Clout Admissions: Rauner Attacked, Rauner Replies

In Monday’s Chicago Sun-Times, the lead story is that Bruce Rauner gave $250,000 to the Chicago prep school that he got his daughter admitted to.

The sub-headline above the article is "Gov hopeful gave big to Payton after pulling strings to get daughter into elite high school."

The sub-headline above the article is “Gov hopeful gave big to Payton after pulling strings to get daughter into elite high school.”

At 10:52 this morning, the following email from the Kirk Dillard campaign arrived:

Media Advosory

Dillard to hold media availability:
Sun Times Rauner investigation

1:30 – Pioneer Court, Chicago

LOMBARD, Ill. – Republican candidate for Governor Kirk Dillard will hold a media availability today to react to the Sun Times investigation into Bruce Rauner’s $250,000 contribution to Payton Prep after calling then-Schools CEO Arne Duncan to have his daughter admitted to the school.

Time: 1:30 p.m.

= = = = =
At 1:08 this afternoon, the following came from the Rauner campaign:

BRADY, DILLARD AND RUTHERFORD EXPOSED IN CLOUT SCANDAL

“Kirk Dillard is the worst type of career politician. He’s double-talking and has more clout baggage than O’Hare during a snowstorm. The fact is Kirk Dillard and the other career politicians repeatedly clouted people into the University of Illinois and never thought twice about it. Voters know he is a hypocrite and will reject him.” – Mike Schrimpf, Rauner Campaign Spokesperson

BRADY, DILLARD AND RUTHERFORD USED THEIR CLOUT AS STATE LAWMAKERS TO GAIN EDGE FOR POTENTIAL U. OF I. ENTRANTS

“The politicians have been named as part of an investigation by the Chicago Tribune into the use of clout in the admission process at the state’s flagship university. … Others on the list include: state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington; state Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa…” [The Pantagraph, Local lawmakers on alleged U of I ‘clout list’, 06/12/2009]

“In Order Of Most To Least %% Lawmaker # Requests # Known # Known Admissions Denials … Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) 7 3 1 …”  [Chicago Tribune, Who made admissions requests, 06/11/2009]

…University logs obtained by the Tribune show that Dillard’s name was tied to seven students on the clout list since 2005.” [Chicago Tribune, Bill would fire beleaguered U.ofI. trustees, 7/16/09]


Comments

Clout Admissions: Rauner Attacked, Rauner Replies — 6 Comments

  1. Still a lot of unanswered questions relative to Rouner but I do sense a lot of jealously of him by Republicans who do not have as much money as he does.

    If I had a daughter who missed school due to illness and as a consequence failed the entrance exam to a school but I had enough money to buy her a place at that school, I would.

    Who wouldn’t?

    The school clout thing is a non issue for me.

  2. Bruce Rauner’s response seems to be, “yea, I clouted my kid (into one of those public schools I hate, even though she lived out of district in one of the best public school districts in the country, and even though I ran a charter school that I chose not to put her in), but they used clout too!”

    Another way to say it…

    Bruce Rauner called his buddies in the Daley administration, asking Obama’s Sec of Education to enroll his daughter into the best school in Chicago, even though she was originally refused admittance.

    But he’s an outsider, right?

  3. What a joke. The news media no longer see the enormous duplicity in their reporting.

    Do you think if this happened to a Democrat that it would even make the news?

    The reporters wouldn’t even consider this a story at all.

    The people in paper news media continue to make themselves irrelevant to everyone but those who live in their own social circle.

    That circle is getting smaller every year.

    They don’t even see it as their ship continues to sink.

  4. Also interesting that this was first brought to the attention of bloggers last November.

    Why a Sun article now?

  5. So Rauner’s mouthpiece, the aptly named Schrimpf.

    Counters with a grade school response, by tattling on the rest of the schoolyard.

    Shrewd.

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