs plans to do the same with J.B. Pritzker, Mike Madigan’s handpicked candidate for governor.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

On Wednesday, Mike Madigan ally and tax-hike supporter Mike Frerichs endorsed J.B. Pritzker for Governor. The announcement comes as no surprise as Frerichs has a record of blocking reform to protect Madigan’s power.

During his time in the Illinois Senate, Frerichs voted in support of Madigan’s gerrymandering of legislative district maps.

Frerichs also voted for the 67% Quinn-Madigan tax hike that put an increased strain on Illinois families already grossly overtaxed by Democrats in Springfield.

Madigan’s Tax Hike Team is back at it, adding one more name to the growing list of Madigan cronies backing his handpicked candidate for governor, J.B. Pritzker.

###

Posted on

Mike Madigan Trying To Pull Lisa Dugan Out of Retirement So She Can Help Him Stay in Power

From 2003 to 2013, Dugan voted Madigan Speaker four times, passed his unbalanced budgets, tax hikes, and gerrymandered legislative maps

“Why would Lisa Dugan return to Springfield? Her record is disastrous – Dugan voted Mike Madigan for Speaker four separate times, and worked with him to spend recklessly, hike taxes, skip pension payments, and pass his gerrymandered legislative maps. It’s clear that Dugan is incapable of standing up to Madigan. The people of the 79th House District would be better off if Lisa Dugan stayed out of politics, rather than return to Springfield and work with Madigan to do more damage to Illinois.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

The Daily Journal is reporting that former Democratic State Representative Lisa Dugan is considering coming out of retirement and running for the 79th House District, an office she previously held for 5 terms, from 2003 to 2013.

Dugan’s decade-long record is clear – she spent her time in Springfield keeping Madigan in power and doing his bidding, rather than making state government work for the people of Illinois.

During her time in Springfield, Lisa Dugan:

The people of the 79th House District need a State Representative who will oppose Madigan and his Chicago agenda, not empower him. From her decade in office, Lisa Dugan proved that she is incapable of standing up to Madigan. If given another term, Dugan would be just another rubber stamp for Madigan.

The people of Illinois can’t afford another term of Lisa Dugan and Mike Madigan working hand in hand to do more damage to our state.

###

Posted on

Pritzker Changes Tune on Tax Returns: From ‘Will Release Soon’ to ‘Will Release Soon’

Pritzker continues to obfuscate his tax returns under the guise of transparency

“Pritzker’s team has finally clarified their statements for the past 7 months that his tax returns will be released ‘soon’ by kicking the can down the road yet again. Pritzker is trying to hide, but Illinois voters will remain skeptical in the face of his deception.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

J.B. Pritzker announced on Wednesday that he would be releasing his tax returns at the filing deadline, or in other words, ‘soon.’

Pritzker has continuously strung along Illinois voters for 7 months by promising the exact same thing, and yet we have still seen nothing.

The possibilities are endless for what might be found in his tax returns, especially since Pritzker’s sister was recently caught stashing assets in offshore interests.

If Pritzker really does release his tax returns ‘soon,’ we’ll believe it when we see it.

###

Posted on

Three Strikes, You’re Out

After a baseball season’s delay, Pritzker has yet to deliver on his promise to release tax returns

Today is the 214th day since J.B. Pritzker pledged to release his tax returns. 214 days is exactly how long the 2017 Major League Baseball season lasted from Opening Day (April 2) to Game 7 of the World Series (November 1). Let’s take a look at some of the things that happened in that 214 day span:

214 days is 5,136 hours which is enough time to play 1,712 games (assuming the average duration of a baseball game is approximately 3 hours).

In the MLB, each team averages about 146 pitches per game, meaning that in this 214 day span with 1,712 games, there would be approximately 499,904 pitches.

But enough hypotheticals, let’s look at some stats.

In that span, the Chicago Cubs played 172 baseball games, and (not including playoffs) had 5,496 at bats resulting in 1,402 hits and pitched 1,447.1 innings.

The Chicago White Sox played 162 games, had 5,513 at bats and 1,412 hits, with a collective 1,421.2 innings pitched.

A lot of things can happen over the span of 214 days, but J.B. Pritzker can’t get his taxes done?

###

Posted on

WATCH: J.B. Pritzker AGAIN Dodges on Releasing His Tax Returns

208 days since Pritzker first pledged to make his tax returns public

“While his sister was just caught parking assets offshore, J.B. Pritzker continues to hide his tax returns from the public. We already know he schemed with crooked Democrat insiders to slash the property tax bill on his Chicago mansion by over $230,000. It’s time for him to come clean.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

After receiving the endorsement from yet another career politician who’s loyal to Madigan, J.B. Pritzker was again asked when he will be releasing his tax returns.

Watch Pritzker continue to dodge on releasing his tax returns HERE.

Pritzker’s response? “It’s somewhat complex… We’re working on it… We’ll get it done soon.”

That’s the same response Pritzker gave nearly a month ago around when tax returns were due to the federal government.

208 days have passed since J.B. Pritzker first pledged to release his taxes returns.

Other Democrats have already challenged Pritzker on his obfuscation, and Illinois voters are demanding to see what Pritzker is hiding.

