Rutherford’s Rauner Rumblings

Posted by: The Ghost of Babe Woodyard

It seems that nothing can happen in the race for Governor that doesn’t get blamed on Bruce Rauner. As Bruce said this month, its “beat up on Brucie day” 24/7. Today Dan Rutherford is now blaming Bruce for an internal problem within Dan’s own office. A Rutherford employee has an employment complaint against the Treasurer, Dan alleges that the employee looked to settle for $300,000 through an attorney that has done work with the Rauner campaign in the past. Dan thinks this is an attempt by the Rauner campaign to “destroy” him, maybe he is right...but a quick review of the situation says he is probably not. 

First point, the alleged attorney, Christine Svenson, has done lots of work for Republicans before, including some work for one of Truth Teams favorite Senators, Matt Murphy. So she is not a Rauner exclusive attorney, nor has she done work for the Rauner campaign since July of 2013.  See here for the full list.

Next, Christine is heavily involved in Republican politics, even serving as the 42nd Ward Republican Organization President. It would seem to me that Dan, being a Republican, would have Republican staffers advancing Republican ideas that may have other Republican friends that may know a Republican attorney in Christine Svenson who focuses on employment issues that they would turn to if they had a workplace issue.

The final point is this, who is Dan fooling? 

If this came from Rauner they wouldn’t have the gall to ask for such a pittance as $300,000 to keep quiet. Bruce hasn’t seen that few zeroes after a number since he stopped milking cows. If this was a campaign issue from Rauner,  a suit would have been filed and poof would have been on the front page of the Tribune, or maybe even the Truth Team (ahem, ahem), after they leaked it.

As with any boss, Dan has employees who don’t like him and maybe he crossed the line with someone, or maybe he didn’t. But to blame Rauner for all your problems is amateur. Maybe next week we will see a press conference from Dan on how he thinks the Rauner campaign is taking the safety pins out of his socks causing him to spend more time searching for sock pairs and less time advocating ICash.

Posted by: The Ghost of Babe Woodyard - our latest "Correspondent"

Thanks to the Illinois Review for Including the Truth Team!

If you head over to the Illinois Review - which bills itself as the 'crossroads of the conservative community' - and peek at their right sidebar, you'll see a new news outlet listed under the heading of "State Blogs".   Who has two thumbs that are pointing inward?  Us guys!  *thumbdealie*

Here's what the sidebar looks like.  Seems like a nice spot for us, right?  Tucked right between "Illinois Pay-to-Play" and "Jill Stanek"?  Sounds just right to us...

Thanks to the team over at Illinois Review for recognizing us and including us in the list.  As we pointed out earlier, January has been our most prolific month, but we're expecting to keep up the pace right through the General Election.  We're big admirers of the team at IR and their longevity.  We mean...look at their archives.  They've been publishing since November of 2005.  Coming up on 9 years of content.  Really impressive.

If they're the 'crossroads of the conservative community', we have to come up with a tag line.  Any ideas?

What about:  "Interwebs home for the Illinois political lulz"?  Maybe a bit too 'insider-y'!?!?!?

Ed Sullivan Rallys Troops in State Rep Battle

State Represenative Ed Sullivan - who we've covered here at the Truth Team before (you can find all of our Ed Sullivan coverage here)  - is taking the fight for his State Representative seat to the street.  In a call-to-action, Sullivan documents his approach to public service, details his background, and encourages voters to join his team.  

From his note:

As a Mundelein resident, it has been a huge honor to be able to serve my neighbors in public office. I was raised to value public service, and it is that upbringing that taught me that holding elected office is a sacred duty of service to the public. 

I am currently serving my sixth term in the Illinois General Assembly where I have built up a reputation as a fiscally-responsible leader on budget and property tax issues. After receiving a B.A. in History and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois, I was elected as the Fremont Township Assessor. As Assessor, I travel throughout the region educating homeowners on how to navigate the complicated appeals process to ensure they are getting a fair assessment on their homes. 

I am a graduate of Carmel High School and am proud to represent my hometown of Mundelein in Springfield. My wife, Trish, is a Family Nurse Practitioner. We reside in Mundelein and attend Saint Joseph Catholic Church of Libertyville. We have two children: our daughter, Kaileigh, and son, Edwin (Finn). We have an eight-year-old Yellow Lab/English Bulldog mix named Storm that we rescued from Ocean Springs, MS on an animal rescue operation three days after hurricane Katrina. 

I take my responsibility to serve you seriously and am grateful for the opportunity. Please let me know how I can better serve you. And, if you are willing, consider joining our team so that we can continue to fight for fiscal responsibility in Illinois. We need more people like you in your neighborhood.

Want to help Sullivan?  He has a link to his sign-up form on his website where you can get in touch.  Get after it!

Governor Charlie Brown and Speaker Rat King via Scott Stantis

Scott Stantis gives both Governor Pat Quinn and Speaker Mike Madigan the business with the past two days worth of comics.  We particularly like how he seems to have nailed Governor Quinn's hairline.  Not to mention the grimace.  You can find Stantis' column on Illinois Review.

