Mike Frerichs the Tough Mudder? That Suit Had To Weigh Him Down on the Twinkle Toes Bridge, Right?

Wearing a suit to a Tough Mudder race is about the same thing as wearing a suit to a Habitat For Humanity build site.  Sounds strange, right?  But that's exactly what Mike Frerichs did last week.  

Talk about a tone deaf politician.  And now he's running for Illinois State Treasurer.    A real 'man of the people' eh?  Oh, what's that?  He voted to raise his own salary last week, too?  Sounds about right.  

Where else have you spotted Mike Frerichs?  Was he wearing his signature earmuffs?  

Drop us a line at tipthetruthteam@ gmail.com if you have come across any other photos of Mike Frerichs wearing a suit in the wrong place...

President Obama Chimes in on #SuitGate AKA the Mike Frerichs Tone-Deaf Story

You know it is bad when Mike Frerichs' idol is goofing on him for the suit at a Habitat build.

Full backstory here on #SuitGate on the Truth Team.

Who Knew @MikeforIllinois Was a Parrothead?

One of our readers sent us this photo they found on their iPhone of Mike Frerichs in the parking lot of a Jimmy Buffet concert.  Who knew Earmuffs Mike Frerichs was a Parrothead?  He sure hasn't been tweeting about his love for Margaritaville?!?

Look who snuck in there?  Guess the Leis don't go with his suit.

For those of you just checking in on this, you can get up to speed by reading about how the politically tone-deaf Mike Frerichs - who is running for Illinois Treasurer - wore a suit - and wingtips to a Habitat for Humanity build in his hometown.

Then check out where else Mike Frerichs showed up in a suit?

Where Else Can Treasurer's Candidate Mike Frerichs Show Up Dressed Inappropriately?

We already know Democrat candidate for Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs is politically tone deaf.

He votes for his own raise.  He votes for an unbalanced budget.  Both bad moves politically.

But...what else does he do?  He shows up at a Habitat for Humanity build event in a suit.  A suit.

Check out our post here on the details and photos.

That got us wondering...where else have you seen Democrat Mike Frerichs show up dressed inappropriately?

Here's a .psd file with a transparent background of Mike 'Earmuffs' Frerichs in a suit that can help in your adventures.    Download it at this link.  Drop us a line at tipthetruthteam@gmail.com with your best work.

As luck would have it, one of our dear readers of the Illinois Truth Team was looking through their recent Spring Break photos and came across an odd photo.  Somehow - while they were taking photos of their kids at the waterpark - Mike Frerichs popped in there.  Guess what he was wearing?  It wasn't a "Swim" suit...  Look at that?!?  Looks like Mike even got a little bit of sunburn on his face out at the water park.  Good thing he was covered up otherwise.

Got any other ideas for where we could find Mike Fererichs these days?  Tell us via email.

Who Shows Up at a Habitat For Humanity Build Event in a Suit? Mike Frerichs Does.

Habitat for Humana does some incredible things.  They rebuild communities.  They rebuild lives.  They energize local organizations.  They marshall a lot of resources.  They also get used from time-to-time by politicians who want a little piece of the spotlight.

Democrat Mike Frerichs isn't afraid of trying to glom on to things.  Especially when there are 'social media opportunities' to be had.  There isn't a camera-ready-opp that goes by that Mike Frerichs doesn't seem to take.

Last week, he was out at a Habitat build in his home town.  Very admirable for him to participate.  Oh wait.  He showed up wearing what?  A suit?  SRSLY?

Come on.

Pics or it didn't happen.

Oh...It is pics you want?  Don't mind if I do!

From his Facebook Wall comes this doozy of a gallery.

Talk about a guy who is out of touch?

Call Bruce Rauner a phony all you want, at least he *gets it* with the Carhart jacket-schtick.  Dressing appropriately for the occasion is politics 101.

Hey...on the brightside...at least he's lost those embarrassing earmuffs.

Congressman/Secretary Ray LaHood Heads Home to CAT

Nice pickup by Big Yellow.

From the Pekin Times:

Caterpillar Inc. has hired former U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood to be its representative on policy matters, the company announced Thursday.

LaHood, who served as transportation secretary from 2009 to 2013, will serve as a consultant, providing advice on policy-related matters.

Describing LaHood as “one of the most accomplished and respected political leaders of Illinois,” Caterpillar spokeswoman Molly Donahue said LaHood, a Peoria Republican with nearly 40 years of government experience, “was a tremendous advocate for issues that promoted economic growth.”

“(LaHood) will assist Caterpillar in developing corporate strategies focused on identifying solutions to specific policy and communications challenges Caterpillar faces in the increasingly complex policy and business environment,” noted Caterpillar in a release.
LaHood, who served as transportation secretary from 2009 to 2013, will serve as a consultant, providing advice on policy-related matters.
Describing LaHood as “one of the most accomplished and respected political leaders of Illinois,” Caterpillar spokeswoman Molly Donahue said LaHood, a Peoria Republican with nearly 40 years of government experience, “was a tremendous advocate for issues that promoted economic growth.” 

“(LaHood) will assist Caterpillar in developing corporate strategies focused on identifying solutions to specific policy and communications challenges Caterpillar faces in the increasingly complex policy and business environment,” noted Caterpillar in a release.

