‘Geez, Bill:’ Plummer says Brady offered him ethics post if he’d agree to back off ethics reform
by: Mark Maxwell
Posted: Updated:
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — Senator Bill Brady’s tenure as Minority Leader faces new uncertainty after Senator Jason Plummer, Brady’s former 2010 gubernatorial running mate, accused Brady of offering him an appointment to sit on the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform in exchange for muting his criticism of Brady’s side gig working to promote video gaming terminals in bars.
“It was said multiple times that he would not appoint me if I followed through on filing that legislation that I had worked on, or if I spoke publicly about it,” Plummer told WCIA on Monday night. “I was kind of surprised that he was as forward as he was. I said to him, I said, ‘Geez, Bill.’”
“I recall the conversation with great detail because it wasn’t just one conversation,” Plummer added.
Several Senate Republicans, who asked to speak anonymously, said Plummer’s explosive allegations could make it incredibly difficult for Brady to keep enough votes in his camp to win re-election to keep his post in 2021.
“I tried to handle this in a professional manner,” Plummer said. “I went through the proper channels.”
On Monday, Plummer sent a letter to Brady and the Senate Republican leadership team informing them he would not comply with Brady’s restrictions. Senator Brady promptly responded with a letter of his own, and replaced Plummer with Senator Dan McConchie, a Republican from Hawthorn Woods. McConchie says the appointment came as a surprise, and he claims Brady would only tell him at first that Plummer had resigned “for whatever reason.”
Plummer, an Edwardsville Republican, claims Brady’s aides quizzed him about legislation he has drafted that would outlaw elected officials from earning income to operate or promote video gaming terminals. Plummer says he has drafted, but not yet filed, Senate Bill 2318, which would prohibit any member from the General Assembly from receiving any income from a gaming related interest. The idea has been discussed by a number of Senate Republicans, who say they would support it, even though it would outlaw Brady from keeping one of his side jobs.
Financial records first obtained by WBEZ and Pro Publica reveal Brady held a significant financial interest in Midwest Electronics Gaming, a company that operates video gaming terminals in restaurants and bars in Illinois. Brady declined to reveal how much the company paid him in commission as a salesman, but he abstained from voting on a bill to expand video gambling this year, citing a conflict of interest. Current state law does not require Brady to disclose how much income he earns from gambling interests.
Continue reading here: https://www.wcia.com/news/capitol-news/geez-bill-plummer-says-brady-offered-him-ethics-post-if-hed-agree-to-back-off-ethics-reform/
TERM LIMITS!!!!!!! Corruption will never stop. It’s unfortunate that Politicians put themselves in a political game which tosses integrity aside. It’s always been this way. TERM LIMITS is the only way I can think of to help streamline the unethical practices. It’s disheartening at best.
It’s who he is. I could add to this but it’s not nice to talk about people that have passed away.
Is there a chance that a neo-democrat could be elected senator to replace Brady ? Which is the least of two evils, Bill Brady or a neo-democrat ? The least of the two evils has been the election procedure in Illinois for far too long. If Brady was to retire, the Republicans would still have plenty of time to put someone else on the ballot in the general election. There are many decent, fair minded citizens in this Congressional District who refuse to run for office, and I certainly do not blame them. If ,in fact, we can straighten out our problems, it will take a long time to correct them. Patience is a virtue.
Brady is not the guy to fix anything – he is a placeholder.
“placeholder” is quite polite. President Trump’s campaign song is “You can’t always get what you want”. That is the essence of life and of politics. Someone can still run in the GOP primary for that Senate seat. There are ways to do this.
Filing period is over. The democrats or Libertarians could through in a candidate
Bill Brady is a crook. He has cheated people in his district out of money he owes them for doing work for his company by moving the company’s ownership to his wife and by other twists and turns and lies all to avoid payment of debt he ultimately created. Bill is also a master of pay for play and other games he plays to use his office to enrich himself. I hope he is notable to use the power of his office to convince voters to give him another term. It’s time for Bill to go. He’s been here too long already
ONE would THINK that folks like THIS would have LEARNED from Rod B. TRYING to sell Obamas senate seat, and HOW that can wind up.. Guess these guys are SLOW learners! GEEZ BILL!
A write-in campaign Republican candidate, not an independent, nor third party candidate, might be able to win a race. Write-in candidates are basically a thing of the past, but with electronic communications being what it is, a write-in candidate has a chance. The old “draw a box, put an “X” in it, draw a line, write or print the candidate’s name correctly, and the office being sought” does not mean what it used to.
Printed stick-on labels ?
As a recent write-in candidate, I can tell you it’s not that simple – the system is designed to keep out competition. I’d have to check the rules for this specific instance, but best guess is somebody would have to declare they’re running as a write-in by the end of next week and then file the not-too-difficult-but-Very-mandatory paperwork. Otherwise the write-in votes won’t even be counted.
NOTE: Above date is My Best Guess – if anybody is giving serious consideration, they need to check ASAP so they don’t miss the deadline in case I’m wrong.
Crickets from the Pantycrap
That is why I posted it. It is flying all over Facebook, I figured they wouldn’t report it.
Lead story on 9:00 news last night