Our Most Popular Posts of January 2014

January has been a busy month around here for the Truth Team.  In addition to writing 72 (this makes 73) pieces so far this month, we also brought on our first Correspondent in Robert Newport.

We're very grateful for all of our readers and we're excited to continue to engage you a conversation around Illinois politics over the coming year.  The growth we've seen in January has been phenomenal and we're going to work hard to deliver interesting (and hopefully funny) content in the coming weeks and months.

From all of us here at the Illinois Truth Team:  Thanks for reading!

In terms of traffic, we wanted to call out our "Best of The Truth Team" for January.  Here's the top 5 most read posts during the month:

1.  Ron Sandack Stands Up for Suburban Commuters: Takes on Metra
State Representative Ron Sandack - the former Mayor of Downers Grove (and current resident of DG) is doing what all of us everyday commut...

2.  5 Questions for Democrat Mike Frerichs
Democrat and Organized Labor Stooge Mike Frerichs - candidate for Illinois Treasurer - is rolling out his campaign this week. As he tra...

3.  What's the Story with Keith Matune And His Criminal Record?
There's been plenty of chatter that we've been picking up about Keith Matune and his arrest record. Mutane is running against Ron S...

4.  Bob Grogan Campaign Finance Meme Round-UP
This morning, we ran a few pieces that cover the campaign finance details in the 2014 Illinois Treasurer's Race that include how Tom Cr...

5.  Illinois College Republicans Grow Membership, Release New Report
The Illinois College Republicans have come out with a report that details their early results of the group's new expansion effort in t...

Democrat Will Guzzardi Does an "Ask Me Anything"

Yesterday, Will Guzzardi, candidate for State Representative (he's running against Toni Berrios!) took to the Chicago Sub-Reddit for an "Ask me Anything" where he fielded questions from the Redditors on topics ranging from why he's qualified to the type of boots he prefers to where he gets his pizza.

Will did a pretty good job rolling with some of the questions and speaking to the audience there on Reddit.  There were a few planted questions, but for the most part, it seems like this took on a pretty natural Reddit life.

The strangest part?  He compared what he wants to do in Springfield with the Tea Party.  He "hopes" to emulate the Tea Party tactics when he gets to elected.    Really?  

As for the AMA, we here at the Truth Team have to hand it to candidate Guzzardi.  While we aren't going to vote for him, we applaud him for using the tool to engage with potential voters and perhaps persuade a few, too.

Some other highlights including the most important question about who he'd rather fight:

Rahm Emanuel: Can You Guys Do Me A Solid?

Capitol Fax has pulled a pretty significant development out of a Sun-Times piece that says Rahm Emanuel had a meeting with his Chicago Democrat cronies and wants them to bail him out.

Last Friday, the mayor held a 2.5-hour meeting with the Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, both Chicago Democrats, to outline the magnitude of the problem and propose solutions. 

Emanuel wants the General Assembly to impose annual property tax increases on Chicago homeowners and businesses, but put off the balloon payment to shore up police and fire pensions until 2023 to make the bitter pill easier to swallow. 

He wants a General Assembly that has already solved the Chicago Park District’s pension problems to use that plan as a road map for other city unions. 

And he wants lawmakers to impose the same pension reforms on Chicago teachers that they did on teachers in the suburbs and Downstate.

Really?  When the going gets tough, the tough ask others to do their hard work?  

Champaign N-G: Frerichs Campaign Launch "Didn't Go Exactly As Planned"

This can't be a good way for our favorite latex salesman Treasurer's candidate to spend his Thursday morning.  We imagine after Democrat Mike Frerichs woke up, ate his Wheaties, read the newspaper, his shower was a lot like this:

Why?

Because...Jim Dey in the Champaign News-Gazette covers the biggest story in the Illinois Treasurer's race:  how Mike Frerichs lied about what he billed as his most important accomplishment and his campaign launch can conservatively called a "misfire".  The stringbean's own local newspaper saying things didn't go "exactly as planned".  Not good.  Not good at all.

From the story:

Local state Sen. Mike Frerichs, a Champaign Democrat, announced last week what everyone who pays attention has known for months: He's running for state treasurer. 

But his series of announcements didn't go exactly as planned. 

Here's how Rich Miller, who oversees CapitolFax.com, a Springfield-based website, described it. 

"Sen. Mike Frerichs has pulled his treasurer campaign announcement video off YouTube and replaced it with a new one. The embarrassing move had to be made because Frerichs claimed in the original video that he had 'led by example' by 'ending free lifetime health care for legislators.' Actually, Frerichs voted against that bill," Miller said. 

Frerichs acknowledged the inaccurate statement in his campaign video and said he had confused his vote against that bill with a vote for an earlier version of the bill. 

"My media team and I were talking about various reforms I had supported. I think what happened is that we saw the bill and saw the first version, which I had voted for," Frerichs told Capitol Fax. 

Using the imperial "we," Frerichs said he had voted against the bill he originally said he voted for because he said among those losing free health care forever were university employees.

So...let me get this straight.  He had more than a year to get his campaign "announcement" in order and he simply 'confused' his vote on one issue for another?  Me thinks it was more like he was trying to 'confuse' voters into believing he is a viable candidate.  The truth shall set you free, Mike!

