* Press release…

Jeanne Ives, a conservative reform Republican for Governor, has released new :30 second ad ‘Fighting for Jeannie Brady.’

On January 1, 2017, Jeannie Brady was struck by a drunk driver on Interstate 74 in Champaign. Both Jeannie and the man who hit her, were taken to a hospital in Urbana, IL, where she died. The man who killed her was in the country illegally. Because Urbana has claimed sanctuary status, the man was not held. He has since managed to evade authorities.

In the ad, Eric Brady’s voice trembles and cracks as he recounts the night his wife was killed, and his family’s struggle to come to grips with both the loss of a woman they loved dearly and the fact that there has been no justice for Jeannie.

Eric also recounts Governor Rauner’s promise to meet with him and other families before signing the ‘Trust Act’ to make Illinois a sanctuary state. Rauner betrayed that promise, confirming to Brady that the leadership of this state does not share his grief and is not concerned with protecting families like his.

Eric Brady sees no place for Governor Rauner in the leadership of Illinois.

* Ad…

* In other news…

Today the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) announced its endorsement of Jeanne Ives for governor of Illinois, challenging incumbent Republican governor Bruce Rauner, who signed into law a bill that mandates taxpayer funding of abortion through the state’s Medicaid program months after stating he would oppose it.

“We are proud to endorse Jeanne Ives, an utterly fearless champion of unborn children and their mothers,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Jeanne is passionately dedicated to fighting for taxpayers and standing up to the extreme abortion lobby. She will lead with courage and integrity.”

“Governor Rauner’s outrageous betrayal of his pro-life constituents will have political consequences,” said SBA List’s National Campaign Chair Jill Stanek, an Illinois resident and an international pro-life activist, speaker, and writer. “When Rauner flip-flopped on forcing taxpayers to fund abortion on demand, he condemned as many as 3,800 innocent unborn children with the stroke of a pen. The choice before the voters is stark. Illinois families can’t afford another disastrous four years of Bruce Rauner.”

Jeanne Ives accepted the endorsement saying:

“I am honored to be endorsed by Susan B. Anthony List. Illinoisans’ trust in the Governor’s office to protect vulnerable lives has been shattered. I look forward to restoring principled pro-life leadership in Springfield.”

Ives has served in the Illinois legislature since 2012. She is a West Point graduate and served in the United States Army. She and her husband, Paul, have five children and reside in Wheaton, IL.

Susan B. Anthony List and its partner super PAC, Women Speak Out spent more than $18 million in the 2016 election cycle, knocking on more than 1.1 million doors in battleground states to defeat Hillary Clinton and maintain a pro-life Senate. SBA List is dedicated to pursuing policies and electing candidates who will reduce and ultimately end abortion. To that end, the SBA List emphasizes the education, promotion, mobilization, and election of pro-life women. The SBA List is a network of more than 630,000 pro-life Americans nationwide.

* Ives also sent out a release on the Tribune’s endorsement of Gov. Rauner today…

“I knew there was no chance the Tribune would endorse me,” said Ives. “They sometimes talk a conservative reform game, but ultimately stick with the same big government, combine Republicans and Democrats who are indistinguishable from one another. The Chicago press corps is part of the entrenched power structure that has destroyed Illinois’ economy.”

Ives noted that the only joint appearance Rauner agreed to was before the Tribune editorial board.

“Rauner appeared with me there because he knew he had their endorsement in the bag,” said Ives. “I knew that too, but my purpose wasn’t to get the endorsement. It was to expose Rauner on camera for interested voters to see and judge for themselves—and even the lefties who despise me because of my conservative views, like Eric Zorn, conceded that is precisely what I did.”

Watch for yourself:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/95786566-132.html

Ives also noted her endorsement from the national, pro-life Susan B. Anthony List this morning adding, “I’ll take the endorsements of my legislative colleagues like State Representatives Tom Morrison, John Cabello, Peter Breen, Margo McDermed, Allen Skillicorn, Barb Wheeler, and David McSweeney and State Senators Tim Bivins and Kyle McCarter, as well as that of the Susan B. Anthony List, and Tax Accountability over that of the Chicago Tribune every day and twice on Sunday.”

* And the DGA tried to hype it all up…

This morning, Governor Bruce Rauner saw his primary opponent pick up another influential endorsement. The Susan B. Anthony List announced it was endorsing State Rep. Jeanne Ives and pledged financial backing for her campaign.

Today’s news illustrates a real problem Rauner has within his own party. He’s already been criticized by the National Review and Fox News, which both concluded Rauner was simply a failure. Mega donor Dick Uihlein gave millions to Ives to run ads. And its only getting worse: the powerful right-wing website Breitbart posts daily articles cheering on Ives and the site Town Hall published a glowing column praising her.

Rauner can’t event count on the help of his ally Vice President Mike Pence, who gave money to just about everyone not named Bruce Rauner.

Is Rauner hearing footsteps?

“Bruce Rauner seems to have a real problem on his hands,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner already suffers from disastrously low approval ratings from Illinois voters, and now he’s losing needed support among influential members of his own party. But Rauner only has himself to blame – his failed leadership is all too evident to Republicans and Democrats alike.”