We already know that Pritzker has gamed the system to receive a $230,000 tax break on his Chicago mansion thanks to the help of his fellow crooked Democrat insider Joe Berrios.

What is J.B. Pritzker hiding?

Well, J.B., we’re waiting…

###

Posted on

It’s Been 206 Days Since J.B. Pritzker Promised To Release His Tax Returns

His long delay is raising questions among Illinois voters

On April 14th, J.B. Pritzker pledged to release his tax returns ‘soon.’ Now, six months later, we’re hearing the same old promises from Pritzker, who continues to stall and hope this goes away.

Other Democrats have already challenged Pritzker on his obfuscation, and Illinois voters are demanding to see what Pritzker is hiding.

We already know that he has gamed the system through fellow Madigan crony Joe Berrios so he could receive a $230,000 tax break on his Gold Coast Chicago mansion.

What else might Pritzker be hiding? If you ask Pritzker, we’ll find out ‘soon.’

###

Posted on

Madigan’s Cook County Affiliates Endorse One of Madigan’s Senate Partners, Kwame Raoul, for Attorney General

In the Illinois Senate, Raoul has blocked reform, pushed Madigan’s rigged legislative maps and tax hikes

“It’s no surprise that the most crooked organization in Illinois politics with close ties to Mike Madigan is backing Kwame Raoul for Attorney General. As one of Madigan’s top partners in the Illinois Senate, Raoul has blocked reform and pushed Madigan’s rigged legislative maps and tax hikes. The people of Illinois deserve a reform-minded Attorney General, but Kwame Raoul is just another career politician from Chicago who does Madigan’s bidding.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

No group in Illinois politics reeks of crooked insider dealing more than the Cook County Democratic Party.

This past June, the Chicago Tribune exposed how Mike Madigan-ally Joe Berrios, the Cook County Assessor and Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party, runs what is essentially a property tax racket, but the corruption doesn’t end there.

The Cook County Democrats are so corrupt, they’ve been criticized by top Democrats like Daniel Biss and Chris Kennedy, both of whom have said that the organization prefers “backroom deals” and “preserving the status quo” to reforming state government and returning power to the people.

So it’s no surprise that Mike Madigan’s Cook County affiliates are backing Kwame Raoul for Attorney General. Raoul is one of Madigan’s top partners in the Illinois Senate – he has a record of blocking reform and protecting Madigan’s power.

As Chairman of the Senate’s Redistricting Committee, Raoul was a key player in ensuring Mike Madigan’s rigged legislative maps were enacted into law. In 2011, Raoul shamelessly voted for Madigan’s maps, disenfranchising voters all across Illinois.

Even worse, Kwame Raoul has supported Madigan’s unbalanced budgets and massive tax hikes. In 2011, Raoul voted for the 67% Quinn-Madigan tax hike. And recently this year, Raoul voted for Madigan’s permanent 32% tax hike three separate times.

Whenever given the chance, Kwame Raoul has always chosen Mike Madigan over Illinois families. The people of Illinois deserve an Attorney General who will put the people before the power political class.

Unfortunately, Kwame Raoul is just another career politician from Chicago who does Madigan’s bidding.

###

Posted on

Blagojevich Asks to Get Out of Federal Prison Early as Pritzker Talks Criminal Justice

Does Pritzker support his imprisoned friend’s petition before the U.S. Supreme Court?

 

“J.B. Pritzker’s favorite governor is back in the news. As Pritzker is scheduled to talk criminal justice this afternoon, lawyers representing his imprisoned friend Rod Blagojevich plan to file a petition to the US Supreme Court, asking them to review his conviction on corruption charges. Blagojevich’s petition begs the question – does J.B. Pritzker, Blagojevich’s fifth-largest campaign contributor, support Blagojevich’s request to get out of prison early?” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

Today, lawyers representing imprisoned former governor Rod Blagojevich plan to file a petition for a writ of certiorari before the United States Supreme Court, asking them to review his conviction on corruption charges.

Currently, Blagojevich is five and a half years into his fourteen-year sentence in a Colorado federal prison for orchestrating a “political corruption crime spree” ranging from attempts to sell a U.S. Senate seat appointment to shaking down state vendors for campaign contributions.

Blagojevich’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court is his latest attempt to get out of prison early.

Blagojevich’s most recent request begs the question – does J.B. Pritzker, Blagojevich’s fifth-largest campaign contributor and now Democratic candidate for governor, support Blagojevich’s request to get out of prison early?

In a bombshell investigative report from the Chicago Tribune, it was revealed that Pritzker was recorded on FBI wiretaps conversing with Blagojevich about being appointed State Treasurer, among other offices. Pritzker and Blagojevich also discussed campaign contributions on the same call.

Upon the release of the wiretaps, news outlets called it a “campaign crisis” for Pritzker. Pritzker was later scrutinized for a $100,000 campaign contribution to Blagojevich that one reporter said “sounds like pay-to-play to me.”

Given Pritzker’s well-documented close ties to imprisoned former governor Rod Blagojevich, surely he has an opinion on Blagojevich’s latest attempt to get out of prison early.

So, as Pritzker plans to discuss criminal justice this afternoon, does he support his imprisoned friend Rod Blagojevich’s petition before the U.S. Supreme Court?

###