Exclusive Footage Of Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's "Job Creation Program"

Who would have thunk?  If it worked for Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to spread around some cash - YOUR CASH - to buy some votes in 2010, why wouldn't he try it again this time?

Shame on him.  But...if we vote to put this guy back in office next Tuesday, the shame will be on us.

“Pat Quinn is already under federal investigation for misusing millions in October of 2010, and now it looks like he’s pumped out half a billion dollars this month to boost his campaign once again. He’s throwing around taxpayer money in October in the hopes of raising your taxes in November. Throwing around more money in the last six days won’t change the harm Pat Quinn has caused Illinois over the last six years.”

Another Day, Another Failed Pat Quinn Program Turning Into Emerging Scandal

Over in the Chicago Sun-Times this weekend, the details of another failed Pat Quinn-lead program started to emerge.  And, just like with his failed and scandal-ridden NRI program, it seems that inept leadership and poor execution lead to (at best) the squandering of MILLIONS of taxpayers dollars and (at worst) potentially even more graft, corruption, and mismanagement.

You can read even more details from the team at Illinois Mirror where they break down the numbers, but this is the important part:

Illinois legislators created the Urban Weatherization Initiative in 2009, promising that as much as $425 million in taxpayer money would go to train an army of workers in predominantly African-American neighborhoods to identify and fix energy-efficiency problems in homes. 

The initiative would put people to work in economically struggling neighborhoods statewide and help homeowners cut their utility bills, supporters said. 

But five years later, the program has fallen far short of its goals.

That last line -  '5 years later, this has fallen far short of its goals' -  is a really great way to summarize Pat Quinn's tenure as Illinois Governor.

We've given Pat Quinn enough time.  Illinois should move on and give Bruce Rauner a shot at fixing this mess.

You Know Governor Pat Quinn...

Four more years of *this*?!?  Voters know better, we think.

AG Candidate Paul Schimpf Wants Lisa Madigan's CoS Invited To The #NRI Party

Ann Spillane, come on down!

In a press conference today, Attorney General Candidate Paul Schimpf demanded that the Legislative Audit Commission question Barbara Shaw about her email request for pay raises for her staff as a result of the 2010 election and subpoena Ann Spillane, Lisa Madigan’s Chief of Staff, to give testimony about her role in the mismanagement of funds under the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative (“NRI”).

It is vital to consider all the players, including Ms. Spillane, as the Legislative Audit Commission resumes its investigation of NRI to determine if state funds were used to boost Democratic turnout in the 2010 election. The incriminating email, sent from Barbara Shaw to Ann Spillane just 3 hours after Brady conceded the 2010 election to Quinn, strongly suggests that Lisa Madigan’s Office was directly involved in the disbursement of NRI funds. The people of Illinois deserve to know how millions of tax dollars bypassed Chicago's most violent neighborhoods and found its way into the hands of the politically-connected.

Former Head of Quinn's Scandal-Plagued NRI Will Actually Show Up!?!

Photo via the Sun-Times

Well, well, well.  Things are certainly looking like they'll get interesting at the October 8th legislative hearing on Governor Quinn's scandal-plagued NRI slush fund program.  The top dog has said she'll be there and is ready to squawk.  

The former head of the state agency Gov. Pat Quinn put in charge of his failed Neighborhood Recovery Initiative anti-violence grant program will answer questions from a legislative panel next week, her lawyer said Tuesday. 

Barbara Shaw, the one-time director of the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority is regarded as a pivotal witness with firsthand knowledge of the preparation and roll-out of the $54.5 million grant program that is now under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in Springfield and Chicago. 

“We’re prepared to respond to the questions that are asked of her,” Shaw’s attorney, John Theis, told Early & Often, the Chicago Sun-Times’ political portal. 

“Naturally, it’s always a concern when people are out there, and there’s an active investigation, but Barbara won’t be asserting any 5th Amendment privilege,” Theis said.

There's no doubt that the Republicans in Illinois - MY Party - can use this as a big opportunity to lead. But...let's focus on the important pieces and not make this a partisan witch hunt, guys.

Focus on the money.  The lost, squandered, wasted taxpayer money.  Please?

Governor Pat Quinn's Handling of Subpoena's Just "Stinks"

Dave McKinney at the Sun-Times gets to the heart of the matter on Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's handling of the release of subpoena documents related to the scandal-plagued NRI program and calls in an 'expert' to say what Jay Sherman would say about Pat Quinn's administration:  It stinks.

Despite having a new criminal subpoena in hand, Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration dragged its feet in releasing the politically-sensitive public document — a delay one expert called a gaming of the state open-records laws that “stinks.”

On Tuesday, the governor’s office finally released the federal grand jury subpoena dated Aug. 27 that sought records related to Quinn’s failed Neighborhood Recovery Initiative anti-violence program, but it did so only selectively.

