Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » It’s all one, big thing

Thursday, Feb 22, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I went down a bit of a rabbit hole today after seeing a typo in one of Dan Proft’s papers…

State Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) is portrayed as having “served up” her constituents in the 115th House District in a new Liberty Principles PAC ad on YouTube ridiculing her as a pawn of powerful House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago).

“You know Terri Bryant voted for Mike Madigan’s 32 percent income tax hike, but that’s only half the story,” a voice blares in the ad. Branding the tax hike the largest in state history, the video adds “after raising taxes, Bryant sent our money to bail out Chicago Public Schools’ pensions.”

So, you’ve got a Proft paper story that’s purely about a Proft PAC’s ad. How… 21st Century of them. Click here to watch the spot.

* Now, for the typo, scroll down to the end of the story…

Bryant is being challenged in the March 20 Republican primary by Paul Jacobs of Pomona, who is running on a platform of proposed budget reforms and spending cuts.

Citing rising taxes as one of the primary reasons for the state’s spiraling out-migration problem, Griffith has also blasted Bryant over her support for the state’s newly enacted $36.1 billion spending plan.

Griffith? Who dat?

* For the answer, read this eerily similar story about an eerily similar Proft ad written by the same author for a different Proft paper…

With just weeks remaining before the March 20 primaries, a new Liberty Principles PAC ad on YouTube blasts incumbent state Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb) as doing a disservice to her 93rd House District constituents based on her constant support of powerful House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago).

“You know Norine Hammond voted for Mike Madigan’s 32 percent income tax hike, but that’s only half the story,” a voice blares in the ad. Branding the tax hike the largest in state history, the video adds “after raising taxes, Hammond sent our money to bail out Chicago Public Schools’ pensions.” […]

Hammond is being challenged in the Republican primary by U.S. Army veteran and Abingdon resident Joshua Griffith, who has repeatedly blasted her throughout his campaign over her support for the $36.1 billion budget plan enacted last year. [Emphasis added.]

So, the guy who wrote both of those stories must’ve been typing too fast and got his primary races a little mixed up. It happens, but it made me look around.

* If you click here, you’ll see the Hammond ad is almost identical to the Bryant ad. And Liberty Principles PAC produced two other nearly identical ads. One’s against Rep. Charlie Meier, the other against Rep. David Reis. One of Proft’s papers also has a story up about the Proft ad against Rep. Meier. Click here.

OK, so he does a lot of cookie-cutter stuff. No surprise.

The factory-like production standards did create somewhat of a problem because the ad claims the education funding reform bill was a “Chicago bailout” and notes that Reis voted for it. That’s true, but as Reis points out, his Proft-backed opponent is on record saying he would’ve voted for the bill as well. It’s not a real problem, though, because Proft’s ad is an independent expenditure. So, by law, he’s not supposed to coordinate with the candidate.

* But, wait, there’s more. Three of the four aforementioned Proft-backed candidates have nearly identical websites (Griffith, Moore and Jacobs).

And if you go to the “News” section of each of those sites, you’ll see that most of the posted stories are actually from… you guessed it: Proft’s papers.

25 Comments

- FarandWide - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:13 pm:
Strange that a Pat Quinn IDOT appointee is now a Dan Proft darling.

- wordslinger - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:17 pm:
I wonder if Uihlein realizes how Proft is taking him to the cleaners with his low-rent production values.

You can’t see the money in anything that Proft produces. It’s all schlock.

- Baggs McCoy - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:18 pm:
Well if Proft had to pay people to do more work to individualize messages to fit the district he would get a smaller cut of Dick Uihlein’s money.

- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:21 pm:
Proft wants his own Caucus.

Proft gets, 3, 4, 5 seats… that’ll cause heartburn and keep a continued divide in the alleged GOP, and more money for Proft.

It’s about the money for Proft and causing enough damage to keep the alleged GOP fighting amongst themselves.

Now, the alleged GOP is Raunerites… “today”

Rauner loses, Proft still has his faction but a different enemy will emerge… actual Republicans trying to rebuild what Bruce and Diana Rauner bought and destroyed? Maybe.

I’m with Durkin all day against Proft.

In reality, Proft is doing more damage to the HRaunerites than Rauner himself.

Also, it was Proft and Besler that supported Ken Dunkin. Don’t forget that too… when Rauner and Proft were talking.

