Today, Marie Newman, Democratic candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 3rd District, announced her first television ad with a spot called “Learned” in her primary race against 15-year incumbent Dan Lipinski.
The ad tells the story of Marie’s roots in the district and the values she learned from her community that led her to become a successful small business owner and community activist (script is below). It also highlights some key differences with Dan Lipinski and echoes Marie’s belief that it’s time for a real Democrat to represent this district. The ad is part of an over half million dollar buy the Newman campaign has reserved.
Momentum continues to grow for the Newman campaign, with endorsements from the Illinois Federation of Teachers this week and 8 local elected officials and 4 key independent political organizations.
Meet Marie Newman. Born at Little Company of Mary, baptized at St. Barnabas, raised in Beverly and Palos. This community shaped Marie’s belief in hard work and equality. Marie scrubbed floors to pay for college and went without health insurance when she couldn’t afford it. But Marie became a successful small business owner and community leader. Now Marie is running for Congress to do what Dan Lipinski won’t: raise wages for working people and ensure health care is a right for everyone.
…Adding… On a side note in that district…
Illinois State Republican Leadership Endorses IL-3 Congressional Candidate Mike Fricilone Over Nazi Arthur Jones
“We have a fantastic candidate for Congress in Mike Fricilone. I am proud to join countless other Republicans in endorsing him for Congress.” – Republican Senate Leader Bill Brady
CHICAGO – IL-3 GOP Congressional Candidate Mike Fricilone today was endorsed by both Republican Leaders of the Illinois State Senate and State House. His opponent is American Nazi Party leader Arthur Jones.
Republican Senate Leader Bill Brady
“We have a fantastic candidate for Congress in Mike Fricilone. I am proud to join countless other Republicans in endorsing him for Congress. Mike has been a leader on the Will County Board in passing budgets that both cut taxes and improved services. Republican voters must know that the party in our state stands with Mike and not his fake Republican opponent who has been a Nazi leader and denies the Holocaust.”
Republican House Leader Jim Durkin
“Today I am proud to announce my endorsement of Mike Fricilone for Congress. Mike has fresh and bold ideas for our community, state and nation. He is a proud, forward-thinking conservative. Under his watch as Finance Chairman in Will County, they cut taxes, reduced waste and built a new public safety center, new courthouse and new county health center, all without raising taxes. Mike’s opponent Arthur Jones has also filed as a Republican, but he is only running to spread his Nazi message of Holocaust denial which our party condemns in the strongest possible terms.”
Will County Board Member Mike Fricilone
“Our party needs a nominee who can show the public what real Republican values are. We must show the voters there is a real Republican choice and that I am that candidate. I am so honored to have the endorsement of both Leader Brady and Leader Durkin. Together we will build a party that fights for lower taxes, cuts wasteful spending, and brings fresh, bold ideas that move our nation forward.”
About Mike Fricilone: Mike Fricilone is a Will County Board Member and the Republican Leader of the Will County Board. Fricilone, is running for Congress to bring bold and fresh ideas to Washington to move our community forward. Mike is an active sports coach in our community, a 30-year member of St Bernard’s Parish, President and a charter member of the Lockport High School Charitable Foundation, and has spent the last 6 years on the board of directors of the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center.
* McLaughlin & Associates does a lot of polling for a lot of GOP candidates and entities, but keep in mind that this is a quickie two-day poll of 300 likely Republican primary voters with a +/- 5.6 percent margin of error. Even so, this lead is way outside even that high MoE…
Survey Summary: The Republican Primary Election – Jim Oberweis has an overwhelming lead.
The results of our recently completed survey in Illinois’ 14th Congressional District show that with only 6 weeks to go and even with more candidates in the race, Jim Oberweis maintains a 30 point lead over his closest competitor. Jim Oberweis is in a very strong position to win the Republican Primary election for U.S. Congress. Almost half of voters polled, 46%, say they would vote for Oberweis, while only 16% say they would vote for Sue Rezin, followed by 6% for Catalina Lauf, then just 2% for both Jim Martel and Ted Gradel.
If the Republican primary election for U.S. Congress was held today, for whom would you vote?
