State Sen. Darren Bailey, who’s running against incumbent Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, said he’ll use reduced state spending to pay down pensions.
“We’ll find the fat in the budget and we’ll begin to apply that to get this pension situation under control, but first and foremost, I will be sitting at the table with pensioners,” Bailey, R-Xenia, told The Center Square. “I fear that the pension debt may be that large looming problem that will sneak up on Illinois if we continue to ignore it as J.B. Pritzker has.”
Wednesday, Nov 2, 2022 - Posted by Advertising Department
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It’s been four days since Elon Musk finalized his $44 billion takeover of Twitter, and already he’s facing pushback from celebrities, lawmakers, and advertisers worried about how the social network will change under his leadership, even as many conservative voices rejoice.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar is among those voicing concerns. Asked Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press whether she trusts Musk now that he runs Twitter, she replied, “No, I do not.”
The Minnesota Democrat wants more content moderation and less immunity for social networks that amplify hate speech. Referring to the man who attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband this week, she said, “He was posting anti-Semitic tropes; he was showing memes that showed violence and all of this election-denying, pro-Trump, MAGA-crowd rhetoric. That’s what we’re dealing with here…I just don’t think people should be making money off of passing on this stuff that’s a bunch of lies.” […]
Meanwhile NBA star LeBron James tweeted yesterday that the surge in N-word use on Twitter since Musk’s takeover was “scary AF,” and added that he hoped Musk “and his people take this very seriously.” […]
In response to James’s complaint, Musk shared a tweet from a Twitter employee reading, “Nearly all of these accounts are inauthentic. We’ve taken action to ban the users involved in this trolling campaign—and are going to continue working to address this in the days to come to make Twitter safe and welcoming for everyone.”
* More…
Evidence suggests that bad actors are trying to test the limits on @Twitter. Several posts on 4chan encourage users to amplify derogatory slurs.
For example, over the last 12 hours, the use of the n-word has increased nearly 500% from the previous average. pic.twitter.com/mEqziaWuMF
— Network Contagion Research Institute (@ncri_io) October 28, 2022
* The Question: Are any of you thinking about abandoning Twitter? Why or why not?
* For a little context, here’s an SJ-R story from this past April…
In November, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law which banned judicial candidates from accepting donations from groups which don’t disclose their funders, such as so-called “dark money” groups organized as 501(c)4 organizations. These include groups like the Judicial Fairness Project or the Illinois Opportunity Project, groups which together gave $550,000 to the campaign against Kilbride.
The airwaves are clogged with Hallowe’en-scary ads this fall, making preposterous claims that voting for Republican candidates for the state Supreme Court will cause Illinois to criminalize abortion. When desperate, you do desperate things.
The absurdity is obvious to any thoughtful voter, to wit: Illinois is a Blue state that strongly supports a woman’s legal right to an abortion. Right or wrong on the issue, Gov. J. B. Pritzker has been bending over backwards to expand abortion rights, and the veto-proof Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
Illinois Supreme Court judges don’t make laws. They interpret laws enacted by the legislature and governor. And there is no way the legislature is going to enact a law that jeopardizes their support for legal abortion.
* Anyway, the Judicial Fairness Project is now being accused of blasting this text message…
* PPIA responded…
Attributed to Jennifer Welch, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois Action
“Today we sent a cease and desist notice to the Judicial Fairness Project for the false use of Planned Parenthood Illinois Action’s (PPIA) logo and taking quotes about the security of abortion access in Illinois out of context. Unlike what the Judicial Fairness Project stated in texts to supporters, abortion access is in grave danger in Illinois. When Roe was overturned, abortion remained legal in Illinois because we passed the Reproductive Health Act (RHA), which recognizes that providing abortion is health care, not criminal activity, and includes regulations that reflect current medical standards, not political standards. However, a change in the Governor’s office, a shift in the Illinois Supreme Court or a proposed federal ban would supersede the RHA, meaning abortion could be banned or severely restricted in Illinois. The Judicial Fairness Project is clearly trying to mislead and confuse voters because they know people are motivated to keep Illinois a safe haven for care. We denounce their tactics and urge voters to seek the facts from reputable organizations.”
The White House confirmed Wednesday that President Joe Biden will stump in Illinois Friday, ahead of Tuesday’s midterm balloting — likely in the Chicago area — and Vice President Kamala Harris hits Chicago on Sunday.
Biden will lead a get-out-the vote for Democrats with a focus on boosting suburban Chicago congressional incumbents — especially Reps. Sean Casten and Bill Foster — who are in races that may be tightening.
The White House confirmed on Wednesday that Vice President Kamala Harris visits Chicago on Sunday. […]
The vice president’s office said Harris will “deliver remarks” at an Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders event in Chicago. Another source said the stop is likely an event for the AAPI Victory Fund, a political action committee. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., an Asian American, and on the Tuesday ballot, is also scheduled to attend the event.
* Illinois early vote totals…
The @illinoissbe has updated early vote totals (11/02/22): Total VBM requested: 860,663 Total VBM returned: 467,112 Total VBM outstanding: 393,551 Return Rate: 54% Total Early Vote: 419,002 Total Grace Period: 6,580 Total Already Voted: 892,694https://t.co/44ga6Axjmq
The statewide vote by mail return rate (as of today) is 54.27%. Only a few jurisdictions are below that, but they include some of the most populous areas, like City of Chicago (37.42%), Lake County (43.51%) and Suburban Cook County (52.05%).
The most up-to-date Early Vote and Vote By Mail totals in Chicago, night of Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
The Early Vote total stands at 70,656 ballots cast.
Additionally, 76,071 Vote By Mail ballots have been returned to the Board – total VBM applications stands at 208,003.
The grand total is 146,727 ballots cast so far in Chicago for the November 8th General Election.
FOR COMPARISON:
As of June 22, 2022 (6 days out from the 6/28/22 Primary Election): 61,377 ballots cast
As of October 27, 2020 (6 days out from the 11/3/20 Presidential Election): 583,372 ballots cast
As of October 30, 2018 (6 days out from the 11/6/18 General Election): 152,320 ballots cast
Chicago is still at 16 percent of total votes cast, even though the city is 21 percent of the population.
* Michael Flynn’s The America Project is leafleting in suburban Cook County and it looks like they’re piggy-backing on the anti-union group’s bandwagon…
Republican Regan Deering, running for the new 13th Congressional District, appeared Wednesday to accept the endorsements of the Illinois, and U.S., Chambers of Commerce.
As she paints opponent Nikki Budzinski as a “political insider,” the discussion turned to why elective office seems to be the only job for which experience is a liability. After answering that she would represent business experience and new blood, Deering volunteered, “I also am a supporter of term limits. I think America is tired of career politicians.”
What term limit will she place on herself?
“I’ll get myself elected in six days, and then we’ll see.”
But she just said she supports term limits. What sort of term limits is she talking about?
“We can talk about that when it comes to a vote. That would be great.”
House Republicans’ top congressional super PAC is betting that a last minute cash infusion can flip two deep-blue districts on the edges of the House battlefield.
The Congressional Leadership Fund is going on air with seven-figure buys targeting Democratic Rep. Sean Casten in suburban Chicago and the Long Island seat held by retiring Democratic Rep. Kathleen Rice. The super PAC is investing $1.8 million and $1.5 million, respectively, on broadcast buys in the expensive Chicago and New York City media markets.
Neither district has seen much outside spending before the final days of the midterms, and President Joe Biden carried both of them by double-digits in 2020. But the late ad buys suggest Republicans see opportunities in both places as the country grapples with high cost of living and the possibility of an economic recession looming.
House Majority PAC, CLF’s Democratic counterpart, also recently invested in both districts — a sign that both parties believe the seats are at risk of flipping.
Two-term Congressman Sean Casten (D-Downers Grove) and challenger Mayor Keith Pekau (R-Orland Park) are locked in a closer-then-expected race than the major ratings services indicate:
- Cook Political Report with Amy Walter: Likely Leans Democrat
- Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: Likely Democrat
- Elections Daily: Safe Democrat
- RCP: Toss-up
While no published independent polling is available in this race, Mayor Pekau is broadcasting TV commercials on broadcast TV in Chicagoland. Congressman Casten has been on broadcast TV since Labor Day. Casten launched attack ads against Pekau in late September, possibly indicating Pekau and Casten are close according to internal polling.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Black voters drive the right crazy by showing strength in numbers during elections: The strength of Black vote turnout in densely populated metropolitan areas drives the right crazy. The fact that urban Blacks vote in high numbers is one reason Republicans like to bash big cities. That’s partly why Darren Bailey, the GOP nominee for governor, called Chicago a hellhole. Black voters in the Southland are a big reason why Democrats enjoy one-party rule in Illinois. The concentration of likely Democratic voters on Chicago’s South Side and in the south suburbs makes this place ground zero for political power.
* Vaccines used to be apolitical. Now they’re a campaign issue: Pro-vaccine advocates worry that the rise of these candidates, along with an emboldened anti-vaccine movement, could spell trouble for public health in the years to come.”I think it’s really unfortunate that an issue that has saved so many lives has become partisan and hyper-political,” says Northe Saunders, the executive director of the SAFE Communities coalition, a nationwide nonprofit committed to supporting pro-vaccine political candidates and policies.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker pledged to remove a barrier to abortion for people in prison after a WBEZ investigation found incarcerated people had to pay for the procedure and the wages of the correctional officer required to accompany them to appointments outside the prison.
“Moving forward, abortion procedures and their associated expenses will not be covered by incarcerated women,” IDOC spokesperson Naomi Puzello wrote in a statement announcing the policy change. “Those who previously paid for expenses will be reimbursed.”