Tom Cross Secures Support of Northfield Township Republicans for Treasurer

The Tom Cross for Treasurer campaign continues to build momentum.  In addition to piling on the bungled launch of Mike Frerichs' Treasurer campaign and securing the endorsement of the New Trier Republicans, he's now earned the support of the Northfield Township GOP.

He fell just 1.5% below the threshold for a 2/3rd endorsement.

Post by Northfield Township Republican Organization.

From JoinTomCross.com:

Republican Organizations in New Trier Township and Northfield Township voted overwhelmingly in support of Republican Tom Cross for Treasurer during last week’s endorsement sessions. Cross earned 60% of the vote from New Trier Republicans and 64.5% of the vote from Northfield Township Republicans as the JoinTomCross for Treasurer campaign continues to build momentum.

Mark Kirk To Be Given Equality Illinois "Freedom Award"

As the issue of equal rights continues to (unfortunately) divide some in the Republican Party, there have been a few, vocal, leaders who have consistently been a voice for serving all the voters in Illinois.

Senator Mark Kirk is being honored this weekend for his commitment to equal rights and non-discrimination.  When you really think about it, what is more important to our country than equal rights and non-discrimination?  Shouldn't those be two issues that all politicians - and all Republicans - want to agree on for Americans and for Illinoisians?

Unfortunately for us here at the Truth Team, some in our party don't agree with us.

But, with Mark Kirk and folks like Judy Baar Topinka, Tom Cross, Ron Sandack, Ed Sullivan leading the way, we as a party won't die.  Republicans wont' fade away.  They won't let us.  They want to keep the party flexible and bring in more people than we turn away.

Back to Kirk and the award from the Chicago Phoneix:

Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois will be honored with the Equality Illinois Freedom Award at the LGBT organization’s annual gala on Feb. 8 at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Ave. 

A recently retired Navy Reserve commander, North Shore congressman since 2000, and the state’s junior senator since 2010, Kirk will be honored for his contributions towards the betterment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lives. 

Equality Illinois executive Bernard Cherkasov calls Kirk a leader when it comes to the fight for LGBT equality. 

“From his military service to his work in Congress, [Kirk] exemplifies the true meaning of being a public servant. He approaches LGBT issues not by the political labels that some people attach to them but by whether they are the right thing to do for Illinois and the United States,” he said 

...Equality Illinois says Kirk has been an important voice in favor of the transgender-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act—passed by the Senate but now stalled in the House of Representatives. As the co-sponsor of the bill, Kirk made his first Senate floor speech since his return to argue for the passage of ENDA. 

“I think it’s particularly appropriate for an Illinois Republican to speak on behalf of this measure in the true tradition of Everett McKinley Dirsken and Abraham Lincoln, men who gave us the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution,” he declared. 

Most recently, Kirk refused permission for an anti-LGBT group to use a Senate meeting room. 

“Sen. Kirk doesn’t affiliate with groups that discriminate,” his office said.

We are proud to call ourselves Republicans here at the Illinois Truth Team.  It is because of folks like Mark Kirk that we're hopeful that we can grow the party and help change Illinois.

Updated 1X:Chicago Phoenix Incorrectly Points out Equality Illinois Endorsements

Update:  The Chicago Phoenix has updated their piece with this correction:

Correction: Republican Tom Cross, running for Illinois Treasurer, is also endorsed by Equality Illinois. Chicago Phoenix was incorrect in stating that only one Republican was endorsed when there were two.

------------------

Over on the site of Chicago Phoenix, "Chicago's LGBT Newspaper" they have a story up about the release of Equality Illinois' political endorsements.

Unfortunately, the story isn't accurate.  They've either purposely decided to include partial information about endorsements or they just simply misreported the information.

Either way, this isn't a good move from a newspaper and a journalist.

In the piece, Editor-in-Chief Gerald Farinas leads with the line:

LGBT advocacy group gives stamp of approval to 5 Democrats, 1 Republican for executive offices.

The story includes:

All but one of the endorsed candidates are Democrats. Former Republican Party chairwoman and incumbent Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka received Equality Illinois’ stamp of approval.

The problem?  The story isn't true.  It isn't factual.

Why?  Equality Illinois' own tweet tells the story.  

EQILPAC Endorsements Pt. 2 For Treasurer: Michael Frerichs (D); Tom Cross (R) For Comptroller: Sheila Simon (D); Judy Baar Topinka (R)
— Equality Illinois (@EqualityILL) January 28, 2014

Guess they didn't want to include the fact that Tom Cross - Republican for Treasurer was endorsed, too?  That would be 2 Republicans.  Not just one as they state in their story.

Oh...there's also this pesky press release from Equality Illinois listing the endorsements.

Kind of making matters worse, is that Editor-in-Chief Gerald Farinas took to Twitter with the partial reporting.

.@MikeforIllinois gets endorsement from @EqualityILL for Illinois treasurer's race: http://t.co/bM2KvmyxCs. #mikeforil #twill
— Gerald Farinas (@GeraldFarinas) January 29, 2014

Seems like this warrants a correction from the newspaper, right?  And the Editor-in-Chief?   

