Central Illinois Republicans are trying to get voters interested in how Democrat Nikki Budzinski (pictured) makes her money. Budzinski, of Springfield, and Republican Regan Deering, of Decatur, are vying for the new and open 13th Congressional District.
Pointing to a Better Government Association investigation, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) says Budzinski tiptoes right up to the line.
“Budzinski joined the Pritzker administration after the governor’s inauguration in January of 2019,” Davis told a statehouse news conference Monday. “Budzinski had that cozy relationship where she disclosed details about the governor’s schedule and positions to lobbyists; and details that were not publicly available. After leaving her position as Gov. Pritzker’s senior advisor in March of 2020, Budzinski, according to the BGA, made over $500,000 working as a consultant.”
All of this may be legal, but Deering and her team say that doesn’t make it right.
Budzinski campaign manager Josh Roesch sent the following statement via e-mail Monday afternoon:
Regan is desperately trying to distract voters from the fact that last week, she said she wanted seniors to “sacrifice” their hard earned social security and Medicare. This is a last ditch effort by a flailing campaign to change the narrative away from the issues that voters really care about.
Nikki has always taken state and federal ethics laws very seriously, and will continue to do so if elected to Congress. She is proud to have worked on many different issues where she stood up for working people and advocated for causes that she cares about. While in state government, Nikki had no involvement in the state’s contract procurement process. After Nikki left government, she was never a lobbyist, never registered as a state or federal lobbyist, and she complied with all ethics laws.