* Sen. Bailey’s responses on the debate topic are here. Please pardon all transcription errors. What follows is not in order, but is grouped by topic. First up, party unity…
Q: Did you ask Jim Durkin for an endorsement?
A: Nope. I haven’t talked to Jim recently. […]
Q: Several of the leading Republicans, Dan Brady and Jim Durkin as well, when asked if they are supporting you, they’re deferring, saying ‘We’re supporting the ticket.’ Do you feel that you still have some work to do to really unify the party around you?
A: The Illinois Republican Party needs leadership. I’m bringing that leadership. We will unify the party. That doesn’t bother me one bit. I will support them. I love them all the same. So everything’s good. We’re going to take back Illinois. We’re going to fire JB Pritzker and we’re going to restore Illinois.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin was standing just a few feet away from Bailey for several minutes before Durkin spoke. So, he had ample opportunities. Here’s a clip of Durkin walking up to the stage and then another of him leaving after he finished his speech…
* Crime and Chicago…
Q: What’s your plan to address gun violence in the state? I know you’ve talked about a lot, but what is your concrete plan?
A: Well, it would be nice if we would start obeying and following the laws that we have. Illinois all ready has the most extensive gun laws in the nation. So when we don’t follow them, and we don’t obey them, then there’s certainly no need for more laws. […]
Q: Do you think most Chicagoans feel like they live in hell?
A: Pardon?
Q: Do you think most Chicagoans feel like they live in a hellhole?
A: Actually, I believe they do. Because it’s an unsafe. It’s going to change. Chicagoans deserve better. I call it out, friends. And you know that. You realize the first time that I made that statement on the debate stage, that very night, the homeless man, the Walking Man in the loop, he was set on fire. When’s the last time? When is the last time? When is the last time that Chicago experienced a night without a shooting? Do you know it’s been a while. It’s been a long time. And it’s time to restore sanity and common sense and integrity and safety on the streets. That’s what that’s all about.
Yeah, it would be great if people followed the laws. Many don’t. So, what’s the plan?
The hellhole question was likely prompted by what he said during his speech…
Q: Your spokesman said Pence did his job, Biden is the duly elected president. Now, what do you say? In your words.
A: The constitutional process was followed. And that’s exactly what happened. So President Biden is president because the constitutional process was followed. Other than that, I’m not a constitutional scholar. I trust in this constitutional republic and this free land in this document that we have, and it was followed.
Yeah. Major pivot.
* Capital construction projects…
Q: Senator just last week, Gov. Pritzker was Downstate and said if you get your plan to cancel or repeal his gas tax through, it would kill the capital bill, kill jobs, freeze construction projects Downstate on roads and bridges. Have you considered what that would do if you remove that funding from all of those projects that are already underway?
A: Have you considered the fact for the last six months that if the legislator would have met and we would have addressed just the sales tax? I think a lot of people in Illinois forget that gas is taxed twice. We have the price of gas, we have the gas tax, and then we have sales tax. I think the people of Illinois need to know that in the first half of 2022 that all of the gas tax was collected that was anticipated on being collected because the price of gasoline was doubled. So if we would have cut the price of the sales tax in half, then we would have saved Illinoisans 25 cents, and still the anticipated tax would have been collected. Our governor is not telling people the truth. Our governor is ripping people off. Our governor is pushing small business and the people out of the state and that’s got to change.
* His faith…
Q: how do you reach out to people with your faith based campaigning? How do you reach out to people or voters who don’t believe in Jesus Christ?
A: The same as I do all of my life. We get along with everyone, we’re seeking unity amongst the diversity here in Illinois, and I’m not pushing anything on anyone. I’m a devout Christian. I’m a conservative American. And I look to appeal to everyone.
Q: What if people are offended by what they view as proselytizing?
A: Now I don’t think that [reporters interrupt with their own questions]
* His Holocaust comments…
listen, the Holocaust is no doubt an atrocity beyond parallel. No doubt about it. I have issued a statement and if anyone out here hasn’t seen or received that statement, talk to my comms director, Joe DeBose. And we will get that statement to you again.
Trouble is, after he released the statement, he complained more than once that reporters had taken his remarks out of context.
Chicago police officers responded to a Monday night fire in state Rep. La Shawn Ford’s residence that damaged his garage and two cars, including a 1979 Chevrolet Corvette, according to a police report. No injuries were reported.
