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* As we discussed earlier this morning, Rep. Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) tweeted that Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell is the one who told him to “get a life” weeks ago…
Same Deputy Governor texted me to “Get a life” when I raised concerns about how IDES was handling unemployment claims. Anger management issues should never be on display when responding to a member of a co-equal branch of government @cljmitchell
I asked Wehrli for a screen cap of the exchange, but he declined.
* I also asked Mitchell and the governor’s press secretary and she sent it to me…
* From Jordan Abudayyeh…
Members of our staff are working long hours under a lot of stress. Lawmakers have continually asked for open lines of communication and members of our administration are always willing to discuss any issues that arise. But this crisis has made it clear there are two types of people: those who rise to the challenge putting aside ideology to help and those who snipe from the sidelines instead of offering constructive solutions.
Thoughts?
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:14 am
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Thanks for providing context. Point Christian.
Comment by Mike Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:17 am
It very clear why Wehrli declined to share. There’s always 2 sides to every story. And don’t forget boys and girls there’s always a screenshot. Always.
Comment by Metro East Transplant Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:18 am
“working around the clock”
With 614 unread texts, this seems like a massive understated. Nothing wrong with that response.
Comment by njt Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:21 am
Seems like mild stuff. Was expecting worse. People are angry and tense now and maybe they can just let this go.
Comment by Grandson of Man Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:22 am
In any dispute between Grant and another person, always believe the other person. You’ll be amazed how often you end up on the right side
Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:22 am
Mr. Wehrli is a snowflake.
It’s embarrassing that Mr. Wehrli declines to share, but it is on brand for a phony who he, Grant Wehrli, himself, said he can’t get things done and ineffective as a legislator.
Grant Wehrli is right about Grant Wehrli.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:22 am
Rep Wehrli’s feelings are hurt because the Pritzker admin is criticizing the feds. What a snowflake.
Comment by Anon E Moose Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:22 am
Bottom line, Wherli lied about the ‘get a life” bit, and Mitchell talks like a sailor.
Did I miss anything?
Comment by Socially DIstant Watcher Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:22 am
“Members of our staff are working long hours under a lot of stress.” - Most staff members for most governors work long hours under a lot of stress.
“Lawmakers have continually asked for open lines of communication and members of our administration are always willing to discuss any issues that arise.” - Clearly that’s not the case here. Based on what we’ve seen from Christian and others it has turned into a: unless you give us the solution the fix the problem (which isn’t their job, by the way), we don’t want to hear from you.
“But this crisis has made it clear there are two types of people: those who rise to the challenge putting aside ideology to help and those who snipe from the sidelines instead of offering constructive solutions.” - Don’t you criticize us - clearly you’re only doing it for political purposes and not because there’s actually a real problem.
Comment by Come on... Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:23 am
This is insane. Nobody cares about this. People care about protecting their health, their families, their jobs, their homes, their retirement. Is this nonsense really the biggest issue of the day?
Do the job you were elected or hired to do and help the State and its citizens. Stop complaining about issues nobody cares about and get to work (banned punctuation).
Comment by Just Me 2 Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:24 am
“There are two types of people: those who rise to the challenge putting aside ideology to help and those who snipe from the sidelines instead of offering constructive solutions.”
Which kind of person does the administration think Rep. Manley is?
Comment by LakeviewJ Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:24 am
Wehrli isn’t wrong. IDES is a mess and its failures are hurting people who need unemployment insurance.
Mitchell offends easily and gets indignant quickly. Does manning a post mean tweeting incessantly? Beause if it does, give Mitchell a medal.
I’ve dealt with a lot of state agencies and one thing remains constant through different Governors: IDES has the most apathetic, unproductive workforce of any of them.
Comment by Sufjan Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:26 am
Now do the Natalie Manley exchange.
Comment by Birdseed Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:28 am
You’re part of the solution or part of the problem. Grant is the latter
Comment by Jocko Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:29 am
“… Mitchell talks like a sailor.”
I was going with over-worked under-resourced public servant, but the sailors of the modern Navy would say I’m being redundant … /s
Comment by Anyone Remember Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:30 am
Bravo Christian Mitchell–to be fair, its about time somebody talks to these snowflakes like they earned and deserved.
