Tag: University of Illinois system

Bruce Rauner’s handling of public notifications regarding the Quincy veterans home legionella outbreak. “One of the problems with doing these things in the context of a political fight, a lot of times those factual questions get muddied by the political ones,” Mooney said. “There needs to be an investigation to determine if laws were violated and whether residents of the home, their families, veterans’ home staff, and the public were informed in a timely and appropriate manner.” Fourteen people have died since 2014 at the facility because of the respiratory illness caused from the bacteria. “The team determined the right time [to notify the public and families of the outbreak]. "This is nothing more than the politicization of the devastating deaths of Illinois veterans to distract from J.B. Pritzker’s scheme to defraud Illinois taxpayers hours before a debate,” Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Travis Sterling said. The report on the alleged Pritzker tax fraud by Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard concluded that Pritzker was involved in a scheme that included “obtaining money by means of false representations and, in executing the scheme, the responsible parties caused checks to be issued by the Cook County Treasurer and delivered by U.S. Mail according to the direction thereon.” Pritzker said the leaked memo was politically motivated. “There was nothing new in this report,” Pritzker said. “This was a renovation project that was under way. Rauner said Pritzker defrauded Cook County taxpayers and is the epitome of Illinois corruption and self-dealing. One thing Mooney expects to also be a factor is national politics motivating voters to head to the polls, but midterm elections typically have lower turnout than in a presidential election year anyway, he said.

Barack Obama has taken another swipe at Donald Trump as he called the upcoming US midterm elections "a chance to restore some sanity in our politics”. The former US president has been back on the campaign trail in support of fellow Democrats ahead of the crucial vote. "When you look at the arc of American history, there's always been a push and pull between those who want to go forward and those who want to look back, between those who want to divide and those are seeking to bring people together, between those who promote the politics of hope and those who exploit the politics of fear," he said. "If we don't step up, things can get worse," he told the audience at the Anaheim Convention Centre. "In two months, we have the chance to restore some sanity to our politics. We have the chance to flip the House of Representatives and make sure there are real checks and balances in Washington." Speaking about the Democrat campaign, Mr Obama said to loud cheers: "We're going to put on our marching shoes, we're going to start knocking on some doors, we're going to start making some calls." But California Republicans said Mr Obama's appearance would have little impact, and may even help their party. "It reminds the Republicans why these midterms are important." Mr Obama is expected to deliver a similar message in another campaign speech in Cleveland on Thursday.