- LoisLearned2much - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:23 pm:
Proft did same thing in 2016 election using IOP Communication Director acting in half dozen Legislative race ads. More money for Proft using employees posing as REAL people, too. http://www.mywebtimes.com/news/local/average-mom-or-political-player-tv-ads-identical-for-gop/article_fc3bbc89-8401-5a2e-8d95-0d5e7ab2e0e7.html

- LXB - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:23 pm:
I really enjoy how the domain name suggests the paper is called the Swillinois News.

- 47th Ward - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:27 pm:
Proft has all the angles covered. I swear, the hardest part for him must be finding candidates to plug into these Johnny Bravo campaigns he’s created.

- Just Visiting - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:28 pm:
Is this the same Dan Proft that supported Mike Madigan to the tune of twelve grand?

- LoisLearned2much - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:29 pm:
Sorry was wrong. Proft used his IOP Communication Director in 15 political ads ACTING as a real voter from 15 different districts. At least she changed her clothes in half the ads.ENJOY. http://www.mywebtimes.com/political-endorsement-ads/youtube_0741945c-a1fb-11e6-acd9-47a2a793533b.html

- From the TOP - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:35 pm:
Add him to the Tillman investigation. It’ll all add up to some form of self-destruction - it usually does.

- Team America - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:35 pm:
47th Ward, that was a worth a chuckle to us folks of a certain vintage, but Dan Proft is no Johnny Bravo.

- Ill Annoyed - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:37 pm:
So are you saying every one of these campaigns is illegally coordinating with Liberty Principles PAC? If you’re going to say it, say it.

- Amalia - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:44 pm:
Very nicely done, Rich.

- Pan Droft - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:49 pm:
Cap Fax posted this link in 2016 on a similar occurrence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2y1Ucn2mqs

- Lester Holt’s Mustache - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:55 pm:
Proft’s strategy is kind of ingenious, given you’re targeting a group of voters who don’t pay too much attention and don’t bother to connect any dots. Same with Biss and the left - “The other guys have a lot of money so they arent actually progressives”.

The success of both Proft and Biss makes me wonder which is the bigger group of gullible rubes - the far right wing of the republican party or the far left wing of the dem party? One group believes anyone willing to blame Madigan for all of our problems, the other group believes anyone willing to blame the wealthy for all of our problems. Maddening

- NIU Grad - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 1:57 pm:
I once had one of the Proft paper’s reporters reach out to me. He was an independent contractor out of New York and literally laid out that he needed to fill space for his BS story with random quotes.

- wordslinger - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 2:03 pm:
–…literally laid out that he needed to fill space for his BS story with random quotes.–

Meh, John Kass just relies on his army of anonymous sources, “on the street,” for his perfect quotes.

- G'Kar - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 2:24 pm:
I live in the Peoria/Bloomington-Normal market. For the last couple of nights Liberty-Principles PAC have been running an ad for Dan Caulkins. I looked for a link and I can’t find one (it is not the one on youtube). What struck me as odd is that the ad does not mention what office he is running for or what district he is in. I had to look it up–he is running for the House in the 101st. But it is just a very, very strange ad.

- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 2:45 pm:
Rich, I would say you found the rabbit.

- Just Me - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 2:56 pm:
Dan Proft is just Steve Bannon’s little brother.

- ArchPundit - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 3:53 pm:
Tronc calls this vertical integration of content between synergistic units of content creators.

- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 4:07 pm:
===* But, wait, there’s more. Three of the four aforementioned Proft-backed candidates have nearly identical websites (Griffith, Moore and Jacobs).

And if you go to the “News” section of each of those sites, you’ll see that most of the posted stories are actually from… you guessed it: Proft’s papers.===

- ArchPundit -

Yep. The vertical integration. I’m glad both Rich and you called this what it is

It’s what the whole IPI/Tillman/Proft deal was ALL about…

Vertical integration in governing.

Vertical integration in the politics.

Proft has it all set up for Rauner. Now he turned it on HRaunerites and Rauner himself (with Ives)

Watching this all in real time back in the summer and then the fall and now… it’s just so blatantly obvious as it was happening, and they weren’t to shy in hiding it.

- Anonymous - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 6:22 pm:
Is Proft is looking for sexual harassment and dirt on Rauner Republicans as the primary draws close?
Some say stay tuned.

- My New Handle - Thursday, Feb 22, 18 @ 6:52 pm:
Cut and paste is so much easier. And by extension, so are these people Proft endorses, the spores of future mushrooms.

- NorthsideNoMore - Friday, Feb 23, 18 @ 3:04 am:
Proft knows that free pressis exactly that….and he has his huckleberry. Kindly write the check and dont worry we got this.

Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.