“I don’t think I was a target,” Ford told the Tribune Thursday. “It’s just another episode of violence and crime in Chicago, and I just happened to be a victim of it.”
The fire began near Ford’s garage in the 900 block of South Mayfield Avenue, damaging the two cars inside, and extended to a garage in the 900 block of South Mason Avenue around 10:45 p.m.
When officers arrived, they found a vehicle in the middle of an alley engulfed in flames. An Illinois license plate was found near the car, but officers couldn’t determine whether it belonged to the car because the vehicle was completely burned, according to a police report.
Today the JB for Governor campaign announced that Governor Pritzker will participate in two statewide debates.
WMBD, AARP Illinois, and Illinois State University
When: October 4, 2022
Where: Normal, IL
WGN-TV
When: October 18, 2022
Where: Chicago, IL
Illinois State University and AARP will provide a unique, intergenerational forum to discuss a broad range of topics important to voters. As non-profit, non-partisan organizations, AARP and ISU are committed to encouraging informed civic participation. The debate will be free and open to the public and will be broadcast statewide.
WGN’s statewide debate will offer voters another opportunity to hear the candidates for governor articulate their vision for the state. The debate will be broadcast statewide and available online.
* NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern asked Darren Bailey if he is agreeing to the debates…
Bailey: I don’t know. Is one of those one of yours?
MAA: It is not.
Bailey: Okay, well, we’re gonna have to talk about that then. [Cross talk] I’m gonna debate the man. The people of Illinois need to know that he is responsible for the failures of safety, law enforcement, he has destroyed our schools. He’s destroyed our families. He’s destroyed our businesses. So I look forward to debating him and making him answer for that.
* Sun-Times op-ed by Harold Hirshman, the lead counsel in the Rasho v. Jeffreys mental health class action lawsuit against IDOC and lead trial counsel in the Lippert v. Jeffreys health care class action lawsuit…
The state committed itself to change by entering into a consent decree in the Lippert vs. Jeffreys class action lawsuit on prison medical care in 2018, but an acceptable plan to provide such care has never been submitted to the court. This plan was due three years ago, and a federal court has now held them in contempt for failing to create the plan. The IDOC can’t even begin to fix its health care system without it.
In Rasho vs. Jeffreys, the mental health class action lawsuit, the results are even more troubling. After years of operating under an approved settlement agreement, the IDOC’s lawyers have now repudiated the agreement. The parties are now preparing for a trial, because defendants never did what they committed to do under the settlement agreement. […]
Stewart , the mental health monitor, wrote report after report, year after year, detailing the deficiencies of care. These deficiencies have continued during Pritzker’s term. In February, a federal judge held that some of the patients most in need of mental health treatment —those housed at Pontiac Correctional Center’s residential treatment unit — were not getting intensive treatment detailed in IDOC’s own mental health manuals. Instead, they were confined to their cells for 23 to 24 hours a day.
Why did this happen? IDOC says they don’t have enough guards at Pontiac, so prisoners have to remain locked in their cells. But IDOC has known since 2014 that they didn’t have enough mental health or security staff. The problem persists eight years later. Wexford, the private company that provides the mental and physical health care, has never delivered the number of employees called for in its contract. Yet the contract, remarkably, calls for Wexford to be paid in advance for all workers, despite the company never having met the contractual staffing requirements.
There are other persistent problems, too. The IDOC health care system still does not have electronic medical records, a basic feature, in 2022, of a functioning medical care system. The IDOC promised in the Lippert settlement that they would have electronic records by now, but there is still no date for such a system to be implemented. […]
Pritzker has been a leader in many areas, but not on prison medical and mental health care. Nothing has changed in Illinois prisons in the last three and a half years — if anything, things have gotten worse.
The Department of Corrections has prevailed on numerous motions in the Rasho litigation, including findings that the Department’s efforts are appropriate and not a violation of its Constitutional obligations. Plaintiffs’ recent motions seeking a preliminary injunction and seeking contempt have all been denied and the prior injunction against the Department was vacated in full by the 7th Circuit. As a result of these rulings, the District Court denied Plaintiffs’ motion to extend the already multi-year consent decree, finding the agreement could no longer be enforced against the Department. The Department recently opened the first ever state of the art inpatient facility this summer and remains committed to ensuring appropriate mental health care and treatment for all individuals in its custody.
