* I do not think this has ever happened before…
When he was elected governor of Illinois in 2018, J.B. Pritzker was blissfully unaware of the COVID-19 crisis that would dominate his first term. As anyone with a loved one in a retirement home knows, the state’s response was far from perfect, and history will judge that Illinois public schools were kept closed for too long, given the impact on learning.
But those issues were pervasive across the country and Pritzker worked hard in the heat of the crisis to keep Illinois humming, to clearly communicate his policy decisions and intentions, and to keep its residents safe. […]
Those who do not support Pritzker, such as his nemesis Ken Griffin, argue in general that he has a blind spot on crime and its impact on so many Illinoisans. They say his national ambitions mean that he is unwilling to take any stand against union excesses, socialist-influenced legislation cloaked with words like “equity of outcomes” (as distinct from equality of opportunity) and other third rails of national Democratic Party policies, including, in Illinois, the notorious Amendment One, which we do not support. […]
And we note a certain ruthless political tinge to some of his actions on the campaign trail, including a refusal to meet with us (he complained of consistently unfair treatment, the Tribune reported, which is absurd) and, more importantly, a truly cynical decision earlier this year to use his resources to quietly fund ads supporting the Darren Bailey campaign because his operatives decided he would be easier to beat than Bailey’s rival in the Republican primary, Richard Irvin. That was pure old-school sleaze from a candidate who claims to stand above such tactics.
They actually gave both candidates some TV ad fodder there.
- Bored Chairman - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:31 am:
The Tribune made a sharp left turn a few years ago. This endorsement is as unsurprising as it gets.
- Bolingbrook party of 7 - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:34 am:
Tribune lost both its education reporters this month. Who will tell the stories of the Pritzker-led failures for IL students now?
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:35 am:
===The Tribune made a sharp left turn a few years ago===
… and yet they didn’t, even when they didn’t endorse Trump or Biden.
I know. “Because liberal media”, lol
To the post,
The Trib Edit Board tattled on themselves. They couldn’t *not* endorse.
Congratulations to the Pritzker Team and Crew. Well earned AND well deserved.
I’m still in shock, that the Edit Board seemingly followed the *real* news it’s INCREDIBLE reporters gave Illinois.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:36 am:
===Pritzker-led failures for IL students===
Don’t worry, there’s enough phony papers with “alternative facts” around… at least until election day
- Big Dipper - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:40 am:
Calling allegations that it’s biased “absurd” shows that the Trib is as tone deaf as The Daily Herald.
- skutt - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:42 am:
“The Tribune made a sharp left turn a few years ago.”
Was this before or after they endorsed Gary Johnson for president in 2016?
- Amalia - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:43 am:
Wait, what?(banned punctuation) Yeah, fine, they endorsed the Democrat–spooky–but painting Bailey as no longer bat blank out there is too kind.
- ZC - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:46 am:
Wow. Agreed. Only thing comparable that comes to mind, but agreed Governor > AG, is when the Tribbies endorsed Lisa Madigan back in 1998.
Some folks said, “Well, she was running against Joe Birkett, whom the Tribune pledged was unworthy of public office” … but the Tribune said the same thing about Jim Ryan, and they found a way to extricate themselves from that one, and in the same year.
- Larry Bowa Jr. - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:48 am:
“he complained of consistently unfair treatment, the Tribune reported, which is absurd”
We’re the fairest in the land! In breaking headline news, here’s what Ken Griffin is thinking about JB Pritzker today!
The Tribune editorial board should whine some more, it’s a great look for them and their dying enterprise.
- Keyrock - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:48 am:
===“The Tribune made a sharp left turn a few years ago.”
You mean when the Colonel died?
- vern - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:49 am:
Most remarkable thing to me is what they didn’t mention at all. There isn’t a single reference to the SAFE-T Act, even obliquely. There’s nothing about the “population loss” canard. The only reference to pensions is positive towards Pritzker.
It’s like their last few years of hobbyhorses never happened. Baffling.
- SouthSideGT - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:51 am:
WOW. It’s true. Growth is painful. Gary Johnson was OK but Darren Bailey is a bridge too far. But the ed board could not resist digs at JB. He who laughs last…etc
- JoanP - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 8:51 am:
= Only thing comparable that comes to mind =
Don’t forget the Trib endorsed Barack Obama for president, a move which doubtless had the Colonel rolling in his grave.
- froganon - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:05 am:
The Trib Editorial Board surprises again, this time with some common sense and rational opining. They by-passed the Safe_T Act and exactly how any Gov. is supposed to “fix” crime in Chicago or any of the other municipalities and acknowledged financial achievements under Pritzker.
