* WCIA TV…
State Senator Sue Rezin, a pro-life Republican from Morris, could soon decide if she plans to run to challenge House Democrat Lauren Underwood, a freshman incumbent, in the state’s 14th Congressional District.
Illinois Republican Party officials tried to recruit Rezin to run against 22-year veteran Senator Dick Durbin, the second ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, but Rezin said Wednesday she remains “fully committed to exploring a run for the 14th Congressional District.”
Other possible candidates showing interest in the seat include state senator Jim Oberwhttps://capitolfax.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=42412eis and state representative Allen Skillicorn. Rezin said she is not surprised the primary race is “very crowded because it’s a seat we shouldn’t have lost.”
Rezin painted Underwood as out of step with a district that has been represented by a Republican for 76 of the last 80 years.
“She’s with the AOC group in Washington, D.C.,” Rezin said, referring to Underwood’s fellow freshman member of Congress and progressive firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist from New York. “They have a very progressive agenda that doesn’t match with the Midwest or the 14th District,” she said.
Finding a “real” Republican opponent for Sen. Durbin won’t be easy in this climate.
Freshman Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville), recently removed references to a potential Democratic US Senate primary against Durbin from her campaign Facebook page. Her ActBlue page only references the Illinois House. I’ve asked her about this a few times, but have yet to receive a response. I’ll let you know if she does get back to me.
* But the Republicans do have someone to take the fall in Lipinski’s district…
Will County GOP Board Member Mike Fricilone announced a congressional bid Tuesday, a move that could prevent a repeat of 2018, when an admitted Holocaust denier, anti-Semite and white supremacist was the Republican 3rd District nominee.
Fricilone, 64, who lives in Homer Glen, is in his third term on the board, where he is the minority leader.
While four Democrats are running in the March 2020 Illinois primary in the Democratic-tilting district now represented by Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., Fricilone is the first Republican to launch a bid. […]
Fricilone, a furniture salesman at Midwest Office Interiors in Woodridge, said he was not recruited to run by GOP officials. “It was my idea.” […]
“He’s got a pretty big fight on his hands,” Fricilone said. “And I see Dan starting to move toward that liberal side of the Democratic Party in some of the messages I’m hearing out of him for fear of losing to the Democratic Socialist Progressive person,” who he did not name.
JB Pritzker won that district by 18 points last year. Hillary Clinton won it by 16.
* Related…
* Daiber takes aim at Madison County Board chairman seat
* ADDED: As she governs, Lightfoot kicks her political operation into high gear: In a series of little-noticed actions, the mayor has hired a continuing political team that will have a downtown office, begun exploring financial ways to pursue her agenda and raised well over $1 million since her election, with more fundraising yet to come.
- Anny Naan - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 11:03 am:
Mike is a great guy. Thank you for not giving the Nazi a free pass.
- JB13 - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 11:05 am:
A very shrewd move by Tea in. If Republicans in the 14th are smart, they’ll nominate her to run vs Underwood.
Yes, I laughed as I typed “If Republicans are smart…”
- Grand Avenue - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 11:05 am:
Mike Fricilone is running for the sole purpose of saving the GOP the embarrassment of Neo Nazi Art Jones running and being the nominee again
- JB13 - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 11:06 am:
I have no idea what happened in that previous comment. I meant to say “A very shrewd move by Rezin.”
- Lake County Mom - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 11:08 am:
Guess who’s back…Aaron Schock!
A Statement of Organization was filed last week with the Federal Election Commission for the “Schock for Congress” campaign. I don’t think he’s serious about winning his seat back from Darin LaHood, but is using his “campaign” as a vehicle to grift. Federal prosecutors dropped charges against Schock earlier this year in exchange for him paying $110,000 in restitution and taxes. Using campaign money from a campaign you’re not serious about to pay off the government saves him from dipping into his own personal accounts.
- AnonForNow - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 11:22 am:
Dems could have a map problem in 2 years if they hold this and a few other seats. Not sure if we lose one or two in census, but even with Madigan’s Map Magic there’s limitations on what one can do.
- So_Ill - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 11:28 am:
==Dems could have a map problem in 2 years if they hold this and a few other seats. Not sure if we lose one or two in census, but even with Madigan’s Map Magic there’s limitations on what one can do.==
I would be much more worried if I was Davis/Shimkus/Bost/Kinzinger.
- Nonbeliever - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 11:29 am:
Unfortunately Durbin easily wins again,
No strong pro life candidate is going to win in the 14th.
- lincoln's beard - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 11:30 am:
=== “She’s with the AOC group in Washington, D.C.,” Rezin said, referring to Underwood’s fellow freshman member of Congress and progressive firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist from New York. “They have a very progressive agenda that doesn’t match with the Midwest or the 14th District,” she said. ===
And yet Underwood doesn’t support Medicare For All: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-youngest-black-woman-in-congress-has-an-alternative-to-medicare-for-all/
=== But unlike many of the most prominent freshman Democrats in Congress, Underwood is not a co-sponsor of the “Medicare for All” bill proposed by Rep. Pramila Jayapal. She said that she supported the goal of offering universal coverage, but was worried about the costs of expanding government health care to cover all Americans.
