* Dan Proft’s People Who Play By The Rules PAC reported another contribution from Dick Uihlein last night. This one’s for $3.27 million. That brings Uihlein’s total to just a hair under $8.1 million.

* Politico…

Gov. JB Pritzker has been working behind the scenes to get allies on the Democratic State Central Committee, and now he’s going public with a full endorsement, backing longtime lobbyist Liz Brown-Reeves of Springfield for the 15th Congressional District seat on the committee. “Liz Brown-Reeves has decades of experience working with Illinois Democrats and is committed to fighting for our shared values,” Pritzker said in a statement. Brown-Reeves faces Democrat Katherine Daniels of Quincy.

Not mentioned is that Bill Houlihan is supporting Daniels. Houlihan and Sen. Dick Durbin helped engineer the election of Robin Kelly as party chair. It’s all one thing. Click here for Brown-Reeves’ first mailer, which features Pritzker. She’s raised about $19K so far, but this is from her press release…

Senator Doris Turner, former State Representative Julie Curry and former Senator Andy Manar are hosting a fundraiser in support of Liz’s campaign on May 25th from 5:00-7:00 pm at Stonegate Farm (4491 Old Chatham Road) in Springfield

Expect a check from the governor soonish. Daniels has reported raising $2,600.

* From Mike Miletich…

A concerned Chicago resident filed a complaint against Aurora mayor Richard Irvin’s campaign for governor Thursday, citing a violation of the Campaign Disclosure Act. William Cook submitted documents to the Illinois State Board of Elections stating Irvin has repeatedly failed to identify billionaire Ken Griffin as a sponsoring entity for his campaign.

Under the law, a sponsoring entity is any person, organization, corporation or association contributing at least 33% of a political committee’s total funding during a quarterly reporting period. Cook explained that the law also states political committees must amend the statement of organization documents to identify a sponsoring entity if they pass the 33% threshold. […]

He also explained that the law states candidates could be liable for a penalty of up to $5,000 for filing a false statement of organization. In fact, the penalty for violating Article 9 of the Illinois election code is between $1,000 to $5,000 and could be subject to criminal liability. Cook noted that it could also lead to Irvin being found guilty of a business offense under the state’s unified code of corrections. […]

Board spokesperson Matt Dietrich said members could determine the complaint was filed on justifiable grounds and order Irvin’s committee to file an amended D-1. Although, the board could also order the campaign to ensure that they properly identify any sponsoring entities in the future.

Irvin reported raising $22.8 million, and $20 million of that was from Ken Griffin, or 88 percent, which is well above the threshold.

* Richard Irvin talked about his pension reform plan last night…

What we have to do is look at forming, like every other corporation throughout this country, look at doing a 401K pension hybrid. So, as more folks go into the pension system, they don’t create the burden that continues to dig this $130 billion hole that we’re in today

* This is a good piece…

Thirty-five years ago, 17-year-old Richard Irvin pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft and trespassing for his involvement in stealing a tire from an auto wrecker’s yard to fix a flat.

Now mayor of Aurora and a Republican candidate for governor, Irvin on Tuesday called the experience a life-changing one. “I knew I had to create a different outcome for myself,” he said.

A central theme of Irvin’s campaign has been his evolution from a hardscrabble childhood living in high-crime Section 8 housing with his single mom in Aurora to serving in Operation Desert Storm with the U.S. Army and earning a law degree.

The tire theft “was the first time I directly had a brush with the law,” Irvin said Tuesday. He disclosed the charges in an answer to a candidate questionnaire from the Daily Herald, which also reviewed court records.

* CD6…

Today, U.S. Congressman Sean Casten’s campaign issued a statement once again calling on Congresswoman Marie Newman to publicly release the details of her settlement with Iymen Chehade, after Newman’s campaign posted a deceptive webpage misleading voters on the facts surrounding her bipartisan ethics investigation in her first detailed public statement about the investigation to date.

Casten for Congress Spokesman Jacob Vurpillat released the following statement:
“In her first detailed public statement about her bipartisan ethics investigation, Rep. Newman has repeatedly misled voters – no less than seven times in just a few short paragraphs. Instead of providing voters and the press with the transparency and honesty they deserve, Rep. Newman has attempted to deceive the people of the 6th District in hopes of downplaying the severity of her bribery scandal.

“For months, Rep. Newman has claimed that information will emerge that will discredit her bipartisan federal ethics investigation. Yet, with voting already underway in the Illinois 6th Congressional District primary, she has continued to mislead the public.