Comment by Kippax Blue Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:31 am
This sounded bad at first, but after seeing the entire change, Christian for the win.
Maybe CM should just respond to everyone with the word “Noted”, like a former famous chief of staff?
Comment by What Day Is It? Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:32 am
Seeing it in context this now reads like a well-deserved smackdown.
Comment by The Ford Lawyer Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:32 am
If you want to complain but don’t offer up either a solution or ideas around solving the issue, then you’re just part of the problem. I think Christian was actually pretty reserved given wehrli’s text. How about wehrli take the time to understand how the IDES process works and help communicate that to his constituents so they are armed with facts that can help guide them through this very difficult time?
Comment by Shytown Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:32 am
I mean, Wehrli didn’t fabricate the “get a life” part.
He certainly left out all the context surrounding it, though.
Comment by thunderspirit Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:33 am
My main takeaway? Misquoting A Few Good Men. Simply cannot have that kind of mistake from senior administration officials.
Comment by Senator Blutarsky Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:34 am
Aren’t these type of communications subject to FOIA?
Comment by Just Me 2 Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:35 am
Conservatives get more worked up about someone criticizing the president than by thousands of Illinoisans dying due to lack of government preparation.
I’ll never forget how they’ve reacted to this pandemic when I’m at the ballot box.
Comment by NIU Grad Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:36 am
Everyone should know by now that Rep. Wehrli is very transparent.
And by that I mean thin skinned.
Comment by Leigh John-Ella Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:37 am
Context is key.
I like CM’s style.
Comment by LakeCo Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:38 am
I still think it was imprudent, but at least in context he did actually engage a bit. It wasn’t just vitriol. And Wehrli’s initial text was also pretty hostile.
Comment by Perrid Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:43 am
Let’s keep in mind;
Mr. Wehrli, his own words, says he’s an ineffective legislator who can’t get things done.
=== I serve in the minority party and I’ve been a vocal critic of the process around here. And in return for that, what has happened is I’ve had bills that just don’t go anywhere. I mean, there’s an abuse of the legislative process to silence those that dissent and have the integrity to call out what is going on around here. I take that as a form of overt bullying and it needs to stop. So when you talk about calling it out, yes, I 100 percent agree, but every legislator knows that if they do that there are certain repercussions that are going to happen. That is unacceptable, it’s unethical and that needs to stop.===
When you know you’re ineffective you tweet things to seem noteworthy.
So… there’s that.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:44 am
Pretty awesome response from Dep. Gov. Mitchell. Almost perfect. He was on track up until he told an elected Legislator to get a life. Unforced error. Even if said legislator deserved it.
Comment by Nagidam Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:46 am
How old are these people? Both sound like teenagers in that exchange.
Comment by essentially working Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:48 am
Wehrli is a troll who gives as good as he gets. Save the crocodile tears.
But don’t let it obscure Mitchell’s exchange with Manley. We capitolfaxers lit up Rich Goldberg for his snarky and incredibly disrespectful exchanges with legislators during the Rauner years. Some called for him to be fired. What Mitchell said to Manley is much, much worse.
Comment by TNR Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:48 am
I get the point CM is trying to make about the Fed Government doing its job, but he’s wrong on the ventilators. Certain governors were screaming for ventilators repeatedly and Pence told our own Governor that he was sending them based on the Fed projections as they had to distribute amongst all states. Certain Governors disagreed at the time, but Illinois never maxed out on ventilators and is in fact sending some back to other states. So Pence properly managed the distribution in my opinion (whether it was luck or not is a different question).
That being said, Wehrli’s delivery is terrible. Neither side wins in this exchange or by releasing it. Makes both look incompetent.