Advocates for abortion rights were surprised and elated. “With access to abortion care under attack across the nation, Illinois should ensure that every person in need of abortion care, including those in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, has unfettered access to this critical health care,” said Emily Hirsch, a legal fellow at the ACLU of Illinois. “We applaud the Governor’s Office for taking an important step toward that goal.”
Puzello said the new guidelines were implemented immediately and that Wexford, the company that is contracted by the state to provide healthcare in prisons, and all impacted facilities have been notified of the change. However, the corrections department did not specify how access will be ensured, how reimbursements will be provided or how incarcerated pregnant people are being made aware of their rights.
Although the WeCount report did not document where interstate abortion travelers came from, the states with large increases were located near states that banned abortions. (Not all clinics gave this information to the group when they shared the number of abortions they had provided.) North Carolina, Kansas, Colorado and Illinois had the largest increases by percent. But some women did travel outside of their region: New York, which does not border any states that banned abortion, had a substantial increase. […]
Though clinics in states bordering those with bans have been struggling to see all the patients who come to them — some cannot schedule appointments because they are overbooked — many had been able to expand access before Roe fell, in preparation for the surge in demand.
Illinois had the biggest increase in the number of abortions: 2,710 more in July and August than in April and May. Clinics there had already been serving many patients from Missouri, where abortion was largely inaccessible before Roe’s overturning. Two of them, Hope Clinic for Women and the Planned Parenthood in Fairview Heights, Ill., had prepared for the post-Roe surge by expanding their hours and clinic space, hiring more doctors and creating a hotline to help patients with travel logistics.
The data also shows a small increase in abortions provided through telemedicine providers who do not have brick-and-mortar clinics. These were made possible last December when the Food and Drug Administration legalized telemedicine abortions. These abortions are legally available in only some states, and accounted for 5 percent of all abortions in August, the new data shows.
A new analysis shows that Illinois protects access to abortion services and has seen an uptick since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in April.
* Our state had one of the largest increases in abortions from April to August, at 28%.
* Only three had a higher increase: North Carolina (37%), Kansas (36%) and Colorado (33%).
The big picture: In August, abortion services became completely unavailable in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.
* Since the Dobbs decision, there were 5,270 fewer abortions in July and 5,400 fewer in August nationally.
* In states with bans or severe restrictions, there were 7,870 fewer abortions in July and 8,040 fewer in August for a total of 15,910.
Earlier this month, the Springfield News-Leader reported the story of a Missouri woman named Mylissa Farmer who was forced to travel to Illinois after being denied a life-saving abortion due to Missouri’s near-total abortion ban and its ambiguous exception for threats to the life of the pregnant person. Farmer had reached out to the office of her state senator for help—and instead, they referred her to an anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center and promised to contact the Republican state attorney general, Eric Schmitt, who also happens to be running for U.S. Senate. Farmer says she never heard back.
Shortly after sharing her story, Farmer—who once identified as “pretty pro-life”—appeared in a damning ad for Schmitt’s Democratic opponent, Trudy Busch Valentine, highlighting Schmitt’s extremist stances on abortion. And on Friday, Missouri House Rep. Crystal Quade (D) sent a letter to the attorney general’s office alleging that the state had launched an investigation into Farmer and Freeman Hospital—which had ruled that Farmer’s pregnancy wasn’t viable—and requesting records and transparency.
On Monday, a spokesperson for Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) confirmed in an email to Jezebel that the department “does have an ongoing EMTALA investigation underway, as authorized by CMS [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] on October 20, regarding the situation you’ve described at Freeman Hospital in Joplin.” In a follow-up email, the spokesperson specified that DHSS is investigating the hospital and not Farmer, specifically.
In Quade’s letter, the Democratic lawmaker alleges that Schmitt sent several cease and desist letters to Missouri television stations that aired the Busch Valentine ad featuring Farmer—and that the state then opened a retaliatory investigation into the hospital that cared for Farmer as the ads continued to air.
[Park Ridge Republican Mike Lupo] said his experience of finding out that his son would be born with significant health problems informed his stance on abortion. He said he knew “what’s right for one family is not right for another” and would support abortion laws as written in Illinois.
“While our decision unwaveringly was to have our son, I feel and understand the difficulty of this decision for others,” he said. “It’s a decision that doesn’t come without consequence.”
Lupo then took a swipe at [Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines], saying his campaign had sent out misleading mail to voters that called him a danger to reproductive access.
Moylan said that he was “100% pro choice. I believe in a woman’s right to choose.” He added that he stood by the campaign mailers he had sent out about Lupo.
While abortion rights remain protected in Illinois, Budzinski supports keeping them safe at the federal level and said if a national abortion ban were to go into effect, it could impact people in Illinois.
“If a national abortion ban actually is put forward by House Republicans, and they take control of the House, those same protections that women in Illinois have today would also be affected and rolled back,” Budzinski said.
Deering does not support a national abortion ban and said it’s up to individual states to decide whether to restrict abortion access.
“If I’m going to be an advocate for making it a state’s issue, I’m not going to support a national ban,” Deering said.
All Steven knew was what time and where. A part-time pilot from the Chicago area, he was picking up a total stranger in his single-engine plane, a passenger who needed to fly more than a thousand miles, across state lines, from the midwest to the east coast.
“Within 15, 20 minutes of arriving and meeting the person, we were in the plane and I got the engine fired up, ready to go,” he said. […]
The passenger was seeking reproductive health services and needed to travel to a state where they could access them. Steven is just one of hundreds of pilots across the US, who have been volunteering the use of their small planes to fly people seeking abortions and other services from states that have outlawed it to states that haven’t.
The effort to connect volunteer pilots with patients is led by Elevated Access, a non-profit organization based out of Illinois. It was founded in April in response to a growing number of women being forced to embark on expensive and time-consuming journeys in attempts to obtain abortions
“Make no mistake about it, abortion is on the ballot in November,” said Jennifer Welch, Chair of the Planned Parenthood Illinois Action PAC.
The nationwide campaign is in response to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, which had protected abortion rights for nearly 50 years.
While Democrats, nationwide, received a boost in the polls earlier this summer, momentum is now fading with two weeks until the midterm election.
“Abortion as a topic has been down in the polls, compared to issues like the economy, inflation, even immigration and crime. Some of those things that Republicans have focused on,” said Francesca Chambers of USA Today.
Midterm elections are fast approaching and abortion rights are quite literally on the ballot in a number of states, following the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Experts have documented the impact abortion bans have on women’s participation in the labor force, and their findings have inspired James Beard Award-winning chef Beverly Kim (Parachute, Wherewithall).
“It’s very difficult to raise a child in this industry because of the lack of support systems both locally and nationally,” says Kim, a mother of three. “We’re already fighting for healthcare benefits, parental leave, and livable wages. Having that access and choice is a really important matter, it’s a puzzle piece that helps narrow the gap of gender disparity [in hospitality.”
In 2020, Kim co-founded the Abundance Setting, a Chicago nonprofit that supports advancement for mothers working in the hospitality industry. Under her group’s banner, Kim has assembled an all-star lineup of chefs for “Love is on the Menu,” a benefit dinner supporting the Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF), a local nonprofit that provides financial, logistical, and emotional support for abortion patients throughout the Midwest. The dinner on Tuesday, November 15, features a five-course meal from Top Chef alums Stephanie Izard (Girl & the Goat), Joe Flamm (Rose Mary), Damarr Brown (Virtue), plus Jason Hammel (Lula Cafe), Tayler Ploshehanski (Wherewithall), Kim and husband (and fellow Beard Award winner) Johnny Clark, and Los Angeles’ Mei Lin (Daybird). Tickets ($275) have already sold out, but hopefuls can request add their names to the waitlist via Resy.
“Everybody loves someone who has had an abortion, whether they know it or not,” says Kim. “Bringing people together around the dinner table helps to soften the dialogue, it destigmatizes [an experience] that is pretty widespread so we don’t have to whisper about it.”
Scott Lennox, 21, of 3300 N. Lake Shore Drive, is charged with one felony count each of threatening a public official, telephone harassment and harassment by electronic communications, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.
According to a Chicago police report, Lennox left Bailey a voicemail at 10:27 p.m. Oct. 28 in which he threatened to “mutilate and kill” him. Illinois State Police learned Lennox used his cellphone to make the threats against Bailey. Police said Lennox admitted making the threats.
Police say he admitted it. I’m hearing the threat was really gruesome.
Bailey had Illinois State Police protection the other day because of this awful man.
Pritzker on Wednesday took to Twitter to condemn the incident, saying “the violent rhetoric and division we’re seeing across our country is unacceptable.”
“Hatred in any form has no home in Illinois,” the governor continued.
Also condemning the incident was Democratic House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, of Hillside. “We need these violent threats to stop,” Welch tweeted. “Politicians on both sides of the aisle need to lower the rhetoric and bring back civility to our politics. I don’t agree with Mr. Bailey’s policies, but I want nothing but the best for him and his family.”
The voicemail in question followed a fight Lennox had at a Chicago bar after a political ad appeared on the bar’s television. The ad — and repeated ads he had seen during the campaign — made Lennox “angry,” prosecutors said, and a “heated argument” began between Lennox and his friends, leading him to send a voicemail to Bailey’s Springfield office, prosecutors said.
“I’m going to skin Darren Bailey alive, making sure he is still alive, and I’m going to feed his f****** family to him as he is alive and screaming in f****** pain,” prosecutors say Lennox said in the voicemail. He also made statements about abortion in his message.
