New Ads Intensify Attacks On Bruce Rauner

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 21, 2014 5:40PM

Image via Illinois Freedom campaign video scr.eengrab

Businessman and Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner is dipping into his own bank accounts once again after a political action committee launched a $2 million ad campaign aimed at hurting Rauner’s chances of winning next month’s GOP primary by reminding voters of the “populist” Rauner’s venture capitalist past.

The group Illinois Freedom PAC launched a television ad Tuesday highlighting Rauner’s involvement in the firm GTCR—the “R” stands for “Rauner.” Rauner retired from the firm last October to focus on his campaign.

The ads by Illinois Freedom are obviously modeled to frame Rauner as a corporate raider who made millions by downsizing companies in an endless chase for the bottom line, similar to the connections between Mitt Romney and Bain Capital. To wit:

Illinois Freedom does not mention in this ad that GTCR's investment isn't as cut and dried as it seems and many of the abuse and neglect judgments found in favor of the plaintiffs were later either overturned or placed on hold, and that the court-appointed receiver in other cases simply stopped representing the firm.

Another TV ad attempts to tie Rauner to Stuart Levine, the former Rod Blagojevich confidant who pleaded guilty to several corruption charges. Levine was paid $25,000 a month by a firm owned by Rauner while sitting on a teachers’ pension board. Rauner earned over $100 million the past three years from GTCR’s pension investments at a time where Illinois’ underfunded pensions are the worst in the nation.

Last week a 12-page ad was mailed to 500,000 Republican voters in Illinois to “hammer” home Rauner’s wealth and that he isn’t the hike-up-the-bootstraps man he claims.

Rauner responded to the attacks by pumping another $501,000 into his own campaign fund. Rauner has raised $11.5 million for his campaign since he announced he was running for governor last summer. Most of that money has come from corporate interests; Rauner has donated $3.75 million to his own campaign. By comparison, Rauner’s opponents Dan Rutherford, Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady have raised a combined $1.7 million.