is there any chance that rauner loses this? it was a bit of a surprise when brady eeked out that primary a few years ago. low turnout. rauner seems to have command to this race. does he not? >> four years ago when you have that primary that brady run, that was a seven-man field, too. it's a much more condensed field. frankly it's really only among brady, dillard and rauner because dan rutherford has had issues involving controversy with a former employee in the state treasury's office that has really diminished him here. he can provide a spoiler role because he does retain popularity in central illinois. truly when you look at the number of voters who cast votes in the republican primary here, you're talking about a small number. truly, shifts can make a big difference. >> carol, when i think about rauner, i tell you, it seems as if, in particular, republicans, right? we've got another -- daly diction, self funders have not had a good track record in illinois on both sides of the aisle. what does rauner have to do to avoid that

bruce rauner will face pat quinn in the illinois governor's race. we'll have election results in a *live report. two people died and another man injured, in a fiery helicopter crash that shook downtown seattle. and *two winners will split the 400-million dollar mega millions jackpot. good morning. i'm dan ponce. and i'm erin mcelroy. thanks for joining us on the wgn morning news at *4 a-m. >>demetrius ivory has a check of our weather. >> some showers out there to knock the salt off your car. >> it's a free car wash. >> always a positive spin. >> looking for showers. possibly some thunder and lightning. how did they get that song on so quickly? there are now planning car wash. but professed. showers are likely today. decreasing clouds later today. 47 at the lakefront. waukegan at 36. 42 in joliet. later today temperatures will fall you'll need your heavy coat as the temperatures fall back into the '30's after the front moves through. the rain covering the entire viewing area. no plunder or lightning. slight chance this morning. we have a temperature

the general, bruce rauner has a lot of money behind him. he's new.pected to win. >> right. >> and we'll see what happens in november. but quinn still has organized labor on his side, a lot of other cards on the deck. >> sarah, with bruce rauner, my following of illinois politics says the self-funding millionaire candidates actually don't have a good track record. what makes him potentially different? >> that's correct. you know, he has come in, though, with a very strong message about shaking up how things are done at the state capitol, ending pay to play, starting term limits which has been popular with illinois voters. he's gone right after those labor unions saying he wants to governor in the same way as scott walker and mitch daniels did. that attracted union involvement in this gop primary like we've never seen before. >> mention the name scott walker, though, and mitch daniels, that's going to fire up the democratic base, perhaps. do they ever get fired up about pat quinn, or are they going to need barack obama jumping in and helping, whose num

quinn's add asked this, when you see billionaire rauner on tv, ask yourself, who is the real bruce raunerin the republican senate primary, perennial candidate and multimillion air, also known as dairy magnet, jim overvice, lost two bids, bid for governor and house seat in 2002, at least won something. despite raising eyebrows by disappearing to florida for a week shortly before the primary, he is now the official underdog facing democratic senator dick durbin. in the house, a couple of notable primaries. adam kinsinger easily held off a tea party activist, winning 78%. again, a pretty moderate electorate that turned out. rodney davis also held off a challenge. this one from a former miss america. and, well, now dddc ann callis will actually be one of the closer house races in illinois. one more thing. just three of 47 statehouse republicans voted for a bill last fall to legalize same-sex marriage. neither of those three lost. tom cross easily won. for state treasurer. ed sullivan won renomination, and in the 81st district, it's too close to call, but he's up by 153 votes. >>> meanwhile, b

, who he vacations with, will signal to democrats potentially to vote for rauner.of the big surprises on election night. he is a first-time candidate. a lot of these business people running for the first time -- >> i think it's almost impossible for pat quinn to retain the governorship as a democrat. the pension systems in that state alone are choking his candidacy. >> still a pretty blue state, though. >> it is, indeed. but pat quinn is -- >> amazing he doesn't have a primary today. >> yeah. >> he has minor opposition. bill daly was going to run, the attorney general was going to run. that does give him a leg up. and he does have labor unions on his side. >>> mexican american icon, the new movie "cesar chavez" is set to screen at the white house this week. we'll talk to the director, diego luna and america ferrera next on "morning joe." [ male announcer ] staples has everything you need to keep a germ-free office. from gloves to wipes, to cleaners, everything... [ sneezes ] except germ-free coworkers. thousands of products added online every day... [ click ] even