He further said, “He is a piece of white a** racist s***, and honestly if he doesn’t kill himself, I will. You know what? I know where he lives. I know where he sleeps. I know where his kids sleep. And I know the f****** school he works at,” prosecutors allege he said. Lennox also said “the candidate teaching all this mother f****** misinformation is going to die. So honestly he should just kill himself before anything else happens.”
“Divisive, inflammatory, and misleading rhetoric is driving hatred across our state as some attempt to label political opponents as dangerous threats,” Bailey said in a statement Wednesday. “Whether we agree or disagree on policies, we are all Americans. I pray this young man gets the help he needs. We must bring our state together and fight for the safety and prosperity of every Illinoisan.”
Over the past two-plus decades, the Foundation has accomplished a great deal thanks to your steadfast support. Our first major effort, in 2005, was to help establish the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) in Springfield, IL. To date, we have raised more than $42 million in support of museum programs, projects, and the Foundation’s one-of-a-kind Taper Collection of Lincolniana. […]
The Foundation’s future simply could not be brighter.
The Foundation reported to the federal government last year that it had $9.25 million in liabilities, including $8.33 million in debt. It had cash and investment assets of $8.57 million, with total reported assets of $33.97 million.
So, the Foundation appeared to have had enough liquidity to pay off its notorious Taper Collection debt last year, including the infamous hat with the shaky provenance.
* But if the Foundation had paid off that debt on or before October 31st, then the collection would have reverted to Illinois’ ownership and remained at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, according to ALPLM executive director Christina Shutt. Instead, the Foundation chose to yank the entire collection from the ALPLM. From an email sent yesterday by Shutt…
Greetings ALPLM staff:
I want to give you an update on a few things, particularly the status of the Taper Collection of Lincoln materials.
As you may know, the collection was purchased 15 years ago by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation (earlier this year, the group renamed themselves Lincoln Presidential Foundation). This private foundation borrowed millions of dollars to buy the collection and said it would be given to the state of Illinois once that debt was paid off. Throughout those 15 years, the ALPLM and the foundation had a loan agreement that called for the presidential library to house and protect the collection, allowing our institution to display, research and showcase artifacts in the museum.
It has long been expected and anticipated that the Taper Collection would ultimately become the property of the people of Illinois, but the loan agreement expires today and the foundation has chosen to remove the collection from the ALPLM. It is unknown where the foundation will store these artifacts or whether the items will be publicly accessible in the future. Though it has been asked, the foundation not provided this information.
What is known is that, in government-mandated documents required of not-for-profits, the foundation has revealed that it has the money to pay off the remaining debt on the collection. Doing so prior to today would ensure that the collection would become the property of the people of Illinois. Regrettably, even after raising tens of millions of dollars more than the loan of 15 years ago, and even with the repeated promise to maintain a permanent home for the collection at the ALPLM, the foundation has ultimately chosen not to meet the longstanding commitment.
For years, the foundation asked donors to underwrite specific items in the collection and promised them that, because of their generosity, those items would be housed at the ALPLM “in perpetuity.” Those items, along with the rest of the collection, left our facilities as well today.
It’s hard to argue that the ALPLM is any less than the best place for the Taper Collection to be housed, protected, and shared with the public. But its absence will not interfere with the ALPLM’s mission and shouldn’t be seen as darkening a promising future.
Taken away were items such as Mary Todd Lincoln’s blood-stained fan she was carrying the night her husband was assassinated at Ford’s Theater, a cuff button he was wearing when he was shot, Lincoln’s walking sticks, some of his early writings and an ink bottle from his Springfield law office.
Also included was a beaver-skin stovepipe hat, once appraised at more than $6 million, that the museum and foundation once adamantly believed had set atop Lincoln’s head but that later was discredited because of unresolvable questions surrounding its authenticity.
These were all part of a collection of Lincoln artifacts once owned by wealthy West Coast historian and collector Louise Taper. A member of the Lincoln foundation board, she sold the items to the foundation for $23 million in 2007.
Municipal bonds were issued by the city of Springfield to help finance part of the deal, and private donations were secured with the understanding that once the foundation’s borrowing was repaid, the collection would become property of the museum. […]
A foundation spokesman said the not-for-profit still has a debt exceeding $8 million associated with acquiring the Taper collection, and a 15-year agreement that allowed for the artifacts to be on display at the museum expired on Monday.
“In accordance with that…loan agreement expiring, we arranged with the cooperation of the state for return of that collection to our control,” said Nick Kalm, the foundation board’s first vice chairman.
Kalm would not say what happens next for the one-time museum pieces.
This is the latest report in a research project established in 2019 to trace the use and provenance of local news sites created and operated for the purpose of exercising influence, be it electorally or to promote the interests of corporate clients or advocacy groups. While publishing news sites or newspapers to exert influence is not new, the increasingly involved campaign tools and tactics deployed through these networks create a challenge for independent local journalism and demonstrate how modern political campaigning makes it harder for readers to distinguish between political advertising and journalism.
This extended network is operated by a conglomerate of corporate entities—Metric Media, Newsinator (alias Franklin Archer), Local Government Information Services (LGIS), Pipeline Media (alias LocalityLabs or LocalLabs)—each of which claims ownership of different subsets of the network. […]
John Tillman, an influential conservative activist based out of Illinois, holds executive positions in at least nine organizations that, through a dizzying series of transactions, move millions of dollars around interconnected non- and for-profit organizations. As we reported last year, Tillman is also currently listed as the secretary for LGIS, the Illinois-centric subset of the network comprising thirty-four “local news” websites and eleven physical newspapers, which was subject to an FEC lawsuit for disguising campaign materials as local community newspapers (the suit was dismissed in 2019). Timpone is listed as the president of LGIS, a position previously held by Proft. In the run-up to the midterms this November, newspapers from the LGIS outlets have started appearing on doorsteps in Illinois attacking Pritzker for his policies on crime, COVID, and LGBTQ rights.
Proft’s PAC is financially backing Republican candidate Darren Bailey against Pritzker in the November election. Proft ran for office in 2010, currently hosts a show on the Salem Radio Network (which syndicates Christian political talk, conservative programming, and music), and his now-defunct PAC Liberty Principles paid Newsinator (one of the organizations in the extended network) over $300,000 for advertising. This year he started a new PAC, People Who Play by the Rules, which—at the time of writing—has received over $28 million from Uihlein, the shipping magnate and Republican mega-donor. The PAC has paid Pipeline Media just over $225,000 for services that include websites, SMS messages, and robocalls. […]
Only a small fraction of the $28 million that Proft’s People Who Play by the Rules PAC received from Uihlein—$226,668—was spent on Pipeline Media to cover services like website, SMS messages, and robocalls. […]
Since July 13, [Proft’s PAC] has spent over $12 million opposing Pritzker, of which $10,000 was disbursed to Pipeline Media for “website.”
Other anti-Pritzker domains registered in mid-September include pritzkermustgo [dot] com (which features a new ad campaign by the pac) and pritzkerbook [dot] com (which presents users with a book about “what every Illinoisan should know” about the incumbent). The book, too, is paid for by the People Who Play by the Rules PAC.
All these domains share digital identifiers like IP addresses and analytics infrastructure with other sites in the extended local news network, including the Will County Gazette, Kane County Reporter, Chicago City Wire, and DuPage Policy Journal. […]
People Who Play by the Rules isn’t the only PAC that’s received millions from Uihlein this election cycle. Restoration PAC, whose raison d’être is to “provide support to truly conservative candidates” and to “oppose Leftists and the woke agenda,” received at least $13.7 million from the founder of Uline, the privately held shipping-supply company. Of this, $1.37 million went to Pipeline Advisors LLC ($1,336,109) and Pipeline Media ($30,463) for various types of consulting and “production costs.”
It’s apparently all one thing. There’s more, so click here.
*** UPDATE *** I should’ve posted this interesting graphic. Notice the Franklin News Foundation. That’s the publisher of Center Square…
Senator Michael Hastings. This is his record. Hastings is sued for discrimination, racism and sexism. He bullied, threatened women forced to work with him. Taxpayers paid a huge settlement to his victim. Now reports to police that Hastings battered his wife, put her in a headlock, choked her, ramming her head into a door. The governor and other leaders called for Hastings to resign. On election day, tell Michael Hastings enough is enough.
Sen. Hastings is up against Republican Patrick Sheehan.
Earlier today, two former prosecutors and a former Appellate Court Justice held a press conference to highlight the unprecedented level of spending from Democratic leaders on the two contested Illinois Supreme Court races in the Chicago suburbs.
Former Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon, former Appellate Court Justice Bob Spence, and State Sen. John Curran, who served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County, all spoke out against the millions of dollars Governor Pritzker, Speaker Welch, President Harmon, and other Democratic lawmakers have spent to elect Justice Mary K. O’Brien and Judge Elizabeth Rochford.
“I and all of us are here today because the future of good government; reforms like independent map and fair maps, public safety, bipartisanship in the State of Illinois are on the ballot in this election for the Illinois Supreme Court in the 2nd and 3rd district. The independence of all three coequal branches of government is critical to restoring Illinois as a leader in job creation, public safety where people want to work and live,” said former Kane County State’s Attorney Joseph “Joe” McMahon. “An independent and impartial jury is critical to good government and is the only remaining check on the absolute political power of the Democrat Party in Cook County. Public confidence in judicial independence and impartiality is eroding when leaders of the other two branches of government try to control and dictate the outcome of judicial elections.”
“The Supreme Court is supposed to be a check on the General Assembly and on the Governor, we learned that in eighth grade - it’s not difficult, said Former Appellate Court Justice Robert Spence. “Other issues that could be decided by the court are “gerrymandering and fair maps.”
