Overdue Payment
The billionaire Governor of Illinois' campaign got behind in its saliva-testing bills
I found out why billionaire J.B. Prtizker’s campaign, JB for Governor, spent $12K+ on covid testing in one week.
They had fallen behind in payments to the test provider, Shield T3.
Invoices & emails cross-referenced with expenditures listed on Illinois Sunshine show the campaign was paying its weekly bills on time until April.
Two invoices in late May and early June were remitted, before a Shield T3 accountant reached out to the campaign. “Have a statement of open items here for you. Is there anything holding these up?”
“Sorry about that,” replied Jake Strother, JB for Governor operations director. “We can get a wire prepared and can get these all cleared off at once.”
Strother also requested Mele, Brengarth, & Associates be added to the invoice distribution list going forward.
As of August 5, 2022, JB for Governor had received $30,450 worth of tests & services from the University of Illinois’ for-profit testing entity1.
The number of weekly tests is redacted from the contract and invoices2. A January email and invoice suggests JB for Governor ordered 30 self-collected tests a week, at a rate of $24 per test. (Seems high to me, but I defer to knowledgeable others.)
Initially, the tests were for staff at the campaign’s Chicago office. Tests for more staffers were added in April when the campaign opened an office in a Springfield.
Discussing proposed services in January, Jake Strother declined courier service, saying that either he or someone from the campaign office could could deliver the tests on Monday mornings “to cut down on costs.”3
The emails I obtained don't specify why the campaign needed to test staff weekly for Covid4, or whether anyone refused to be tested.
To receive results, participants had to register in an online portal. I don't have access to the consent that campaign staff were asked to sign, but Shield T3 uses the same portal with other clients, including University of Maine. The school’s “COVID Testing Consent 2022” form says nothing about what Shield will do with saliva samples and associated data.
If this is similar to what JB for Governor staff were asked (required?) to submit, I have concerns about coerced and/or uninformed consent.
Illinois Rep. Deanne Mazzochi had similar concerns when she questioned U of I president Tim Killeen about Shield T3’s use of data at a House Appropriations - Higher Ed committee meeting in March. Her and five other legislators’ follow-up letter didn’t Killeen ask directly about the for-profit company, and Killeen didn’t mention Shield T3 in his written response.5
State Senator Chapin Rose demanded a meeting last month with Killeen, to discuss the school’s use of data collected through the Shield testing regime.
Assuming the meeting didn’t already occur, but will, maybe Rose can find out more about whether Shield T3 owes JB for Governor campaign staff a fuller explanation of what’s being done with their spit?
For now, JB for Governor owes Shield T3…nothing. 😉 #paidinfull
The expenditures following the June payment don’t appear in Illinois Sunshine, likely because payments for the tests are no longer coming from the campaign.
University of Illinois cited 140/7(1)(g) for the redacted pricing: “Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person or business where the trade secrets or commercial or financial information are furnished under a claim that they are proprietary, privileged or confidential, and that or where disclosure of the trade secrets or commercial or financial information would cause competitive harm to the person or business...” Shield T3 is owned by the University. I’m unclear about why the pricing is subject to redaction under this statute.
Using OTC tests from Walgreen’s would also cut down on costs.
December 29, 2021 email from Jake Strother to Shield T3’s Bill Jackson: “Hi Bill. Lizzy Whitehorn gave me your contact info and told me you might be able to help me outI’m the Operations Director at the JB for Governor campaign and I’m looking into weekly testing at our office for our staff. Lizzy said you would be the right person to talk to about setting this up and pricing, so I’d be happy to connect with you over the phone if that’s easier. We’d like to get this up and running ASAP so please let me know what you need from me. Looking forward to hearing back from you with next steps.”
Killeen did make clear in his March testimony, however, that the U of I Board of Trustees owns Shield T3 and the data it’s collected.
From the start my gut told me it was all BS. I thought seeing the truth trickle out would stoke the vibes of vindication. It didn't and still doesn't. The NPC crowd is as bad as ever and there is little hope for the future. In a few years we will own nothing, eat bugs and be happy. Pray for the second coming ASAP.
It never ends. The lies.