Former U.S. attorney to look into Rauner-reporter controversy

Chicago Sun-Times Capitol bureau chief Dave McKinney has hired former Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Collins to look into whether Republican Bruce Rauner's campaign for governor tried to influence the longtime reporter's employment because of a story.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has jumped on the story in the heated campaign with the Winnetka businessman. "We've seen Rauner bully and bribe to get his way before, but trying to silence a journalist is a new low," Quinn spokesman Brooke Anderson said in campaign email Saturday.

Rauner campaign manager Chip Englander said the campaign believed one story was unfair and wanted the paper to disclose that McKinney is married to a Democratic strategist.

"The allegations (in the story) were tossed out in court and sworn depositions contradict the allegations. Given those facts, publishing the story was irresponsible," Englander said.

It's not unusual for politicians to complain about reporters' stories, but it's unusual for a reporter to feel the need to hire an attorney. McKinney's hiring of an attorney was first reported by Crain's Chicago Business Saturday.

Collins said it is "beyond ironic" that the Rauner campaign pushed back hard against a story about a lawsuit that alleged Rauner used tough talk to threaten a CEO of company his firm invested in.

The Sun-Times, which is running an editorial in its Sunday editions endorsing Rauner, issued a statement Saturday defending McKinney's reporting.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we did review this matter and we are convinced Dave's wife Ann Liston receives no financial benefit from any Illinois political campaign because of the extraordinary steps they've taken to establish business safeguards," Editor Jim Kirk said in a statement. "Dave's body of work during this campaign, including the groundbreaking stories on the investigation involving Gov. Pat Quinn and the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, demonstrates the hard-nosed reporting he has done on both campaigns."

McKinney has covered the Capitol for the Sun-Times for nearly 20 years. He worked for the Daily Herald before that.

Quinn and Rauner have waged a bitter campaign. The two candidates are set to meet for their final televised debate Monday.