Introducing Our "Correspondents" Program

As the Truth Team continues to grow, we're expanding our coverage through the addition of a "Illinois Truth Team Correspondents" Program.  In the same vain as the Daily Show Correspondents, our team will focus on particular issues, regions and races in Illinois politics.

We're proud to introduce our first Illinois Truth Team Correspondent:  Robert Newport.  Robert will be covering the State House beat focusing on the western suburban races.

Stay tuned for the first piece from Robert where he covers the (literally) batshite crazy race in the 97th District.  We're also looking for additional correspondents to cover other races and issues across Illinois.

Interested in helping the Truth Team and becoming a correspondent?  Send us your details at tipthetruthteam@gmail.com.  Maybe we'll even throw in the Truth Team jacket...

Newt Gingrich Giveth and He Taketh Away

In the primary for the GOP nomination in the 8th Congressional District two candidates are vying to take on Democrat Tammy Duckworth in the General Election in the fall.

One of the candidates - Manju Goel - yesterday was touting how she was endorsed by Newt Gingrich.  But something, has apparently, happened.  The endorsement disappeared.

Again, the team at Illinois Review is all over the story.

Gingrich's endorsement of Manju Goel, which was on his website this morning, has now mysteriously disappeared. The link (HERE), that had the statement below, now takes you to a blank page.

The endorsement news is still on her site, but on the Gingrich side, everything has all but turned to vapor.

Anyone out there have the intel on this?  Tip us at tipthetruthteam@gmail.com.

But...really...this leads us to feeling a bit like this:

Tom Cross: Stop the Gimmicks and Give Us an Honest, Balanced Budget

The team over at Illinois Review has a statement from Illinois Treasurer's Candidate Tom Cross on Governor Quinn and what he's expecting during today's State of the State address:

“Illinois faces great challenges that require innovative policies and bold solutions. For far too long, our political leadership has relied on faux reforms and financial gimmicks – making our state’s fiscal situation go from bad to worse. As a result, Illinois has the nation’s worst budget deficit, over $7 billion in unpaid bills and we are unable to make the proper investments for our future in critical areas including education, neighborhood safety and job creation. Now, more than ever, we need real, substantive reforms that include an honestly balanced budget and a crack-down on the fraud and corruption that are fleecing Illinois taxpayers. The grave challenges confronting our state demand tangible, detailed and responsible proposals. I hope to hear those from Governor Quinn tomorrow afternoon.”

Frerichs Campaign Gets Around to Spelling Fundraiser Host's Name Right

After we pointed out how the Mike Frerichs campaign couldn't even have the decency to spell the guy who is hosting a fundraiser name right, it took just a few hours for them to make the correction.

Glad we could be of service, guys!

Pat Quinn and 3rd Highest Unemployment Rate

Five years ago today, Pat Quinn became governor. Today, IL has 93,000 fewer jobs and the 3rd highest unemployment rate. #twill
— IL Republican Party (@ilgop) January 29, 2014

The ILGOP reminds us all what Pat Quinn's Illinois looks like five years in.  We think we've all had just about enough.

Can the Legislature Be Trusted With the "Fair Tax"?

Have you been keeping up with graduated "Fair Tax" proposal?  One Man's Thoughts tells us why he's concerned:

What worries me and why I would vote against it if it comes up on the ballot is that it would be the Illinois legislature that would approve the rates and the brackets. The same folks who have grossly underfunded pensions and spent like 'drunken sailors' would be given the ability to raise taxes on only some people. To be blunt, I don't think they can be trusted with that responsibility. I can easily see where higher income brackets are taxed at a significantly higher rate than lower incomes because it will be easy politically.

Sounds about right.

But...What about reducing spending?  Oh, that's right.  Not going to happen with these guys running the state of Illinois.

More Rahm Emanuel "Wisecrack" Memes

Our readers here at the Truth Team have come through with some memes around Rahm Emanuel's comment about Abe Lincoln not being 'around for his library site selection' process.

Have one of your own?  Send it over to us at tipthetruthteam@gmail.com.

Rahm Emanuel: Abe Lincoln Sleeps With the Fishes?

In discussing how he is trying to unify the Chicago bid for the Obama Presidential Library, Mayor Rahm Emanuel 'wisecracks' about how Abraham Lincoln wasn't  involved in the 'site selection' process.

Why was that, Rahmbo?  Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times writes:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is notorious for making wisecracks, almost always at somebody else’s expense. But, targets of the mayor’s one-liners are normally there to either defend themselves or laugh with him. 

That’s not what happened Tuesday when Emanuel was asked about his efforts to make one unified Chicago bid for President Barack Obama’s Presidential Library and Museum.
“You know the modern presidential libraries. President Clinton has his in Arkansas. Both Bushes [have theirs] in Texas. President Lincoln has his in Springfield, Il. I don’t think he was part of the selection process,” the mayor said laughing. 

It was an awkward moment. The never mentioned the reason why Lincoln was not around to choose the site for his presidential library. He was assassinated on April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at the Ford Theater in Washington D.C.

