Capitol Fax: Oppo dumps! The connection between Bruce Rauner, Willie Wilson, Ken Dunkin and Maze Jackson

On Sunday Willie Wilson was at New Covenant MB Church giving away cash to those who attended worship services under the guise of "property-tax relief". Guess who also was there? Gov. Bruce Rauner who is in a tough campaign for re-election.

And evidently it's a story that continues even if it's not about Wilson's financial generosity. An oppo dump via Capitol Fax. Wilson is said to be friends with the Governor and he's not the only one.

Oppo dumps! The connection between Bruce Rauner, Willie Wilson, Ken Dunkin and Maze Jackson https://t.co/qDM4Z6vR5c

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) July 26, 2018

There's a video in that post you should check out. A "What's in it for Black People" cookout hosted by WVON personality Maze Jackson with a special guest appearance by one Bruce Rauner. Also it should be noted Rauner has a number of friends among Black politicos though evidently not many in the state's General Assembly.

Willie Wilson gives away cash at church on Sunday

 Very interesting

Willie Wilson said he handed out a whole lot of money Sunday at a South Side church — a couple hundred grand, in fact.

But he insists that’s nothing new. And he said Sunday’s event, attended by Gov. Bruce Rauner, had absolutely nothing to do with his run for mayor. However, it’s already raised more than a few eyebrows on the campaign trail.
...
“Gov. Rauner attended a Sunday service at the New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church as a guest of Rev. Stephen Thurston,” Will Allison, a spokesman for Rauner’s campaign, said. “The governor has attended Sunday services at different churches across Illinois since he first ran for office, and other elected officials and community leaders are often present.”

The Dr. Willie Wilson Foundation promoted Sunday’s event at New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church as “one of the biggest property tax relief assistance” events of the year. On its Facebook page, the foundation said Wilson would be “giving away $300,000 to struggling homeowners.”

In the end, Wilson told the Chicago Sun-Times he gave away closer to $200,000 in checks and cash. In a phone interview, he called it “a normal thing for me.”

“We’ve been paying people’s property taxes for years,” Wilson said, adding that the money was also meant to help people pay for smaller expenses, like food or bus passes.

If you want to see video proof look no further than WGN who had cameras rolling at the New Covenant MB Church at 754 E. 77th Street.

Gov. Rauner is in a tough re-election fight and if you read Capitol Fax the gubernatorial race is predicted to be a likely Democrat pick-up based on a national political newsletter. Although we have a long way between now and November to see the match-up between the incumbent Governor and his Democrat opponent JB Pritzker.

Former state rep. Ken Dunkin appointed by Gov. Rauner to water reclamation district

While outside of the scope of this blog I just wanted to note this since I saw this on Friday night. Ken Dunkin as a former a member of the Illinois House of Representatives represented the 5th district of Illinois which is basically the near south side (he represents parts of the Bronzeville neighborhood). He attempted to regain his seat in March running in Democratic primary, he was unsuccessful in this attempt - also bear in mind winning the Democratic nomination in Chicago is tantamount to victory in the general election.

Back in 2016 Dunkin lost the Democratic primary to the current state Rep. Juliana Stratton. Stratton is running for Lt. Governor with Democrat gubernatorial nominee JB Pritzker. Dunkin had been heavily associated with the agenda of Gov. Bruce Rauner and that effectively hurt his chances of re-election not only with his constituents, but with his caucus. Why would anyone in the Illinois House Democratic caucus even think they can go against the all-powerful speaker Michael Madigan?

Long story short, Gov. Rauner appoints his old ally in Dunkin to a seat on the Chicago Water Reclamation District. Below you see a tweet from David Ormsby with an image of the document which announces the governor's appointment. I first got wind of this via Rich Miller's Capitol Fax blog. It's also likely that this appointment is only temporary as it arose after the sudden death of a commissioner to the reclamation district and the sudden departure of another Rauner appointee.

Ex-State Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago) tapped by @GovRauner for $70K Water Rec Board gig. #twill pic.twitter.com/KISCvl5DSo

— David Ormsby (@DavidOrmsby) May 18, 2018

The reason why this is worth sharing and probably the least important part of this whole political store is that Dunkin is a Morehouse grad. This is one primary reason why this caught my eye although where he got his degree or degrees is not entirely news. What's news is that he becomes another member of the water reclamation district via gubernatorial appointment.

Can Gov. Rauner deliver state funds for the Obama Library?

[VIDEO] So Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times caught up with Gov. Bruce Rauner in Washington, DC with regards to the coming Obama Library in Jackson Park. There's been some excitement and opposition, now where's the money coming from. So basically this is what the governor said:

The Chicago Sun-Times asked Rauner if he would support the state assistance. The Democratic Illinois legislative leaders — House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton — are in favor of the state bankrolling a big chunk of the infrastructure costs.

Rauner said it is an “honor” for the city of Chicago and Illinois to have the Obama Center “and I look forward to working together with the Illinois General Assembly to come up with the resources so we can put in the infrastructure around it to support it.”

“. . . I won’t speculate on the dollars at this point. I’ll say I look forward to working together to develop the infrastructure needed for that center because I think it is going to be a wonderful asset for the people of Illinois, a great tourist draw, a great economic engine.”

On the other hand according to the Tribune, the governor is unsure whether or not the state could contribute funds to this proposed library. This article was published in October.

Rauner unsure state has enough money to kick in for Obama center @moniquegarcia https://t.co/26Ir5B80tL

— Ray Long (@RayLong) October 6, 2017

Rauner said he supports the center and the investment of more money in infrastructure, but said the state faces deep financial constraints even though lawmakers put in place a budget and tax hike over his objections. Rauner contends that spending plan is $1.7 billion out of balance, and has called on lawmakers to help him identity cuts.

"We need to make sure that we have ways to pay for what we invest in," Rauner said. "If we could cut the wasteful spending and the government bureaucracy, I would love to put that money into infrastructure and expanding roads and supporting things that can grow the economy like the Obama library.”

Rauner’s remarks came as he took questions during a stop in Aurora. Democratic Senate President John Cullerton of Chicago said Wednesday that he and House Speaker Michael Madigan brought up using state dollars to help reconfigure roads around the center during one of several recent meetings with Republican leaders.

So recent figures for this project from Sweet's article, $175 from state and federal funds to redo the streets in Jackson Park. And there apparently is opposition to a proposal to close off Cornell Drive in Jackson Park.

However, if Rauner remains governor and continues to remain at odds with a Democratic General Assembly in Springfield - especially Speaker Michael Madigan who's suffering from a scandal of his own - who knows if the state could come up with their own money for the Obama Library.

Black Caucus Chair on the decline of Black Chicago

6th Ward Alderman Roderick Sawyer is also chairman of the city council Black Caucus and distributed a statement on Black population loss through his campaign FB page on Tuesday. So the decline of Black Chicago is on the mind of Black aldermen.

What say you on this? Is Sawyer correct in pointing the finger at Gov. Rauner? Do you think he should just easily point his finger at Mayor Rahm Emanuel or some of his city council colleagues?

Mayor Emanuel is running again in '19

Well at least if you believe Greg Hinz who writes about the mayor's meeting with Crain's editorial board:

In case you had any doubt, Mayor Rahm Emanuel says there's none in his mind. He's running for a new term in the February 2019 election, with the goal of spreading the prosperity and new jobs that have blossomed in the central area of the city throughout Chicago.

In a meeting with Crain's editorial board yesterday evening, Emanuel had an instant reply when asked if he intends to seek a new term: "The answer is yes." He later repeated the sentiment—"I am (running)"—and said he's doing so because "I want to make sure that every part of the city is participating in the quality of life."

So far, there's no sign that Emanuel will face a major opponent despite some very rough patches after the shooting of Laquan McDonald. Insiders say that his popularity numbers, which had dipped very low, are back about 50 percent in the latest polling.

"My goal is to make sure people feel they have a stake in the future," Emanuel said, saying he's tried do that by luring new employers to town and expanding the schools model from K-12 to pre-college. But "there's more work to be done" he said, referring to widespread variance in crime rates, educational levels, income and other measures from one part of town to another.

Also mentioned are his relationship with Governor Bruce Rauner and the attempt of the mayor and governor to attract Amazon to Chicago.

Another property tax increase coming soon...

Chicago Board of Education

Remember during the 2015 municipal elections where I expressed support for an elected school board - though my idea was a hybrid with both appointed and elected members? Well we need to get to work on this idea especially if Gov. Bruce Rauner signs legislation that sets up another property tax increase here in Chicago that would be approved not by Chicago Aldermen, but by the appointed Chicago board of education.

Tapped-out Chicago property owners would face yet another tax hit for teacher pensions — but their aldermen would escape another difficult vote — under a historic new statewide school funding deal now headed to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk.

That “compromise” bill — approved by Illinois lawmakers this week — authorizes the Chicago Board of Education, comprised of mayoral appointees, to impose a property-tax hike worth $125 million without any involvement whatsoever from the Chicago City Council, whose members are elected.

The Board of Education does indeed plan to approve the increase, enabling the Chicago Public Schools to walk away with a total of $450 million in new state and local money for the 2017-18 school year once Rauner puts his signature on the bill, school officials said.

Rauner plans a bill-signing ceremony on Thursday, his office said.

It’s unclear when the city’s school board will take up the property-tax increase.

This hike would amount to a 2.5 percent increase in the tax bill for an average Chicago homeowner. The owner of a home worth $200,000 would pay an additional $83 in property taxes, records show.

It brings to mind a recent column written by John Ruberry of Marathon Pundit

In Chicago it’s great to be part of the ruling class. But Chicago’s roads are crumbling, barely one out of four of its students in its government schools read at grade level, its bond rating is the lowest among major cities, and businesses lack confidence in Chicago and Illinois as a whole. If you are part of Chicago’s ruling class you might view high taxes as a downpayment on your next paycheck or your retirement, but Chicagoans endure the nation’s highest sales tax rate and they were slugged with the highest property tax increase in the city’s history to fund public-worker pensions.

Yet Chicago’s public pensions are the worst-funded among America’s biggest cities--at a rate of just 25 percent of its obligations. But the cruel joke may be on these well-compensated public-servants. Despite the strong pension protection clause in the Illinois constitution, a pension “haircut” seems unavoidable for retirees. Michigan has similar wording it its constitution, yet Detroit municipal retirees saw their pension checks cut after the Motor City declared bankruptcy.

h/t Newsalert

BTW, what you see in that Newsalert post is a screencap of the Sun-Times front page which is what I share now.

 

Capitol Fax: Unclear on the concept

Gov. Bruce Rauner was at Chicago State University yesterday. In reality I know about this thanks to this tweet:

"Let's calm down, please" CSU Provost says after she introduces Rauner and the Chicago State crowd boos him

— Tony Arnold (@tonyjarnold) May 11, 2017

And then today Rich Miller further opines on the scene at Chicago State yesterday.

We already know why though the budget stalemate has affected public universities in Illinois. We also know Chicago State has been struggling with or without the budget stalemate.

 I can only imagine if the CSU Faculty Voice has anything to say about Rauner's visit.

Governor's race 2018

JB Pritzker has thrown his hat in the ring as far as next year's Democratic primary is concerned. He won't the only wealth candidate to run, it was in the news that Chris Kennedy - who formerly ran the Merchandise Mart & a member of the famous Kennedy political family - announced that he raised over a $1 million as he himself is running for Governor.

Pritzker who comes from a family that owned Hyatt hotels is far from the first person to enter this race. This is news for us because in a video shown on twitter he's meeting the electorate around the area especially at transit stops. For example you will see he made his way to 95/Dan Ryan to meet with commuters, it's an important stop for politicians apparently with all the traffic going in and out of the CTA terminal there.

Some news: I’m running for Governor of Illinois to fight for a better future for our state. Join me: https://t.co/nSZk3xqsWG #jbforgov pic.twitter.com/oswHXQmpqf

— JB Pritzker (@JBPritzker) April 6, 2017

With this said, the times we're living in Illinois is certainly an unhappy situation. Whoever runs and ultimately becomes the Democratic nominee for Governor will have to face a wealth first-term Republican governor. They also will have to answer any questions regarding the budget impasse and what they would do differently. Also from whatever damage from the impasse as a result they have to have an answer as to what they'll do to fix the damage.

Capitol Fax: Rauner briefly meets with protesters

[VIDEO] Over the recent weekend Gov. Bruce Rauner paid a visit to the Liberation Christian Center at 7400 S. Michigan. As you see in the above Sun-Times video his speech to the congregation there was met by protest outside of the church. He later met with select members of the protesters.

I only thought to post this story because Worlee did a post about this church in 2013. Of course it should be noted that it's unrelated to this recent news. But it came up for results you can see on this blog regarding popular posts here over the last 7 days. I wonder if Rauner's visit has people looking up any information about this church.