Rauner donated 'The Godfather' author's papers to Dartmouth, in an offer it couldn't refuse

2018年4月5日星期四

Rauner donated 'The Godfather' author's papers to Dartmouth, in an offer it couldn't refuse

Topspin

Gov. Bruce Rauner and first lady Diana Rauner have donated "The Godfather" author Mario Puzo's papers to Dartmouth University, where they will be housed in a library bearing the governor's name.

The governor's alma mater suggests he made Dartmouth's library an offer it couldn't refuse, and the school quotes Rauner as calling Michael Corleone its "most famous fictional alumnus."

"We love the fact that Puzo's papers document the creation of Dartmouth's most famous fictional alumnus, Michael Corleone, and that they will live for centuries to come with the papers of so many prominent, and real, alumni!" Rauner is quoted as saying.

A Rauner spokeswoman didn't comment how he acquired the collection or why he decided to donate it.

But he's had the mob on his mind before. Rauner has accused his chief political nemesis, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, of running a "mafia protection racket."

According to the university, the collection includes "draft manuscripts, correspondence, and other records from Puzo's long career as a novelist and screenwriter — even the 1965 Olympia typewriter on which he likely wrote 'The Godfather.' "

What's on tap

*Mayor Rahm Emanuel has no public events scheduled.

*Gov. Rauner has no public events scheduled.

*Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti will award a state Biodiversity Field Trip Grant to a school in Downstate Stanford.

*A state Senate budget committee will meet at the Capitol, and a House panel will talk about Medicaid at the Bilandic Building.

*Former U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon will lead a Northwestern University panel discussion about gun violence in Chicago.

From the notebook

*Every vote matters: One of two Democrats vying to take on Republican Cook County Board Commissioner Timothy Schneider of Bartlett declared victory this week, after he was 12 votes ahead when provisional ballot counting ended Monday.

Barring any last-minute hitches before the county election results are certified Tuesday, Kevin Morrison of Elk Grove Village will face Schneider, chairman of the state GOP and an ally of Gov. Rauner, in November.

Democrats figure Schneider could be vulnerable, given that Hillary Clinton got 57 percent of the vote in his northwest suburban district in 2016, compared with 37 percent for President Donald Trump.

"The status quo isn't working for our families," Morrison said in his statement declaring victory in the primary.

Schneider enthusiastically cast the state Republican Party's votes for Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention. On Wednesday, he acknowledged Trump fared poorly in his district, but said that was a countywide phenomenon and not an indication of a broader political shift. "My district is historically Republican, and I believe it will remain that way," he said.

Morrison is a 28-year-old former special projects coordinator for Democratic U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg. He's backed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — a union that Rauner has battled and pejoratively referred to as "Af-Scammy."

Schneider, 62, is a fiscally conservative golf course owner who in 2016 voted against the now-repealed county pop tax and in 2015 against the county's 1-percentage-point increase in the sales tax. Over the years, he's also often been the lone "no" vote against county worker labor contracts. (Hal Dardick)

*Wilson running against Raum Emmanual? Businessman Willie Wilson made news Wednesday when he said he contributed $100,000 to his 2019 campaign for mayor, lifting the state campaign contribution limits in the race.

As part of a repeat City Hall run – he ran unsuccessfully in 2015 – Wilson has launched www.williewilsonformayor.com. On that site, his campaign posted a news release about the contribution, spelling Emanuel's name incorrectly multiple times, including spelling Emanuel as "Emmanual" and Rahm as "Raum."

The announcement also said Wilson was running to "rid Chicago of the worst mayor it has ever had" while alleging Emanuel would spend $50 million on his re-election bid. Emanuel raised $24.4 million for his 2015 re-election. (Bill Ruthhart)

*Durbin goes after Sinclair: Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin on Wednesday sent a letter to the chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group, which recently directed its TV anchors across the country to read a script about "fake news stories."

Durbin wrote that the company's direction "contradicts" what a Sinclair vice president said at a November 2017 with the Democratic senator's staff.

"In response to concerns raised by my staff about the consequences of Sinclair-mandated programming on local reporting, Sinclair representatives repeatedly represented that Sinclair does not dictate the words or content local reporters deliver and that any national content distributed on Sinclair-owned stations is delivered by an identified national correspondent," Durbin's letter reads.

The company owns multiple TV stations in Illinois and is in the process of buying current WGN-TV owner Tribune Media.

*Quick Spin: When asked about President Donald Trump's plan to send National Guard troops to the U.S. border with Mexico, a spokeswoman for Rauner replied: "We are not aware of having received any such request."

What we're writing

*Lisa Madigan pushes for bill to require training before treating sexual assault patients.

*Emanuel, challengers won't have fundraising limits in 2019 mayoral election.

*Illinois courts clash: Does limiting juvenile offenders' social media use step on free speech?

*Illinois Obamacare sign-ups down, but so were costs for many.

*Amazon HQ2 competition could be "monument to high-tech arrogance and tax-break favoritism," group warns

What we're reading

*Loyola nontenured faculty members go on strike.

*Reputed mobster pleads guilty after recorded talking gleefully about upcoming home invasion.

*Lawsuit: "Piping hot" sauce squirted from lasagna at Orland restaurant, severely burned diner's hand.

Follow the money

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