Officials from the Illinois State Police faced questioning Wednesday from Republican lawmakers who said the agency had authority to reject a gun permit application from a man who later allegedly carried out a mass shooting at a July 4 parade in Highland Park.
The alleged gunman, Robert Crimo III, is being held without bond on a 117-count indictment for the mass shooting that left seven dead and dozens more injured.
State Sen. John Curran, R-Downers Grove, criticized ISP for claiming that it had no authority to deny Crimo a Firearms Owners Identification, or FOID card, when he applied for one in December 2019, just three months after he had been the subject of a “clear and present danger” report filed by an individual who alleged Crimo had threatened to “kill everyone.”
“This report clearly, by any independent review, would meet the level of preponderance of the evidence,” Curran said. “It is clearly above the 50 percent threshold, more likely than not, that there (was) a threat of violence in that home.”
The questioning came during a meeting of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, a legislative panel that has oversight of the administrative rulemaking process.
According to state Sen. John Curran, what’s unclear, based on public statements by state police, is whether the agency, which is charged with overseeing firearm licensing, reviewed the Highland Park report or just discarded it when it was determined Crimo didn’t have a FOID card or pending application.
Curran, a Downers Grove Republican, raised the issue with state police officials Wednesday in his role as a member of the legislature’s bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
The panel was reviewing an emergency rule change state police announced in the wake of the Highland Park shooting that seeks to clarify the agency’s ability to retain such reports even if the subject doesn’t have a FOID card or a pending application. The agency would be able to use the reports in evaluating future applications.
State police also are drafting a permanent rule to address the issue, but Curran said lawmakers can’t consider whether such a change is adequate unless they fully understand what happened in the Highland Park case.
* Sen. Rezin…
Illinois Senate Deputy Minority Leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris) released the following statement after the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules approved an administrative rule that makes changes to the FOID card system’s review process:
“Today’s rule change makes it clear to everyone that the Pritzker Administration accepts the fact that it had the authority and ability to enforce and strengthen our state’s existing laws and rules, which the Governor himself promised to do over three years ago.
“We all recognize the vital importance of keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous individuals, and it is infuriating to learn that our state had the ability to prevent the Highland Park shooter from obtaining a FOID card if it wasn’t for the Administration tying its hands with its own rules.
“The fact of matter is it took a horrific act of senseless violence for the Governor’s Administration to acknowledge this reality and keep the promise he made to the people of Illinois.”
* Sen. DeWitte…
On Wednesday, a new administrative rule was brought before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) that strengthens the Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card system and its use of clear-and-present-danger reports. In response to the promulgation of the new rule, State Senator and JCAR member Donald DeWitte (R-St. Charles) issued the following statement:
“Today, I supported the new rule that strengthens the FOID card review process to prevent dangerous individuals from legally purchasing or possessing firearms. The Pritzker Administration’s purported review of the FOID card process following the Aurora shooting in 2019 failed to recognize this gap in the interpretation and application of clear-and-present-danger reports submitted to the ISP. Had the Pritzker Administration done what they said they were going to do, which was to review and make sure laws already on the books were being implemented more effectively, the tragedy in Highland Park might never have occurred. Local police in Highland Park did their due diligence to alert the State Police of this individual, but because of the gap, which was overlooked in the Pritzker Administration, the report was discarded.”
* ISP today…
The Illinois State Police (ISP) conducted a firearms enforcement blitz with details in all 102 counties across the state from June 16 through July 31, 2022. The enforcement details are designed to ensure those who have had their firearm rights revoked are in compliance with the Firearms Owners Identification Card (FOID) Act.
“Once again, our ISP officers are making Illinois safer by getting dangerous firearms out of the wrong hands,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Since 2019, ISP has executed hundreds of details—placing thousands of individuals in compliance with the FOID Act. Last month’s firearm enforcement blitz is another example of the ways that ISP is preventing gun violence and protecting our communities. I want to thank Director Kelly for his leadership and the rest of the ISP team for their hard work.”
“The ISP continues to aggressively enforce our laws to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of those posing a significant threat to themselves or others,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “Through these enforcement details, our impact on this key factor in gun violence continues to strengthen.”
During the enforcement blitz, ISP completed 201 details statewide consisting of 1,716 compliance checks. As a result of these efforts, 1,014 individuals were placed into compliance by surrendering their FOID Cards, transferring all firearms out of their possession, and completing a Firearm Disposition Record. ISP completed 63 details in northern Illinois (Zones 1, 2, and 3) consisting of 421 compliance checks resulting in 223 individuals placed into compliance.
