Where in the World is Bob "No Audit" Grogan?

The questions about his job performance and the appearance of conflicts of interests in his securing endorsements from politicians that he audits.  But, for Bob Grogan - candidate for Illinois Treasurer - the issues keep coming.

This time RedState is asking questions about whether Bob Grogan actually is showing up for work as the DuPage County Auditor?

Are the political aspirations of DuPage County Auditor Bob Grogan distracting him from his current responsibilities? Apparently so. Throughout the course of October, numerous attempts to reach the candidate for Illinois state treasurer at his county auditor’s office resulted in failure. This was not a fluke. Out of ten calls placed on ten different days in a single month, the auditor could only be reached at the office once. Bob Grogan’s staff did not provide viable reasons for his unavailability, but did make it clear he was not in his office. And not once did his staff suggest he would return later in the day.

...If the auditor was not conducting fieldwork, what was he doing throughout those numerous mid-afternoons away from his office? If these absences occurred a nine times in a just a single month, how many other times was the auditor absent unbeknownst to the public? How often does the county auditor actually show up for work? Does he work full time at as county auditor? Have these absences affect the productivity of the entire county auditor’s office? Could a more reliable attendance pattern have exposed the DuPage County Housing Authority, DuPage County Election Commission, and DuPage Water Commission scandals before millions of taxpayer dollars were lost?

The read the full piece here on RedState.

To be perfectly honest...We've seen Bob all around the campaign trail.  He's been pretty visible and is running a grassroots campaign at GOP events.  Connecting the dots here...Bob hasn't been working.  He's been campaigning, it seems?

In fact, in one of his recent endorsements from Senator Tim Bivens, Grogan calls out in Facebook a quote from Bivens which might explain where Bob's been.  It says:

"I've been following this guy... all over the state and in our district I see him everywhere."

See the Facebook post embedded below.  

Post by Bob Grogan, CPA.

Treasurer Candidate Bob Grogan Explains Away One Pesky Problem

Illinois Treasurer's Candidate Bob Grogan posted a cryptic piece on his Facebook Wall about his 'opponent' and his 'minion' sending around an email that had - what sounded like - accusations of Grogan falling asleep at the switch while being DuPage County Auditor.  

That had us wondering:  what was in this scary email?

After asking around and seeing this tweet, we've found it.  The story in the email can be found here: Only in Illinois: Why Someone Needs to Audit the DuPage County Auditor.   It opens a whole host of new questions about Grogan.  

DuPage County Auditor Bob Grogan has served as county auditor through some of the most significant county-level financial scandals in Illinois history. Now he seeks a higher office—that of Illinois State Treasurer. 

If only his county auditor’s office had uncovered the scandals which burst forth into public view, this may have been a viable career option. However, as it turns out, outside entities- including the federal government—discovered the shenanigans while Auditor Grogan completed just over two dozen far less substantive audits. 

In a stunning display of misplaced priorities, the county office issued a reprimand for two workers paid overtime in a manner “not recommended” by the office and uncovered some questionable weatherization projects; during the same five year stretch, the feds uncovered millions in misappropriated funds throughout other county agencies.

We still don't really have an answer from him on the first question:  how, oh my, can the list of elected officials that have endorsed him so closely match up to the list of offices that he audits.  

But, now Joel Griffin tells us that Grogan - who so proudly calls himself a certified public auditor - was standing by while some of the largest scandals took place across DuPage County Government.  All while he was serving as the County Auditor.  

Grogan's response:  "Hey...it wasn't my fault.  I don't audit them."

Holiday Greetings to Governor Edgar from Dillard Campaign?

At least that's what our friend Super Abe says:

Kirk Dillard Presents a Holiday Tribute to Jim Edgar: http://t.co/h2Pbt8AoVk via @youtube This is one for the ages. Thoughts @BrunoBehrend ?
— Super Abe (@SuperAbe2014) December 19, 2013

Hilarious.

You're a Mean One, Mr. Caprio

Post by Ron Sandack.

Sending out robocalls - which Rich Miller has a copy of you can listen to here - a week before Christmas is, as Rep. Ron Sandack points out, not exactly 'family' material.

Photo from Cal Skinner's dealio

Pardon our French, but who shit in Caprio's Cheerios when he was a kid?  Something *must* have happened to him, right?

This jabroni is on a crusade to make the ILGOP so insignificant and small-minded.  This robocall is him flailing about for relevancy.  Shame to see him waste all his money fighting a guy like Ron Sandack who has done a heckuva job representing his District and needs to be re-elected to Springfield.

The time has come for Republicans to stand up to these bullies who are drawing hard lines as one-issue advocates.  Republicans can and should do better and that starts by beating back Mr. Paul Caprio and supporting Ron Sandack.

Democrat Mike Frerichs and "Great" Turnouts

We're thinking that someone might need to help Democrat Candidate for Treasurer Mike Frerichs understand what "great" means when it comes to turning out people.  You'll recall that earlier this month, he took to Facebook to boast about his "great crowd" that appeared to only have about six in total numbers.  Yesterday, he took to the Twitters to crow about an event he hosted in Aurora.  8 people.  Eight.