Now we don't totally want to defend Da Mare and maybe point out something that Fran Spielman glossed over herself?  Even if President Abraham Lincoln survived his assassination attempt and retired from the White House, were Presidential Libraries even a thing back then?

Our quick look says they were started after Herbert Hoover's administration back in 1933?  So...no, he wouldn't have participated in the process anyway.  But...that doesn't let a juicy headline get in our way here at the Truth Team!

Still...we all know what Rahm was thinking.  The meme says it perfectly.  

Aaron Schock: The Grand Old Party Builder

Congressman Aaron Schock, who has no primary opponent in the upcoming elections in March is looking to move beyond his recent news cycle (no...not that one.  This one.) by stepping up and doing some of the heavy lifting for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Lynn Sweet - who we adore for her tough, smart insider coverage - has the story of Schock taking on the Chairmanship of the annual NRCC Fundraising dinner in DC.

Rep. Aaron Schock R-Ill. is the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee March fundraising dinner here, one of the major events to raise campaign cash for the House GOP political operation. Schock faces no opponent in the March Illinois primary, leaving him free to work on the March 26 dinner. Schock already raised $1.1 million for the dinner, the NRCC said on Tuesday, and pledged to raise another $1 million by March 26. 

“Aaron Schock is a bright young leader, one of the hardest working Members in the House and committed to growing our majority,” said NRCC Chairman Greg Walden said in a statement. 

“I can’t think of a more qualified person to head up this vital effort, and he has already hit the ground running. The stakes this November are high. Nancy Pelosi and her special interest friends will stop at nothing to regain complete liberal control of Washington. With Aaron’s leadership, we can help provide the resources to fight back.”

Let's be honest about this stuff, folks.  Fundraising is the lifeblood of a political animal.  If you can raise money, you can win.  If you can't, then you'll have a lot tougher time.

Aaron Schock has proven himself to be a very formidable fundraiser. He's gotten into a little bit of muck with it, but that is just part of being a prolific fundraiser.   (If you're interested in following along with a local look at Schock, you can do yourself a favor and start following the "Aaron Schock" Tag at the Peoria Pundit.)

And he's raising money, not just for himself, but for other candidates.  You know who else took this path?  Da Mare.   He understood that by working on behalf of President Clinton and then the Democrats in Congress, he could build a strong network of donors that reached far beyond his district.  Look where it got him. (having a brother calling the shots in LA didn't hurt, either we suspect...)

We were hopeful that Aaron Schock would have joined the Illinois Governor's race, but when he passed, we figured he had another plan in mind.  It can't be so bad, being a big shot for the NRCC, but will that be enough for Schock?

President Obama Laughs Off Mike Frerichs Campaign Launch

We all know that Mike Frerichs takes President Obama seriously.  He fawns over him on Facebook.  So, being the punchline like this must hurt, right?  After getting word in DC about Frerichs' bungled campaign launch, the Obamaa team again sent back word.

Hey...no matter what you think of the President's politics, you have to admit he's got a heckuva sense of humor.

What Rahm Emanuel Must Be Thinking About Mike Frerichs

Knowing how Mike Frerichs is likely to lie, Rahmbo is sending the candidate for Treasurer a message.  It's ok to spell the host's name wrong on your fundraising invitation (as the Frerichs Campaign has already done)  But his?  Sounds like Frerichs campaign fundraiser would end up on the other end of a Rahm Emanuel "Special Delivery".

Jimmy DeLeo Takes His Final Bow

Natasha Koreki in the Sun-Times covers how former State Senator James DeLeo is stepping away from being the State Central Committeeman for the 5th Congressional District.  

Anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes around him knows what a guy he was.

DeLeo provided decades of fodder for us to write about, and I thought this might be a good time to reflect on some highlights. 

DeLeo perfected the art of spinning a tale, getting friends to double over in laughter, even as questions about his ties always swirled around him. 

Sun-Times reporters Tim Novak and Chris Fusco asked DeLeo in 2001 about contributions he received from D&P Construction of Chicago, after the gaming board deemed it “mob associated,” because it was owned by a sister-in-law of Chicago’s reputed mob boss John “No Nose” DiFronzo. 

DeLeo’s response became infamous among insiders. 

“What does that mean, ‘mob associated?’ ” he asked Novak and Fusco. “In the year 2001, is there really a mob in Chicago?” 

In 2007, DeLeo made news when he scored coveted tickets to see Miley Cyrus at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont for himself as well as his then-close pal, the now-imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. 

“I’m a rich legislator,” he said at the time. “I buy my Cubs tickets. I buy my stuff out of my own money.” 

Besides, DeLeo, who had taken his young daughter at the time, said he had no fun at all.
“I was there under duress, OK?” DeLeo said at the time. “There were 20,000 screaming 11-year-olds. I’d never do it again. Not that I don’t love my daughter, but, oh, my god, it was torture.” 

...“He’s one of the funniest men I’ve ever met,” said longtime friends Ed Genson. “He has stories that can entrance a room.”

I tell you what...it may not be a popular opinion inside the Republican Party, but for us here at the Truth Team, we'll say it:  we'll miss Jimmy DeLeo.   He was one of a kind and had a big heart.

