Now or Never PAC (NON-PAC) Justifies Ad Tammy Duckworth Wants Off the Air

A press release from the Now or Never PAC:

NOW OR NEVER PAC

DUCKWORTH (IL-8) TRIES TO GET NOW OR NEVER PAC AD PULLED, CLAIMING IT IS FALSE DESPITE OVERWHELMING PROOF THAT AD IS FACTUAL

Tammy Duckworth

Democratic Congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth (IL-8) is attempting to get ads produced by Now or Never PAC pulled from the airwaves.

Duckworth has been contacting stations claiming that the the PAC’s ad makes “false claims” about Duckworth’s record and is not “accurate.”

The ad in question, entitled “Better Off,” was released by Now or Never PAC last week:

NON-PAC Television Advertisement: “Better Off”

Duckworth: I think that the people in this district, and especially businesses, are better off.

VO: Better off?  Come on, Tammy!

Hard-working families and businesses are struggling.

Better off?

Duckworth support Governor Blagojevich’s budget that increased taxes and spending by billions.

As a “Blago” appointee, an audit found Duckworth was guilty of misusing or misreporting four-million dollars of taxpayer money.

Tammy Duckworth, a Blagojevich pal who supports higher taxes and wasteful spending.

Maybe Tammy’s better off, but we aren’t.

VO: Now or Never PAC is responsible for the content of this advertising

= = = = =

Duckworth is trying to discredit the advertisement and Now or Never PAC by calling the television spot “false.”  But, the following source information makes it the case against Duckworth clear.

Claim: Tammy Duckworth thinks that the people in her district, and especially businesses, are better off.

Fact: On September 14th, 2012, during a televised 8th Congressional District Debate on WFLD Fox Chicago, Tammy Duckworth said “I think that the people in this district, and especially businesses, are better off.”

Source:
1.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8kN2taXbtA (Begin Minute 45)

Claim: Hard working families and businesses are struggling.

Fact: Unemployment in the United States has been above 8% for 43 months in a row.

Source:
1.    http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2012/sep/14/phil-gingrey/unemployment-rate-comparable-great-depression-cong/

Claim: Tammy Duckworth supported Governor Blagojevich’s higher taxes and spending.

Fact:  Tammy Duckworth Advocated for Governor Blagojevich’s Fiscal Year 2008 Budget.  Governor Blagojevich’s 2008 budget included a “gross receipts tax” on businesses, and called for spending to be increased by $2.3 Billion over the previous year’s spending.

Sources:

1.    Support for 2008 Blagojevich Budget: Kurt Erickson, “Duckworth: A ‘Perfect Storm’ Builds On Vets Care,” The [Bloomington, IL] Pantagraph, 3/25/07

2.    Tax Increase in 2008 Blagojevich Budget: Courtney Klemm, “VA Director Advocates For ‘Families Initiative’,” [Illinois] Herald & Review, 3/23/07

3.    Increased Spending in 2008 Blagojevich Budget: Chrissy Mancini, “Analysis Of The Fiscal Year 2008 Illinois General Fund Budget Proposal,” Center For Tax And Budget Accountability, May 2007

Claim: Tammy Duckworth was an appointee of Governor Blagojevich, and an audit found that Tammy Duckworth was guilty of misusing or misreporting $4 million of taxpayer funds.

Fact: Tammy Duckworth was appointed by former Governor Rod Blagojevich, and was the Executive Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs during the period of time in which an audit was conducted by the Illinois Office of the Auditor General.  The audit of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs uncovered that more than $4 million in taxpayer funds had been misused or improperly reported.

Sources:

1.    Tammy Duckworth was appointed to be the Executive Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs by former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich: http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=3&RecNum=5542

2.    Tammy Duckworth was the Executive Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs from 12/15/06 – 2/6/09, and she was the Executive Director during the period in which the Illinois Office of the Auditor General conducted an audit: http://www.auditor.illinois.gov/Audit-Reports/Compliance-Agency-List/DVA/FY08-DVA-Comp-full.pdf. Pages 1 and 77.

3.    The Illinois Office of the Auditor General found more than $4 million in misused or misreported funds in an audit of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs while Tammy Duckworth was the Executive Director of the Department: http://www.auditor.illinois.gov/Audit-Reports/Compliance-Agency-List/DVA/FY08-DVA-Comp-full.pdf.  Pages 11 – 43.

