Chicago’s African-American community takes sides in Quinn vs. Rauner

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Some are calling a recent ad ran by Republican candidate Bruce Rauner’s campaign insulting, while others say the Gov. Pat Quinn challenger is using it as a diversion.
The ad, using 1987 interview footage, played on local radio airwaves, as well as television. It honed in on the late Mayor Harold Washington saying that he regretted hiring Quinn as the city’s revenue director.
“I would never appoint Pat Quinn to do anything,” said Washington, Chicago’s first Black mayor. “Pat Quinn is a totally and completely undisciplined individual who thinks this government is nothing but a large easel on which to do his PR work.
“He was dismissed; he should’ve been dismissed,” Washington said. “My only regret is that we hired him and kept him too long.”
As election time quickly approaches, the political attacks have become more aggressive. Quinn’s office released a statement from a coalition of leaders who have either worked with or supported the late Washington. They described the ad as “desperate.”
“Harold Washington would be rolling over in his grave to see this desperate commercial run by a billionaire who didn’t hire a single African-American executive at his own business and who wants to eliminate the minimum wage,” the group collectively said, which includes U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-1st), U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-2nd), U.S. Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez , U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-7th), Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Commissioner Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, Historian Timuel Black, Rev. Clay Evans, Jacky Grimshaw, and the Rev. Dr. B. Herbert Martin.
According to a Chicago Tribune article, Quinn said that the last time he spoke with Washington, the former mayor said to him, “you’re my friend, you’ll always be my friend, some day we’ll have a drink about this.” The news organization quotes Quinn saying that he “always did the right thing,” in his city job as revenue director.
WVON radio host Perri Small was once Washington’s assistant press secretary and she said the ad was poorly chosen, calling it “insulting.” Small said that it has no relevance to current times.
“What does it have to do with the social and economic issues we need to deal with in 2014,” said Small, a veteran journalist.
“[Rauner] is bringing up somebody who has been dead for almost 30 years,” she said, adding that many of today’s voters either weren’t born until after Washington passed or are too young to remember his political career.
But when it comes to Quinn’s political career, Dr. Willie Wilson, who is a businessman, philanthropist and chairman of the historical Chicago Baptist Institute International, said the lack of progress from Quinn has him fed up and has led him to switch parties.
Wilson said he has supported Quinn for many years, but after years of disappointment, he now believes what Washington said about the current governor almost three decades ago.
“I have had five years of failure,” said Wilson, who has been a Democrat all of his life, but cannot take another chance with Quinn. “When Quinn does the commercial of him cutting grass, well he did more than that, he cut the social programs that deal with drugs and alcohol, a lot has been cut out.
“Those agencies hardly don’t exist, the ones that do are barely holding on; this here is totally unacceptable to me so why would we want to give Quinn another two years”?
Like Wilson, not everyone is upset about the ad, even though some are heavily criticizing Rauner for his decision to run it.
“The ad is fair game,” National Black Wall Street Chicago President Mark Allen said. “This is not the first time in 30 years that this ad has surfaced.”
Rauner’s campaign office released a statement from former Washington employees and African-American leaders such as Wilson, Gil Walker, Lee Walker, Pastor Corey Brooks and Esquire Jerome Butler. The statement was in response to the criticism some are giving Rauner for running the ad:
“Pat Quinn has been a failure for the African-American community. Whether on job creation, education or out-of-control violence, he made promises and broke all of them.
The fact is Bruce Rauner isn’t a Johnny-come-lately to our community; he and his wife, Diana, have been working in the community for years building schools, helping teachers and empowering parents, and helping those less fortunate.
What Harold Washington said then was accurate and it holds true today.”
As for today, Allen said the campaign isn’t about Washington’s legacy, but about getting the votes.
And when it comes to the campaign, Rauner has been criticized for a comment he made earlier this year about minimum wage. He was quoted saying that he wanted to make Illinois’ minimum wage $7.25, instead of the current $8.25.
His investment firm has also been scrutinized for allegedly participating in a scheme to get around being accountable for several deaths at a chain of nursing homes. The federal trial began Sept. 22 in Florida.
“What happened in those nursing homes was a tragedy,” said Mike Schrimpf, a spokesman for Rauner. “Bruce is confident that his former investment firm was not at fault and is comfortable with the court sorting that out.”
Rauner said he wants to eliminate the income tax hike and make education and social service the focus.
Under Rauner, Wilson said he hopes to see more economic empowerment in the Black community and health clinics in the neighborhoods.
However, Secretary of State Jesse White does not think Rauner can do the job.
“Gov. Quinn supported President Obama in expanding healthcare to our community through the Affordable Care Act and he took Medicaid money to expand coverage,” White said in a recent op-ed. “Rauner mocked the president, called health care expansion a “disaster” and has vowed to remove Medicaid coverage from those newly insured.”
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, of Operation Rainbow Push, said the election is paramount for the Black community. He said there are still too many unregistered voters.
“The stakes for us are incredibly high and the opportunity is great,” Jackson said. “We have the power, we have to assert ourselves.”
Voter registration for the Nov. 4 general election ends Oct. 7.

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