Today PBR PAC released Episode 3 in its series “Real Talk with Charles Thomas.” In the latest installment, Thomas calls for black families in Illinois to “punish” JB Pritzker for failing to live up to his so-called “social equity” promises to black businesspeople when it came to dispensary licenses for the state-created recreational cannabis industry.
“We can’t do this again,” said Thomas. “We can’t let Pritzker take advantage of us again. He insulted us with his words in his first run for governor and then proceeded to spend four years insulting us with his deeds.”
The ad is available on YouTube, the PBR PAC Facebook Page and will run on statewide media this week.
:30 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv4FagqEAp0
TV Script:
For 25 years, ABC 7 political reporter Charles Thomas gave you the straight news. Now he’s giving you real talk on the governor’s race.
Charles Thomas: “JB Pritzker promised what he called ‘equity’ when the new recreational cannabis industry opened in Illinois. Blacks got nothing. ZERO. Nothing. He needs to be punished for that. Black people should not vote for JB Pritzker because he didn’t live up to that promise.”
Discuss.
- Torco Sign - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 3:41 pm:
I think I speak for most voters when I say, “Charles who?”
- AlfondoGonz - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 3:41 pm:
The State erred in a big way when it distributed licenses for cannabis dispensaries.
I’m not sure Darren Baily, who moved into the John Hancock to better understand the supposed plight of Chicagoans, will even seek to remedy any problems in the black community.
My wife and I laugh every time the Charles Thomas for Darren Bailey add plays.
“A farmer from Southern Illinois? Yea. Yea.”
- JS Mill - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 3:42 pm:
I thought “equity” was a gop boogeyman? Now they are “for it”?
- Chris - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 3:42 pm:
Wow another over the top Dan Proft ad, how original….
- Techie - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 3:46 pm:
Bailey wouldn’t even legalize weed at all. How much would that have helped minorities who were disproportionately targeted when it was illegal?
- Paddyrollingstone - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 3:46 pm:
AlfondoGonz - you are correct. The Ads are hysterical, especially when Charles looks into the camera in the end of the shot. Kind of looks like Count Floyd from Monster Chiller Horror Theater on SCTV.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 3:48 pm:
When you use the word punish… you are projecting a child-like view of something… even if a take might have merit.
When children feel slighted, they want the offender punished.
Now, if one thinks this is an Easter egg thing to “crime”, kind of a wink to make criminality, cannabis, and minority ownership a mish-mosh… that’s fun, but too clever by half
- MisterJayEm - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 3:49 pm:
“Today PBR PAC released Episode 3 in its series “Fifty-grand doesn’t buy as much as it used to’”…
– MrJM
- Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 3:51 pm:
Is Darren Bailey an expert at growing weed, too? Yes, vote for Darren Bailey who doesn’t want legal marijuana in the first place over a guy who does.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 3:51 pm:
===Blacks got nothing. ZERO. Nothing.===
Not sure that’s entirely true Mr. Real Talk. Lots of criminal records were expunged. That’s not nothing.
- Anyone Remember - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 3:54 pm:
As bad as the legalization of marijuana has been, it is marginally better than the medical marijuana fiasco.
- Socially DIstant watcher - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 3:56 pm:
For his sake, I hope the next D2 shows another payments, bigger than the last one.
- ChrisB - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:03 pm:
Not that voting for Bailey would mean he’d fix it, but it’s a fair hit. We’re what, almost three years into legalization, and haven’t figured out the minority licensing yet?
If Bailey was a halfway decent candidate, this might have some bite.
- Rudy’s teeth - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:11 pm:
Can’t imagine that Channel 7 in Chicago is pleased with the association of Charles Thomas and his gig as spokesperson for a certain political candidate.
- Nuke The Whales - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:13 pm:
Clever. Cast Democrats as “the real racists,” and when corrected with the info that Anonymous provides at 4:08 PM, trigger the White racists who would vote against helping themselves if it also helped a Black person into voting for Bailey.
- New Day - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:14 pm:
“Blacks got zero. Nothing.”
The ad continues:
“Under Governor Bailey, blacks will be promised nothing and get nothing. They also won’t have criminal justice reform. Maybe he’ll try and recriminalize pot which is his preference. Nobody’s record will be expunged and he may try to honor his campaign promise and repeal the minimum wage. And he won’t bother trying to create any more equity in the state. Did you see how many blacks were in his hero Trump’s cabinet? Yup - One. He’s going to emulate his hero. Won’t that be awesome. Was that ok, Dan? Can I have my next $50,000?”
- Shytown - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:15 pm:
How can anyone think these are actually good?
- New Day - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:18 pm:
“If Bailey was a halfway decent candidate, this might have some bite.”
No it wouldn’t. Darren Bailey has zero record of caring about black people in any way, shape or form. He wouldn’t know equity if it came up and bit him on the butt. He’s about as far from the right messenger for this as humanly possible. Oh yea, and he prefers cannabis to be a criminal offense. So respectfully, no.
- Thomas Paine - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:21 pm:
1) Darren Bailey opposed cannabis 100%.
2) Pritzker made a mistake I believe in not reminding voters of the wildly popular things he has done like legalize cannabis.
