* I pointed out to subscribers several days ago that Dan Proft’s campaign committees hadn’t raised any money this year after spending a fortune battling House Republicans in past primary cycles. The House Republicans have been saying they don’t believe Proft will be getting any more bigtime cash from Dick Uihlein and that they’ve made peace with some key Proft allies. I’ve reached out to Proft for comment a couple of times this week and haven’t heard back.
Hannah Meisel advanced the story today…
[Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider] said he’s trying to nix any Republican infighting before it has the chance to bloom in the 2020 campaign cycle. He told The Daily Line that he’s been working with the free-market think tank Illinois Policy Institute, whose CEO John Tillman was an early supporter of Rauner, and who has previously been in the background of efforts to field candidates against mainstream Republicans.
Schneider said he also planned to work with Ideas Illinois, a not-for-profit dark money organization created by longtime business leader Greg Baise to fight Pritzker’s signature policy: a progressive income tax that voters will have to weigh in on in the November 2020 election.
“We’re all working together, that’s the whole thing,” Schneider said. “You know, we’ve been fighting each other for so long, nobody’s done enough to try to get everybody to work together. And I think if there’s one thing that we’re doing that we haven’t done effectively, the last couple years we’ve been fighting each other.”
Schneider said because of his efforts, Republicans would face fewer primary battles — even from candidates launched by conservative radio host and one-time gubernatorial candidate Dan Proft, and conservative business magnate Richard Uihlein.
“In the past, resources have come from the Policy Institute and Dick Uihlein,” Schneider said. “And I don’t see that they’ve engaged in giving resources to Dan Proft in the last two quarterly statements, so I think there’s a pullback from that. I think they’d rather see us all working together than working against one another…if people are gonna constantly fight one another for radio ratings, no, we’re not interested in that.”
…Adding… Good point by Maxwell…
*** UPDATE *** I asked Matt Paprocki at the Illinois Policy Institute for comment on Chairman Schneider’s claim that his group was one of the “partners” on the state GOP’s team…
Illinois Policy Institute has no role with the Illinois GOP team.
But I hope everyone — Republicans, Democrats and Independents — says we are good partners.
We want to work to everyone. Our state’s biggest problems are not partisan. And the solutions to fix them have to be bipartisan, as well.
Illinois Policy Institute is nonpartisan, which means our policy work is open to all, and we will partner with anyone.
- Earnest - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:10 am:
Rauner got Democrats and all of labor working together. I would imagine the prospect of a progressive income tax doing the same for Republicans.
- Norseman - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:11 am:
At some point, even a ridiculously wealthy guy with a propensity to throw cash at pet projects realizes the waste in a losing cause.
- Former Quigley Supporter - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:17 am:
This appears to explain why Allen Skillicorn abandoned his IL-14 congressional bid and announced his IL House reelection kickoff event for the end of next month:
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2019/08/14/skillicorn-announces-re-election-kick-off
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:20 am:
“We’re all working together, that’s the whole thing”
Union-busting, protecting the richest, separatism and racism. Nice platform for 2020.
“CEO John Tillman was an early supporter of Rauner, and who has previously been in the background of efforts to field candidates against mainstream Republicans.”
Are there even any mainstream Republicans left to fight back against destructive far-right wing fiscal zealots and union-busters?
- Precinct Captain - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:20 am:
Gotta love these “independent” groups!
- South of Sherman - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:20 am:
So the “non-partisan” Illinois Policy Institute is working with the Illinois GOP?
I’m shocked. SHOCKED!
- Louis - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:26 am:
Something mentioned here, the progressive income tax, is something I have wondered about for a while:
What is the reasoning behind downstate republican lawmakers opposing the progressive income tax, outside of it being a Democratic idea?
Everything I read says that most downstate citizens will be paying the same or less in taxes, and this will help the state overall?
Are lawmakers opposed to it so they can frame Democrats in a bad light? Are they genuinely concerned this will lead to higher taxes for lower tax brackets in future?