- Bigtwich - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:14 am:
“These are the days of miracle and wonder”
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:18 am:
Credit where credit is due to the Trib editorial board. It took a step away from spelunkery, sort of. Fiscal scolds have to like the improvement under Pritzker—the honest ones.
- Ron Burgundy - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:19 am:
When you are too far out there for the Trib to endorse, and they endorse the guy who didn’t show up instead of you…
- Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:20 am:
“population loss” canard?
Illinois used to have 26 congressional districts
We now have 18 until next year when we will have 17
JB is hardly unwilling to against” union excesses, socialist-influenced legislation cloaked with words like “equity of outcomes” because he is the self described most progressive Governor
JB continues to believe all of his detractors are dealing in bad faith, not principled disagreement.
- Arsenal - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:20 am:
It’s not necessarily a big deal because Pritzker was already heavily favored, but it’s gotta be dispiriting to Bailey.
- Lurker - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:28 am:
That’s an endorsement? More like a concession.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:40 am:
===Illinois used to have 26 congressional districts
We now have 18 until next year when we will have 17===
Asked and answered.
I once got a comment thru that went directly to this;
Now do… Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Michigan…
Each of these states have lost significant US House representation, and if you’d like to look up that comment, have at it.
You’re phony to this ignores… the 50s, 60s, 70s… and so on.
Just those few states I mentioned, their challenges with the “sun belt” also are our challenges.
Please either understand what you are saying, or please stop spamming with falsehoods where it’s readily available to be seen the pattern with similar states, over decades.
- Steve - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:40 am:
I don’t think it’s that big of deal. They endorsed Obama. They endorsed a libertarian in 2016 for president. Endorsements aren’t what they used to be. Less people read an entire newspaper. Less people read an editorial page. Plus, The Chicago Tribune is located in a state outside of America’s ideological center: they are kind of forced to adopt what their readership wants.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:40 am:
I seriously doubt this will make any difference to ILGOP voters. They would rather let a train run over their tongue than vote for a Democrat.
It’s telling the Trib Edit Board didn’t even try to make lemonade out of Darren Bailey.
- vern - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:41 am:
=== Illinois used to have 26 congressional districts===
That measures population relative to other states, because there’s only 435 districts to distribute no matter the population anywhere. The Census, which measures absolute population, found the state’s population had grown over the last ten years. The original Census undercount cast some confusion on it, but that’s been corrected.
- cover - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:43 am:
= Illinois used to have 26 congressional districts
We now have 18 until next year when we will have 17 =
LP, let’s turn the tables on this statement, as if the Dems have anything to do with stagnant population in the Midwest - here’s what’s happening in GOP-dominated Ohio:
“Ohio used to have 24 congressional districts. It now has 16 until next year when it will have 15.”
- Arsenal - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:45 am:
==I don’t think it’s that big of deal. They endorsed Obama.==
And that was a very big deal.
- DuPage - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:46 am:
I saw a snippet of Mr. Bailey on state pensions. He thought changing the employees over to a 401k would take care of it. I think he is way out of his league and unaware of it.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:47 am:
==not principled disagreement==
You keep saying things like this but don’t practice it. Your disagreement is anything but principled. You twist yourself into pretzels to make whatever “argument” you need to make to support your hyperpartisan hack view of the world.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:50 am:
===Your disagreement is anything but principled. You twist yourself into pretzels to make whatever “argument” you need to make to support your hyperpartisan hack view of the world.===
1) This is the correct answer.
2) There was never 60/30 or 71/36 fit any of the ideas you tout. Otherwise Rauner would’ve put them on the steps… and Rauner used those *same* steps… with minority voting members. Imagine had Rauner had 60/71 or 30/36
Good try.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:52 am:
===They endorsed Obama.===
Native Son. They weren’t gonna go against Obama.
===They endorsed a libertarian in 2016 for president.===
… because even in their warped mind, endorsing Trump was bad for business and truth, endorsing Biden was bad by ownership standards. It was a compromise of bent, lacked, ethics.
- Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:55 am:
I understand exactly what I am saying
The population loss is not a canard unless you don’t trust IRS data
The IRS is much harder to evade than the census taker and thus is a much more reliable metric of population and wealth leaving the state
Instead of confronting this reality head on, JB calls those that acknowledge reality “carnival barkers”.
- Norseman - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:57 am:
Gobsmacked by the endorsement. But JB is truly the only choice.
=== … Pritzker worked hard in the heat of the crisis to keep Illinois humming, to clearly communicate his policy decisions and intentions, and to keep its residents safe. ===
This is the real surprise coming from the paper. It’s true, but not a truth embraced by the rightwing. Bad politics among the base.