in the private sector, rahm emanuel and rauner brokered a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars which should gain emanuel's affection if not his clout. >> i doubt it will happen above ground. it's very likely at a subterranean level. >> no one will benefit more than illinois television stations. democrats and labor unions view this seat as a must-win. national republicans view it as one they can pick up, so outside money is pouring in, and with the tone already set, a blood bath on the airwaves is guaranteed. bret. >> mike tobben live in chicago, mike, thanks. >>> up next, our obamacare check-up series continues with a look at patient protections. but first, here's what some of our fox affiliates across the country are covering tonight. wofl in orlando is covering one of the mega millions tickets sold in nearby merit island. the other was sold in maryland. the third largest lottery prize in american history. at more than $400 million. >> wnyw in new york has osama bin laden's son-in-law's surprise testimony. the man recounted the night of september 11th attacks when bin laden to

senator mark kirk campaigned for govenror quinn's republican opponent, bruce rauner. conference, rauner says quinn broke his promise to the people of illinois when he proposed to make the state's 67-percent temporary income tax hike, permanent. rauner and kirk noted that illinois trails the nation, and even its midwest neighbors, in economic recovery. kirk said, quinn's expansion of medicaid coverage in illinois, only deceives people into believing they have health insurance. >> when you show up and the doctor says it no that it will pay period inaudible it's a lie. >> governor quinn signed the medicaid expansion last summer, healthcare reform act. the harsh winter did not deplete the road salt. in fact the county was quietly giving some away. the board of president's office says the county loaned out about 1,300 t of salt. about 3 percent of the total supply. it still has 11,000 t left over for next winter. a lot of salt was left over from last year there was a mild year. >> a record-breaking amount of ice covered the lake and now it's starting to rise. it will rise

political newcomer bruce rauner won the republican nomination in tuesday's primary. he'll challenge governor quinn who's running for re-election. quinn's campaign is making the minimum wage an issue and already put out a t-v ad where rauner says he's against raising it. the campaign is putting rauner's personal wealth against so-called regular people. >> those who work hard, 40 hours a week, should not have to live in poverty. i believe in raising the minimum wage and that's what we will do. >> my grandfather was a union member and a union worker. i'm not out of touch paid growing up i was a busboy and a waiter. at parked cars and flip burgers. >>the governor's race is expected to get even more negative as political groups start putting out ads. the election is not until november 4-th. a controversial billboard has been removed from the stevenson expressway... but not because of a protest. father michael pfleger objected to this ad for a gun parts company... saying it glorified violence. the company argued, it chose chicago for the "pure american" ad because of the c

it read in part while any of rauner's opponents would be safe and steady choices... their state government knowledge and experience leaves them with a cringe-worthy boast: i can get along with everyone in health mayor emanuel wants to make sure the same pothole problems dont keep popping up again. he's calling for a pothole audit of the city's side streets. the city will check on the patchwork that private contractors did last year. if the potholes are back, the city will work with the contractors to either fix them, or get its money back. >> i've had discussions in the budget hearings and on the side with the commissioners in the past and we have said we need a better warranty process for our new streets. i think the street should be able to last five or 10 years before we start seeing critters and potholes appearing. >> contractors resurfaced nearly 300 miles of streets and alleys last year. so far this year, city crews have filled more than 215 thousand potholes. the big day is a week from saturday... when they dye the chicago river green. and the outlook is good,

pointing toward "class warfare" in order to make rauner appear out of touch with average families. but the rauner side is focusing on the problems within state government. >> i am a strong democrat but i'm taking a leave of absence from my party because illinois is in desperate shape. >> one of the best ways to help the economy is to pay our hard- working workers a decent wage by raising the minimum wage to a least $10 per hour. >>house speaker michael madigan now wants to hit the rich with a new tax hike. he's proposing to tax incomes, over a million dollars, by three percent. the rauner campaign calls that the first step toward tax hikes on the middle class and small businesses. catholic schools in chicago say they're being discriminated against by the c-p-s. last month c-p-s announced it was changing the test that would be required for students to get into a selective high school. students at catholic schools will also have to take the new test. the superintendent of the city's catholic schools wrote a letter to c-p-s and mayor emanuel. the letter said catholic students are at a