“If we’re going to talk about transforming our health care system in this really big bold way we should also be willing to have a candid conversation about how to pay for it and where the resources are going to come from,” Underwood said. ===
If they’re going to tar you with that brush anyway, you should at least support the policies, or you won’t get the support from progressives necessary to hold your seat.
- Highland Il - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 11:48 am:
It will be interesting to see if Daiber can get any traction against Prenzler in Madison County. Prenzler is so Trump like, and no other GOP official will stand up to him. It’s a mirror image of what is happening in DC.
- A Young Person - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 11:57 am:
==Dems could have a map problem in 2 years if they hold this and a few other seats. Not sure if we lose one or two in census, but even with Madigan’s Map Magic there’s limitations on what one can do.==
If you’re willing to rearrange Districts 2, 5, 8, 10, and 11, and suburbanites vote like they have since 2016, this is not true. Of course, significantly moving some of those districts is a big if.
- Mr Lurkey - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 12:00 pm:
I think Kinsinger could give Durbin a challenge, Rezin could have as well. But it’s would take a lightning strike of magic to succeed. Rezin would be great in the 14th, and as for redistricting i think it can’t be much of a bloodbath again for republicans, they will just pack all republicans in 5 districts
- Former Downstater - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 12:42 pm:
The lazy attacks by Rezin and Fricilone are already boring. AOC. Democratic Socialist Progressive. zzz
- AnonForNow - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 12:55 pm:
To the comments, no doubt, half the fun is gaming this out. Going after those 4 GOP is easy in theory but do you want a dem rural-ish district for Bustos if she isn’t running for senate? What about minority districts in the city? Toss in some supreme court rulings, Lipinksi, and it has the potential to get very fun.
- flavius217 - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 1:22 pm:
Why would the Republicans run someone in the Third when they already have one in Lipinski?
- Leatherneck - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 1:33 pm:
- A Young Person - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 11:57 am:
==Dems could have a map problem in 2 years if they hold this and a few other seats. Not sure if we lose one or two in census, but even with Madigan’s Map Magic there’s limitations on what one can do.==
If you’re willing to rearrange Districts 2, 5, 8, 10, and 11, and suburbanites vote like they have since 2016, this is not true. Of course, significantly moving some of those districts is a big if.
—————-
I wouldn’t be surprised if in the remap Underwood’s 14th gets extended west to DeKalb and Rockford (and maybe Freeport).
With Bustos’ 17th maybe even swapping Rockford for Springfield (she is a Springfield native), plus more of the Peoria area.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 1:46 pm:
Underwood is working to decrease the high US maternal death rate, the highest of the developed countries. She is also working against higher taxes (in the form of tariffs) and she is working to reinstate the SALT deduction. How is the opposition going to oppose this? We are for higher taxes? More farmers going bankrupt? No help for pregnant women?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 1:49 pm:
===How is the opposition going to oppose this?===
Did you just fall off the turnip truck?
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 1:50 pm:
Just FYI - Rezin doesn’t live in the 14th. She lives in the 16th.
That’s not stopping her from running in the 14th though.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 1:53 pm:
===Rezin doesn’t live in the 14th===
Meh.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 1:58 pm:
Meh perhaps on its own.
I see it as an outsized reaction of the ILGOP. Losing the 14th was a big loss for them. A larger than normal amount of resources will be dumped into that race in the 14th, and they will pull in resources from other areas - likely to the detriment to those other areas.
Regardless, it’s going to be an interesting show to watch.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 2:00 pm:
===and they will pull in resources from other areas - likely to the detriment to those other areas===
Resources aren’t that scarce.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 2:15 pm:
Competent resources are scarce.
Living within local agencies in the 14th, I’m seeing a lot of unforced errors by the local boards who thought they had control of all aspects of government. This wasn’t something they planned for. During local elections this past Spring, more of the solid R seats were lost at the local level.
Obviously I’m biased. But there is a noticeable shift on the ground in this area. Especially on the local boards that were always thought to be safe R that suddenly no longer are.
- Dave W - Thursday, Jun 13, 19 @ 2:54 pm:
Daiber’s ego got the better of him. He got crushed in 3 failed bids against Ron Stephens for state rep back in the 90s. Her served on the Madison County Board and has been Marine Township Supervisor for many years (2 positions where he was never opposed). He was appointed as regional superintendent of schools in 2007, and never had an opponent in 3 elections.
Then he had the bizarre idea to run for the Democrat nomination for governor last year. He received a whopping 1.2% of the vote statewide and only 16% in Madison County. In the process, he went on record supporting some very liberal policies, I’m assuming to pander to liberal voters in Chicago. That won’t jive well in Madison County.
- Union Thug Gramma - Friday, Jun 14, 19 @ 12:43 am:
Sue Rezin needs to understand that the district is sick and tired of the bs of anti-abortion, anti-woman, anti-health care that her party panders to…along with Oberweis’ racist bs. It ain’t the 1950’s any longer.