He was a lion in Illinois Politics the like of which include Pate and Dallas.  Take a long bow, Senator DeLeo.  You earned it.

The Most Spell-Checked Political Race in Illinois

As we've pointed out before, the race between Bob Grogan, Tom Cross and Mike Frerichs for the Office of Treasurer in Illinois is the most spell-checked race we've ever seen.

First it was Bob Grogan getting his own name wrong.

Then it was Mike Frerichs turn getting the office he's running for wrong.

And just yesterday, it was Mike Frerichs again getting something wrong.  This time a contributor/host for a fundraiser's name.

Bottomline:  if you spell something wrong, someone out there will see it and send it our way.  We'll (of course) cover it.  Be warned!

You Said..."Tallest Member" in Illinois History

Somebody (*cough* *cough*...Mike Frerichs) likes to point out how he is taller than Abraham Lincoln and is in fact one of the 'tallest members of the Illinois General Assembly in History".  One of our readers couldn't help themselves.

They sent us over a Beavis and Butthead meme to commemorate the phrase.  

Is this what Illinois politics has become?  Beavis and Butthead jokes?!?  We guess so.

Steve Florsheim Must Be Re-Thinking His Frerichs Fundraiser?

Earlier today, our favorite latex salesman State Treasurer's candidate Mike Frerichs was busy posting the gleeful news about a fundraiser he's having with Mayor Rahm Emanuel.  It is being hosted at the house of a lawyer and his screenwriting wife.

We point this out because Frerichs - who at this point appears to be taking some advice directly from Bob Grogan - couldn't even have the decency to spell the guys name right.

We were sent this tip and it looks like the Mike Frerichs' campaign can't get anything right.  They've posted their invitation with the wrong spelling of their host's name.  They bill it as being:

Join Mayor Rahm Emanuel in support of Democratic nominee for Treasurer, Mike Frerichs, at the home of Steve Florscheim & Jenny Friedes.

Emphasis ours.    The problem?  The guy spells his name: Florsheim.  There's no "c" in there at all.  

How do we know?  Because this post on Blockshopper and this post on his lawfirm website.  That's the guy.  There's no "c" in his last name.  Took just one quick Google Search to find that out. 

Shame someone who is hosting an event for you with Da Mare attending (with ticket prices up to $5,300) can't even get their own name spelled right on the invite?  

Guess that's what happens when you have a candidate with a (reported) massive ego who only cares about his image and himself.  

We took a screenshot because we know this will (or at least...*should*) get changed pretty quickly.  (see it below)

For spelling problems, Bob Grogan still leads the field.  But Mike "Tall Tales" Frerichs is closing in fast.

The Obama Team Checks in on Mike Frerichs #TallTales

More bad news for the Frerichs Team.  Looks like Democrat State Senator and Illinois Treasurer's Candidate Mike Frerichs hero Barack Obama has checked in on his #talltales.  Took just a week for the news to travel to the West Wing, it seems.

Along with David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett, and even Robert Gibbs, the Obama Team appears to be having a good laugh at the expense of Mike Frerich's big lie.  This can't be good for Frerich's campaign morale.  These guys are legends, right?

Mark Kirk Thinks "Speaker Peter Roskam" Has a Nice Ring to It

Our GOP Senator Mark Kirk told RollCall that he thinks Congressman Peter Roskam has what it takes to one day be Speaker of the House.

Sen. Mark S. Kirk, R-Ill., who spent a decade in the House, said in a wide-ranging interview with CQ Roll Call that he believes Roskam has what it takes to lead the party. 

“My hope would be, yes,” Kirk said, when asked if Roskam, the chief deputy whip, one day would be speaker. “I think Petey has a great career ahead of him. I thought when he got elevated to the position, with the normal churning of leadership, that someday Roskam could be speaker.”

Roskam with Speaker Hastert's Desk

Besides Senator Kirk, there'd be at least one other big ILGOP booster:  former Speaker Dennis Hastert.  The Speaker is standing behind Roskam and even has asked Peter Roskam to sit in his spot.  (his desk!).  From a release:

Congressman Peter Roskam (IL-06) released a web video today, first seen on Facebook, discussing a historic desk he recently received from former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert. The former Speaker recently sent his personal desk as Speaker to Roskam. 

The desk has a long and distinguished history among Illinois Members of Congress. First used by Majority Whip Leslie Arends in the late 1940s, it was then passed down to then-Minority Leader Congressman Robert Michel in the 1980s, then in turn to Hastert.

Comment on Frerichs' Campaign: Getting a Factual Video Up

We just posted the latest video on Mike Frerichs lying in his announcement video, but we couldn't let a comment at Capitol Fax go by without highlighting it.  This seems to sum up the situation completely.  The comment from someone going by the handle "Formerly Known As..." said:

A rapid, factually accurate response? Check. 

The Cross campaign just managed to do in 1 weekend what the Frerichs campaign could not do in 1 year. 

That alone earns them an “A”.

