THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Uihlein cash...Rodney Davis, unplugged...Budzinski's lucrative consulting gig
October 20, 2022
Good morning, Illinois.
We’re 19 days from the November 8 General Election. Governor Pritzker gets endorsed by IBEW at 11am in Alsip. Darren Bailey is on a bus tour with stops in Mt. Vernon, Anna, Marion, Harrisburg, and Effingham.
Our livestream yesterday with Rep. Dan Brady and Jeremy Gorner from the Chicago Tribune can be seen here.
I’ll be filling in on WMAY in Springfield tomorrow from 4-6:30pm. You can hear it at www.wmay.com.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets)
Darren Bailey’s campaign gets $2M boost from conservative megadonor Richard Uihlein (Chicago Tribune)
Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey received the largest contribution of the general election cycle from his most generous benefactor, billionaire megadonor Richard Uihlein, according to Illinois State Board of Elections records.
Uihlein’s $2 million donation to the state senator from southeastern Illinois came on Tuesday, the same day that Bailey and incumbent Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker had their second and final televised debate.
Uihlein has given about $54 million to back Bailey, most of it as the chief funding source for a political action committee allied with the state senator and wealthy farmer from Xenia. That PAC, the People Who Play By The Rules, is run by right-wing radio talk show host Dan Proft, of Naples, Florida.
Related: Final Pritzker-Bailey debate: Chicago crime, DCFS strife, marijuana, Bears, fashion and marriage (Daily Herald)
Extreme takeover? Pritzker, Bailey accuse each other of being extremist, dangerous for Illinois (Chicago Sun-Times)
In final debate, Darren Bailey calls Chicago ‘Pritzkerville,’ while governor says challenger a threat to democracy (Chicago Tribune)
A few of the biggest whoppers from the last Pritzker-Bailey showdown (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Pritzker, Bailey make closing arguments (Capitol News Illinois)
In previous three months, Pritzker outspent Bailey 23-to-1 (Bloomington Pantagraph)
19 questions for candidates for Illinois governor — one set of answers (Chicago Sun-Times)
Former ABC7 reporter Charles Thomas criticized over Darren Bailey TV ads (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Rep. Rodney Davis reflects on time in Congress, looks ahead at Ag Cafe (Decatur Herald & Review)
It was about two hours after polls closed on primary election night when Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, saw the writing on the wall and ultimately conceded to Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, in the heated 15th Congressional District GOP primary.
"I saw the trends, made the concession, put my phone on the charger, put my Apple watch on the charger, walked outside, cracked open a Busch Light, sat down with my friends and my wife and said, 'what's next?'" Davis said.
"I mean, that to me is how I deal with losses," he continued. "It's looking ahead. And my message today to the young kids was 'don't let defeats define you. Define yourself, define your own future.' I did. And now I get a chance to find another future."
"Look, I serve with a lot of people who have absolutely no intention of ever doing anything legislatively," Davis said. "It's about clicks on social media, it's about how much money they can raise and it's about the rage machine."
Davis, when asked by Herald & Review after the event, said this was not a dig on Miller specifically, but instead on "a large handful of individuals I serve with on both sides of the aisle" for whom "the rage machine matters more than governing."
He called this "a detriment to our country." But, he said there is still hope.
A powerful Pritzker administration insider turned congressional candidate cashed in as a consultant (Better Government Association)
Shortly after she left her state job as a senior adviser to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, longtime political operative Nikki Budzinski collected more than $500,000 in consulting and other fees in 10 months, including more than $80,000 from a Springfield lobbyist Budzinski helped while working for the governor.
At least $100,000 of that payday came from progressive organizations that don’t disclose their donors — despite Budzinski now running for Congress downstate as a Democrat in the 13th District on a platform that includes getting “dark money” out of politics, a Better Government Association examination of government records found.
A BGA review of state and federal public records shows a cozy relationship between Budzinski and [the lobbyist], who frequently reached out when her clients needed assistance, whether it was to set up a meeting with the governor for a client or access for an event at the governor's mansion.
One expert said Budzinski’s actions after she left the Pritzker administration highlight weaknesses in Illinois’ ethics laws.
Related: Budzinski outraising, outspending Deering in Illinois 13th Congressional District race (State Journal-Register)
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Opinion: Amendment 1 offers essential protections to workers (Chicago Tribune)
Democrats for secretary of state, other statewide offices hold big financial advantage over GOP contenders (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: The Tribune endorses Frerichs for treasurer and Mendoza for comptroller (Chicago Tribune)
Chicago-area congressional Democratic candidates lead in fundraising, new FEC reports show (Chicago Sun-Times)
Rep. Robin Kelly supports the Green New Deal and strong gun control in IPM interview (Illinois Public Media)
How campaign donations to Casten and Pekau reflect their stances on gun control (Daily Herald)
Schneider dismisses opponent’s call to debate at town hall meeting: ‘If you’re disruptive, I’ll have to ask you to leave’ (Lake County News-Sun)
GOP heavy-hitters supporting Lauf against Democrat Foster -- but is it enough? (Daily Herald)
Meet the Illinois-17th District candidates: Eric Sorensen and Esther Joy King (Quad-City Times)
Endorsement for Illinois Senate District 23: Suzy Glowiak Hilton (Daily Herald)
Where 28th state Senate candidates stand on abortion (Daily Herald)
Endorsement: Solano for Senate District 31 (Daily Herald)
Endorsement: Robert Stevens for House District 46 (Daily Herald)
Endorsement: Moylan for state representative in 55th District (Daily Herald)
Endorsement: Pettorini over Mason for House District 61 (Daily Herald)
Endorsement: Shores for House District 62 (Daily Herald)
Endorsement: Stava-Murray for 81st House seat (Daily Herald)
Ahead of key Illinois Supreme Court elections, federal judge blocks state campaign contribution limits in judicial races (Chicago Tribune)
Sun-Times/WBEZ Poll: Illinois voters don’t want Pritzker or Biden to run for president – but they’d take either over Trump (Chicago Sun-Times)
Sun-Times/WBEZ Poll: Voters all over the field on Bears’ Arlington play — but almost half would sack any taxpayer dollar request (Chicago Sun-Times)
SOME TOP LINKS FROM THE WEEK SO FAR
Interruptions and Allegations Drown Out Policy in Second Gubernatorial Debate
Statewide Democrats Vastly Outraising, Outspending Republican Challengers
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