3) I cannot help think what a much more effective ad this would be if Mayor Irvin was the candidate and in the ad since he actually supported legalization
4) Then I remembered Irvin’s girlfriend was arrested in a cannabis store and he promised to take care of it
5) The Charles Thomas DCFS ad is probably next week.
6) I hope folks don’t wait like you did on the SAFE-T Act.
- Anyone Remember - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:24 pm:
===The State erred in a big way when it distributed licenses for cannabis dispensaries.===
Didn’t the law have “Veteran’s Preference” that caused a lot of problems?
- Dotnonymous - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:24 pm:
Proft and Bailey…defending pot dealers…weird enough yet?
- Streator Curmudgeon - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:26 pm:
==Did Charles Thomas escape from the Home for Old Reporters?==
It was a double breakout, with Walter Jacobson in that hearing aid ad.
- Manchester - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:37 pm:
Well, that was certainly over the top. If people think how they got bupkus from Gov. Pritzker, imagine their disappointment with Beetle
Bailey and his far right Christian theocracy schtick.
- H-W - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:38 pm:
As a “down-stater,” I am learning a lot about Charles Thomas that I do not particularly like.
So much for the message.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:49 pm:
Pretty empty stuff. There would be no marijuana legalization or social equity at all if not for Pritzker and his party.
Where is the Bailey social equity cannabis legalization policy?
- Nearly Normal - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:53 pm:
The Charles Thomas that was paid $50,000 for consulting for the Proft run PAC? Sure sounds like his participation was all bought and paid for. That for me sullies the whole scene.
- twowaystreet - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 4:54 pm:
Everyone saying Darren Bailey would do worse is missing the point of this ad.
The point is suppress the vote, not to convince Black people to vote for Bailey.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 5:00 pm:
“Everyone saying Darren Bailey would do worse is missing the point of this ad.”
We know. Bailey’s trying to reduce his polling deficit to high single digits.
- Thomas Paine - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 5:03 pm:
=== Pretty empty stuff. There would be no marijuana legalization or social equity at all if not for Pritzker and his party ===
Voters don’t connect dots, you have to connect the dots for them.
Were there ads that blast Bailey and the GOP for opposing cannabis legalization that I missed?
Are the cannabis shops involved in some GOTV effort we do not know about?
Tens of millions being spent advertising sports betting in Chicago right now.
Have those companies spent a dime thanking Pritzker and Zalewski and the Democrats for the basic freedom to blow money on the Bears every weekend?
I almost feel like someone should remake the old AFSCME ad, reminding folks of all the basic stuff we can do it illinois now thanks to JB, like smoke pot, bet on sports, drink craft beer, and oh yeah, make more than $7.25 an hour.
- XonXoff - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 5:08 pm:
Ooh that smell…
After that late Sept. meetup with DeVore grinning like a Cheshire Cat, Bailey, Miles, and ECCSC in front of Sunnyside Cannabis, I’m a little not-surprised by this… angle?
I’ll spare you my pre-mature speculation.
- Lincoln Lad - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 5:22 pm:
Not to be lost - JB did drop the ball in a big way in his promises to the black community re cannabis licenses. It might have mattered if the GOP hadn’t chosen Bailey as their candidate, but they did.
- Regular democrat - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 5:25 pm:
If one disregards the messenger and examines the message what he is saying is very true. African americans have gotten zero from Pritzker while white men and women are overnight millionaires
- Chito - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 5:31 pm:
It’s kind of smart to place the ads on Channel 7 in Chicago during the news. I caught one yesterday and it starts with a clip from “Eyewitness News” so I can see long time ABC watchers taking a minute to ask themselves “Yeah, what does JB Grow?”
- Big Dipper - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 5:45 pm:
Republicans suddenly want to help minorities? And now have no problem with selling cannabis? Pinch me.
- Kayak - Thursday, Oct 13, 22 @ 10:15 pm:
Every ad’s jab backfires and reminds me of the good things Pritzker has accomplished.
- Proud Papa Bear - Friday, Oct 14, 22 @ 4:00 am:
These ads are made for white GOP voters so they can justify their racism by pointing to a Black person who supports their views.
- Jerry - Friday, Oct 14, 22 @ 10:37 am:
I still have to pinch myself when I see the billboards advertising cannibas products along the Tri-State tollway. Merchandising and Distribution were just a little different back in my day.
- He’s right - Friday, Oct 14, 22 @ 11:34 am:
This is a great ad. You may not like the messenger but JB dropped the ball on this. He said this bill was the most equitable cannabis bill ever written and that was false. Black People left behind again. He showed no concern when presented with the issues of the bill either.
- What does the Ad get wrong? - Friday, Oct 14, 22 @ 11:38 am:
I’m confused. What does the ad get wrong? Black people were promised this bill would be equitable and got nothing. Why shouldn’t JB be held accountable for this? JB hyped this bill up and failed to deliver, well to failed to deliver to Black people that is.
Yes, I know Bailey is against legalization. Which is also problematic.
- NickJ - Friday, Oct 14, 22 @ 11:59 am:
It seems only friends of JB (not black people) benefitted from this bill. Rep. Kelly Cassidy’s family did well I’m sure…The Sun Times wrote about this.
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, Oct 14, 22 @ 12:34 pm:
-Why shouldn’t JB be held accountable for this?-
OK, but replacing him with a guy who wants to do away with the whole program is not the way. That is what legislators should be doing.