Last month, a federal judge blocked other judicial contribution limits Pritzker signed into law, including a measure that bans contributions in excess of $500,000 per election cycle from a single source to independent expenditure committees set up to support or oppose judicial candidates.
Before the now-suspended law went into effect, billionaire Citadel founder Ken Griffin, a chief Pritzker political rival, gave $6.25 million to an independent expenditure committee called Citizens for Judicial Fairness that is supporting the Republican candidates for the two open Supreme Court seats, Mark Curran and Michael Burke. […]
In October, the [Ken Griffin-funded] group reported spending nearly $4.9 million on advertising in the race between Burke, an appointed Supreme Court justice, and O’Brien, an appellate judge, and $1.3 million in the race between Curran, the former Lake County sheriff, and Rochford, an associate judge. By law, the group is prohibited from coordinating with the campaigns.
Two other outside political action committees, Fair Courts America and Restoration PAC, also have been spending to aid the GOP candidates, kicking in nearly $2.3 million for advertising in Curran’s race and nearly $267,000 in Burke’s, state campaign finance records show. They were two of the plaintiffs that sued to block the new limit on contributions to independent expenditure committees in judicial races.
And there’s more, including Richard Uihlein’s money.
The odd thing about the complaining is that these races have some actual financial parity between the two parties, mainly thanks to Ken Griffin’s $6.25 million contribution just before the new cap law took effect.
Showing the high-stakes nature of the state’s Supreme Court races, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has dipped into a trust fund to contribute to two Democratic judicial candidates in races that could reshape the Illinois Supreme Court — a decision Republicans say is skirting contribution limits the governor set himself. […]
Pritzker on Sept. 23 contributed $500,000 each to the candidates from his campaign fund. And on Oct. 28, the Democratic governor contributed another $500,000 each to Rochford and O’Brien — this time from a personal trust fund called the Jay Robert Pritzker Revocable Trust, records show. […]
“This is nothing more than an attempt to skirt the judicial campaign contributions limits that the governor himself signed into law five months ago,” the Republican [former Kane County State’s Attorney Joseph McMahon] said.
(T)he Illinois State Board of Elections says Pritzker’s multiple contributions are allowed.
“We have always treated trusts as separate entities,” state board of elections spokesman Matt Dietrich said in an email. “Absent a complaint alleging otherwise, we would not consider this a violation.”
* Related…
* Uihlein-funded super PAC dumping cash into local congressional races: A political action committee largely funded by conservative Lake Forest billionaire Richard Uihlein dumped at least $526,580 into five Chicago-area congressional races last month, records show. The Restoration PAC paid for digital advertising, direct mail and door hangers promoting or opposing candidates in Illinois’ 3rd, 6th, 10th, 11th and 14th congressional districts, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. The amounts spent per race varied. Some rose into six-figure territory.
*Gary Grasso: Moderate Republicans can win races in Illinois — if they raise their voices: Once we stop handing the tools to Democrats to label all Republicans as too extreme, we will be able to effectively focus on Democrats’ failed policies and giveaways, porous borders, conciliatory policies toward countries that want to harm us and soft-on-crime prosecutors. And we will win on the issues that matter. Let’s turn the tables rather than repeatedly plow headlong into the Democratic playbook.
* After Madigan’s not guilty plea, Republicans warn more corruption charges could be ahead: “My guess is that we will see some more entities down the road who will suffer the same fate of as CommonWealth Edison and AT&T all at the hands of Mike Madigan and also his enablers that are currently running the House of Representatives,” Durkin said during a virtual news conference after Madigan’s plea Tuesday.
* Illinoisans to use six types of voting machines in upcoming election: At polling places across the state, Illinois voters will use one of six different voting machines. The Democracy Suite 5.6-D, the EVS 5.5.0.3 machine, the Unity 3.4.1.1 machine, GEMS 1.18.24 machine, Verity Voting 2.6 machine, or the OpenElect 2.1.0.2 voting machine will all be used in the coming week. Illinois Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich said the voting machines are vetted before use.
* Popularity of mail ballots continues increasing as voter turnout looks to match 2018 midterms: “Now we’re looking healthier,” Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesperson Max Bever said. “Compared to 2018, we’re nipping at the heels.” One week ahead of Election Day, Nov. 8, voters are increasingly using mail ballots to make their selections, a trend experts say could point to permanent changes.
* Highland Park shooting: Prosecutors give defense attorneys 2,500 pages of evidence: The update came at the first court hearing since August for Robert Crimo III, who has been charged with more than 100 felonies in the shooting. Authorities say Crimo also wounded dozens of other people by firing a semi-automatic rifle into the crowd watching the Highland Park holiday parade. Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon said prosecutors have given more than 2,500 pages of written material to the defense, along with audio and video recordings. They are expecting to tender a substantial amount of additional discovery material within the next few days.
* Some Dem leaders want to dump Cook County’s chief judge: But political insiders confirm some activity is occurring, with two pols going public with their call to fire Evans: 42nd Ward Ald. and Democratic Committeeman Brendan Reilly, and Michele Smith, who recently stepped down as alderman of the adjoining 43rd Ward. Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, says he, too, is urging voters in his ward to join in the dump Evans move. “He’s made a mess of the court system and turned it into a revolving door that’s endangering my constituents,” said Reilly, referring to an order Evans issued several years ago that directs judges to avoid imposing cash bail. “He needs to go.”
* Chicago area election judges prepare for midterms as FBI warns of nationwide threats: Local election officials tell the I-Team they have not had any threats against election workers here in Illinois. Just last month, the FBI issued a warning about election worker threats tied to the midterms across the country. Election workers surveyed by experts at the Brennan Center are also sounding the alarm.
* How anti-Pritzker PAC is trying to suppress the Black vote in Chicago: It’s an old-school political technique — in the days before a vote, put election flyers under car windshield wipers. They are likely to be read since they are hard for a driver to ignore. In a parking lot in Bronzeville last week outside the Lake Meadows apartments,a multitude of yellow flyers — designed to look like road warning signs — were on cars in this heavily Black and overwhelmingly Democratic community.
* With 1 week to go, Pritzker and Bailey campaign in suburbs: With one week before the election, Pritzker is picking a fight with Bailey over accepting the election results. Governor Pritzker’s campaign manager sent the Bailey team a letter dated Oct. 31 pledging to accept the results of the election “win or lose.” “Election denialism is a dark plague that threatens the very foundation of our democracy,” Mike Ollen wrote. Bailey told WGN News he has made that commitment and pointed to speculation that Pritzker is eying a White House run in 2024.
* Pritzker names retired CPD Chief to Prisoner Review Board: Jeff Grubbs will join the board after serving nearly 30 years with the Carbondale Police Department, retiring as Chief in 2020. Grubbs’ appointment comes as the Prisoner Review Board faces tough questions about its makeup, with Republicans calling on the governor and Democratic leaders in the Senate to be more transparent about the nominations and confirmations.
* In district that has Highland Park, Schneider, Severino differ on how to prevent mass shootings: Weeks after the July 4 shooting in his hometown of Highland Park, 10th District incumbent Democrat Brad Schneider led an effort in the House to revive an expired ban on assault-style weapons. The measure hasn’t yet cleared the Senate. Schneider also has called for universal background checks, gun safety education, mental health services, and better training and equipping of first responders — all part of what he calls a “wholistic approach” to addressing gun violence.
* ‘We Cannot Continue to Normalize This’: Activists, Alderman Outraged At Garfield Park Mass Shooting: At least 14 people were hit by gunfire, including three children. A woman was also injured trying to escape when she was hit by an oncoming car. “It began, then it is over in about three seconds,” said Supt. David Brown at a press conference Monday night. “A car is pulling out after driving by and shooting randomly really into the crowd.”
* Vigil planned as CPD continues search for those responsible in East Garfield Park shooting: A vigil is planned Wednesday, as Chicago police continue to look for the gunman behind a shooting incident Monday night in East Garfield Park that injured 15. One of the most seriously injured victims of that shooting is hospitalized at Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.
* Why Cook County residents are being asked to pay more taxes for forest preserves: The county’s forest preserve system is the first and largest of its kind in the country, making up about 11% of Cook County. A coalition of more than 150 organizations that support the quest for additional funds laud the environmental and human health benefits of the preserves, which advocates say became particularly evident during the isolation of the pandemic.
* Democrats push hard to cement GOP’s ‘super-duper’ minority on Cook County Board: The question is whether Republicans will claw back one of the seats it lost four years ago or lose even more ground, most notably a seat for Chicago’s Far Northwest Side and northwest suburbs that has been held by a retiring Republican for more than a quarter century.
* Artist Nick Cave tackles a new challenge: Making tiny, artful cheesecakes with Eli’s Cheesecake: The medium may indeed be the message, as Marshall McLuhan once told us, but what to make of a recent morning watching a group of people making messages and then eating them with delight? Esteemed artist Nick Cave was standing alongside his creative and life partner Bob Faust inside Eli’s Cheesecake bakery/retail shop/cafe on the city’s Northwest Side. They were wearing gloves and decorating mini cheesecakes, very tiny mini cheesecakes known as Cuties, one-inch by one-inch morsels.
* This time, Rick Hahn — not Jerry Reinsdorf — picks Pedro Grifol to be the new Chicago White Sox manager: The Chicago White Sox managerial search ended with a stunning pick two years ago when Tony La Russa was brought out of retirement at age 76 to try to take them to the promised land. General manager Rick Hahn issued the announcement, but everyone knew the decision had been made by Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, who bypassed his own GM for a chance at a storybook ending — watching his old pal at the helm of a World Series champion on the South Side.