rauner and brady say yes. but rutherford and dillard said they weren't sure. a man from elmhurst is jailed, after being charged with making a bomb threat against that suburb's saint patrick's parade. police say, when someone complained on a local news web site that the parade is a big parking headache, glenn schumacher responded that "some well-placed pressure cooker bombs" could solve the problem. the city of elmhurst swept the parade route for any sign of explosives... and the parade went on as scheduled last saturday. schumacher is charged with disorderly conduct. organizers of this year's south side irish parade say they plan to make it a lot more family- friendly this year. they're promising to crack down on rowdy behavior. the parade starts sunday at noon. anyone caught drinking along the parade route will be fined a thousand dollars. parade watchers can also expect a visit from parade queen maeve mc-sweeney... she'll greet the crowd after it's over. the chicago river will turn green a little earlier this year. organizers moved up saturday morning's dump

venture capitalist bruce rauner won tuesday's republican primary, spending $6 million of his own money. this morning, democratic incumbent pat quinn and rauner were already swapping charges over the minimum wage and economic leadership. >> a billionaire with nine mansions calling for a reduction in the minimum wage and taking $2,000 dollars out of the pockets of everyday people who are doing the best they can. >> i'm proud of the businesses we've built, i'm proud of the success we've brought. and i wanna bring that success to springfield. run it more like a business, make it efficient, effective, transparent. >> woodruff: democrats have held the governor's office in illinois for more than a decade. >> woodruff: the federal reserve signaled today it may start raising short-term interest rates sometime next year. that would follow the end of the f.e.d.'s stimulus program, which it dialed back another notch today. the combination did not go down well on wall street. the dow jones industrial average lost 114 points to close at 16,222. the nasdaq fell more than 25 points to close at 4,307.

>> do you think your friendship with bruce rauner will survive this campaign?>> when we were friend, and we still are friends, we had vigorous disagreements. and you and i have had vigorous disagreements. i put the friendships aside, because we have clear differences. we've had differences in the past and in the future. i've always had, and i believe this, you can have differences without being disagreeable. >> and let me ask you about 2014 versus 2010. is it the same for democrats nationally when you look at the landscape? how do they prevent it from being the same? >> my view is making it a clear choice of where you stand versus where the other party stands as it relates to helping the middle class. let me say -- bring this back to which is the goal you wanted me on the show, which is talking about where cities are today. we started on education. the clear choice of what we're trying to do in the cities is invest in our infrastructure to build our roads, our airports, and make sure that we are the most competitive economy. making sure that our education syste

the question is what would bruce rauner do about it. >> the latest word is he is not in springfield. will handle this as he always does in his own fashion and with his own releases. i imagine we will find out specifically what he would do to fix the problem. the attacks payou can attack pat quinn but you cannot do it without steps of your own. >> what do you think he will have to do to get democrats on board? >> there may have been some discussion beforehand. he has said previously. you have a 3% tax for millionaires that we might hear about today. we'll see if that comes into the plan. essentially they're not a lot of democrats in tight races. it is what makes the governor of all marble. people in illinois want to make a difference in springfield. he pretty much can only do it at the governor's mansion. even then you have a veto-proof majority in the legislature. >> also supposed to talk about property tax relief. right now there is a percentage that helps rich people more than other people. $500 across the board for property owners. >> if he is defeated he is doing him a favor. thi

and it didn't take long for front runner bruce rauner's six million dollars in contributions to his own campaign to become an issue. >> is there a limit you have set for the election? >> the limit is winning the race. with a fundamentally transform our state government. there's no question >> there is no question he's trying to buy the race. but i don't think that works. at the end of the day you have to relate to the voters. you have to have ideas and an ideology. >> we did put in place campaign contribution limits. it was not an ideal bill. we have the u.s. constitution freedom of speech which means people can self fund. >> he has just made it obscene. he may own up nine multimillion- dollar mansions in america but he should not be able to buy the people's mansion in illinois. >>the candidates also took questions on how they'll deal with the state's pension troubles and about their relationships with house speaker michael madigan and mayor emanuel. join us tonight as wgn and the chicago tribune host the illinois republican candidates for governor for a debate. all four candidates are