Comment by AD Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:51 am
Wow, way to only tell half the story here…Manley is a leader on the Democratic side and Mitchell was obnoxious to her as well according to Politico. Mitchell has been a jerk for years. Let’s not make it sound like he was having a bad day, he’s had a lot of bad days and it came to light. Guy’s an ego maniac who is the President and CEO of the Christian Mitchell Fan Club. Granted, Wehrli can be difficult, but Mitchell’s photo is next to the definition of arrogant…
Comment by Wire Tap Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:52 am
I love this. Normally I would say you shouldn’t say this stuff to elected officials even if they are jerks but I’m cutting Mitchell slack since he’s overworked and because why waste civility on someone who might not be a rep this November?
Comment by GetWreckedWehrli Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:55 am
===Wow, way to only tell half the story here===
That was covered earlier, doofus.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:57 am
Why is he texting Mitchell? If this wasn’t just some partisan cheap shot aimed to incite him why didn’t Rep. W email him or pick up the phone?
“Get a life” seems a little appropriate for this circumstance.
Comment by Boone's is Back Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:00 pm
You’re blinded by your man-crush on Mitchell. I look forward to being banned…
Comment by Wire Tap Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:01 pm
==He was on track up until he told an elected Legislator to get a life.==
In the first sentence. That’s some track.
Comment by City Zen Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:02 pm
Let;s be scared if Whirls got a life he wouldl probably come back as Randy Remmy.
It might have been good if there had been an IDES announcement that: The extra $600 from the G was totally new and the UI for 1099 workers had never happened before an d folks should expect a delay to two.
Comment by Annonin Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:05 pm
As Republican and Conservative Bill Kristol, son of Conservative writers Irving Kristol and Gertrude Himmelfarb, likes to say,
“Donald Trump corrupts”
This is the perfect example of how Donald Trump corrupts.
Rep. Grant Wehrli puts Donald Trump’s pride and vanity above the lives and interests of his own constituents.
Comment by Merica Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:09 pm
I actually think GW and CM are both arrogant. CM has this holier than thou attitude and GW is just insufferable. That said, can they both be right? IDES has been a failure and CM isn’t wrong about the work Team JB is doing.
Comment by Agree2Disagee Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:13 pm
Christian and Grant:
“If you or a loved one are struggling with stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic and need emotional support, text TALK to 552020 … This service is free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Use this Illinois Call4Calm Text Line instead of each other !
Comment by Unboxed Boxer Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:14 pm
I’d stop making public records with swear words for both. You never know what could happen.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:16 pm
Wehrli’s sanctimony notwithstanding, this squabble really shouldn’t be overshadowing what Mitchell said to Manley.
As hard as JB has worked to take the high road and show leadership, Mitchell will quickly undermine the gov if he keeps letting his emotions get the best of him.
Comment by Father Ted Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:21 pm
===shouldn’t be overshadowing what Mitchell said to Manley===
===Manley dismissed the exchange, saying “this is not a story… The focus needs to be on how hard people are working… Legislators are working very hard, as is the governor’s office and all his administration.”===
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:22 pm
First thought. 614 unread texts? Whoa.
Comment by Ike Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:24 pm
Considering Grant blocks people on social media, including people he’s never interacted with but have said things that are remotely negative about GOP politicians and officials, him getting huffy about anything is pretty rich.
Comment by Naperville Resident Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:32 pm
===Manley dismissed the exchange===
If I am JB, his COS, or GC, I would grateful that the subject state representative chose to publicly take the high road, but that would not factor into how I handle any disclinary proceedings with a state employee.
Comment by Centenial Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:39 pm
Of all the things to learn from this exchange perhaps the most shocking is that Grant Wehrli has a friend.
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:39 pm
At $350,000 a year he could afford to act a little more gracious.
Comment by Sonny Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:48 pm
“Of all the things to learn from this exchange perhaps the most shocking is that Grant Wehrli has a friend.” - Pundent
L O L, well done.
Comment by Agree2Disagee Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 12:51 pm
==At $350,000 a year he could afford to act a little more gracious.==
Duality.
Comment by City Zen Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 1:01 pm
The frustration must be as unprecedented as the situation. Add to that that Gov. Pritzker, and Christian Mitchell, are working with a state government that the previous governor spent 4 years trying to dismantle. Damaged infrastructure to meet the greatest demand in a century at the least.
Comment by Sivad Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 1:03 pm
I think some of the newer commentators could benefit from the old thread that used to be stickied that had advice on how to act like adults on a forum like this.