* Pritzker Administration Launches Effort to Strengthen Children’s Mental Health Care: The Administration of Governor JB Pritzker announced today it is launching a new state program designed to help pediatricians and other providers meet children’s mental health needs by strengthening mental health services in emergency departments and schools.
* New home sales plunge: Sales of new homes in the Chicago area dropped in the third quarter to their lowest in almost four years, due in large part to supply being depleted by the pandemic housing boom.
* Trump talks Chicago crime while commenting on Pelosi attack: “With Paul Pelosi, that’s a terrible thing. With all of them it’s a terrible thing,” Trump said, before blaming an overall rise in crime. “Look at what happened to San Francisco generally. Look at what’s happening in Chicago,” he said, adding that the crime situation here is “far worse than Afghanistan.”
* Lincoln political letter from 1843 goes on display: The 1843 letter details Lincoln’s political frustrations. The future president wrote it to Martin Morris, a friend from New Salem. The public’s only access to the letter was a copy Morris made — with many spelling errors — given to Lincoln’s law partner William Herndon.
* The Governor’s Public Schedule…
* Gov. Pritzker to attend groundbreaking at Ferrero’s first-ever U.S. Kinder Bueno production facility. Nu-Way parking lot adjacent to Ferrero Bloomington, 25 Access Way, Bloomington, 10:00 AM. Watch: www.illinois.gov/livevideo
* Governor Pritzker will join Democratic leaders at Illinois State University for a GOTV meet and greet at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. Illinois State University, Schroeder Plaza - 427-499 W College Ave, Normal, IL 61761
The governor said he “balanced four budgets in a row” and saw the state’s credit rating upgraded six times.
“We’re going to go block-by-block, house-by-house to elect the greatest governor in the history of Illinois, since (Abraham) Lincoln,” an enthusiastic State Rep. Marty Moylan (D-55th) told his hometown crowd.
…Adding… I forgot that somebody sent me the video last night…
* I told Isabel today that I am just so pleased with the way things are going since she started working with me. She thrives on the pace. She works hard, finishes tasks promptly, listens attentively and has good ideas and input. She’s picked up a lot of things quickly. She’s taken a large load off of my back and my hope is she can also start contributing to the subscriber section soon.
I knew going in that Isabel was smart, funny and a real treat to hang out with. Yes, I’m biased because she’s also my niece, but I’ve heard that working with family can be tricky. That hasn’t been the case here. Her dad, my brother Devin, teaches at a college part-time, so he’s helped me with the teaching aspect of this experience. It’s truly worked out well.
Anyway, I just wanted to take a few moments to publicly acknowledge Isabel’s contribution and her value and to allow y’all to chime in if you want. She says she loves working here, and that really makes me happy and appreciative.
* Background is here if you need it. Sen. Michael Hastings’ former spouse is named Kate. As I told subscribers, this campaign letter from “Kate Hastings” was sent to voters a few days ago…
Sen. Hastings claims he has a sister named Kate, but that relationship is not at all spelled out in the letter and the former Mrs. Kate Hastings wanted to make darned sure people don’t get confused. From her Facebook page…
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
I have stayed extremely quiet the last two years. Those closest to me know I value my privacy. With that being said, you can imagine how difficult these past two years have been on not only me, but my children, my family and my closest friends.
I know it’s election season. I have seen the mailers, the horrific text messages, the social media posts and have read all of the dozen of articles written.
THIS IS NOT OK.
This IS NOT ME. I did NOT write this letter. I had NO knowledge of this letter being written. This is NOT my signature. I have NEVER lived at the address that is posted as the return of address. I would also never use such terrible stationary.
What this is, is a slap across the face to any victim of domestic violence.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for every single call, text message and email with words of comfort and support. They mean more to me then you know.
* Senate President Harmon’s statement…
We have not been involved in any way, shape or form with the Hastings’ campaign. No campaign run or supported by the Senate Democrats would do something so boneheaded, so beneath accepted campaign tactics. The election is a week away and voters have an important decision to make.
* Sen. Hastings’ full statement…
I have been in bi-weekly, if not weekly, communications with the Senate Chief of Staff, members of our Senate Leadership team, and other members of the Senate since the inception of my campaign.
They have all offered me great comfort during a difficult time for my family and support throughout my campaign.
More specifically, the Chief of Staff has been fully briefed on all aspects of my campaign to include this support letter from my sister, associated text messages and social media posting.
Up until today, it has always been acceptable practice for a member of a family to support another running for office. Throughout the past 15 years, my family has been more than supportive of my campaigns.
My sister, Kate Hastings, has been one my biggest champions and overly supportive throughout this difficult time for our family. She believes in worker’s rights, a women’s right to choose, among many other issues that matter most to the neighbors in our community. Her letter of support means the world to me.
This attempt to discredit of my sister’s letter is the antithesis of standing up for a woman’s voice. And I will not stand for that.
As you are aware, multiple news sources have sued to intervene in my settled divorce from my estranged ex-wife. Sadly, your republishing of the one-sided reporting does not tell the whole story.
I also hope during the course of your due diligence you may have noticed that my estranged ex-wife has changed her name back to her maiden name.
* From Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie…
This is not a question of politics, it’s a question of human decency. Both Governor Pritzker and I have called for Senator Hastings to resign due to his disturbing past record of violence and abuse of women. This latest, twisted, last-ditch effort to save his campaign is reprehensible, and his continued presence in the Senate should not be tolerated by anyone in the General Assembly.
People throughout Chicago are receiving anonymous text messages that encourage them to vote Tuesday — but also include their name and, in some cases, photos or maps of their home.
The text messages come from various phone numbers that, when called, lead to nowhere — and recipients have not subscribed for them. The messages tell the recipient they haven’t voted yet and list their name, home address and a nearby polling location. They sometimes include a Google Maps picture of the person’s home or a screenshot of their address on a map.
The messages aren’t coming from the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, said spokesperson Max Bever. The agency — which governs elections in the city — doesn’t send text to voters, Bever said.
Chicagoans said the texts have left them annoyed, confused and, in some cases, concerned about their safety or worried about their ballot. […]
A resident who received one of the texts sent a message back to ask for information about the messages. The respondent said they are a volunteer with Voting Futures, a nonprofit “dedicated to ensuring every eligible voter is registered and participating in democracy.”
An official-looking text message created confusion among some Oregon voters because the information in the text — including the voter’s name or address — was incorrect. It didn’t match official voting records.
“They have my first name correct. The address is one in Eugene that I have never lived at,” explained Lauren Dunn in an email to KGW. “Seems like a scam.”
The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office and Multnomah County Elections have received complaints about the text messages. Tim Scott, director of Multnomah County Elections said he personally received one of the text messages.
The texts claim to be from someone named Myra, a volunteer with Voting Futures. The message explained that if you live at a particular address, you will receive your 2022 ballot in the mail soon. […]
A company hired by political organizations that rally people to cast their ballot sent the text message.
The company, Movement Labs, admits some of the text messages were addressed to the wrong person or had incorrect voting information because of old or outdated cell phone records.
Movement Labs, a company that facilitates political text message campaigns, took responsibility for accidentally sending voters in five states messages with erroneous instructions for voting. […]
The statement explains that the company sent the messages to voters in Kansas, New Jersey, Illinois, North Carolina, and Virginia on behalf of text campaign clients Voto Latino, Black Voters Matter, and Voting Futures.
Movement Labs founder Yoni Landau assured it was not their intention to confuse voters. “In some of our texts, we sent addresses and images of drop-box locations when we intended only to include in-person early vote locations,” he said. “We didn’t specify in our text that we were trying to encourage voters to vote early. Some voters familiar with their election day location thought we were telling them to vote on election day at an early vote location.”
This program relies on difficult-to-compile polling location data from multiple sources matched to individuals on the voter file, and we fell short of our rigorous standards with some of these errors, which we believe impacted around 10% of the voters we contacted.
Moving forward, we are conducting an investigation and commit to releasing a report widely summarizing our findings.
*** UPDATE *** From the State Board of Elections…
For the past several days, voters in Illinois have complained of receiving unsolicited text messages with incorrect information on Election Day polling places.
The text messages, from a group called Voting Futures, list the recipient’s voting address, state that public records indicate the recipient has not yet voted and then inform the recipient of a voting location that often is incorrect.
Voters are reminded that correct polling place information can be found by using the Polling Place Locator tool on the State Board of Elections website. The State Board of Elections does not communicate with voters using text messages, nor does it hire third parties to communicate with voters.
“We want Illinois voters to know that their election information should come only from trusted sources like the State Board of Elections or their local election authority,” said Board of Elections Executive Director Bernadette Matthews. Voters can also receive election information by following the State Board of Elections on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Voters who receive suspicious election-related text messages or emails or view social media posts that contain suspected election misinformation should forward screenshots and/or links to scamalert@elections.il.gov.
* Dan Proft has done this a few times in the past, and now he’s done it again…
Some 85 in 100 Illinois journalists and news media executives lean Democrat, according to an analysis of primary voting records by Prairie State Wire.
The analysis tracked the Illinois State Board of Elections’ public voter files of 400+ journalists and news media staff working across the state, identifying 225 who have voted in a primary election and declared a political party. […]
Of the 26 who voted in more GOP primaries, eleven were from outside the Chicagoland area. They include Capitol Fax publisher Rich Miller of Springfield, who has voted in five GOP primaries and four Democrat ones.
