Creepy Rauner Dems

CREEPY! Rauner Dems

Interesting to see who showed up Thursday for Rauner's photo shoot of “Democrats and Independents for Rauner” besides Mrs. Rauner. Only surprise was that Bruce's buddy Rahm wasn't in this picture, even though everyone knows he should be.

Interesting names on the list include:


Rahm/Daley pal, billionaire James Crown -- President of Henry Crown and Company, he serves on the Board of Directors of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and General Dynamics who sits on the Board of Trustees at the University of Chicago. Crown's the guy who bankrolled Stand For Children's invasion of IL and who sat at the table at Aspen with SFC's Jonah Edelman, bragging about how they had hoodwinked IEA and IFT leaders into backing the horrendous anti-union bill SB7. The very same IEA leaders currently attacking their critics still call the bill, "a model of collaboration".

Lula Ford – Former Chicago public school teacher, principal and CPS bureaucrat under Paul Vallas. She probably should have been named CEO after Arne Duncan, but was passed over by Mayor Daley when he appointed Ron Huberman (BTW, what ever happened to Huberman's Culture of Calm?-- I digress). I'm surprised that she's not supporting her old pal Vallas, Quinn's running mate. But I guess money talks & bullshit walks in this case. Then again, Vallas, like Rauner, is a Republicrat who swings either way and is only serving as window dressing on Quinn's campaign.

Charter school hustler Phyllis Lockett - Founding President and CEO of New Schools for Chicago, corporate type, former Executive Director of the Civic Consulting Alliance, she previously held marketing, sales and business development roles with IBM, Kraft Foods and General Mills.

Rev. James Meeks -- No surprise here. Like Rauner, he wants to turn IL into a right-to-work state. He's a big voucher supporter and deal-cutter supreme. Meeks claims he never heard of Rauner before Eden Martin, President of the Civic Committee called on Rauner’s behalf about five years ago to request a meeting. A gay-basher, Meeks was named one of the "leading black religious voices in the anti-gay movement" by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Newton Minnow -- Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission under President John F. Kennedy. Invoked JFK's name to explain why he's backing proto-fascist Rauner. Oh my!

And the list goes on. Excuse me while I go wash my hands.

HOLD YOUR NOSE...As much as Quinn has earned the enmity and distrust of teachers and all union workers with his support for the great pension grab, he will obviously get union backing in his race against billionaire union-buster Bruce Rauner.

I too will have to decide whether or not to  hold my nose and vote for Quinn even as he works to pauperize me, my family and thousands of other retirees, teachers, and public employees. Until we are able to radically reshape the political landscape in this city, state and nation, these will continue to be the kind of choices we have. The result -- most voters will stay home and this will likely be the most expensive race, with the lowest turnout in history. A democracy up for sale to the highest bidder.

If I do vote, I hope I don't end up standing in the Quinn voting line next to IEA Pres. Cinda Klickna. No telling what I might say. Instead of directing her venom against Rauner, she used her first post-primary evaluation of the union's electoral efforts to attack the “naysayers" who she claims "called our involvement in the primary’s ‘a fool errand’ and suggested it was a waste of time.” She referred to us as “those folks who root for our union to fail.”

Hmm. Wants the union to fail? Seems like she is doing a pretty good job of that on her own. Who is she referring to here, anyway? No doubt, her screed was aimed at union rank-and-file dissidents, like brother Fred, a retired teacher and former IEA local union leader who righteously objected to her bone-headed strategy of spending $3 million of union members' money to support Kirk Dillard, the man from ALEC, in the GOP primary. Dillard, who Klickna calls "a friend of education" returned the favor 10-fold by calling for a billion-dollar cut in CPS's budget and for a "scrubbing" of Medicaid. With friends like that...

We can only imagine how that money could be used right now in the current battle against Rauner, who will surely outspend Quinn in his effort to buy the guv's mansion. Or how about in next year's race for mayor. My god, $3 million just might swing it.