bill brady greeted commuters in the loop, while kirk dillard and bruce rauner held rallies with their supporters. >> i am feeling great. the momentum is clearly on our side. the crowds we had in our stop overs the last few days down state have been enormous. >>, to say thank you to each and every one of the. commitment and her patriotism is how we will restore good government and how we will win election and bring back our great state. >> a spokesman for referred said he spent the day calling supporters. elections officials say they expect a low-turnout since this is a non-presidential election year. early voting wrapped up saturday and initial numbers in chicago and cook county were lower than four years ago. polls close at 7 p-m across the state. tune in tonight for our coverage of illinois' primary election. we'll begin with a special one- hour edition of *politics tonight* on c-l-t-v -- featuring a live look at candidate's campaign headquarters and analysis from our trusted experts. then, *live coverage begins at 7 on wgn as the results roll in... it's also online at *wgn t-v dot-

front runner bruce rauner and state senators kirk dillard and bill brady took turns asking voters if any of their opponents are the right man to lead illinois in such troubled times. >> it's sort of like putting a raft in charge of the cheese. bruce cannot beat pat quinn because all he has to offer our slogans. >> why are you running in the republican primary? you should be in the democratic. if taken more government money ... >> the problem i have with bruce and senator dillard is that you are trying to portray yourself as something you're not. >> i wish i had the concession to defeat him. >> dan rutherford stayed away from the personal attacks and stuck to the issues. but he couldn't avoid addressing the allegations of sexual harassment by a former employee, which sparked a federal lawsuit. rutherford admitted his campaign has been stunted by the scandal. the primary is less than two weeks away, on march 18-th. our coverage begins at seven o'clock, right here on wgn... and won't end until all the major races are settled. it will also be simulcast on cltv and *wgn t-v dot-com. niaga

republican candidate for governor, bruce rauner has spent a total of six million dollars to fund hisampaign. that sets a new record for personal funding. the previous record was set in 2006, when ron gidwitz and his wife spent 5-point-3 million dollars on the governor's race-- only to lose the primary election. former illinois congressman mel reynolds is in south africa, after zimbabwe kicked him out for over-staying his visa. reynolds paid a hundred-dollar fine for the visa violation. a more serious charge of possessing and producing pornography was dropped on a technicality. reynolds claims he was targeted by the government. and in a phone conversation with wgn, he challenged the *reporting of his arrest in zimbabwe's media. >> always one television station and is only one major newspaper in zimbabwe. i'm just concerned that it was so reckless no one said we don't have any facts. >> reynolds says zimbabwe's government is trying to silence him, because it doesn't want him to reveal the government's relationship with american businessmen. one of the sons of bulls and white sox owner

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quinn/rauner. we'll watch tonight for the results. thank you. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. >>> good evening from new york p.m. i'm chris hayes. and the most important story in the world tonight is the escalation of the crisis in ukraine. today, the first fatal shots have been fired, the ukrainian soldier is dead. russia has officially annexed the peninsula of crimea, and ukraine has mobilized troops on the border. all while the war of words between washington and moscow has escalated to a point where it gets harder and harder to see how either side backs down. >> it seems we do have the first shots fired in anger, the first fatality of this crisis. there must have been some resistance. shots were fired and one man is dead. >> at a military base in simferopol, a ukrainian junior officer was reportedly killed today by unidentified forces. the first soldier killed since russian forces arrived in the peninsula last month. according to the ukrainian government, another officer was injured in the attack and a b

quinn fighting a two-front war, one against republicans, including the newly nominated republican, raunerand support groups including labor unions. the labor unions have been putting a whole bunch of money, been upset, and they're actually challenging the overhaul in court, a claim that the law violates the state's constitution, they say, and the pension benefits may not be diminished or impaired. meanwhile, the state's economy continues to suffer. moody's investor services has put chicago three levels above junk bond status, the lowest credit rating of any major city outside of detroit. the state of illinois fares worse. moody's has given it the lowest credit rating of any state in the country. joining me now, governor of illinois, pat quinn. good morning to you, sir. >> good morning, chuck. how you doing? >> i'm okay. let's start with this credit rating issue. you've done this pension overhaul that was politically pretty painful for you, especially on the democratic side of the aisle. but it hasn't moved the needle yet on your credit rating. why is that? >> well, number one, moody's act