I vote in primaries where there are contested races that I’m interested in. If I voted in Cook County, most of the contested local races would be Democratic. I mean, Chicago resident Amy Jacobson, who is about as out there on the right as one can get, has voted in 4 Democratic primaries. The ratings don’t really mean much.
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill.) would easily defeat Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a runoff — and he’s the only top challenger who’d win a head-to-head match-up, according to a new poll, bankrolled by Garcia, that makes it likely he will join the race.
“It’s further encouragement to consider taking the dive into the race. … If I sense that there is a way forward and that I can win the support of people across Chicagoland, I’m inclined to do so,” Garcia, whose supporters have been circulating his nominating petitions for weeks, told the Sun-Times Monday.
“Getting a strong mandate from voters across Chicago would be important. Finding the financial resources to run an effective campaign is another consideration and, of course, I’m working on that,” he added. “Chicago is facing some very serious challenges that will require that everyone lend a hand and be involved in moving the city forward.”
And…
Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia has filed an economic disclosure statement with Chicago’s Board of Ethics, a necessary step in his increasingly likely campaign for mayor. https://t.co/ZIJBXuT0iS@CrainsChicago
Chuy Garcia’s campaign committee is now amended to support a run for Chicago Mayor, one more step as he gears up for a potential challenge to Lightfoot pic.twitter.com/UN72kCEuWd
WTTW News counted five dozen contributions [to the 13th Ward Democratic Organization] since Madigan’s March 2020 indictment, the bulk of which came from labor groups.
Just last Wednesday, the Illinois Union of Operating Engineers (I.U.O.E. Local 150) Local Area Political Action Committee and the Chicago Land Operators Joint Labor-Management PAC each gave $59,900, the full amount they’re allotted to under law.
The Engineers Political Education Committee (listed as the 13th Ward Democratic Organization’s all-time top donor, with $391,200 in contributions) and the Laborers’ Political League Great Lakes Region each gave the max amount in September, while the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Chicago Laborers’ District Council PAC did so in August.
Multiple unions contacted by WTTW News did not return calls seeking comment.
The operating engineers’ union issued a statement, saying “Local 150 has a longstanding relationship with the 13th Ward Democratic Organization, which advocates for many policies and candidates that we support.”
Yes, he was really good to the trade union folks. But he’s gone now and he’s never coming back.
And he’s using some of their cash to buy Sox tickets…
New FEC filings reveal GOP congressional candidate and current Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau accepted thousands of dollars of campaign donations last week from Orland Park contractors to whom he had awarded lucrative taxpayer-funded contracts. In 2019, Keith Pekau was investigated for dishing out lucrative government contracts as part of a pay-to-play scheme. Now, he’s at it again.
Pekau’s 48-hour report filed Friday revealed he has accepted $6,250 in donations from employees of Edwards Realty. Pekau voted to give Edwards Realty a TEXT $10,000 a month consulting contract with the Village of Orland Park last year, and voted again this past August to grant the company another development contract.
Despite reservations from village trustees, Pekau led Orland Park in approving the new contract for Edwards Realty last March. Coincidentally, Pekau has accepted over $18,000 from the consulting firm and its executives since 2017, including $1,000 just weeks before Pekau voted to approve the first contract.
Keith Pekau has made it clear time and time again that he values himself over the residents of Orland Park. Voters are tired of corrupt, self-interested politicians — and they’ll remember the truth about Keith Pekau at the ballot box.
211 is an easy to remember telephone number assigned by the Federal Communications Commission to streamline access to health and human services.
211 is available on a 24-hour basis to connect residents to a wide variety of human services or social services across the state.
If someone needs information or referral services but has little or no prior knowledge or experience, dialing 211 is much simpler than other options. Once the person dials 211, a professional Information and Referral specialist will then either refer or connect that caller to the correct agency based on the services needed.
* Illinois early vote totals…
The @illinoissbe has updated early vote totals (11/01/22): Total VBM requested: 854,376 Total VBM returned: 439,489 Total VBM outstanding: 414,887 Return Rate: 51% Total Early Vote: 370,799 Total Grace Period: 5,224 Total Already Voted: 815,512https://t.co/44ga6Axjmq
The most up-to-date Early Vote and Vote By Mail totals in Chicago, night of Monday, October 31, 2022.
The Early Vote total stands at 61,018 ballots cast.
Additionally, 70,147 Vote By Mail ballots have been returned to the Board – total VBM applications stands at 206,815.
The grand total is 131,165 ballots cast so far in Chicago for the November 8th General Election.
FOR COMPARISON:
As of June 21, 2022 (7 days out from the 6/28/22 Primary Election): 52,197 ballots cast
As of October 26, 2020 (7 days out from the 11/3/20 Presidential Election): 553,307 ballots cast
As of October 29, 2018 (7 days out from the 11/6/18 General Election): 132,065 ballots cast
Illinois as a whole was ahead of 2018 by about 100,000 votes as of yesterday. This shows Chicago is still behind 2018 early voting as of this morning.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* In campaign that has raised social issues, US Rep. Sean Casten looks to cement power against Keith Pekau: Pekau said Awake Illinois is made up of “normal people, they’re not violent in any way or any of that. They’re just parents who care about their kids.” “I don’t know what their broader positions are,” Pekau said. “The people that I’ve talked to from Awake Illinois, they’re parents that are concerned, and they want their children to be children. They want their children — they don’t want (critical race theory) in their classrooms. They don’t want their children being exposed to a bunch of sexual (themes) in their classrooms. I agree with those positions.” Casten, who has publicly battled with Awake Illinois so much that he says the group has threatened to take legal action against him, scoffed at that.
* Madigan skips arraignment as lawyers enter plea of not guilty on new AT&T conspiracy charges: Madigan was not required to be on the phone because his attorneys invoked a rarely used procedural rule allowing criminal defendants to waive their right to be present for their arraignment under certain circumstances. […] The hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole lasted less than three minutes, most of which was taken up by attorneys identifying themselves on the line. Cole set a status hearing before the trial judge, U.S. District Judge Robert Blakey, for Nov. 17.
* Abraham Lincoln is a role model for today’s turbulent times: First lesson: Incremental progress is important for solving difficult policy problems. The book traces such progress, from the abolition of slavery in Washington, D.C. in 1862, to the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in states that had seceded in 1863, to the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery in 1865. Today, this approach can be used to strengthen gun laws. Both liberal Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering and conservative U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., agree that Congress raising the minimum age for purchase of assault weapons to 21, with narrow exceptions, is a possible step focused on individuals with the greatest propensity to engage in mass shootings.
* Republican McConchie, Democrat Peterson exchanges jabs in League of Women Voters candidate forum for state Senate 26th District: “My opponent has missed key votes on critical gun violence laws,” Peterson said. “Your absence has weakened these laws by letting people get killed in Highland Park, Aurora, Waukegan and Chicago. Your absence is more devastating than my being six days late on a real estate tax bill.” McConchie offered an explanation for his voting record. “I did miss a number of votes, but unfortunately, I was in the hospital. I have a spinal cord injury and I have health issues associated with the disability,” McConchie said. “I’m sorry, Maria, I missed a vote that day. I appreciate you not using my disability against me in that way.”
* Hurley faces Hebein in 35th District race: “I will fight to get our communities what we deserve,” Hurley said. “I will fight to improve public safety, support our small businesses, invest in our communities, and ensure access to quality schools with increased access to vocational programs while fighting against attempts to raise taxes even further.” Hebein did not return the questionnaire sent by The Beverly Review.
* Education, taxes at the forefront for candidates vying for state representative seat: Republican Joe Sosnowski faces a challenge from Democrat Peter Janko for State Representative from Illinois’ 69th legislative district, which encompasses much of Boone County and sections of Rockford, Cherry Valley and McHenry County. Ahead of the Nov. 8 election, we asked the candidates what the most pressing issues they’ll face if elected and what they would do about them. Here is a closer look at the candidates.
* The right’s worst offenders on Paul Pelosi conspiracy theories: The details also poke even more gaping holes in (and in some cases outright debunk) the conspiracy theories dismissing or downplaying the political nature of the attack — including theories promoted by some of the most prominent right-leaning figures in the country. Let’s run through what some of those people have said and how those comments have aged (poorly, and rather quickly).
As coronavirus cases climb once again, health officials are urging Illinoisans to get their COVID-19 vaccine booster shots now to help avoid a full-blown winter surge like the state has seen the last two years.
Not even 15% of eligible Chicagoans have gotten the updated bivalent booster designed to target the Omicron variant — a rate that is “absolutely not enough for us to avoid trouble this winter,” Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Friday.
“This fall is critical. We are not where we need to be as a city, in people getting that fall 2022 booster,” Arwady said during a downtown news conference, dressed as a wizard for Halloween. “And my crystal ball tells me we are not going to make it through the winter unscathed from COVID, especially if we can’t get more people up to date with vaccines.”
Once again, mitigations were designed to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed. We’ve been in the same basic range of hospitalizations since May.
Asked in Arlington Heights if he anticipates vaccination mandates as COVID-19 cases rise, Pritzker said, “I don’t.”
“I think people understand that we’ve got vaccinations available to everybody,” he said. “We’ve got one of the highest vaccinations rates in the Midwest here in Illinois, one of the lowest mortality rates in the Midwest.
“We are seeing a rise in COVID as we head into winter. I want to encourage everybody to get their bivalent booster that’s available now. You get boosted. It really is a safe thing to do and will keep you safe all winter long.”
We have vaccinations and effective treatments. Hospitals aren’t overwhelmed like they were at the start of this year, when they peaked at over 7,000.
* The Question: Did you ever catch COVID-19? Describe the experience.
