* Republican lieutenant governor candidate Aaron Del Mar on the Ray Stevens Show…

Take a couple deep breaths before commenting on this one.

* Transcript…

Del Mar: And then JB Pritzker goes on yesterday, I wanted to choke him through the television when he was talking with Darren. He says ‘we’ve raised the minimum raised, we’ve raised the minimum wage.’ Right you’ve raised the minimum wage but then you’ve raised every other fee: property tax, the sales tax, income tax. Everything else. You’re paying people half-off double list price.

Stevens: Now you have to be careful. Because I know based on what we get from feedback on our show. They listen closely to us. And now there’s going to be a campaign commercial going: “Aaron Del Mar wants to choke JB Pritzker.”

[Laughter]

Del Mar: Well look, when Darren Bailey becomes governor of Illinois. When we set a whole new record here in Illinois, voter turnout for conservatives and Republicans and Darren gets sworn in. Will we work across the aisle, 100 percent. We will reach across the aisle and shake their hand. But when they don’t want to cooperate, we will reach across the aisle and grab them by the throat.

Click here for the full interview.

* JB for Governor…

Governor JB Pritzker to Get Out the Vote in Cook and Kane Counties
WHAT: Governor JB Pritzker will speak at a canvass kickoff event with State Representative Suzanne Ness and Michele Clark, candidate for Illinois State Senate in Kane County.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 20, 2026. 4:00 PM CT.

WHERE: Michele Clark’s Campaign HQ, 611 East Main Street, Suite 224, East Dundee, IL 60118

WHAT: Governor JB Pritzker will deliver remarks and encourage voters to head to the polls with State Representative Nabeela Syed; Jenny Levin and Maria Peterson, candidates for Illinois House of Representatives; and Carina Santa Maria, candidate for Illinois State Senate.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 20, 2026. 6:00 PM CT.

WHERE: Hot Pockets Sports Bar, 365 West Northwest Highway, Palatine, IL 60067.

* Lake County Democrats…

A Deer Park resident has filed a complaint with the Deer Park Ethics Commission alleging that Village officials and employees used the Village’s official Facebook page to sell tickets to a partisan Republican campaign event.

On October 12, the Village of Deer Park’s Facebook page published a post inviting residents to a “November Ballot Candidate Forum Luncheon” hosted by the Cuba Township Republicans at Biltmore Country Club in North Barrington, held Saturday, October 17. The post featured a graphic headed “PURCHASE TICKETS,” linked to an Eventbrite ticket page, and encouraged residents to attend before early voting began on October 19. The post did not reference any event hosted by another party or by a nonpartisan organization.

State ethics law, adopted in the Village’s ethics ordinance, prohibits public officials and employees from using public resources to solicit ticket purchases for political events, and an intentional violation is a Class A misdemeanor.

The complaint asks the Ethics Commission to preserve all records related to the post, identify the officials and employees responsible, refer the matter for prosecution, and recommend appropriate discipline.

Republican State Senator Darby Hills, who represents the 26th Senate District, attended the luncheon. On September 20, Hills withdrew from the September 26 League of Women Voters candidate forum with her Democratic opponent Nabeela Syed, citing a scheduling conflict. That forum was the only scheduled debate between the two candidates.

Nancy Shepherdson, who filed the complaint, said, “Village government belongs to every resident of Deer Park, regardless of party. When the Village uses its official page to sell tickets to a Republican campaign event, it puts the weight of local government behind one party and makes every taxpayer foot the bill. State law prohibits exactly this conduct, and the Village needs to be held accountable.”

Lake County Democratic Party Chair Daniel Didech said, “Darby Hills couldn’t find time to face voters at a nonpartisan League of Women Voters forum, but she made time on Saturday for a Republican luncheon that was illegally promoted with taxpayer resources. Senator Hills has a track record of dodging forums where she would have to answer tough questions. Instead of attending partisan events promoted in violation of state ethics law, she should agree to debate her opponent in front of voters before Election Day.”

* The Facebook post…

* Sun-Times…

The long-simmering feud between Mayor Brandon Johnson and half of the coalition of progressive unions that helped put him in office boiled over Tuesday, triggering a pivotal endorsement for Illlinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias in the race for mayor.

Service Employees International Union Locals 1 and 73 threw their formidable support behind Giannoulias, the presumed frontrunner with a campaign war chest of $19.2 million. SEIU affiliates together contributed over $4.5 million to Johnson’s 2023 mayoral campaign. The union also provided scores of campaign workers and materials.

Those resources will now presumably be available to Giannoulias — and more importantly, denied to Johnson, who has just $379,471 in cash on hand.

SEIU’s decision to divorce itself from Johnson comes as no surprise, and has been building since early 2025. […]

“I understand relationships. I asked him to stand down,” Local 73 President Dian Palmer told the Sun-Times. “We had all kinds of evidence that these workers belonged to us. I told him, `You don’t have to do anything. These are your friends. Just let us go through the grievance process.’ He told me that he would call me back and he never called me back.”

“That was hurtful. I felt like we were fighting for our labor life because this unit is one of the larger units that we have and it would change our life tremendously if we were to lose these members.”