Sounds about right to us.  Frerichs has been traipsing around the State of Illinois for the past year documenting his night out on Facebook and Twitter.  He had a FULL YEAR to develop his launch video.  And...his stump speech.  What does he do?  He leads with a lie. A real, fat, big, not-true lie.  

That took a year?  

Mike Frerichs The Dishonest Politican (Video)

Another week, another news opportunity to cover how Mike Frerichs - Democrat for Illinois State Treasurer - lied in his announcement video.  Rich Miller at Capitol Fax has gotten his hands on the latest video from the Tom Cross for Treasurer campaign.  This video lays out the case for why we can't trust Mike to be our latex salesman State Treasurer.

From Capitol Fax comes the script:

From Washington to Springfield the typical politicians are failing us. 

Dishonest politicians like Mike Frerichs. 

Here’s Frerichs in his very first ad: 

“In 2006 I ran for the State Senate where I led by example by cutting my own pay and ending free lifetime healthcare for legislators.” 

The problem? It’s not true. 

Frerichs voted against ending lifetime health benefits and voted to increase his own pay. 

Twice. 

Now, Frerichs expects us to believe this: 

“If you believe that what we need is accountability and honesty and ethics in the Treasurer’s office, then I ask you to join this campaign.” 

Mike Frerichs. 

Just another dishonest politician we can’t trust… especially with our tax dollars.

Herman Cain Working to Repair Image With Women - Endorses Erika Harold for Congress

If Herman Cain thinks he has a future in politics, he's making at least a few smart moves.  He's working to endorse a slew of women including Erika Harold - who is running for Congress here in Illinois in the 13th Congressional District against incumbent Rodney Davis.

You'll remember that Herman Cain's Presidential Campaign derailed after some sexual harassment allegations came to light from several women.  From a story around that time:

In a matter of a week, Herman Cain referred to the House Democratic leader as "Princess Nancy" Pelosi, said presidential rival Michele Bachmann would be "tutti-frutti" ice cream and shrugged off a joke about Anita Hill. 

The Republican presidential candidate also has denied allegations that he sexually harassed several women and, through his lawyer, threatened to investigate anyone else who makes such a claim. 

Now, as Cain struggles to stabilize his campaign, the Republican presidential candidate is rolling out his wife to defend him – and help shore up female support for his bid for the GOP nomination.

Now...back to today.  Illinois Review is saying that Cain will endorse Erika Harold for Congress.

Businessman and former Presidential candidate Herman Cain will announce his support for Erika Harold's this Friday in St. Louis and Saturday in Edwardsville and Champaign. 

Harold is challenging GOP incumbent Congressman Rodney Davis for the Republican Party's 13th CD nomination on March 18th.

Cain is probably a great guy and if we're reading this correctly, he knows what he's doing.  I'm sure Erika Harold will get a little big of a boost out of this.  If Cain harvests his email list and does some radio for her, it'll earn her some Conservative Bonafides.  But...does she understand that she's getting used by Cain, too?  Everytime he appears with a woman politician, he inches back his reputation on women's issues. What better woman to utilize than a former Miss America?  

Anyone who has been in politics knows this isn't unique.  Think any endorsements aren't given with a "well...you owe me" kind of thing?  They all are. Or mostly, all are.

Who knows.  Maybe we're wrong.  Maybe, just maybe Cain is doing this because he's totally altruistic.  Time will tell, we suppose.

Know Any 17 Year Olds? They Can Vote NOW

The 2014 Primary Elections are coming up on March 18th, which makes the deadline to register to vote for the Primaries one month earlier:  February 18th.  

This year, however, there's been a change.  For the first time, 17 year olds can cast their vote in the Primary Elections if they are going to be 18 by the time the General Election comes around in early November.

State Representative Joe Sosnowski is urging everyone who qualifies to register to vote.

“Many 17 year olds may not know they are now eligible to register to vote and participate in the March 18 primary so long as they are 18 before the general election,” explains Sosnowski. “Young adults not only have the ability to shape the future of their community through the power of voting, but they also have a lot at stake if they don’t. Major issues affecting this group like the cost of a higher education and the ability to find good paying jobs can be significantly impacted by elections and it is crucial for everyone to pay attention.” 

For the upcoming March 18, 2014, general primary election, United States citizens born on or before November 4, 1996, can register to vote and participate in that primary election because they will attain the age of 18 on or before the November 4, 2014, general election. The last date to register to vote before the upcoming general primary election is Tuesday, February 18.

Advertise with the Illinois Truth Team

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We rely on our sponsors to support the Illinois Truth Team and we ask nothing of our readers.

We have ads on the sidebar of the Iltruthteam.com website now and we're going to be incorporating paid placements directly in-stream as advertisements.  They will be marked as 'sponsored posts' going forward and will otherwise look and feel like normal posts here on the Truth Team.  Also included in the package is social promotion of your Facebook and Twitter profiles.

If you are interested in getting your message in front of our audience, drop us a line at tipthetruthteam@gmail.com and we can help put together a package for you.  We're looking forward to helping candidates connect with an eager, interested audience.

Ron Sandack Wants to Give Metra A Piece of Your Mind

The Truth Team has decided to work from home today.  We didn't want to even give Metra a chance to let us down by having delays and being a total mess.

