Gordon "Jay" Kinzler says his opponent's campaign is being funded by House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Gordon "Jay" Kinzler says his opponent's campaign is being funded by House Speaker Michael Madigan.
If nothing else, Gordon "Jay" Kinzler finds longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) to be practical.
“After all his years in Springfield, he knows a lot of people may not like him personally, but as for the ones that take all this money from him he knows they have to do what he says,” Kinzler, running against Rep. Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park) in the 46th District, recently told the DuPage Policy Journal. “For him, everything has a price.”
The Prairie State Wire recently reported over a slightly more than three-week period in September Madigan doled out at least $2.08 million to the campaigns of 25 state House candidates, all but assuring their loyalty in his ongoing quest to remain in power in Springfield.
“My opponent has taken over a million from Madigan and another $2 million from unions that aren’t even involved in the area where she lives,” Kinzler added. “Why would the unions do that other than having been instructed to do so by Madigan and him having promised them a favor? My opponent doesn’t even have a website, just about all the money she raises comes from Madigan.”
According to Wirepoints, all Madigan’s recent wheeling and dealing hasn’t ended there. The business and government website reports he recently received a $768,000 campaign donation from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union (AFSCME).
The contribution, hailed as the largest the organization has ever given to Madigan, comes at a time when the union remains locked in bitter contract negotiations with Gov. Bruce Rauner, where he two sides are reported to be as much as $3 billion apart in recent offers.
“I have no problems with unions per se, my mom and dad belonged to them,” Kinzler added. “The problem here is public sector unions now have so much power they’re skewering the overall health of this state by demanding huge paybacks from politicians like Madigan. I think everyone deserves fair pay, but many of these pension plans are based on politics that are out of control.”
The 46th House District includes all or parts of Addison, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Lombard and Villa Park.
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