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released her final ad in her campaign for re-election to the U.S. Senate. In the new ad, Illinoisans highlight why they’re supporting Duckworth on November 8 for a second term in the U.S. Senate.
Everyday Illinoisans including Beth, a member of Painters District Council No. 30, Jimmy, a Veteran, Dawn, a community leader and David, a firefighter show their support for Duckworth—a leader like them who overcame hunger, worked her way through college and served her nation in uniform before serving Illinois in the U.S. Senate.
Duckworth’s prior ads from this cycle highlight her work to hold big corporations accountable and save working families money, the importance of protecting women’s reproductive freedom and her work to support and grow Illinois manufacturing and production.
Secretary of State Jesse White said Oct. 25 he stands by the candidate he appointed to fill the vacancy on the Niles-Maine Library District Board and expects to see that candidate, Umair Qadeer, sworn in once the Illinois General Assembly clarifies legislation empowering the Secretary of State to make library board appointments to vacancies open for longer than three months. […]
He said the appointment to the Niles-Maine Library board was not a decision his office had taken lightly.
“When we make an appointment to the library board, we take into consideration all that is required of the individual to not only take on the job and take on the responsibility that goes with it,” White said.
White’s office announced its selection of Qadeer for the board on Sept. 16. Qadeer had also applied to fill the vacancy left by former Trustee Olivia Hanusiak after she resigned in August 2021, and prior to that, Qadeer sat on the Des Plaines Public Library Board before moving within the Niles-Maine Library District boundaries.
End of story? Not exactly. A sitting board member filed for a temporary restraining order against White’s pick, preventing Qadeer from participating in meetings, leaving the stalemate in place. On Oct. 7, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Alison Conlon made the restraining order permanent. Now, state Sen. Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines, has filed legislation she told us will be acted on in next month’s veto session to make it clear White’s pick can take his seat.
How does this infighting help the library serve its patrons? We’re not sure. A Niles-Maine librarian told us patrons say they want an end to the conflict — as well as an end to both a hiring freeze and a cutback in hours.
The brouhaha in Niles-Maine feels like a piece of a larger nationwide story in which many of those elected to governmental seats or who are running for them seem to have less interest in making government work than in sticking it to the opposition.
Somehow, America needs to nurture a stronger sense of civic-mindedness, in which we recognize we are all in this together. Political factions will never agree on everything, but they should do a better job of seeking common ground.
* In June of last year, Niles-Maine employees unionized…
Employees of the Niles-Maine District Library are organizing their union with AFSCME Council 31.
Nearly 100 librarians, patron support staff and other library workers will be part of the new union. They filed a majority-interest petition with the local panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board last week.
Niles library workers are coming together in the wake of cuts to library funding, staff and programs threatened by newly elected members of the library board, who are engulfed in controversy over giving a $100-an-hour no-bid contract to their political supporter, Steven Yasell.
“The staff at the Niles-Maine District Library has spent decades working with different Board leadership to maintain a valuable community space and resource. But within just a few weeks, this new Board majority has made it obvious that they do not understand the functions of a public library and have no interest in learning them,” teen services librarian Rachel Colias said. “Once we realized we weren’t being offered a seat at the table, we pulled up our own with AFSCME. The people who work here have invested too much in this library to be so easily dismissed, and we hope to work as a union to protect our ability to serve anyone who relies on us.” […]
“Our library provides access to every member of our community so they can bridge the digital divide and succeed in the 21st Century. That means not just books and periodicals but computers, printers, internet, video equipment, and most of all the award-winning expert staff,” said Elizabeth Lynch of The Niles Coalition. “When my husband and I chose Niles to raise our family, one of the reasons was the library. Yet immediately upon taking office, the new library trustees began trying to reduce staff and hours, cut funding to programs and outreach, and establish an open-ended contract for their unqualified buddy, all without any input from the staff or the community. The members of the Niles Coalition love our library and will stand with library employees to protect it.”
Ever since the seating of the current board of trustees in May 2021, we have watched the Niles-Maine District Library shrivel. As the library staff, we deal daily with the effects of the board’s actions and inaction, while our concerns go unaddressed.
Nearly 30 resignations are unreplaced due to the ongoing 14-month hiring freeze. […]
Employees’ health insurance contributions increased from $96 to $164 per month — a yearly increase of over $800. […]
While trustees Patti Rozanski, Diane Olson, and Becky Keane strive to see the library regain its former vibrancy, the three others — President Carolyn Drblik, Secretary Suzanne Schoenfeldt and Treasurer Joe Makula — seem to regard us purely as functionaries, not the professional and paraprofessional staff we are. […]
President Drblik tries to justify severe cuts to professional development by saying training could be provided at the library by our own staff. And yet they eliminated our staff day, the one day a year when the library would close for such training. She also suggested staff could watch training videos during their lunch break, before being reminded staff cannot be forced to work during their unpaid lunch. […]
Trustee Makula endlessly parrots the need for cross-training to fill staffing gaps. Staff are already cross-trained. There is no lack of cross-training; the lack is simply in people to perform the work. He says the library has too many staff based on his own analysis, but he never says what the appropriate staffing level would be.
Not only has the library as an institution been diminished, but the staff continues to be disrespected and devalued. We are not pieces on a gameboard. Our morale should be a valid and critical concern to the trustees. If employees are continually devalued, there will come a time when they say enough is enough and choose to join an organization that values their talents, skills, and abilities.
The icing on the cake came at the July board meeting when these three trustees said they would not pay the new fiscal year’s bills until they have the budget in place. (There is, of course, no legal reason for this and until a few years ago the library routinely passed its budget in August.) Since they have so far been unwilling to compromise with the other trustees on the budget, on top of everything else it seems we now have to wonder if we’ll even get paid.
By all indications, Drblik, Schoenfeldt, and Makula are content to see the library wither. Is their ultimate goal to close the library?
* Jesse White appointed Umair Qadeer in September. Journal & Topics…
[Library Trustees Olivia] Hanusiak’s departure left two equally and bitterly divided voting blocs of three library trustees each. Although more than a dozen candidates filed applications to be appointed to the library board, shortly after Hanusiak’s resignation, board members were unable to reach an agreement on who to appoint.
Typically library board trustees would vote to make their own appointment to fill a vacancy. Because of the deadlock on the appointment, State Sen. Laura Murphy (D-28th) who represents a large section of Maine Township, introduced legislation, last spring similar to what exists for local school boards, mandating that, if the library is unable to make an appointment within 90 days of a vacancy being declared, or of the legislation becoming law, the state’s chief librarian, Secretary White, would then have 60 days after that to make the appointment. That legislation passed the Illinois General Assembly on unanimous votes and was then signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker.
The timing of the appointment is also significant. The library is set to hold a hearing on its final budget, where a vote could also be taken, at a special library board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26.
Discussion on the tentative budget was contentious. The tentative budget was adopted after a five-hour meeting with Library Board President Carolyn Drblik saying she would not pay library bills without the tentative budget in place. She also indicated library trustees in the other voting bloc could amend the budget, “When you have control” of the board.
* A legal wrench was thrown in the Sept 21 meeting where Qadeer would’ve been sworn in.Niles Herald-Spectator…
The Niles-Maine District Library Board had its shortest meeting in many months just hours after a Cook County judge issued a temporary restraining order against Secretary of State Jesse White that prevented a seventh, tie-breaker trustee from being seated on the board at the meeting.
Umair Qadeer’s seating on the board would have broken the 3-3 deadlock that has plagued the board since August of last year, hindering decision-making about staff, spending, legal fees, repairing the roof and many other significant matters.
Board Treasurer Joe Makula’s decision to file for a restraining order that prevents Qadeer from joining the board came just five days before the library was scheduled to have its budget hearing on the spending plan for the coming year. That budget hearing was scheduled for Sept. 26, and the restraining order remains in effect until Sept. 30. Illinois law requires the library to have a budget in place by Sept. 27. […]
The decision on the restraining order came down Wednesday from Cook County Circuit Court Judge Alison Conlon, Secretary of State Spokesperson Dave Druker said.
As Library Board President Carilyn Drblik arrived for Wednesday’s library board meeting she walked past a line of protesters, many from the Niles Coalition, chanting that she needs to go. Protesters did not see Makula enter the building.
As the meeting got underway, during the public comment portion of the meeting, residents railed against the injunction, including a 13-year-old named Dana, who said, “We need education of the youth, which helps history from repeating.” She criticized board members for cutting spending and said she would form a group at her school to protect the library against trustees.
Former Maine Township Trustee David Carrabotta told trustees he thinks the proposed budget should be reduced.
Niles Mayor George Alpogianis weighed in on the situation at the library: “Once again (Joe) Maukla and his cronies are being disrespectful to the library and its citizens. We all have been elected to do what’s best for our community. Lawsuit after lawsuit (by Makula) does nothing but costs all of us money.” He concluded, “As elected officials when we enter the board room, all of our personal agendas should be left at the door.”
* On Sept 27 the Board approved a $6.6 million budget a day before a legal deadline and after months of argument. The Tribune…
President Carolyn Drblik, Treasurer Joe Makula and Secretary Suzanne Schoenfeldt pushed to cut spending, including on such items as preventive building maintenance, and to preserve a hiring freeze enacted in May 2021.
Trustees Becky Keane and Dianne Olson voted for the plan but called it “mediocre” for not funding the 35 vacant staff positions at the library. Vice President Patti Rozanski voted no.
Rozanski, Keane and Olson have vocally opposed the spending cuts made by Drblik, Makula and Schoenfeldt for more than a year. The Rozanski-Keane-Olson bloc has advocated for funding to prevent the roof from leaking and for hiring traditional levels of staff, deferring to the leadership of library professionalson operational questions and funding items like overnight cleaning for bathrooms.