Had a great turnout and time in #Aurora tonight. Thanks to all who came out in the snowy weather. #twill #WaynesWorld pic.twitter.com/TU8gr53TQy
— Mike Frerichs (@MikeforIllinois) December 17, 2013

Listen...we sympathize with the need to churn out content for social channels.  But...lets call things the way they are:  great?  Really?

We suppose this is good news for the GOP.  His campaign's ability to gauge turnout numbers doesn't bode well for his operation on Election Day.  Hopefully, his turnout that day will be "great", too!

Are We Trying to REALLY Kill the ILGOP?!?

Exhibit 1104 in the effort to kill the ILGOP:  Apparently, some crackpot has convinced his relative to challenge the petition of an 18 year old woman who is trying to become a Republican Precinct Committeeman.

Really? Bonnie and Richard Duresa?  Really?!? 

Challenging the 18 year old?  Won't let her get on the ballot?  Scaredy Cats?  

We have NO idea what the politics of Jenna Wing from Fox River Grove are, but the fact that an 18 year old woman would want to get involved in the awful business of being a Precinct Committeeman by itself is an amazing notion.  

And we're going to throw her away by getting her kicked off the ballot? Come on, Man.  

If that happens (for shame), the County Chairman better well find an empty precinct and appoint Jenna Wing as fast as he/she can.  

If we want the ILGOP to survive, we need not just one Jenna Wings.  We need thousands of them.  

Darlene Senger: How can Sebelius be in charge of the investigation of a program that she bungled?

Darlene Senger - Republican for Congress - has come out swinging (repeatedly) on Obamacare. This time, she's rightfully questioning how effective Kathleen Sebelius can be in "investigating" the problems with the launch of Obamacare.

From Darlene Senger's site:

Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius said, "I’ve determined it’s the right time to better understand the structural and managerial policies that lead to the flawed launch." 

Everyday Americans are losing healthcare coverage due to Obamacare, and more transparent answers are needed to understand the implications this act will have.

Senger is pushing DelayandDisclose.com - a petition that would demand more transparency around Obamacare.  

Nobel Prize Winner: Illinois In *much* worse shape than people think

There's been lots of crowing - and complaining - about the recently passed (and signed) Pension "Reform" legislation by the Illinois General Assembly.   There were plenty of folks who said that the bill doesn't go far enough and compared it to putting a 'band-aid on a bullet hole'.  

Everyday, we learn more and that analogy might end up being appropriate.  And that the 'reform' that passed was a step in the right direction - but clearly was NOT enough.  

First, it was the news that the State income tax hike - passed in 2009 - as a "temporary" income tax hike appears to be headed to being a permanent 67% increase.  

Now, news is coming out that we weren't getting the full story on the breath of the pension problem.  

Everybody is an expert these days, but some are a bit smarter than others.  Chicago Magazine recently sat down with University of Chicago "Market Maven" and Nobel Prize winner Eugene Fama where they talked about Illinois and the state of bonds.

More bad news for Illinois as Dr. Fama 'lifts the kimono' a bit in talking about how Illinois discounts liabilities and what the implications are for Illinois' pensions problem:

How do you feel about buying Illinois bonds?Well, in the short term, they’re OK. In the long term, I wouldn’t touch them. The [state’s] pension liability is much worse than [the reported $100 billion that] people think. 

How so?States discount their liabilities—I think Illinois uses a discount of 7.5 percent [it’s between 7 and 8]—arguing that’s the expected [annual] return on their portfolio. But the expected return on a portfolio is totally irrelevant. What counts is, How risky are the claims that you have to meet? You’ve made a promise to your employees that you’ll pay them a certain fraction of their income that is usually indexed. Which means it’s a risk-free real outcome. What’s the risk-free real rate? Is it anywhere near 7.5 percent? It isn’t. Historically, it’s like 2 percent. A 2 percent discount rate would approximately triple Illinois’s pension liabilities.

Ghostwriting in the IL Treasurer's Race

More on the Frerichs/Grogan spelling stuff.  Line of the day goes to Super Abe.  Hilarious.

Is @VoteGrogan ghost-writing @MikeforIllinois emails? How can you balance the budget if you can't spell? #ESL
— Super Abe (@SuperAbe2014) December 10, 2013

IL Treasurer's Race: Most Spell-Checked Race in History?

First it was Treasurer's candidate Bob Grogan who couldn't even spell his own name.  Now it is Democrat Mike Frerichs who can't even spell the name of the office he is running for in 2014.

First, it’s Capitol, with an “o.” 

Second, Fahner was for the bill, not against it. 

Third, Frerichs also voted against it. 

Fourth, it’s “Treasurer’s office,” not “Treasures’ office.”

We realize everyone can't be perfect (we're certainly not), but is there not a staffer proofing these things before they go out?

We make our share of spelling and grammar errors, but we're NOT running for statewide office.  These guys want to be Treasurer.

And...the comments on CapFax aren't taking any mercy.  It seems...they think that candidates should do better: