網頁

2018年1月25日 星期四

Rauner stays out of public eye, avoids questions about mansion meeting

Catch up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield.

Chicago Tribune

View In Browser

January 25, 2018

chicagotribune.com

Morning Spin

Topspin

For the third day in a row, Gov. Bruce Rauner doesn't have any public events scheduled, so reporters won't get a chance to ask him about a lawsuit that says he had a 2015 meeting about an investment on the back porch of the governor's mansion.

That gathering on taxpayer property came to light Tuesday after a lawsuit filed by former investment partner Harreld N. "Kip" Kirkpatrick III was unsealed. It says Rauner and Kirkpatrick disagree on how a $67.5 million settlement from other court proceedings was divvied up.

On Wednesday, Rauner's attorneys fired back in a court filing accusing Kirkpatrick of "a continuing pattern of self-dealing," according to the Sun-Times. And The Associated Press reported that the governor's official calendar shows a scheduled meeting with Kirkpatrick at the mansion on the date in question.

Rauner stayed out of the public eye Wednesday, and the last public appearance listed on his schedule was Monday, the day before the lawsuit details went public. On Tuesday, spokeswoman Rachel Bold said in an email that the governor "disputes Mr. Kirkpatrick's allegations, including Mr. Kirkpatrick's characterizations of any conversations."

Here's why the alleged meeting matters: Rauner has said he committed to following "blind trust procedures" to make sure there was no conflict of interest between his personal investments and public duties. Asked in October why he was fighting to keep the Kirkpatrick lawsuit sealed, the governor said he doesn't control his investments.

"So to be clear, my assets, all my investments, are in a trust that I don't control," Rauner said. "I did that when I became governor. I can't comment on any business disputes. That gets settled in its own process."

Asked if the "blind trust" was the reason the lawsuit had been sealed, Rauner said, "I can't even tell you why. I mean, I don't really have much to do with that."

The governor's office did not answer directly when asked whether Rauner or his staff had any concerns about conducting private business on state property. Rauner's office did not provide copies of the governor's schedule from the day of either alleged meeting.

The full lawsuit is here.

What's on tap

*Mayor Rahm Emanuel is in New York and has no public events.

*Gov. Rauner has no public events.

*Democratic governor candidates: state Sen. Daniel Biss will meet voters in Glenview; businessman J.B. Pritzker and running mate Rep. Juliana Stratton talk gun violence and jobs on the West Side.

From the notebook

*Off by a digit: It was to be a "rollout of major endorsements," according to an advisory sent out by the campaign of Jeanne Ives, the three-term Wheaton lawmaker challenging Gov. Rauner in the Republican primary.

But when a reporter arrived at the Union League Club of Chicago for the scheduled 1:30 p.m. event, a person at the front desk said the Ives news conference had already occurred — at 11:30 a.m.

The Ives campaign apologized for the mistake and released video of the endorsers as well as the candidate.

For the record, Ives picked up the backing of Republican state Reps. Peter Breen of Lombard, Allen Skillicorn of East Dundee, Tom Morrison of Palatine and Margo McDermed of Mokena. She already had the support of Reps. David McSweeney of Barrington Hills and Barb Wheeler of Crystal Lake, along with state Sens. Kyle McCarter of Lebanon and Tim Bivins of Dixon. (Rick Pearson)

*Biss ads compare rivals to Trump and Rauner: Biss launched a series of campaign ads that seek to try to tie President Donald Trump and GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner to Biss rivals J.B. Pritzker and Chris Kennedy.

The 30-second ad and three 15-second ads are based on a similar theme — a copy machine displaying side-by-side pictures of Trump and Rauner, followed by side-by-side pictures of Democratic contenders Pritzker and Kennedy.

The longer ad features a female narrator who says: "Trump and Rauner. Two rich guys who scammed the system to avoid taxes. Now these Democrats (Pritzker and Rauner) got caught copying them with tax scams of their own."

The copy machine unplugs, and the ad turns positive as the narrator says: "Daniel Biss is the only Democrat for governor who will make billionaires pay their fair share in taxes to fully fund public schools and level the playing field. And only Biss has a progressive record money can't buy. Daniel Biss, the middle-class governor." 

The reference to Pritzker and Kennedy involves assessment reductions each man received. Pritzker got a property tax break on a neighboring Gold Coast mansion he bought that was deemed "uninhabitable" over renovations that included disconnected toilets. Commercial development that Kennedy oversees on family property at Wolf Point also received an assessment reduction.

As for the tax scams alleged to have been conducted by Trump, the campaign points to a 2016, article in The New York Times based on documents the newspaper obtained.

The article said that during the 1990s, Trump avoided reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in taxable income "by using a tax avoidance maneuver so dubious his own lawyers advised him that the Internal Revenue Service would most likely declare it improper if he were audited."

As for Rauner, the Biss campaign points to a CBS-Ch. 2 report about property assessment reductions the Republican governor received on his downtown Chicago residence that were sought by his condo board. 

The various shorter versions of the ad, involving the issues of tax returnstax reductions and experience to govern can be seen here. 

Biss, meanwhile, has received the endorsement of the Illinois members of MoveOn.org Political Action. (Rick Pearson)

*Who's taking whom?It's tradition for members of Congress to make a statement when they invite guests to the Capitol for the president's State of the Union Address next week, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville on Wednesday got his announcement out early.

The Naperville Democrat said he's bringing Mexico-born Ana Campa Castillo, 26, a "Dreamer" from Joliet. Dreamers, brought to the U.S. illegally as children, had been protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Last year, President Donald Trump acted to phase out DACA beginning March 5, but the decision is on hold because of a federal judge's ruling.

Castillo left Mexico City for the U.S. when she was 6 years old, graduated from Bolingbrook High School and is studying psychology at Joliet Junior College, according to Foster. (Katherine Skiba)

What we're writing

*Ald. Ed Burke blocks property tax appeals tied to his law firm, critics call conflict.

*Raoul takes heat over tobacco industry contributions in attorney general forum.

*Preckwinkle, Fioretti won't rule out tax hikes, clash over Berrios.

*In D.C., Emanuel rips Trump on sanctuary cities, infrastructure plan. Here's the national AP story on the Trump administration's sanctuary cities move.

*In first interview, new U.S. Attorney John Lausch declines to comment on Trump's Chicago tweets.

*41 "Dreamers" talk about their experiences and DACA.

*Emanuel administration joins surfers in suing U.S. Steel over toxic chromium spills in Lake Michigan.

*Janice Jackson appointed new CPS CEO, replacing Claypool.

*Divvy to lower daily prices and add longer-ride option as city talks with dockless bike-share companies.

*Midway, O'Hare see record passenger counts, but number of flights down slightly at Chicago airports, city says.

What we're reading

*Video shows cop Rialmo from controversial fatal shooting decking two in unrelated bar fight.

*Former Peoria-area man to get plaque in New York museum. (And here is a Jim Thome connection to Illinois politics.)

*7 places where a kid can no longer be a kid.

Follow the money

*Liberty Principles PAC reported making 45 payments for mail and advertising in Illinois House races, including Burr Ridge Village President Mickey Straub's challenge to House Republican leader Jim Durkin. The biggest individual payment: $60,000 on TV advertising to support Straub.

*Track Illinois campaign contributions in real time here and here.

Beyond Chicago

*Trump goes to Davos.

*A guide to FBI conspiracy theories.

*Nassar to die behind bars.

*Scientists have cloned monkeys

沒有留言:

張貼留言