Over the past year, meetings with trustees deadlocked 3-3 have gone on for hours, punctuated by shouting. The board approved a tentative spending plan in August after Rozanski indicated that she’d vote for a budget so the library could start paying its bills but accused Drblik, Makula and Schoenfeldt of using “bullying tactics.”
* On Oct 6 a Cook County Circuit Court Judge issued a permanent restraining order. Niles Herald-Spectator…
In his request for a restraining order, Makula’s attorney Daniel Kelley argued that the law does not apply retroactively.
Since former Trustee Olivia Hanusiak’s seat was declared vacant in September 2021, Kelley argued that the 90-day clock would have begun then and expired in December 2021, requiring Secretary White to have made an appointment before February 12, 2022 to comply with the law. […]
“We’re going to be working with Senator Murphy; she’s going to do the bill for the veto session,” [Secretary of State spokesperson Dave Druker] said. “We’re trying to clarify the legislation.”
…Adding… Neil Steinberg’s column on the Libarry from July…
That’s the reason I came here. A reader alerted me to what he described as “the cabal of four right-wing library-haters who took control of the 7-member Niles Library board, pushed out the executive director, and are slashing the budget, slashing the hours, cancelling orders for new books and a new roof. They especially don’t want any foreign-language books because people oughta learn English.”
Can that be true?
“It is,” said Niles Mayor George D. Alpogianis. “What they’re asking for, in my opinion, is ludicrous. Big politics are starting to trickle down into smaller communities and are now hitting our libraries. The library has always been a safe haven. I have five children, and we’ve spent hundreds of hours in the library. We’ve always felt good about it.”
Many Niles residents aren’t feeling very good about their library lately. Like all local issues, the complexities and personalities involved can be numbing. […]
The basic situation seems to be four board members applying a Reaganite kill-the-beast approach to their local library, throwing out anything that isn’t about stacking books in a room — no yoga for seniors, no librarians visiting schools. A bare-bones library run by people who hate libraries and hate most of the people they serve.
The Paul Pelosi attacker was hit w/ kidnapping and assault charges. He's in the US illegally. In the sanctuary state of IL, were the charges only state-level, local cops couldn't help the feds. Under Pritzker's Purge Law, his offenses are non-detainable. An illustration of IL.
Detention only shall be imposed when it is determined that the defendant poses a specific, real and present threat to a person or has a high likelihood of willful flight.
I am pretty sure any prosecutor could effectively argue that the confessed Paul Pelosi attacker posed a specific, real and present threat to a person, since his actual intended target was the Speaker of the US House, who wasn’t home at the time.
* From the Pritzker campaign…
There is no such thing as a non-detainable offense. After spending an entire year recycling tired talking points, the Illinois GOP has woken up to the reality that they don’t have a single new idea or policy position that would make life better for Illinois working families. For the next week, they’ll repeat pathetic lies because they quite literally have nothing else to say. It’s laughable to suggest that people like Darren Bailey and Tom Devore, who often spend their free time stalking elected officials, filming corny videos outside of their homes, and offering bounties for photos of their family, are concerned about the safety of those serving the public.
Last night, the JB for Governor campaign sent a letter to Darren Bailey’s campaign calling on the candidate to publicly commit to accepting the results of next week’s election. The letter also addresses the Bailey campaign’s so-called “election integrity” efforts, led by a January 6 insurrectionist.
“Governor JB Pritzker, the JB for Governor campaign, and each and every one of our staff members commits to accepting the results of the election—win or lose––because we trust and respect Illinois voters. We call upon your campaign and Senator Bailey himself to publicly commit to doing the same,” said JB for Governor Campaign Manager Mike Ollen.
READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER BELOW
Mr. Durbin,
I write on behalf of the JB for Governor campaign to ensure that in advance of polls closing on November 8, 2022, all candidates for governor will commit to publicly accepting the results of Illinois’ free and fair midterm election being held next week.
Election denialism is a dark plague that threatens the very foundation of our democracy. In this time of unparalleled division, it is important we as campaign leaders, along with our candidates, promise to respect Illinoisans’ wishes.
On January 6, 2021, we witnessed an assault on our nation’s capital. As we learned from the recent Congressional hearings, this insurrection was sparked by Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election. As a result, voters’ trust in the fairness and freedom of our elections has plummeted.
Senator Bailey has been largely quiet about his affiliation with Donald Trump since accepting the former president’s endorsement. He has not denounced Trump’s efforts to pre-emptively undermine the results of the 2022 midterms. In fact, he’s planted similar doubts here in Illinois. In September, WBCU asked if the senator would accept the Election Day results. His response: “Yes, because we’re empowering the people to be poll watchers…So, if people show up as poll watchers, monitor the election process (and) we get elected, then we will create a voter reform and we will restore confidence in our elections.”
Your candidate’s assertion that his acceptance of the results of a free and fair election is contingent upon his success does not restore faith in our democratic system. The people of Illinois deserve to know whether Senator Bailey is ready and willing to accept the outcome of their votes.
You know as well as I do that Illinois has undertaken painstaking efforts to protect the integrity of elections. At this very moment, early voters are casting their ballots, and mail-in-ballots are arriving at election offices. Meanwhile, Senator Bailey has stoked the flames of poll-aggression. In a recent Facebook Live video, he instructed followers: “a poll watcher can be positioned by us…go to BaileyForIllinois.com and click on election integrity, and you can sign up and we’ll train you. We’ll train you how to do the job number one, and then we’ll train you number two on what to look out for and what to do if you suspect fraud.” It is imperative that neither campaign encourages poll watchers to intimidate voters and election workers or interfere with the proceedings at local election offices. Illinois must conduct a fair and free election.
We have a responsibility to this state, and to people watching across the nation, to end our campaigns with honor and integrity, no matter the final tally. Illinoisans deserve to have faith in the most fundamental part of our nation’s democratic process. They deserve to know that their voice matters. They deserve to make the choice that best represents their values.
Governor JB Pritzker, the JB for Governor campaign, and each and every one of our staff members commits to accepting the results of the election—win or lose––because we trust and respect Illinois voters. We call upon your campaign and Senator Bailey himself to publicly commit to doing the same.
Darren’s been clear he will accept the outcome of the election. JB hasn’t been clear about how he will fix the SAFE-T Act and has made life unaffordable for working families. That’s why we will win. The real question is, will JB pledge not to remove the toilets from the governor’s mansion once he loses?
* Governor Pritzker talks campaign trail, state finances and Darren Bailey: Governor Pritzker joins Capitol Connection to discuss the campaign trail, his re-election bid and his opponent Darren Bailey. […] The interview aired on Capitol Connection Sunday morning. This is the unedited version of the interview.
* Illinois Governor’s race gaining attention on national stage: Monday night Hawaii’s former congresswoman stopped in Illinois to stump for Republican candidate Darren Bailey. “He is a farmer who cares for his community, he cares for his people, he cares for his future for his grandkids- just like every one of you,” Tulsi Gabbard said to a crowd of Republican voters.
* Republican candidate for 92nd district provides info on campaign: Watt says there were no other Republicans on the ballot, so he decided to fill the gap to give Gordon-Booth an opponent. “I just disagree with her policies, and I feel like you can either just disagree, or do something about it, so I decided to do something about it,” he says. The family pastor adds that his campaign revolves around three ideals: parents rights, pro-life, and affordable living.
* With one week left, Illinois gubernatorial candidates continue campaign: Pritzker’s campaign preempted Gabbard’s visit to Glen Ellyn Monday evening with a statement calling Gabbard a “conspiracy theorist,” “virulently anti-LGBTQ” and a “Russian apologist.”Gabbard has said the Democrat’s “woke” ideology goes too far and distracts from real issues.
* Preckwinkle running decidedly low-key reelection campaign: Preckwinkle, for her part, thinks fellow Democrats need to message their “support for the full spectrum of health care for women,” including abortion rights, given that that issue has now become strictly polarized. Asked if she thought abortion rights would be a galvanizing issue for Illinois voters, Preckwinkle said she hopes it galvanizes Illinois women.
* Stava-Murray, Leong both favor gun control, but issue remains contentious in 81st House race : Leong noted the consistency of his position, referencing a vote he made as a Naperville Unit District 203 board member against arming teachers in the classroom. Leong also questioned the dedication of Democratic state legislators such as Stava-Murray. […] Stava-Murray detailed her support for strengthening “red flag” laws, universal background checks, a modernization of the Firearm Owner’s Identification card system and increasing focus on mental health.
* Illinois politicians spending millions ahead of Election Day: The heavy spending isn’t exclusive to federal political races. The Illinois’ Governor race is where the most green can be seen. Incumbent Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) had over $42 million on hand after last quarter. His campaign has reported taking in nearly $3 million after, totaling over $45 million now.
* A look at the statewide races as election enters its final week: As of Monday, the Illinois State Board of Elections had reported 590,333 early votes had already been cast, including 362,604 mail-in ballots, 224,595 early in-person ballots and 3,134 grace period ballots. […] A brief summary of the statewide races. Links to other coverage on the races and interviews with the candidates can be found.
* Barickman suggests revamping state’s cannabis regulation: Marijuana is too expensive in Illinois, according to Republican state Sen. Jason Barickman of Bloomington, who says he’d support lowering taxes on legal cannabis in the state. “There are plenty of Illinoisans today who claim they go to other states to buy their cannabis because it is legalized in other states, but it’s cheaper. I think this is an area in which we could make significant improvements,” said Barickman.