The majority of Republican primary voters in Illinois 14 are favorable to Jim Oberweis, 55%, with only 20% unfavorable. Sue Rezin, who lives outside the district and has said that she will not move into the district, is still widely unknown among Republican primary voters with, 59%, who have never heard of her, only 19% are favorable towards her, 5% are unfavorable, and 17% have no opinion. This explains why State Senator Rezin’s first campaign mail has been an attack on Jim Oberweis.
The vast majority of Republican primary voters in Illinois 14 have never heard of the other three candidates in the race, Catalina Lauf, Jim Marter and Ted Gradel. 72% have never heard of Catalina Lauf, 74% have never heard of Jim Marter, and 77% have never heard of Ted Gradel.
Now, I am going to read you a list of names. Will you please tell me if you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of each person? If you have no opinion or have never heard of each person, just say so.
In contrast to Senator Rezin’s attack on Jim Oberweis for losing past elections to Senator Durbin, Republican Primary voters are actually more likely to vote for Jim Oberweis because he ran against liberal Democratic Senator Dick Durbin.
Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for Jim Oberweis if you knew that in his race for U.S. Senate, he defeated Liberal Democrat Dick Durbin in each county in your congressional district and came the closest of any Republican to beating Dick Durbin?
Conclusions:
With only 6 weeks to go, Jim Oberweis is the clear frontrunner in the Republican Primary in Illinois Congressional District 14 with the highest and most favorable name recognition of any Republican candidate in the district. His opponents have a long way to go in a mere 6 weeks in a very expensive media market. Jim Oberweis is clearly the best Republican to unseat Pelosi Democrat Lauren Underwood and win back an important Congressional seat for the Republicans.
Methodology: Republican Primary
This poll of 300 likely Republican Primary election voters in Illinois Congressional District 14, was conducted from January 28th and January 29th, 2019. All interviews were conducted via telephone by professional interviewers. Interview selection was random within predetermined election units. 41% of interviews were completed on cell- phones. These samples were then combined and structured to correlate with actual voter turnout in a Republican Primary election. This poll of 300 likely Republican Primary election voters in Illinois Congressional District 14, has an accuracy of +/- 5.6% at a 95% confidence interval.
This is the first time Oberweis has polled against Lauf, who has found momentum as the “Anti-AOC” candidate on Fox News and conservative podcasts. Her campaign was not impressed with Oberweis’ poll.
“We’re not sure why someone who’s been running for office for decades and loaned his campaign millions of dollars would push a poll showing him below 50%, but we don’t try to understand the tactics of career politicians,” Lauf’s campaign team said in a statement. “We’re seeing overwhelming enthusiasm on the ground behind Catalina’s candidacy.
“She is not only the only candidate who will stand with President Trump and the only candidate who can beat liberal Lauren Underwood, but the much needed new energy and new face for the Republican Party.” […]
“What is ludicrous is that Oberweis and his pollster contrived a question seeking to laud Oberweis for having lost to Dick Durbin,” said a written statement from the [Rezin] campaign. “What is the point? Oberweis lost that race. He has lost elections for this congressional seat twice already. “If a candidate is supposed to get credit for a previous failed campaign then, by all means, Jim Oberweis is the undisputed king of Illinois politics.”
…Adding… Rezin campaign…
Jim Oberweis and his discredited pollster can maintain their self-delusion all they want but reality will once again hit them in the head on March 17 when Oberweis loses yet another election–just like all six of Oberweis’ previous elections for Congress, US Senate and Governor.
We note, the Republican U.S. House Majority Leader lost his primary election in 2014 because Oberweis’ pollster was wrong by an astounding 45 points.
What is ludicrous is that Oberweis and his pollster contrived a question seeking to laud Oberweis for having lost to Dick Durbin. What is the point? Oberweis LOST that race. In fact, he has lost elections for this congressional seat TWICE already.
When a candidate goes out of his way to make one of his numerous election losses into a reason why he is supposedly sure to win this primary, it is evidence of him living in a parallel universe and making the same delusional mistakes that led to his losses in his previous six elections for Congress, US Senate and Governor.
