QUINN CRIES FOUL OVER RAUNER CAMPAIGN DONATION, BUT WON’T TALK ABOUT HIS OWN TROUBLES

The donation from Griffin, founder of the hedge fund Citadel, is believed to be the largest individual donation to an Illinois candidate since the Illinois State Board of Elections began maintaining electronic records.

At a luncheon in Chicago’s Chinatown, Quinn branded Rauner and Griffin as ““a couple of billionaires can collaborate to try and buy an election.”

But when asked about his own troubles, Quinn had very little to say.

Chicago Sun-Times reporter Brian Slodysko has more on Quinn unloading on the campaign contribution Rauner received.

Writes Slodysko:

Quinn pontificated at length about a recent $2.5 million donation made to the Rauner campaign by hedge-fund CEO Ken Griffin, lamenting that “a couple of billionaires can collaborate to try and buy an election.”

But when the subject changed to recent news reports suggesting political insiders, with ties to his administration, benefited from the largesse of state government, the governor didn’t have much to say. 

“I believe in doing things right all the time, and if there’s anything that isn’t going the right direction, I get to the bottom of it. That’s what I do,” Quinn said. He added: “Gotta go,” before cutting off an impromptu exchange with reporters following a luncheon in Chinatown.

The governor’s abbreviated remarks came after the Rauner campaign went on the attack Monday morning, saying Quinn has “followed in Rod Blagojevich’s footsteps in misusing state funds for political purposes, rewarding political insiders with pay-to-play contracts and skirting federal hiring rules to take care of political cronies.”

In 2009, Quinn signed Illinois’ first-ever limits on campaign donations, capping the donation limit at $5,300. But there’s a caveat. If a candidate uses more than $250,000 in personal funds, that limit is lifted and donations of any amount can be made.

That’s what Rauner did and he’s just cashing in on that loophole. Quinn is too, as Chicago Tribune reporter Rick Pearson points out.

Writes Pearson:

“There should be reasonable limits on campaign donations and it should be government of the many not the money and that’s what these two are trying to do right here,” Quinn told reporters after appearing before the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce.

Rauner, an equity investor who has put nearly $6.6 million of his personal funds into his bid for governor, reported last week his campaign had received $2.5 million from Griffin, founder and CEO of the Chicago based hedge-fund firm, Citadel.

Griffin’s donation was the largest single contribution given to a state candidate at least since the State Board of Elections began keeping electronic records two decades ago. Overall, Griffin has given Rauner’s campaign nearly $3.6 million.

“It was a long battle to get campaign finance reform and that has been sabotaged now by the Rauner campaign. Rauner took contributions now far above the limits and that is a really tragedy I think for our state and our democracy,” Quinn said.

“I believe in campaign finance limits. When he broke the limits, I think he really did a disservice to the democracy of Illinois and we cannot have billionaires trying to buy their way into Illinois politics,” the Democratic governor said.

He said Rauner and Griffin were trying to “collaborate to try and buy an election.”

Quinn’s campaign has repeatedly tried to label Rauner as a “billionaire.” Rauner has said he is not a billionaire and he pegs his net worth as more than $500 million.

Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf said Quinn’s criticism belies the fact that the governor also has received money from wealthy donors.

“While ducking responsibility for misusing state funds for political purposes, Quinn’s taken more than $1 million from Fred Eychaner and millions more from Springfield special interest groups,” Schrimpf said.

*Ken Griffin is the husband of Anne Dias Griffin, founding investor of Reboot Illinois. Ken Griffin is not affiliated with Reboot Illinois.

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Brendan Bond is a staff writer at Reboot Illinois. He is a graduate of Loyola University, where he majored in journalism. Brendan takes a look each day at the Land of Lincoln Lowdown and it’s often pretty low. He examines the property tax rates that drive Illinoisans insane. You can findReboot on Facebook and on Twitter @rebootillinois.