“Rep. Newman can and should clear this all up today. Her voters deserve to know: How much of the money entrusted to her by her campaign donors has she promised to pay Iymen Chehade? Has she made any additional promises to pay him with taxpayer-provided funds? Does the settlement provide Mr. Chehade with any input on her policy positions or impact on her votes, as suggested may be the case based on her email exchanges with Mr. Chehade? What did Mr. Chehade commit to provide Congresswoman Newman in exchange for the cash payments?

“Out of respect for voters, Congresswoman Newman should immediately release the details of the secret settlement at the heart of her bribery scandal.”

* From an interview of GOP secretary of state candidate Rep. Dan Brady…

Brady said he also hears concerns from voters about election integrity. That’s an issue Republicans are trying to seize on in Secretary of State races across the country. Brady said in Illinois, the Secretary of State has little power over elections, except for motor voter registration.

Brady said he would like to offload that to local election authorities. “I don’t know that the documentation, the registration process is as thorough as it should be. I would like to see the emphasis shifted to organ and tissue donation and try to improve our numbers there,” Brady said.

The original idea of motor voter was to make it easier to register to vote and offering that service at Secretary of State offices provides broader access to registration because most adults use those facilities. Republicans in many states have tried to limit motor voter. Brady said he could be open to a partnership with local election authorities.

Not sure how Motor Voter would be handled by locals. If Brady does win the primary, he’s just opened himself up to criticism in the general.

* LBG…

Lake County Democrats Chair and Democratic State Central Committeewoman Lauren Beth Gash released the following statement in response to the Lake Villa Township Republican Club’s latest “Gun Raffle” being held as the nation mourns the victims of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas:

“It is stunning that Republicans would hold a raffle that glorifies AR-15 type weapons amid a nationwide gun violence epidemic, let alone after the massacres in Buffalo and Uvalde. Since they refuse to help Democrats pass common sense gun safety reforms, canceling this offensive gun raffle is literally the least Lake County Republicans can do. This raffle is in devastatingly poor taste. They should show compassion and leadership and do the right thing, but it seems that we can always count on Republicans in Lake County to do the wrong thing.

“It appears that these Lake County Republicans only registered this highly irresponsible raffle after concerned citizens informed them of their obligation to do so. Blatant violations of well-established and commonly understood campaign finance regulations might be considered standard impropriety for today’s Republican Party under normal circumstances, but these are not normal circumstances, and this is not a normal raffle. In fact, circumstances have been anything but normal for decades with respect to gun violence in America.

“Preventable gun violence and the horrors it produces for American parents, families, and children should not be accepted as some inevitable, incidental consequence of a constitutional right to bear arms. Mass murders are preventable, and their preventability hinges on curbing inappropriate access to firearms. The Lake Villa GOP’s flippant hand-out of deadly weapons meant for quickly killing people is shocking on multiple grounds—and, if continued, is an active and ongoing threat to the safety and security of Lake Villa’s families and children, as recent tragic events in Texas and Buffalo demonstrate. Firearms—as any responsible gun owner knows and clearly agrees with—should not be distributed in the same manner as stuffed animals at a carnival.”

Last week on Facebook, the Lake Villa Township Republican Club announced their latest “Gun Raffle.” Source: https://www.facebook.com/LVGOP/

* CD17…

Former state representative and 17th District Democratic Congressional Candidate Litesa Wallace on Wednesday called on Republican frontrunner Esther Joy King to join her in supporting a federal ban on the type of military-style assault weapons used in yesterday’s massacre of schoolchildren in Uvalde, Tex.

In a tweet yesterday, King offered nonspecific “prayers” for children slain by a gunman who reportedly used an AR-15-style weapon to murder 19 children.

Wallace also called on King to return and refuse any money from the nation’s gun lobby.

In statement, Wallace said:

“Whenever there is a mass shooting of the kind we are seeing unfold in Uvalde or in Buffalo, we hear Republicans offer their “thoughts and prayers” and yesterday was no different. I believe in prayer, too. I was on the campus of NIU in 2008 during a mass shooting, and I prayed then. I prayed after my best friend was shot and killed in 2001. But we know thoughts and prayers are hardly enough.

“Enough empty words. It’s time for action. That’s why I’m calling on Esther Joy King to join me in supporting a total federal ban on assault weapons. There is no historical Constitutional argument for owning these weapons of mass destruction. And every day we see the danger of allowing them in our communities.

“I’m also calling on Ms. King to refuse and return any contributions from the gun lobby. Guns are now the leading cause of death in children and that owes much to the blood-drenched money of the NRA and their lobby.

“Please, Ms. King, do more than just think about this problem. Do more than pray for the dead. Join me in supporting action.”

* More…

* Simon Institute research tracks Illinois political shift: “Biden, Trump, Durbin and Taxes: The 2020 Election in Illinois” can be downloaded at https://paulsimoninstitute.siu.edu/publications/simon-review.php