Carbondale, IL— Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney blasted the latest proposal by his Republican challenger State Senator Bill Brady today. In one of the few times that he has given any insight into his budget plan, Brady suggested that if elected governor, he would press for greater tax cuts for businesses.

“Brady is now trying to bring back ‘Reaganomics’ at the state level, forgetting that Ronald Reagan gave us the highest federal deficits in our nation’s history at the time,” Whitney commented. “We can’t afford any of Bill Brady’s fuzzy math and a new experiment in ‘trickle down economics’ when we know that doesn’t work. We need real solutions to the budget crisis.”

Whitney elaborated that “one problem is that Brady will be destroying even more public sector jobs due to the higher deficit and his proposed spending cuts, which will have a spillover effect on private sector retailers, causing even more job losses. There is no reason to believe that the plan will create more jobs than it will destroy.”

“Second, we know from experience at the federal level that some employers will game the system by either claiming the tax credit for jobs they were going to create anyway, or by firing permanent employees and then rehiring ‘new’ employees, or in some cases, every couple of months repeating the process and hiring new temporary employees to fill the same positions and grab as many of the tax credits as they can. Thus, they will not really be creating a net increase in employment. It will be next to impossible to police such practices to stop abuses, especially by a state government that is already strained to the breaking point.”

Whitney concluded that “from start to finish, this is a horrible proposal. It is bad for the budget, bad for the economy and bad for working people. Under the guise of being a jobs plan, this really amounts to another taxpayer subsidy for private profiteering and big business. That’s Bill Brady’s real agenda. Working people shouldn’t fall for this snake oil. I remain the only candidate who actually has a plan.”

Carbondale, IL— Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney reacted with suspicion to the recent staff changes in Governor Pat Quinn’s administration. On August 13,  Quinn terminated the employment of Executive Inspector General James Wright. On Sunday, August 22, Quinn’s Chief of Staff Jerry Stermer resigned after using his state email address for campaign correspondence.

“I applaud Chief of Staff Stermer for acting appropriately. Anyone can make a mistake and he did the right thing by recognizing that he had committed an ethical violation, and reporting it promptly” Whitney remarked.

“However, this now raises questions about the timing of Governor Quinn’s termination of Inspector General Wright ten days ago, since that occurred on the same day that Wright recommended that the Attorney General file a complaint against Stermer with the Executive Ethics Commission. Governor Quinn owes the people of Illinois an explanation for the firing of James Wright.”

Whitney concluded that “Illinois is still suffering from both the practice and the reputation of being a state in which ethics is a new concept. Firing one of the state’s top ethics enforcers on the same day that he takes action against one of the governor’s top aides doesn’t help matters. At a minimum, it appears to be another example of poor judgment on the part of the incumbent governor. I’m not sure how Quinn can keep running for office at this point. It’s kind of hard to run after you’ve shot yourself in the foot as many times as he has.”

Carbondale, IL—Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney today released a position briefing on 20 crucial issues in Illinois. The positions include (they follow this release):

State Budget                       Taxation                    Economy & Job Development

Education                             Public Pensions     Government/Public Sector

Gambling                              Death Penalty          Legalization of Marijuana

Conceal & Carry                 Public Safety           Campaign Finance Reform

Ethics in Government       Redistricting            Running the Executive Branch

Reproductive Rights         Immigration              LGBT Rights

Environment                        Militarism and War

Whitney poll numbers are rising in the latest Public Policy Polling that came out last week. He registered 11 percent in that poll showing Republican Bill Brady ahead of incumbent governor Pat Quinn.

Rich Whitney said, “This issue briefing covers some of the most crucial issues that Illinoisans care about. For instance on the controversial issue of taxes, Whitney asserts, “The issue is not whether we need an income tax increase; the issue is how we make our tax system fairer.”

On the issue of ethics in government, Whitney said, “…that all non-policy-making state jobs be selected on the basis of objective criteria by an independent bureau. I also promise to appoint an Inspector General from an opposition party, to prevent and root out illegal job patronage and help remove the cloud of corruption over our state.”

On the very crucial issue of education, Whitney was forthright in stating, “I want to go beyond the current budget dilemma and make a major public investment into education, so that we can achieve the goal of providing high quality educational opportunities for all, not only from pre-K – 12, but beyond.”

Rich Whitney makes his and the Green Party’s agenda clear in this briefing. Some items are more controversial than others, but the briefing document clearly draws a line in the sand between Whitney and the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor.

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Carbondale, IL—Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney will celebrate the opening of his newest campaign office this Saturday, August 21^st, in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago.  The grand opening celebration will take place from 2 PM to 4 PM at 516 E. 47^th Street. The Whitney campaign also has offices in the Logan Square area of Chicago and in downstate Carbondale. Members of the media and the general public are invited to attend.

Dubbed the “Black Metropolis” in the early part of the 20^th century, the area has been referred to as the center of African-American culture in the city of Chicago.  For Whitney, the location for the new facility made perfect sense. “The new office on 47^th street addresses a number of needs for both the campaign and the residents of Bronzeville. Currently, we have very little name recognition in this part of the city. By basing our South Side operations in this office, we will be able to effectively increase our presence in a large part of the city. Furthermore, we will be able to contribute to the revitalization of the neighborhood by opening this office.”

Whitney concluded that “this historic part of Chicago has been ignored for too long by the politicians of Illinois. These residents are an energetic and valuable part of Illinois. This new office will allow them to voice their concerns to our campaign directly and give them the valuable tools that will empower them to help change Illinois politics for the better.”

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Carbondale, IL— Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney reacted to the outcome of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s trial today by calling for reform of the Illinois political system. For Whitney, the actions of Blagojevich are a result of a corrupt political system that fosters such behavior. He explained that “Rod Blagojevich’s conduct is a symptom of a much more widespread disease. There is a pervasive mentality—in the corporate media and in the two corporate-sponsored parties—that politics and political success is all about raising money and almost nothing else.”

Mr. Whitney believes this same system encouraged the attitude of the former governor. He stated that “Blagojevich’s other unethical behavior—rewarding supporters with jobs or contracts, i.e. pay-to-play, ultimately including a U.S. Senate seat as a golden prize—all flows from that same premise. The issue for Illinois voters today is not whether Blagojevich was found guilty or innocent. There is no question that he engaged in unethical behavior: trafficking in the awarding of political favors in exchange for campaign cash.”

Whitney continued that “This is verdict is not exoneration. That Blagojevich was not convicted of these particular crimes at this time does not mean he is innocent. Corruption is still corruption. Pay-to-play is still wrong and unethical. And a political system completely overrun by an overwhelming and obscene focus on raising tons of cash, above all else, is still a disease that we must combat and overcome.”

He continued that “we have to stop this and through the Green Party and my campaign, we can stop this. This is a systemic problem that demands a systemic solution. And the way to do that is by building a grassroots political party that is beholden and accountable only to the people. It is the Green Party that has stood up for the principle of not accepting any corporate campaign contributions whatsoever and that has stood firmly on a platform of making serious campaign ethics reform a top priority. This devotion to grassroots democracy is what makes me and the other Green Party candidates the best choice for voters who seriously want to clean up Illinois government.”