* Pre-Easter campaign mailer…

That’s… quite something.

* In the midst of yet another very long rebuttal of the mail/TV/text attack ads on him by Richard Irvin, Sen. Darren Bailey said this today…

I mean, friends, this is absolutely disgusting. And this man, Richard Irvin, and his lieutenant governor candidate Avery Bourne, if they’re going to be so bold as to say things like this now, can you imagine what things are going to be like if they get into office? Which we don’t have to worry about that.

Bailey is doing a lot of explaining in long videos that are only viewed by a super-tiny fraction of the GOP voting base. And since he’s not pushing back in his own mail/TV/text advertising, he’s not reaching the people who are forming unrebutted views of him.

Bailey does claim to have a large ground game…

I know you’re getting concerned and frustrated. But this is what a grassroots movement does. We educate, we inform, we get out. Last night, up in Buffalo Grove, the friends that were up there, there’s hundreds of people walking. And I think over 2000 doors and phone calls have been, doors had been knocked on and flyers had been left over the course of the last week.

Lit drops aren’t very effective. And if he has “hundreds” of walkers, his campaign would have made a whole lot more contacts than that. He’d better hope the DGA ad program works.

* Speaker Welch…

Following a legislative session with a fourth consecutive balanced budget, funding for Illinois youth, and economic relief for Illinois families, House Democrats are also celebrating a strong quarter of fundraising in which they are poised to outraise all other legislative leaders and Illinois caucuses.

While adjusting to new state ethics laws, House Democrats reported raising over $1.3 million during the first quarter of 2022. Speaker Welch raised $139,900.00 for Democrats for the Illinois House, while The People for Emanuel “Chris” Welch raised $1,177,275.00.

Funds raised will be used in the 2022 primary and general elections. As the first African-American Speaker of the House, Welch says funds will be used to continue to shape Illinois into a great state to raise a family where the government is inclusive and works for the people.

“Democrats in the House have come together like we’ve never seen to get things done for Illinois families,” said Welch. “Our supporters see that. You can see it in the legislation we pass focusing on the people, and how we come together to get things done. We are going to build on that momentum by electing more Democrats to the House. We are the party working to serve Illinoisans. I am extremely proud of our fundraising efforts, and I’m thankful to the supporters who believe in our work. We have a lot more work ahead.”

In addition to the totals raised, individual members have also had a successful fundraising quarter with the support of the house democratic caucus fundraising team.

* DPI…

Today, the Democratic Party of Illinois announced it raised a total of $712,676.30 in the first quarter of 2022 and ended the quarter with a total of $4,246,889.46 on hand. Total fundraising included $362,296.56 in federal fundraising and $350,379.74 in non-federal fundraising, including contributions from nearly 750 unique donors, and marked the strongest fundraising quarter for the DPI under the leadership of Chair Robin Kelly.

“Our strong fundraising performance is a reflection of the enthusiasm from Democrats across Illinois in the DPI and its work,” said Abby Witt, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Illinois. “As campaign season ramps up, we are well resourced to execute Chair Kelly’s vision of a party that provides the foundation for successful Democratic campaigns up and down the ticket in 2022 and beyond.”

* Rochford…

Today, the Judge Rochford for Supreme Court campaign announced it will report raising over $137,000 in the first quarter of 2022, bringing the total raised from the launch of the campaign through the end of March to nearly $400,000. Since the start of this race, Judge Rochford’s campaign has outraised the nearest opponent by more than $170,000. Driven by Judge Rochford’s exceptional credentials and deep judicial experience, the campaign has the momentum in this race after receiving numerous key endorsements and with strong support from a coalition of legal professionals, organized labor, elected officials, and small dollar individual donors from across the district.

The campaign has already raised more than $100,000 in the first two weeks of the second quarter following an event hosted by major labor organizations on April 12th. The event was hosted by the Illinois AFL-CIO, UFCW Local 881, Illinois Pipetrades Association, IUOE Local 399, and Plumbers Local 130, among others.

* More…

* Democratic ward orgs — mostly headed by aldermen — see infusion of Pritzker donations ahead of June Primary Election: More than a dozen aldermen who also serve as Democratic committeepeople saw a cash infusion from Gov. JB Pritzker during the first three months of this year. Several Chicago aldermen who also serve as their ward’s Democratic committeeperson saw donations ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 from Gov. JB Pritzker during the first quarter of this year.

* Jonathan Jackson endorsed by Rep. Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia in race to replace Bobby Rush: Jackson, the Chicago-based national spokesman for Rainbow PUSH and the son of Rev. Jesse Jackson, was joined by Gacia (D-Illinois 14), who enthusiastically gave his support to the candidate. “I proudly stand with Jonathan Jackson and throw my wholehearted support and endorsement to his effort to become the next congressman of the First District,” Garcia said.

* Republicans in 13th Congressional District face off in Springfield forum: [Terry Martin], a journalist-turned-politician who covered Congress and Illinois state government, said he could no longer sit on the sidelines. “What I couldn’t do is stay neutral because I was becoming just so utterly frustrated at the upside down world we live in,” Martin said. “We’re told to wear masks and yet we can have the border open.”

* FBI acquires transcript of Michael Madigan deposition and the ex-speaker answering questions under oath in civil case