I’m a Chicago resident who will see no change in income taxes, so this is a genuine ask of what the reasoning is.
- Former Quigley Supporter - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:26 am:
Concerning Dan Proft and Allen Skillicorn, this was published back in February by Kane County-based blogger Jeff Ward towards the end of the first article about Don Quixote-ish campaigns for Congress:
https://thefirstward.net/2019/02/08/quick-hits-february-8-2019
- efudd - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:27 am:
Look forward to Trump campaigning for numerous GOP office holders/seekers in Illinois in the coming months.
Since they’re all working together, and everything.
- efudd - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:32 am:
Louis, as a resident of Union county the answer to your question is in your second line.
Bryant, Windhorst, Fowler know we need the money down here. But they would rather cut off their right arm than support something from “liberal Chicago”. The maelstorm of criticism they would get is more than they are willing to face.
Also, two of those three are drawing state pensions.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:33 am:
Rauner flushed $95 million down the toilet. Maybe Uihlein sees what a lost cause Proft and the ILGOP are. They viciously attacked Madigan and look at the results.
- Henry Francis - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:36 am:
It seems that state republican candidates can only win fights against other state republican candidates. So if they stop fighting each other, how are they going to win anything?
- Captain Obvious - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:40 am:
Downstate republicans don’t support the progressive tax because their constituents know we won’t be paying the same or less in taxes for very long. And they know we know we know it.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:41 am:
===Who is leading the @ILGOP? Chairman Tim Schneider lists @IllinoisPolicy and the longtime GOP operative/lobbyist Greg Baise at @IdeasIllinois who he says are “players” working on the same team along with GOP legislative leaders. @IllinoisPolicy claims it is non-partisan.===
When Diana Rauner first hired IPI, and then Diana Rickert thought “as a white male” is how you handle cartoons happened… Diana Rauner found out quick that IPI was a bunch of grifters… and bad for her own brand.
The fact that a Raunerite like Schneider wants the IOI back in, and Baise’s phony grifter group too… there’s no plan to gain seats or win elections… it’s truly about the money.
Grifters deciding “in concert” with the party where the politics and policy should go is enough of a red flag that it’s a bunch of rich folks wanting to either “bankrupt” Illinois, (thus making money of this scam) or trying to keep taxes for the 3% at a “reasonable level”, by defeating the CA.
At least they’re being honest about the dishonesty to the party.
That’s fun.
To Proft,
Dan made his dough. He’s on the radio. Dealing with folks that are a majority minority versus his minority-minority… he’s doing “fine”.
He golfs more than Tom Cross, vacations more than Johnny Carson did, Proft can lob grenades with “@StatehouseChick and Kass… and laugh at the seeds of discontent he does.
Proft has NO desire to govern, he’ll wait for his next payday.
….
We let strangers in our house.
Diana Rauner
Bruce Rauner
They aided IPI, Proft, Uihlein… they wrecked the party, held a state hostage, showed that IPI folks can’t do much when in state government…
… and like the Buchanans in “The Great Gatsby”, Bruce and Diana Rauner left a party… THEY bought… in ruins… to move on to their pathetic lives of wealth and privilege…
“Who is leading the @ILGOP? Chairman Tim Schneider lists @IllinoisPolicy and the longtime GOP operative/lobbyist Greg Baise at @IdeasIllinois who he says are “players” working on the same team along with GOP legislative leaders. @IllinoisPolicy claims it is non-partisan.”
… and this is what the Rauners did. Ruined the party.
- hisgirlfriday - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:41 am:
“all working together” in violation of the laws against political parties being in illegal coordination with dark money groups?
- IL4Life - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:46 am:
“They want to see us working together”
These are the same people who, after 20 GOP House members and 12 GOP Senate members voted to raise the motor fuel tax to fix our broken roads and bridges, wrote opinion articles like “Our own Republican Party leaders failed the taxpayers of Illinois.” The IPI has at least 10 articles complaining about the 19 cent increase on their website and has tweeted many more times.
