THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Irvin's shady business partnership?...GOP debate tonight...Newman's dumpy dog...
June 2, 2022
Good morning, Illinois.
Richard Irvin held a news conference yesterday and it's possible the most newsworthy thing about it is that it wasn't newsworthy. After his disaster of a news conference a couple of weeks ago, Irvin continued to dodge, obfuscate, and pivot on any question media asked. He just didn't do it as clumsily this time.
The six Republican candidates for Governor will debate tonight in Chicago and will all share the stage on teevee for the first time.
The debate is at 7pm at WLS-TV in Chicago and will air live on the ABC 7 website and on one of their digital subchannels (217 on my Comcast box). In the Champaign-Decatur-Springfield market, it will air live on WBUI, which is 23 over the air, and varies depending on your cable company.
The candidates have been offered media availabilities after the debate tonight. I’m planning to attend and subscribers will get a behind the scenes tomorrow morning.
Hint, hint, please join us as a subscriber. Just $99 per year or $9.99 per month.
I’m also scheduled to appear on WGN-TV’s “Political Report” Sunday morning at 9am talking about the race for Governor. But, as you know, plans are always subject to change.
Drop me a note with any questions or thoughts you may have. I try to respond to everyone at patrick@theillinoize.com.
Let’s get to it.
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As Aurora mayor, Richard Irvin quietly launched firm with a top aide plus two others, who got a city contract (Chicago Tribune)
Two years ago, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin quietly co-founded a consulting firm with a top city aide, who’s also a lifelong friend, and two men from Virginia.
The arrangement has raised several potential conflict of interest issues for Irvin: There’s a mayor going into business with a city employee who is so close to Irvin that the mayor calls him a stepbrother. There’s the employee skirting through a process requiring city approval for side jobs. And there’s the two Virginia men, who went on to get a $15,000 city contract without their ties to Irvin being disclosed.
As Irvin seeks to become Illinois’ next governor while running for the GOP nomination on June 28, the episode joins other previously disclosed arrangements in raising questions about where Irvin draws the line between public duties and private ventures.
That scrutiny now includes questions about the consulting firm Aurora Dynamic Solutions, based two blocks from City Hall. Irvin owns it with Michael Pegues, who Irvin hired right after being elected mayor in 2017 to be Aurora’s chief information officer.
Irvin never announced his ownership in Aurora Dynamic Solutions, and it isn’t disclosed on the state ethics form he filed when he ran for governor. As of Tuesday, the consulting firm had a half-finished website that’s designed to be hard to Google but — if someone could find it — advertised a wide swath of services, including government consulting.
Related: 'Millionaire's exemption' could make Illinois’ governor's race the nation’s most expensive (State Journal-Register)
Billionaire Ken Griffin has now contributed $50 million to Richard Irvin’s campaign for governor (Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Richard Irvin will not march in Aurora Pride Parade due to controversy over police participation (Aurora Beacon News)
Illinois governor, other Democrats rally abortion rights supporters in the metro-east (Belleville News-Democrat)
Battle station? Irvin, Bailey to square off in first televised debate with all six GOP primary candidates (Chicago Sun-Times)
All six Republican primary candidates for governor have told event organizers that they plan to appear together Thursday in a high-stakes televised debate.
The debate will be the first chance for voters to see the apparent frontrunners, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin and state Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, go head-to-head.
ABC 7 on Tuesday confirmed that all six Republican candidates, which also includes former state Sen. Paul Schimpf of Waterloo, Bull Valley businessman Gary Rabine, Hazel Crest attorney Max Solomon and Petersburg venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan, have agreed to participate in the debate on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Related: Survey: Richard Irvin: 2022 Illinois governor candidate answers Tribune Editorial Board questionnaire (Chicago Tribune)
J. B. Pritzker: 2022 Illinois governor candidate answers Tribune Editorial Board questionnaire (Chicago Tribune)
Survey: Gary Rabine: 2022 Illinois governor candidate answers Tribune Editorial Board questionnaire (Chicago Tribune)
Survey: Paul Schimpf: 2022 Illinois governor candidate answers Tribune Editorial Board questionnaire (Chicago Tribune)
Survey: Jesse Sullivan: 2022 Illinois governor candidate answers Tribune Editorial Board questionnaire (Chicago Tribune)
Survey: Darren Bailey, Republican candidate for Illinois governor (Belleville News-Democrat)
Survey: Richard Irvin, Republican candidate for Illinois governor (Belleville News-Democrat)
Survey: Beverly Miles, Democratic candidate for governor of Illinois (Belleville News-Democrat)
Survey: J.B. Pritzker, Democratic candidate for governor of Illinois (Belleville News-Democrat)
Daily Herald endorses Giannoulias, Brady for Secretary of State (Daily Herald)
U.S. Rep. Marie Newman’s dog does its business in latest campaign ad taking on Democratic primary rival Sean Casten (Chicago Tribune)
People have complained about “politics going to the dogs” for decades, but the latest campaign ad from freshman U.S. Rep. Marie Newman in her primary bid against Rep. Sean Casten takes the phrase quite literally.
The 30-second spot shows Newman walking her dog as it prepares to defecate. “I’m Congresswoman Marie Newman, and unfortunately, you’re going to hear a lot of” — a scatological reference is then bleeped — “about me from my opponent Sean Casten,” she says as she deposits the bagged dog waste in a garbage can.
Newman goes on to describe herself as a “lifelong progressive” and questions Casten’s commitment to abortion rights and universal health care, while criticizing him for accepting money from corporate political action committees.
That’s Newman’s beagle, Iggy.
Related: Opinion: Can the Casten-Newman fight get any lower than dog poop? (Crain’s Chicago Business)
6th District Democrats Casten, Newman both support stricter gun laws (Daily Herald)
Some Republican hopefuls in 6th House race have doubts about Biden's 2020 win (Daily Herald)
GOP primary candidates line up to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth (State Journal-Register)
Illinois GOP Senate candidates' opinions on climate change vary widely (Daily Herald)
Survey: Rodney Davis, Republican candidate for 15th Congressional District in Illinois (Belleville News-Democrat)
Survey: Mary Miller, Republican candidate for 15th Congressional District in Illinois (Belleville News-Democrat)
Illinois losing middle-class jobs as businesses, labor groups remain divided on solutions (State Journal-Register)
A state task force released a report on the "future of work" Tuesday, calling on government, businesses and labor interests to unite behind a desire to increase the number of "quality jobs" in the state.
Despite the call for collaboration, the task force itself failed to unify on its recommendations, with business groups and the state board of education breaking with the task force and voting against approving the report.
The 36-member task force, made up of politicians, representatives of unions and special interest groups and researchers met regularly for nine months to discuss the contents of the report, and the issues facing the state, before publishing it.
The final report contains 58 policy recommendations and several research findings about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market and businesses, long-term shifts in the Illinois economy and innovations in technology as well as policy.
The recommendations in the report have some in the business community worried.
"How all this went down was not exactly appropriate," said Brad Tietz, vice president of government relations with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
Related: State task force urges government, businesses to unite behind ‘quality jobs’ (Chicago Sun-Times)
Business groups involved in state’s ‘quality jobs’ report rip the final product (Chicago Sun-Times)
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