Metra will tell you that the problems that will inevitably occur today are totally out of their control.  The old "You know Mother Nature" line.

But, that's just crazy talk.  There's something *broken* with Metra.  And those of us who live in the suburbs need a healthy, productive, reliable Metra to be able to get to work each day.

There's one guy who's trying to get to the bottom of the problem and that's State Representative Ron Sandack.  From day one, he's been all over Metra.  He's the guy who has called Metra on the carpet in the form of legislative hearings.   His District - centered around Downers Grove on the BNSF line - is ground zero for Metra riders and (lately) the complaints and issues around weather-related delays.

Ron Sandack is gathering your input on how you - the folks who help fund Metra as taxpayers - feel about the service.  He's put up a survey.  You can find the survey here.

He rolled the survey out through a Facebook post:

Post by Ron Sandack.

There's Nothing "Normal" About Assault Weapons

Over on Illinois Review, they've posted a piece about a billboard from Slidefire that posits assault weapons along side apple pie and baseball, saying that those weapons are "just as American".  There have been some complaints about the billboard, but the Illinois State Rifle Association (the local NRA folks) are on the case.  Their press release, which we think IR basically posted verbatim includes a plea from the ISRA that asks supporters to email the billboard company saying they support the billboard.

In the plea, they use specific language:

Write rrickert@lamar.com, and in the "Subject Line" please say: "Love your Slidefire sign on I-55," the state rifle association suggests. Contact Slidefire at customerservice@slidefire.com and use the subject line: "Love your sign on I-55." "Tell Slidefire that you support their efforts to "normalize" lawful firearm ownership by way of the I-55 sign," ISRA says.

They use the phrase "normalize" lawful firearm ownership.  Really?  Making something like that 'normal'?  With that giant assault weapon?  Someone, somewhere in this world who has a brain located in their head thinks that's normal?  Come on, now.  There's NOTHING NORMAL about a normal citizen possessing that kind of weapon.   That's not a hunting weapon nor a self-defense weapon.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is nuts.

If the gun people want to keep pushing their agenda, then that's fine.  But, let's be honest here, folks.  Weapons like the one on that billboard?  Let's stop calling it anything but what it is:  perverse.  The opposite of normal.

"Not Sure if Bob Grogan.."

We posted the news item about Bob Grogan's own supporters telling him to get out of the race on his own website not 20 minutes ago and we already received a meme generated by a reader.  Keep 'em coming, folks.  Send your stuff to: tipthetruthteam@gmail.com.

Bob Grogan's Own Site Says: Get out of the Race

Illinois Treasurer Candidate Bob Grogan (you can read up about his issues here on the Truth Team) has received a submission from one of his supporters and posted it publicly on his website.

The suggestion?  To "Get out of the race".  Check it out on his site here.  We figure it might not last too terribly long once we point it out to Bob Grogan, so we took a screenshot for posterity's sake.

In a section where he asks for "Suggestions", there's a suggestion titled "Get out of the Race".

It was posted by a supporter back on November 7, 2013.  More than 60 days ago.  It says:

That's right. I said it. Won't say it to your face. But...I'll put it here for all to see. Let's end this charade. Please. So we can go back to watching the Bears games on Sundays.

Sounds like his supporters might be on to something?  (Even though Bears season is over!)

Why Susanne Atanus Has To Go...

Billy Dennis at the Peoria Pundit lays out the case for why Susanne Atanus has to go in the 9th Congressional District.  He also pens quite the line:

Washington, IL must have a serious case of teh gay. Why? Because that’s how GOP Congressional candidate Susanne Atanus sees the universe.

Go read the whole thing.

Oh...and she also won asshole of the day this week.  Sounds like a great candidate for the ILGOP.  Forget science, right guys?

What's the Story with Keith Matune And His Criminal Record?

There's been plenty of chatter that we've been picking up about Keith Matune and his arrest record.  Mutane is running against Ron Sandack in the GOP Primary for State Representative in the Western Suburbs.

Sandack is a former State Senator, current State Representative and former Downers Grove Mayor.

As for the arrest record, Rich Miller at Capitol Fax labeled the story "The Curious Case of Keith Matune".  He lays out the story thusly:  Ron Sandack meets with Matune to tell him that in opposition research, they turned up this arrest.  Matune goes nuts and says he's being threatened.  Oh...and.. at some point in there, Matune denies being arrested.  The issue with Matune's claim of never being arrested?  There's the fact that a mugshot exists.

So...there's totally no way, he ever was arrested, right?  Please.  This must be from some killer fraternity party, right?  "Jailbirds and Tramps at Phi Delta Theta" or something?  Yeah...that must be it.  They had an awesome "Social Chair" who was very thorough with their frat party theme-ing...

The biggest issue for Matune might not be this race for State Representative.  (Where...we're hoping Sandack wins big, btw)

But...the bigger issue for him is the whole idea about being arrested.  He's a teacher.  And he's been telling everybody for the past 15 years that he's never been arrested.  And he even told the Daily Herald he wasn't arrested in his questionnaire.  He's (allegedly) requested to amend that form.  Hmmm....