Yeah, it’ll be easy to get everyone on the same page.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:51 am:
===These are the same people who, after 20 GOP House members and 12 GOP Senate members voted to raise the motor fuel tax to fix our broken roads and bridges, wrote opinion articles like “Our own Republican Party leaders failed the taxpayers of Illinois.” The IPI has at least 10 articles complaining about the 19 cent increase on their website and has tweeted many more times.===
LOL
Now, with respect…If you think this is about unity and winning, then you are the lemming they hope.
It’s about controlling members for an agenda in *hooes* of dollars they don’t even know will be there.
It’s not about winning elections.
They’re grifters.
They are always grifters.
They are grifters now, and tomorrow too.
“As a white male”, Bruce found out the hard way, Diana got embarrassed the public way.
For your own sanity, please see this as it is, not what they are trying to “sell”
- JS Mill - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 10:57 am:
= Downstate republicans don’t support the progressive tax because their constituents know we won’t be paying the same or less in taxes for very long. And they know we know we know it.=
Yeah, right.
They don’t want to pay their bills. That has been the new ILGOP approach since Rauner was elected.
- 62468 - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 11:07 am:
Does this mean no more editions of the East Central Reporter? No more ads/mail from liberty principles? What a loss for civil discourse and democracy…who will cheer on the fringe of the fringe now?
- OneMan - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 11:16 am:
It would seem logical that if you are going to spend and work to stop the progressive income tax you are going to be better off staying far away from the ILGOP.
You don’t want ‘the wrong type of people’ or ‘I fought to keep confederate statues up’ as far away from that as you can.
The suburbs are going to be the key to stopping that and the ILGOP song isn’t going to play well in the burbs right now.
- Education First - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 11:23 am:
So where will Mark Curran’s announcement fit into all of this “rebuilding” Republicans?
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 11:37 am:
“Illinois Policy claimed it is partisan”
Believed by no one.
- City Zen - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 11:58 am:
==What is the reasoning behind downstate republican lawmakers opposing the progressive income tax==
Trust.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 12:26 pm:
==Trust==
Like the trust I have that if the flat taxes remain, income taxes will go up?
- City Zen - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 1:03 pm:
==Like the trust I have that if the flat taxes remain, income taxes will go up?==
True, that is what they’re threatening, is it not?
Of course, taxes will be going up in 2022 with the progressive plan anyways: no inflation indexing.
- Anyone Remember - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 1:36 pm:
Oswego Willy -
Fundraising idea for the IL GOP - using the Tiger v Phil model, Cross v Proft? Of course, it would have to be 9 holes on a bright, seasonally warm Tuesday in March or November. /s
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 1:38 pm:
- Anyone Remember -
I’ll call Fox Bend Golf Course in Oswego, see if they will host.
Great idea.
We need more golf outing type things. Not enough of them.
Cross still snubs me for golf. It hurts every time.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 1:42 pm:
===…Tuesday in March or November.===
Yeah, ‘bout that…
Proft will be a “no”
Election Day is when Proft is busy counting EFTs from grifting.
It’s well known, you don’t bother Proft on “Grifter Day”… we call it Election Day but whatevs.
:)
- Anyone Remember - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 2:06 pm:
Oswego Willy -
Perhaps Cross could play on election day, Proft another day, & Center Square’s CGI experts could put them on the screen at the same time? (Practicing Deep Fake skills. /s)
- InsertNameHere - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 2:22 pm:
“Illinois Policy Institute is nonpartisan”
The funniest thing I’ll read all day
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 2:22 pm:
Update:
Do I believe Paprocki?
Nope.
Thanks.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 2:48 pm:
“…and we will partner with anyone.”
Anyone with an agenda and a checkbook.
- Anon E Moose - Friday, Aug 16, 19 @ 4:06 pm:
Sure, I remember all those Democrats that IPI worked with.