To the story: good on CM for putting GW in his place as nicely as possible. Grant is thin skinned enough that he blocks folks on his Twitter for asking him questions relating to his posts.
Comment by Fixer Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 1:05 pm
Good one Pundent. And I agree with Agree2 that both can be arrogant.
And I think Jordan’s statement is correct
=== and those who snipe from the sidelines instead of offering constructive solutions.==== I would think this applies to Christian also.
Comment by Been There Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 1:07 pm
This one’s simple: Mitchell was in the wrong.
Comment by A State Employee Guy Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 1:25 pm
== I would grateful that the subject state representative chose to publicly take the high road ==
You’re not kidding. Mitchell is lucky Manley has a much thicker skin than he appears to. If she wanted to push the envelope, I don’t think he’s survive with his job.
Comment by Tammy Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 1:30 pm
Best advice I ever got from a former boss was Come to me with solutions not just a list of problems. Throwing haymakers from the gallery just adds to the stress and doesn’t help. Name calling and insults don’t help either…
Comment by BluegrassBoy Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 1:35 pm
I think Mitchell should have chosen a metaphor other than “pick up a gun”.
Comment by JoanP Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 2:03 pm
JB frequently states that he has a no a@@hole rule in hiring. From JB’s perspective, none of these employees are a**holes to him. The reality is Christian has insulted and offended people since day 1. JB’s other senior employees in the office are no different and the campaign leadership was just as bad. They are nice to him and MK, but total jerks to everyone else. At least one very well regarded staff member likely left because of the treatment she endured. JB lives in a bubble in many ways, but this is one example. It is disappointing that the media has not covered this before.
Comment by Mediapass Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 2:03 pm
I get what Mitchell thinks. and I’m in the Democratic party and supportive of the Governor. but Mitchell is no longer in the Legislature. he is a staffer for the Governor, and therefore representing him. I don’t think certain portions of the text are appropriate. you have to rise above it as a staffer. been there before and it’s difficult.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 2:23 pm
This Christian Mitchell guy has to go. Using the “f word” has no place in texts to anyone, especially someone working for the citizens of the Great State of Illinois. Earlier today, Capitol Fax indicated he had also used the “f-word” in an e-mail to a female legislator. I don’t care how good he is, this kind of behavior is totally inappropriate and he needs to pay the consequences.
Comment by Moweaqua-ite Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 3:26 pm
Big boy pants Wehrli, you have heard and said worse I am sure. Clean it up a bit Dep Gov Mitchell , the position deserves a better response, on you
Comment by Elliott Ness Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 4:07 pm
== This one’s simple: Mitchell was in the wrong.==
So they’re not friends?
Comment by All This Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 4:50 pm
Not appropriate behavior or language from a state employee representing the Governor. Probably acceptable as an employee of East Jackson St LLC though.
Comment by Phenomynous Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 6:17 pm
If you’re pearl clutching about language in texts, please stop following politics
Comment by Nick Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 7:03 pm
Nick - This isn’t politics. It’s a state employee on state time texting elected officials regarding state business. It’s apparently governing.
Comment by Centennial Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 9:00 pm
Saying “you’re my friend” before being a jerk does not make one less of a jerk.
Comment by Token Conservative Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 10:03 pm
Is it too late to point out that the first person who cursed was Grant Wehrli?
My parents always said: don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.
(And Grant Wehrli and my dad are very distant cousins.)
Comment by Lynn S. Wednesday, May 6, 20 @ 11:37 pm
=It’s a state employee on state time texting elected officials regarding state business.=
I see this like a comedian dealing with a heckler. Mitchell is trying to do his job and Wehrli is the guy in the crowd yelling get off the stage.
Comment by Pundent Thursday, May 7, 20 @ 6:32 am
You are entitled to justify actions however you wish. The facts remain we have: State employees inappropriately texting or tweeting at multiple elected officials regarding state buisness.
In their defense, I probably would have wanted to do the same thing. But I wouldn’t have. Especially in writing.
Comment by Centennial Thursday, May 7, 20 @ 8:34 am