“We commend the Illinois State Police for working to ensure that individuals whose FOID cards have been revoked are following the law and transferring their firearms,” said Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart. “I dedicated a unit to this important work nearly a decade ago, and we are committed to working with ISP to help to keep our communities safe.”
ISP began conducting enforcement details in May 2019.
ComEd today issued the following statement on behalf of CEO Gil Quiniones after the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved the company’s voluntary customer refund:
“Today’s approval of ComEd’s voluntary $38 million customer refund resolves any question of whether customer funds were used in connection with the unacceptable conduct detailed in the July 2020 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA).
The quality and value of ComEd’s service to our customers is arguably the best in the nation, but we recognize that delivering excellent performance and value for the dollar is not enough and we are equally dedicated to earning and maintaining our customers’ trust. We’re committed to maintaining high standards of ethical behavior for our business, our leaders and every employee, and we continue to build on the significant new policies, oversight and rigorous employee training that we’ve enacted since 2020 to make sure that the past conduct that drove this refund can never happen again.”
Commonwealth Edison customers are in line for a roughly $38 million refund — or about, on average, a little less than $5 per residential customer — to address what the utility giant acknowledged was its “unacceptable conduct” in the bribery-related scandal that has swept across Illinois and helped end Michael Madigan’s historic run as the Illinois House speaker.
The Illinois Commerce Commission on Tuesday approved the refund plan on a 3-0 vote, with the ICC’s chairwoman abstaining from the vote because her father-in-law has been embroiled in the scandal.
The $38 million refund was an amount ComEd offered after a previous $21 million proposal in December drew criticism for being too small. […]
The ICC order is designed to resolve two investigations — one the ICC initiated and one required by a sweeping energy law approved last year — that called for examining whether ComEd improperly charged ratepayers costs tied to the Madigan scandal.
The customer refund follows ComEd’s separately negotiated $200 million federal fine that was part of the deal with U.S. Attorney John Lausch that disrupted Madigan’s political career and roiled Illinois politics.
Commissioners determined that ComEd’s deferred-prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago allowed for the $200 million equity infusion and so it shouldn’t be included.
ICC Chair Carrie Zalewski recused herself because her father-in-law, former Ald. Michael Zalewski, was among Madigan’s closest allies whom ComEd put on its lobbying payroll in return for little or no work. The vote was 3-0.
“The item before us is the result of Commonwealth Edison’s unacceptable actions to influence legislators and legislation from 2011 to 2019. Under (the 2021 Climate & Equitable Jobs Act) and this docket, the commission has narrow authority to review ComEd’s actions,” ICC Commissioner Ann McCabe said from the bench. “The scope includes whether ratepayer funds were used to pay the $200 million criminal penalty—no—and whether ratepayer funds were expended in connection with the conduct detailed in the DPA.”
* Press release from Illinois PIRG…
The Illinois Commerce Commission approved on Wednesday a $31 million rebate for ComEd customers for costs directly associated with the utility’s bribery scheme. ComEd customers will receive an additional $7 million rebate through a federal regulatory process, for a total $38 million refund.
The Commission investigation was dictated by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. The law gave the investigation a narrow scope: to only consider costs ComEd customers paid directly attributable to ComEd’s execution of the scheme, not to the significantly higher rates customers paid and profits ComEd reaped because of legislation, such as the 2011 “formula rate” law, passed over the course of the scheme.
The Commission rejected an argument made by the Illinois Attorney General, City of Chicago and Citizens Utility Board that would have refunded customers an additional $7 million. Those parties argued that ComEd boosted its profit rate through the manner the utility paid its $200 million fine to the federal government through its deferred prosecution agreement.
You can read Illinois PIRG’s report on the 2011 Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act here.
In response, Illinois PIRG Education Fund Director Abe Scarr released the following statement:
“While $38 million is welcome relief for ComEd customers, it’s chump change compared to the more than $6 billion in additional revenue ComEd has earned since the outset of its bribery scheme.
“Not only have policy makers failed to hold ComEd accountable, they rewarded ComEd with a new rate structure maintaining key ‘formula rate’ profit guarantee policies that could be even more profitable for the utility
“ComEd customers should prepare for big rate hikes that will dwarf this less than $5 refund for the average customer.
