Republican Governor Candidate Bruce Rauner held an event today to announce something.
Columbia College Chicago journalism professor Curtis Lawrence brought his class of aspiring reporters to listen to Rauner's announcement about something or other and get some practice covering a political press conference, according to the Sun Times' Natasha Korecki.
Rauner's seasoned political team decided not to let the students into the event.
"Working media" only, they said before giving the boot to 12 up and comers.
"When I asked about future events, she said that it was their 'policy' that only credentialed press would be allowed in," Lawrence told Korecki. "When I mentioned that some of the students were published in the school-sponsored website, ChicagoTalks, she reiterated that they too would need credentials. This has never been an issue with other campaigns and we do this regularly during campaign season."
The students dutifully waited in the hallway, hoping that candidate Rauner might emerge from the closed-door conference about something or other and give them a word. But no dice.
Governor Pat Quinn's campaign, which did let the students cover an event announcing his running mate, said this is what you could expect from a Rauner administration.
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"It appears we just got a sneak preview of what it would be like to cover a Bruce Rauner administration: little access and no respect for young journalists," Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson told Korecki.