4.    The Illinois Office of the Auditor General states on Page 7 of their audit that “The management of State of Illinois, Department of Veterans’ Affairs – Central Office is responsible for compliance with these requirements.”  http://www.auditor.illinois.gov/Audit-Reports/Compliance-Agency-List/DVA/FY08-DVA-Comp-full.pdf  Page 7.

5.    Therefore, Tammy Duckworth was the Executive Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, appointed by Gov. Blagojevich, during the period of time in which Illinois Office of the Auditor General found more than $4 million in misused or misreported funds.  Further, the Illinois Office of the Auditor General expressed in their audit that it is the responsibility of the Management of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs Central Office to comply with the regulations which were found deficient in the audit.  As the Executive Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Tammy Duckworth was the manager for the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and therefore she was responsible for the deficiencies found in the audit.

The Now or Never Political Action Committee (NON-PAC) will fight to keep the ads on the air, despite Duckworth’s convenient memory-lapse about her time at the Department of Veterans Affairs and her comments that people in her state and district are “better off.”


Comments

Now or Never PAC (NON-PAC) Justifies Ad Tammy Duckworth Wants Off the Air — 10 Comments

  1. You can get false ads taken off the air?

    Dee Beaubien should immediately get that totally false McSweeney-says-Beaubien-says -the-tax-increase-is-fair ad taken down immediately.

  2. While I admire Tammy’s military service, I can not think that she is now anything more than a schill for not only Obama, but also Madigan, Emanuel, Quinn and the rest of the corrupt Illinois Democratic politicians and some corrupt Illinois Republican politicians.

  3. Jim you have it all figured out correctly’

    She is to obama as dee is to madigan.

    The difference is with Illinois most all if not all Democrats are corrupt after being trained by madigan,

    Get him, quinn and cullerton ouyt and there is a chance Illinois could be turned around.

    You need voters to vote for the candidate not the party.

  4. Today Duckworth blew off the forum with the Schaumburg Business Association. If she spent more time actually in the district in front of voters, she probably wouldn’t have to nitpick commercials.

  5. I walk IL-8 often and notice the abandoned and run down homes.

    I talk with the people and hear how they are out of work or struggling to get buy.

    I heard from a neighbor about a man who was living on his front porch because the interior of his home was deemed unsafe by Elgin.

    They then kicked him off the porch.

    I see the businesses that have closed, many of them recently and one within my family.

    Look at the amount of shopping plazas that are not full.

    Is this prosperity?

    Tammy is out of touch with reality. It is a shame that as voters with let her get away with this type of rhetoric.

  6. I’m sorry you are seeing so much hardship Chris- Congressman Joe Walsh called for the constitution to be read aloud in congress.

    Didn’t that turn things around for folks?

  7. Joe, I am unsure why you are bringing up Joe Walsh unless you are just trying to change the subject.

    My point is we are hurting and Tammy doesn’t get it. How anyone can vote for her after her comments mentioned above is beyond me.

  8. This ad alleges that “an audit found that Duckworth was guilty of misusing or misreporting $4 million dollars of taxpayer money.” Here’s a link to the actual audit report: http://www.auditor.illinois.gov/Audit-Reports/Compliance-Agency-List/DVA/FY08-DVA-Comp-full.pdf .

    The story about the $4 million is on pages 42 and 43 of the audit.

    It says that the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs obtained a grant of over $4 million grant from the federal government under the State Home Construction Grant Program.

    The money was used properly for its designated purpose, which was to construct improvements to the Veterans Home in LaSalle, Illinois.

    The LaSalle Veterans Home is a 200 bed facility that provides skilled nursing care to veterans who need these services.

    The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs made an important contribution to the success of the construction project by obtaining the grant, and by enlisting the expertise of the Illinois Capital Development Board for the implementation of the project.

    The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs knew that it did not have the architects and engineers that would be needed to properly oversee a construction project like this, so it promptly passed the grant money through to the Illinois Capital Development Board which does have the appropriate expertise.

    The construction project was successfully completed, and the audit report does not imply that any money was “misused,” or that anyone was “guilty” of any criminal act.

    Instead, the audit indicates that in a financial report, the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs initially missed an opportunity to report the small but important role that it played in the successful completion of this construction project.

    The audit says that the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs later corrected that omission in its financial report.

    I am commenting only on the Now or Never PAC’s allegation that Tammy Duckworth is guilty of misusing or misreporting $4 million.

    Other people might wish to comment about the other claims made in the ad.

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