“ComEd even found a way to boost its profits by paying its fine. It’s hard to imagine a better symbol of the failure of Illinois policymakers to hold ComEd accountable.”
* CUB…
We are disappointed in today’s Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) ruling, and we plan to file a petition for rehearing. A $36 million refund falls short of the refund recommended by CUB, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and the City of Chicago. Further, this case was limited to direct costs and only partially compensates customers for ComEd’s misconduct—people deserve better in the wake of Illinois’ most significant utility scandal ever. CUB continues to work on behalf of consumers for full restitution, as well as the most pro-consumer implementation of the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) to protect customers from unjustified rate increases.
Background:
• On August 17, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) voted 3-0 to order ComEd to give its customers a $31,296,338 refund in connection with the company’s bribery scandal that erupted two years before. The refund, about a $4.80 bill credit on average, will be delivered to customers on their April 2023 bills. [Another $5,019,312, plus interest, will be added to the refund, upon Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval, making the total refund at least $36.3 million.]
• In July 2020, ComEd was fined $200 million by federal authorities, after admitting to a bribery scheme to pass legislation in 2011 that implemented a “formula rate” system. That rate-setting system left electric customers vulnerable to hundreds of millions of dollars in rate hikes over the last decade. (Note: In 2013, ComEd went back to the General Assembly to adjust the formula rate because the utility did not approve of how the ICC was interpreting the law. CUB opposed the 2013 bill for the same reasons it opposed the 2011 law.)
• In October of 2020, in a federal lawsuit, CUB alleged ComEd enriched itself “at the expense of Illinois utility customers.” The consumer watchdog joined a similar state class action.
• In September 2021, a judge dismissed the federal class action lawsuit. In December 2021, a judge threw out the state lawsuit.
• The Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), which passed in September of 2021, will replace the unfair formula rate system. CEJA also called for an ICC investigation into a refund. During this investigation, which the ICC ruled on Wednesday, CUB, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and the City of Chicago argued for a $45 million refund for ComEd customers. The ICC probe was narrow in scope, only focusing on direct costs—not damage done to consumers by paying higher electric rates.
At a shortened rally later on the Illinois State Fairgrounds, Pritzker, standing alongside Hernandez and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, once again downplayed the intraparty tension, especially around Durbin.
“Oh, that’s something that you guys in the press are doing,” Pritzker said. “Dick Durbin and I are friends. We’ve worked together on many issues. Tammy Duckworth, Dick Durbin, [Lt. Gov.] Juliana Stratton, our statewide elected officials all work together for the good of Illinois.”
The media isn’t making anything up. The vitriol is real.
Asked about her absence, [ousted state party chair Robin] Kelly vowed to work with Democrats “whether or not we are unified.”
“Whether or not we are unified, I will work with leaders I trust and respect to ensure that Democrats win in my district, this state and our country on November 8th. The stakes are too high,” Kelly said, calling it “the most important election of our lifetime.”
But on a day traditionally reserved for unbridled partisanship, [Pritzker] and other leading Democrats speaking at the brunch exuberantly assailed Republicans, who have their State Fair rally Thursday.
“The lunatic fringe has taken over their party and they’ll say anything, do anything, destroy anything to get elected,” Pritzker said. “You see, the Donald Trumps and the Darren Baileys of this world want us to feel alone in the struggles that we’re all facing together. They want to distract us into believing that marriage equality, Black history, Disney World, and library books are more of a threat to our children than AR-15s. They’re attempting to divide America with hateful words and a radical agenda.”
Targets for Democrats included Rauner’s tumultuous term as governor, marked by a historic two-year budget stalemate; Bailey’s controversial statements, including his contention that the Holocaust pales in comparison to lives lost through abortion; and Trump’s continued hold over the GOP. […]
The attacks on Republicans overshadowed lingering internal strife among Democrats over the choice of Hernandez as chair of the state party. Hernandez ousted U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson who held the post since March of last year following the resignation of scandal-plagued former House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Former Gov. Rauner, an Evanston Republican, and former President Donald Trump were mentioned as frequently as Pritzker’s 2022 challenger, state Sen. Darren Bailey.
“I was never worried about the finances of this state even during the darkest days of the pandemic,” Comptroller Susana Mendoza said. “When my colleagues in other states would ask, ‘How do you seem so calm?’ I would say, ‘Well, it’s easy – the worst virus to ever hit Illinois’ finances wasn’t COVID, it was Bruce Rauner.’ And thank God we now have JB Pritzker.”