“This is what happens when adults do their jobs" - Only Public Charter School in Suburbs Succeeds Big Time

The only public charter secondary school to serve the suburbs held their graduation this week and guess what? All 71 members of the senior class are graduating.

The school - Southland College Prep Charter School - almost didn't get off the ground. Because the public school was protecting their turf.

This is a great outcome for the community and for the families involved.  From the Chicago Sun-Times:

“This is what happens when adults do their jobs,” Ronald Bean, the school’s chairman, told the audience at Saturday’s graduation ceremony at the Harris Theater at Millennium Park. “This is the result of willing students, a committed faculty, a dedicated administration and a board that understands what its job is.” 

Four years ago, Southland College Prep Charter High School was fighting to get up and running. Rich Township High School District 227, where Southland’s students come from, argued that the charter school would divert much-needed state aid and sued to shut it down. 

The districts since have put the conflict behind them and Southland’s first group of graduates, who got into the school not based on academic performance but by lottery, were offered more than $7 million in merit scholarships and are headed to prestigious colleges like Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Tufts, Penn and Columbia University.

Hello Mike Frerichs and Campaign Staff! Glad to Have You Aboard the Truth Team!

What a nice early Mother's Day present for us here at the Truth Team!

What is that present, you ask?

It is that - during a radio interview this week, our favorite latex salesman Illinois Treasurer's candidate, talked about how he reads the Illinois Truth Team.  We've been watching in the site analytics and noticing a lot of repeat visitors from Springfield and Champaign (as well as Chicago...'hi guys!'), so we've been operating under the assumption that our guy has been reading our stuff.  But...now we know!

As posted on the News-Gazette and on the Dave Gentry and Elizabeth Hess show, Mike Frerichs talks about how we're getting under his skin.

Take a listen to his own words.


And...here's the transcript below.

Guess what guys?  We're winning.  Yeah...there's an old adage in politics that is:  if you're explaining, you're losing.  Mike having to talk about the nonsense we're putting up means we're getting to him.

And with that ego, that's totally expected!  Let's keep it up.

Transcript of Mike Frerichs Radio Interview

Interviewer: "Mike as you move forward with your campaign, are you finding that - i mean i read editorials about you in our very own News-Gazette, and some comments in the paper - what do you say to your detractors that are - how do you handle some of the negative publicity, negative detractors?"

Mike Frerichs: "I don't think you can focus on that, and I think there are some people because of partisanship are going to find problems with you, they're going to attack you. One of the blogs I was being attacked for posting too often on Facebook. I like people to know where I'm going to, who I'm talking to - it's funny, you didnt see those people complaining about our current treasurer when he posted on facebook - you realize a lot of them are partisan-motivated. You can't let it drag you down, you just have to keep your eyes focused on things you can control and on things you want to do, and hope the people will see the difference."

Interviewer: You mean that some complaints are partisan?

Mike Frerichs: "...I get that, I've been involved in this business for awhile. It can be tough when people call you and say "i cant believe what I just read about you" - its coming from our opponents campaign, its coming from someone with a partisan agenda, you can't believe it - do your best to get out, give the message, that's all you can really control and you develop a little bit of a thick skin in this business."

Champaign News-Gazette: Mike Frerichs Doesn't Know What He Really Thinks

A bigger problem for a politician, one can not have.

From the Champaign News-Gazette on Illinois Treasurer's Candidate Mike Frerichs:

But (Mike Frerichs) clearly doesn't know what he really thinks, and, when candidates don't know what they believe, they say whatever seems convenient at the moment.

Voters can understand politicians disagreeing with them.  What they can't understand are liars and folks who will say ANYTHING just to get elected.

Illinois Treasurer's Candidate Mike Frerichs (Really) Bad Week Continues

We were just shared this image of Illinois Treasurer's candidate Mike Frerichs sobbing in the shower this morning.  

Why you ask?  Well...because his hometown newspaper (once again) took him behind the woodshed this morning.

In a piece called "Candidate Debate", the Champaign News-Gazette has this to say about local guy Mike Frerichs:

Champaign state Sen. Mike Frerichs, the Democratic Party nominee for state treasurer, faces Republican Tom Cross in the November election. 

But in the meantime, he's having a vigorous debate with himself about a mostly dormant proposal to merge the treasurer and the comptroller offices. 

He's for it one day, against it the next and for it the next. Frerichs' latest position, enunciated Tuesday in Springfield, is that he favors merger of the offices, a move that would save taxpayers an estimated $12 million. 

"If we can get those strong internal controls and checks and balances, then yes, I think we should take action to save money for the people of the state of Illinois," he said. 

But he gave a different answer a couple days earlier to Chicago radio station WBBM. 

"People have said to me, 'Wouldn't it just be a lot more efficient if we just had one financial officer?' And I've said yes, we could become very efficient, efficient like the city of Dixon, Illinois, who just had one chief financial officer and she was able, from this small little town, over several years to take something like $52 million away from them." 

Previous to those conflicting quotes, Frerichs was on record as favoring the merger, having voted in 2011 for a proposed constitutional amendment to put the question to the voters. 

But he clearly doesn't know what he really thinks, and, when candidates don't know what they believe, they say whatever seems convenient at the moment.

Emphasis, ours.

(BTW...who knew Mike was a 'never nude'?!?!)