- Jerry - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 9:57 am:
Illinois may have lost seats but has 1 thing the Sun Belt doesn’t have: a source of fresh water!
- Juvenal - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 10:00 am:
=== The Tribune made a sharp left turn a few years ago. ===
The Chicago Tribune was in a rightward turning death spiral from atleast 2013 onward.
Call it a dog chasing it’s tail. Call it Hurricane McQueary. But for years, you could not tell where the Tribune editorial board ended and the Illinois Policy Institute and Illinois GOP began.
You had an editorial board member appearing at IPI fundraiser, IPI staff writing editorials, IPI staff moving into the Governor’s office, John Tillman playing an official role in GOP endorsements, and Rauner funding it all.
It was so bad, the tribune told people not to vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, which every suburban woman who reads the Tribune promptly ignored.
The Tribune lost all credibility, and it is a long road back, but this atleast is a step in the right direction.
- Anon324 - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 10:03 am:
Using congressional apportionment as a measure of population growth is absurdly laughable. At one time, based on the 1940 census, Illinois had 27 seats and was the third largest state in the nation behind only New York and Pennsylvania. At that time, California had nearly 1 million fewer people Texas nearly 1.5 million fewer than Illinois. Illinois, at the time, had just shy of 7.9 million people. We now have 12.8 million based on the 2020 census that is widely acknowledged to be an undercount.
- George Ryan Reynolds - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 10:19 am:
Trib editorial board is different since the editor change in 2020 and then the mass staff exodus in 2021. Editorial board lost the brain trust behind the Gary Johnson endorsement in 2016. Not many people left on the editorial board these days.
- Annonin' - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 10:24 am:
Surprised they went that way after JB skipped usually mandatory editorial board sessions. Guessing HurricaneStateHouseChick and Kassamoron must be turning over in whatever pool of slop they waddle in these days.
- Arsenal - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 10:34 am:
==The population loss is not a canard unless you don’t trust IRS data==
It’s not about what I trust, it’s about what the IRS is actually counting. The IRS says Illinois lost something like 100k taxpayers. That’s different than total population.
- Dysfunction Junction - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 10:44 am:
=The IRS is much harder to evade than the census taker=
The former president would disagree with you. Bigly.
- JoanP - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 10:47 am:
= Native Son. They weren’t gonna go against Obama. =
But they went against another native son, Adlai Stevenson, in 1952 and 1956.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 10:50 am:
==The population loss is not a canard unless you don’t trust IRS data==
And there’s a perfect example of you twisting yourself into a pretzel to attempt to make an argument. The census doesn’t give you the answer you want? Then lets find a source to back up my argument. Again, not principled.
- Gen Z Opinionater - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 10:50 am:
==endorsing Biden was bad by ownership standards==
OW, the Trib endorsed Biden in 2020.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 11:01 am:
===Trib endorsed Biden in 2020.===
… which was bad by ownership standards.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 11:02 am:
=The population loss is not a canard unless you don’t trust IRS data
The IRS is much harder to evade than the census taker and thus is a much more reliable metric of population and wealth leaving the state=
The IRS measures revenue not population. Not sure if you realize this but children, especially very young ones, do not earn taxable income.
So yes, the Census is a more reliable source of population information than the IRS. In fact, I have never heard of anyone looking to the IRS for population numbers.
Should we ask homeland security for income information?
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 11:03 am:
=== In fact, I have never heard of anyone looking to the IRS for population numbers===
IPI does it a lot.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 11:05 am:
===does it a lot.===
Money/“taxpayer” driven, not in actuality the measure to a “whole” of the picture.
- Arsenal - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 11:10 am:
==IPI does it a lot.==
Did they do it before the census numbers last year, lol?
What a blinkered world view, that you’re only really a person if you pay taxes. Doesn’t seem like something a conservative would actually believe, but here we are.
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 12:48 pm:
“since the editor change in 2020 and then the mass staff exodus in 2021”
Pretty ironic that the exodus turns out to be from the Trib and not Illinois.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 1:28 pm:
===The IRS is much harder to evade than the census taker and thus is a much more reliable metric of population and wealth leaving the state===
This is an opinion, not a fact.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 1:30 pm:
===This is an opinion, not a fact.===
If you’re under the impression that the IRS counts all those not filing tax returns too… then your opinion might make sense.
- PublicServant - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 1:31 pm:
Why do I think the Tribune endorsement sounds more like an attack ad?
- Langhorne - Tuesday, Oct 11, 22 @ 1:54 pm:
One of the Talking Heads just said that, after the Ohio senate debate last night, Vance’s spoke person came out and said “winners don’t need to spin.”