Mendoza, who took office halfway through Rauner’s term as governor, frequently sparred with the ex-governor. She looked back on that, saying she would fight every day to “save our state,” and “metaphorically speaking, kick him in the groin with much joy and pleasure.”
A short video presented at the brunch event showed a montage of clips from Rauner’s four years in office before cutting to images of Bailey with the text “he’s worse.”
Happening jointly with the brunch was a press conference at the state fair, advocating for passage of the “Keep Illinois Home” Tenant Protection Act.
House Bill 5390, also being brought up in the Senate with Senate Bill 3992, would prevent landlords from increasing the rent more than once every 12 months – this sole increase not being allowed to exceed the inflation rate for the same time period
The Lift the Ban Coalition combines more two dozen groups statewide to advocate for renter’s rights. Organizer Helena Duncan said the need for this legislation comes as many are facing sudden rent increases of substantial amounts.
“What we’re seeing is landlords, particularly corporate landlords, are raising the rents above the rate of inflation,” she said. “They’re not just keeping of with price, they’re using this an opportunity to price gouge their tenants.”
Though Illinois is a reliably blue state, Gov. JB Pritzker and other Democrats told the hundreds of local party leaders at the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association brunch that the next 83 days were crucial for increasing voter turnout and energy before the Nov. 8 election. Though voters in reliably blue Illinois won’t determine whether the U.S. House and Senate are returned to Republican hands, they still framed this election season through the lens of national issues, including abortion, voting rights and civil rights for people of color and the LGBT community.
“The lunatic fringe has taken over their party and they’ll say anything, do anything, destroy anything to get elected,” Pritzker told the crowd on Wednesday. “You see, the Donald Trumps and the Darren Baileys of this world want us to feel alone in the struggles that we’re all facing together. They want to distract us into believing that marriage equality, Black history, Disney World and library books are more of a threat to our children than AR-15s.”
Pritzker’s comments came one day after his Republican challenger, State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) spoke to a small rally organized by a “parental rights” activist group that earlier this summer called the governor a “groomer” for signing new sex education standards into law. Also on Tuesday, a contentious school board meeting in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Barrington ended with the approval of LGBT-themed books in District 220’s libraries — a loss for activist group Moms 4 Liberty, which had mobilized opponents by likening the literature to pornography.
The governor said he believed in reaching across the aisle “to build a better, less rancorous political climate.” However, Pritzker said, the stakes are too high to not prioritize scoring political victories.
Abortion remains a key focal point, as Democrats in Illinois and nationally try to further protect women’s reproductive rights after the reversal of Roe v. Wade — and help boost November voter turnout.
“Roe Roe Roe Your Vote” T-shirts were for sale for $25 at the Democrats’ annual brunch at the Bank of Springfield Center.
“Our work honestly is far from over. To protect our fundamental freedoms and fight for working families, we have to elect pro-labor, pro-choice, pro-voting rights, pro-civil rights candidates up and down the Democratic ballot,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. […]
Bailey and the state’s Republicans have their turn Thursday to poke Democrats at the Illinois State Fair’s Republican Day. The GOP nominee’s campaign has been drawing daily $100 gas cards at the fair, which it has dubbed the “Repeal the Pritzker Gas Tax Hike” giveaway.
Pritzker spoke about a unified party but was asked about possible strife inside the party due to Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez, D-Cicero, being named the new chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, replacing U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Matteson.
Pritzker said if anyone had any problems, they could come talk to him.
“I do not think there is strife. I think we are all working pretty well together,” Pritzker told media at an event on the fairgrounds. “If people feel that way, they should stand up and come see any of us if they want to talk.” […]
What they’re saying: “We have one message and that’s that Democrats deliver,” Gov. JB Pritzker said at the rally. “We’ve delivered so much over the last four years I had to bring a cheat sheet.”
“Don’t let anyone tell you differently: the Democratic party is the party of fiscal responsibility, the party of individual rights, the party of infrastructure and of public safety.”
By the numbers: The two biggest issues searched online in Illinois, according to Google Trends, are jobs and taxes.
So Democrats may be onto something preaching fiscal responsibility.
Yes, but: The party hasn’t had a smooth election year. The election for the state party chairman was controversial, with accusations of racism.
Pritzker rallied with party leaders on Governor’s Day with a focus on getting out the vote and getting Democrats elected up and down the ticket.