AG Candidate Paul Schimpf Calls On Lisa Madigan To Stand Down on #NRI

Illinois Attorney General candidate Paul Schimpf is drawing a line in the sand on current Attorney General Lisa Madigan's ability to be a neutral party in the on-going and un-raveling #NRI scandal that is plaguing Governor Pat Quinn's campaign.

The Schimpf campaign makes some strong points about the conflict of interest that is facing Lisa Madigan:

Republican Attorney General Candidate and Retired Marine Prosecutor Paul Schimpf held a press conference today to call on Attorney General Lisa Madigan to recuse herself from giving legal advice on all matters involving the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative (“NRI”). The Chicago Sun Times recently reported that Ms. Madigan does not believe she has a conflict of interest. 

Ms. Madigan’s inability to understand that there is a conflict of interest in this situation calls into question her competence to serve as Attorney General for the State of Illinois. Her belief is contrary to the fundamentals of practicing law as defined by the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.7 on Conflicts of Interest. Ms. Madigan, as Attorney General, was in a position to provide oversight on this program and failed to do so – a fact not in dispute. She is a material witness in the investigation of the failed Neighborhood Recovery Initiative and needs to recuse herself as soon as possible in this matter.

No Schrute Bucks For You, Governor Pat Quinn!

It would be easy to point out how Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is in trouble with voters this fall.

With the full details about his NRI scandal coming to light in mid-October and the latest news that he's the patronage king, it seems like voters could easily point out the problems.

But Dwight Schrute thinks otherwise...

Pat Quinn The Patronage King? Whodathunk.

For a guy who cuts himself as a 'everyday man' that lives in a modest house and wears modest suits, he sure knows how to build a patronage army.  NBC's Ward room claims that the latest patronage scandal that is facing Illinois Governor Pat Quinn might be his 'undoing':

For a state that’s sent a number of sitting governors to prison, running for re-election as a reformer is a smart political strategy.

But it can prove to be a bit of an issue when your name is continually linked in the minds of voters with corruption and patronage scandals.

That’s the problem Democratic Governor Pat Quinn is facing as he runs for another term against Republican Bruce Rauner.

Quinn’s image as a reformer took another hit recently with news of a confidential report by the state’s top ethics watchdog obtained by the Chicago Tribune. The report found hundreds of positions at the Illinois Department of Transportation were filled by political appointees under Quinn and his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich.

Hundreds of people were hired into a special "staff assistant" position without having to go through strict personnel procedures under rules designed to keep politics out of most state hiring, according to a confidential report by Executive Inspector General Ricardo Meza obtained by the Tribune. 

The rules have been in place since before Blagojevich took office in 2003, but many of those improper hirings at the Illinois Department of Transportation happened under Quinn's Democratic administration, the report said.

The report follows months of headlines suggesting Quinn used the troubled Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, a state program designed to combat gun violence, as little more than a “political slush fund.”

There, the 2010 program was designed to funnel state dollars to social-welfare organizations for anti-crime programs. Later, investigations revealed many of the millions of dollars spent were spent poorly, unaccounted for or were appropriated with patronage in mind.

All of which could be written off as the kinds of collateral damage or nagging scandals any sitting governor could expect to have after years in office if it weren’t for one thing: Quinn’s Republican opponent has built his entire campaign around this very issue.

This is exactly the kind of stuff that just absolutely outrages voters:  insiders get fat and happy.  Normal folks get left behind.

Did Pat Quinn And The Chicago Democrats Slip In A $20M Slushfund To This Year's Budget?

You've heard the phrase: "Meet the new boss.  Same as the old boss", right?  

Well...that's apparently what we're dealing with in Illinois with Pat Quinn as Governor.  He's already in a tough spot trying to explain how his last 'slush fund' called NRI was doled out right before election day to gin up votes.

But...now it looks like he's at it again?  I guess you have to feed The Machine if you want to win in November, right Pat?

From CCB:

The General Assembly's top two Republicans said they've found a mysterious $20 million appropriation that in their view looks suspiciously like the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative "slush fund" that already has the Quinn administration in legal and political hot water.

But Mr. Quinn's office says the money is going to train 5,000 youths to get jobs instead of getting into trouble.

The charges came today when the Legislature's GOP leaders, Sen. Christine Radogno and Rep. Jim Durkin, said at a Chicago news conference that they have increasing questions about a $20 million appropriation for the Department of Labor that showed up in a pending appropriations bill just days before lawmakers enacted Mr. Quinn's proposed fiscal 2015 budget in May.

Republicans received "no response" when they asked in committee and on the floor what the money was for and who would get it, Mr. Durkin said. "There was dead silence," he said, with even Democratic committee chairs professing ignorance.

When will this stuff stop?   Here's hoping in comes on the first Tuesday in November.

