Mission inflation?
Monday, Apr 30, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico…
An Illinois news platform that launches Monday says its mission is to battle all forms of “fake news” and sites designed to stoke the angry American political divide.
One Illinois is in response to Breitbart News and the libertarian-oriented Illinois Policy Institute said Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar, a onetime progressive Illinois gubernatorial candidate who serves as president and executive director.
“Our fundamental belief is people are good. The way you counter the IPI and Breitbart is you don’t fight fire with fire, you fight fire with water,” Pawar said. “Getting people angry is easy. But making people angry maintains the status quo.” […]
One Illinois’ debut story is about a small Mississippi River city near the Iowa border, Savanna, Illinois, which in 2016 overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump. The story describes newcomer Chris Lain, who moved into Savanna with his husband, not knowing whether they’d be accepted. Lain ran for mayor on the platform of downtown redevelopment and infrastructure investment, and was elected.
“This is a town that did go for Trump and then in April elected a gay liberal from Chicago,” Lain says in a video that posts on the site today.
If you go to the site you’ll see stories about former Quad Cities Democratic Senators Mike and Denny Jacobs, and then another story about rivers that quotes Denny, and then another about Savanna, which is right up the river from the QC’s, and then the aforementioned article about Savanna’s mayor, and then one entitled “From Togo to the Quad Cities,” and yet another one about eagles near the Quad Cities.
I don’t get it. How is this stuff supposed to counter Breitbart and the IPI?
- OneMan - Monday, Apr 30, 18 @ 12:56 pm:
They asked Pat Quinn on what to focus on and not surprisingly he told them as if it were a single word haiku…
Rivers
- My New Handle - Monday, Apr 30, 18 @ 1:11 pm:
I get IPI posts on my FB for some reason. I never open them, but the “headlines” for the posts are continually negative about Illinois. Maybe playing up the positives is a counter to that negativity. Like the old “underground” newspapers in 40-50 years ago with a different zeitgeist.
- Anonymous - Monday, Apr 30, 18 @ 1:13 pm:
“There’s good guys and bad guys. We’re the good guys. Get it”. Fake Pawar
- Bissident - Monday, Apr 30, 18 @ 1:19 pm:
These stories are trying to appeal to people’s better angels. I like it! The story on the Mayor is heartwarming with a lot of subtext. Overall the site feels more like a magazine than news, but definitely fills a need in Illinois.
- Ok - Monday, Apr 30, 18 @ 1:23 pm:
“I don’t get it. How is this stuff supposed to counter Breitbart and the IPI?”
“you fight fire with water,”
… rivers
- DarkDante - Monday, Apr 30, 18 @ 1:25 pm:
A little puzzled by the choice of theme (or is a a motif? Debate below…) here myself. Possible Pawar is just attempting to show his non-Chicago, downstate chops? Or, maybe, that the liberals of the city can and do get along with downstate voters?
- Cheryl44 - Monday, Apr 30, 18 @ 1:37 pm:
I’m guessing it’s supposed to show that it’s not all Chicago vs the rest of the state.
Also, Rock Island Alderman Dylan Parker–you named your daughter Antigone? Do you not know who the original one was?
- City Zen - Monday, Apr 30, 18 @ 1:38 pm:
The son of Pawar’s largest donor is also the VP of One Illinois.
https://capitolfax.com/2017/09/07/pawar-campaign-explains-its-new-250k-contribution/
- Rich Miller - Monday, Apr 30, 18 @ 2:50 pm:
===“you fight fire with water,” … rivers ===
Hilarious.
- Shytown - Monday, Apr 30, 18 @ 4:07 pm:
I like the idea of having another voice out there to counter the Proft lies and attempt to give voice to the idea that Illinoisans from across the state have more in common then they don’t. Chicagoans are always being pitted against downstate when in reality we have many of the same interests at stake in Springfield and face many of the same challenges. I think this is a good start in changing the current narrative about Chicago vs the rest of Illinois and in the process offer stories without bias.
- Scott - Monday, Apr 30, 18 @ 4:38 pm:
The name is not compelling to read. Can’t dems even pick a good name?