“The last thing we’re gonna do, that I’m motivated about is, we’re gonna beat that Trump-supported MAGA extremist Darren Bailey on November 8th. Let’s do this,” Lt. Governor Julianna Stratton, said to rousing applause.
The governor spoke about the urgency of this election, attacking Republicans over abortion rights and gun control. [..]
Democrats used Donald Trump’s endorsement of Republican nominee Darren Bailey as a rallying cry to motivate supporters to get out the vote. With Democrats outnumbering Republicans in Illinois, they are optimistic.
Rick Pearson, chief political reporter for the Chicago Tribune:
“It was two decades ago at Democrat Day at the fair, but the memory still lingers as do the personalities.
“It had only been a few days earlier that Rod Blagojevich, then the Democratic nominee for governor and likely next chief executive after the George Ryan scandal, had criticized veteran Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan for steering $1.6 million in state funds to a college classmate who ran a private livestock show at the fairgrounds.
“Blagojevich termed it an act of arrogance by Madigan at a time when funding for social services and education were being scrutinized and slashed and he vowed to veto a similar grant if he was elected.
“On Democrat Day, Madigan did something unusual. He went out of his way to speak to the media because he wanted to leave a mark.
* A volunteer created this for SoS candidate Dan Brady…
* Other fair happenings over on Twitter…
The @ILStateFair has had an exciting first few days and there’s still more to come. We’re celebrating our great state’s agriculture and people. Make sure to pay us a visit. https://t.co/kAYfnuYzDt
Such a blast meeting so many people who love our Chicago and want to see it return to the city we all know it can be, alongside many of my fellow Chicagoans coming down to enjoy all the Illinois State Fair has to offer! pic.twitter.com/t4mfccIjRs
Dems Day at the State Fair. We brought the energy and the fire 💪🏾. Great to see so many amazing leaders and advocates ready to get to work for the people of Illinois. pic.twitter.com/DfkiTYB40D
Not sure what do on your visit to the Illinois State Fair? Illinois Ag Director Jerry Costello and @LtGovStratton will show you their favorite fair activities to help you plan your trip! #ILStateFair2022pic.twitter.com/TUfiXlj7ZV
Bailey’s campaign flew a plane over the fair trailing the banner, “FIRE.JBPRITZKER.COM” — despite that website not being functional.
We talked about this yesterday as well. The Bailey campaign told me last night that their original order did, indeed, have the correct “FireJBPritzker.org” website address, but the advertising company created a banner that mistakenly contained a “.com” domain address. Oops…
As soon as they saw the photo I took yesterday, they ordered the plane to land. It only circled twice, I think. I wondered at the time why it suddenly disappeared.
Anyway, the plane will return to the skies over the fairgrounds during today’s Republican Day festivities with, hopefully, the proper signage.
And elsewhere during Wednesday’s brunch, a three-minute video played a literal hit, underlying Billie Eilish’s breakout 2019 song “Bad Guy” underneath a highlight — or lowlight — reel of Rauner’s time in office.
The video featured a National Review article from 2017 wherein the conservative magazine named him the “worst Republican governor in America” and said “This much is clear: Illinois hardly could do worse.” At that point, the video pans to black and white photos of Bailey overlaid with text that reads, “Meet Darren Bailey. He’s worse,” synching with the part of the chorus in Eilish’s song when she sings, “I’m the bad guy…duh.”
Bailey, his wife Cindy, and his running mate, Stephanie Trussell, have all come under fire this month for recently unearthed social media posts, including homophobic, racist and Islamophobic rhetoric from Cindy Bailey and Trussell. The Pritzker campaign quickly turned a 2017 Facebook Live video from Bailey into an ad featuring the then-legislative candidate’s comparison of abortion to the Holocaust.
The video featured that footage, plus a Facebook Live gaffe from earlier this summer when Bailey said “let’s move on and celebrate freedom” in the hour after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade, when details about the shooting and its victims were scarce.
* Every year, there’s a breakout food or drink at the Illinois State Fair. I hereby nominate the blackberry slushy from the Illinois wine outlet in the Village of Cultures…
What’s on your mind today?
…Adding… Sen. Duckworth has her own nomination…
New food at the .@StateofIllinois State Fair. Apples sticks fried in a crunchy coating with a caramel dipping sauce and whipped cream. Tastes like apple pie! pic.twitter.com/dIx3Op4lwr