You Had Us Worried There For A Bit, Illinois Legislative Republicans

We have to admit that we had our concerns with all the pushing that State Represenative Ron Sandack, State Representative David Reis, State Senator Bill Brady and State Senator Jason Barickman were doing on the Legislative Audit Commission this week.  In light of the request from the US Attorney's office, we thought things would (politically speaking) work themselves out by mid-October, right before the November election.

We worried that this would turn into a political witch hunt and that the public would think it was just partisan politics and tune out.  The reality here is that we're dealing with a very serious situation:  $55M of taxpayer dollars were squandered.  We do deserve to find out.

But...we were concerned.  Sure..we're all eager.  We, too, saw the big prize just dangling out there in front of us.  But...too eager?  We thought we were headed for this:

That guy flew a little too 'close to the sun'.  Got a little too eager.  And guess what? He got tossed.  We didn't want the GOP side of the Legislative Audit Commission to 'get tossed'.

Thankfully, it appears things have netted out exactly where they should:  there's a federal investigation into the NRI program.  And, about 3 weeks before Governor Pat Quinn will be asking voters to give him four more years, we'll start to get even more answers about this scandal-ridden program and who was at fault.

Pat Quinn Continues To Try To Change Subject, This Time With "Microbeads"

The word coming out of the Illinois Governor Pat Quinn campaign these days seems to be:  let's talk about anything other than the NRI scandal engulfing his time in office or how he can't seem to put the state back on track fiscally.  Nope...let's talk about EVERYTHING else instead.

The latest is his crusade (oh...how brave of him!  Talk about building a 'profile in courage'!) against Microbeads.  Yes, the Governor is working hard to rid the state of this scourge that is known as Microbeads.  Like the ones in body wash.

From Mother Tribune:

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation Sunday banning the manufacture and sale of personal care products containing synthetic plastic microbeads. 

“Banning microbeads will help ensure clean waters across Illinois and set an example for our nation to follow,” Quinn said. “Lake Michigan and the many rivers and lakes across our state are among our most important natural resources. We must do everything necessary to safeguard them.” 

The new law bans the manufacture of personal care products containing microbeads by the end of 2017, the sale of personal care products and the manufacture of over the counter drugs by the end of 2018, and the sale of over the counter drugs by the end of 2019.

Listen...we agree that the environment is important and this is probably a good move, but can we have a discussion about priorities?   Shouldn't the Governor be trying to affect the big issues of the day?  Let's let Senator Heather Steans - who carried the water on this we think - do the well-deserved victory lap and allow the Governor to focus on righting the ship in Illinois.   Mmmkay?

Kankakee Daily Journal: Taxpayers Deserve Some Answers, Governor Quinn

From the Kankakee Daily Journal:

Illinois taxpayers deserve to know why the state wasted $55 million on a Chicago neighborhood violence reduction program. 

That's the bottom line of a lot of political-wrangling that's going on these days. Federal and Cook County prosecutors are investigating the details of Gov. Pat Quinn's Neighborhood Recovery Initiative and will determine if there are any criminal avenues to pursue. 

...What we already know about this program is troubling. Illinois voters — which have a too-high tolerance for ethical and legal lapses by officials — should question how a cash-strapped state could so callously waste $55 million. Quinn and his administration needs to supply some answers.

Emphasis, ours.

State Sen. Jason Barickman Statement on Status of Legislative Audit Commission

As posted on his Facebook wall:

Hmmm...90 days from yesterday (when he posted the statement) puts us at October 7, 2014.  Right...smack dab in the thick of election season.  It is likely when folks actually start paying attention.

Rep. Ron Sandack Applies Pressure on Governor Quinn's Chicago Scandal

State Representative Ron Sandack is keeping the pressure on to get to the bottom of the mess that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's Neighborhood Recovery Initiative has become.

He says, rightfully, that the bipartisan committee "owes it to the taxpayers to find out" the details and the parties involved.

Good on Sandack.  Go get 'em!

Of Course Governor Pat Quinn Isn't Going To Testify About His NRI Mess

If you were at the helm of this corrupt, scandal-ridden mess would you want to face the music?  We know that we sure wouldn't.  

From WBBM:

Gov. Pat Quinn has rejected a challenge to testify before a legislative panel looking into the scandal-plagued anti-violence program Quinn created before the 2010 election. 

WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports Quinn said he has no intention of facing questions from the Legislative Audit Commission, which is looking into the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, has subpoenaed a number of the governor’s aides and other state officials. 

“This is an Audit Commission. The program didn’t work out. I’m angry about the fact that it didn’t work out. Having said that, we defunded that particular program, abolished the agency that was running the program, and moved the anti-violence effort to another agency,” Quinn said. “I’ve talked about this issue repeatedly.” 

Earlier this year, Auditor General William Holland issued a report finding NRI had major problems with mismanagement and spending. The report said the program was so hastily organized and sloppily executed that auditors questioned 40 percent of the expenditures claimed by service providers. 

The program is now under investigation by state and federal prosecutors for how $55 million was spent.