New accusations in Illinois governor's race target low-level campaign workers

CHICAGO (WLS) -- There were new accusations Friday in the race for Illinois governor. Both candidates came out with another round of mudslinging, and his time, the targets are low-level campaign workers.

As the candidates continued their fight over corruption, their campaign staffs began sniping at each other's arrest and conviction records.

Bruce Rauner began the day with a blistering attack on Gov. Pat Quinn's administration, calling it a continuation of Rod Blagojevich's terms in office.

"Pat Quinn is at the center of the cesspool of corruption that has decimated state government," said Bruce Rauner, Republican candidate for governor.

Rauner again cited millions lost in the mismanagement of Quinn's 2010 anti-violence program and alleged patronage hiring in the Department of Transportation. The governor says he's corrected both problems and will not tolerate corruption.

"I think I've worked hard my whole life on behalf of everyday people. I'll stand on my own record," said Gov. Pat Quinn, D-Illinois.

Later, the attacks took on a new form as both campaigns accused the other of hiring lawbreakers.

First, Quinn operatives released this video of Rauner trailed by his bodyguard Matt McNamara, noting that McNamara has a 2001 Iowa conviction for assault.

Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf said McNamara's security firm Liberty Elite Services "will not be used for future events". Shrimpf also wrote that "He (McNamara) had provided security for a number of high profile individuals, including a presidential candidate in 2012." That candidate, Eyewitness News has learned, was former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The Rauner campaign issued another statement to report that a paid Quinn campaign field worker, Kendall Moore, has a 1996 second-degree murder conviction. Moore was a student at Western Illinois University when, during a fight, he beat a man to death with a baseball bat. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

A spokeswoman says the Quinn campaign will not fire Moore, whom she says, "...has dedicated his adult life to violence prevention, advocating for ex-offenders, re-entry programs and serving the community."

Both McNamara and Moore were low-level campaign workers in terms of what they have been paid. The Rauner campaign paid McNamara $2,400 during the first two quarters of this year. So far, the Quinn campaign has reported paying Moore just under $1,700.