Now that voters are fully tuning into this election, Sue Rezin is excited about engaging primary voters over the next six weeks and to the result on Election Day–just like all of her previous election victories—all five of them.
Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) filed an objection to the appointment for the replacement of disgraced former Rep. Luis Arroyo in the Illinois House’s 3rd District. Please find the objection attached.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin’s petition is misguided and further evidence of the partisan culture in Springfield that lacks solutions. While clouds of indictments and insider deals catch headlines, the real narrative here is that I am the most qualified candidate to represent the 3rd Legislative District and there was not one vote cast against my appointment. My appointment followed the law every step of the way, and I am confident that my qualifications as an attorney, community leader and experience in the public and private sectors will withstand any challenge. While this filing is disappointing, I remain focused on representing the interests of the hard working people of the district I am honored to represent.
“A clean break from the arrested legislator is required to re-establish the General Assembly’s trust with its constituents,” Durkin wrote in his letter challenging Delgado. “Had the votes of Mr. Arroyo not been part of the selection process, this appointment would not be called into question.”
In the letter, Durkin said that the appointment process that resulted in Delgado replacing Arroyo, who was hit with a federal bribery charge, “calls into question the integrity of the process and the House itself.
“The candidates who were vying to replace Rep. Arroyo and who were not chosen, were victims of a corrupt process,” Durkin wrote. […]
“The public’s distrust of its government to illegal actions of its officials hinders the ability of the government to provide the services it is constitutionally tasked with carrying out,” the letter reads. “Everything it does, even if legitimate and legal, will be viewed in a negative light should the individuals who are arrested for illegal activities have a part in the selection process.”
Despite his public statement before the selection, Madigan had been silent on the subject since. Spokesman Steve Brown said in an email Tuesday that Madigan will review Durkin’s petition “and take the appropriate action required by House rules.”
Delgado, an attorney and former Chicago Police Board member, pushed back against the idea that she was Arroyo’s choice for the position, noting that he circulated nominating petitions for another candidate.
“I wouldn’t have participated in the process if Arroyo had been involved in any way,” she said. “Part of the reason I even stepped up to do this is I didn’t want the district to go a whole year without being represented.”
Delgado said she met briefly with Madigan last week but did not discuss the possible qualifications challenge. “As far as my qualifications go, I think they stand for themselves,” she said.
*** UPDATE 2 *** I told subscribers about this earlier today, but here’s the Daily Line…
[Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, D-Naperville] told The Daily Line that upon reading news last week that Madigan was waiting for someone else to file a qualifications challenge to Delgado, she felt called to take action.
“Literally no one asked me to do this,” Stava-Murray said. “I did it myself and it was because if I’m a member and if I see wrongdoing, then it’s incumbent upon me to follow through and see that it’s investigated. I take ethics extremely seriously and it’s important that people can trust that their government representation is there for them and not because of a conflict of interest.”
Stava-Murray said she would be happy to work with Delgado if an investigation clears her of the cloud surrounding her appointment, and acknowledged serving her last week was “awkward,” as it was the first time the two had ever met.
Stava-Murray, who made headlines even before being sworn in as a legislator last year for vowing to vote “present” instead of voting for Madigan for House Speaker, said she served Delgado Wednesday morning as House members waited for Gov. JB Pritzker to make his State of the State address in front of the chamber.
Federal prosecutors filed a charging document on Jan. 17 known as an information, which typically indicates that a defendant plans to plead guilty.
According to the criminal complaint, Arroyo began paying bribes in August to a state senator who has been cooperating with the feds since 2016. That senator has been a cooperating witness for the FBI even before it was revealed he had filed false income tax returns. The unnamed senator’s cooperation began again afterward, but the complaint says he has not been promised anything in exchange for working with the feds.
…Adding… And right after this, the judge adjourned…
Next status date for Arroyo is March 17. Arroyo does not have to attend.
Below is the statement of Nidia Carranza, Democratic candidate for Illinois’ 3rd District, on former State Rep. Luis Arroyo’s arraignment today on bribery charges:
“It is long overdue that Luis Arroyo is brought to justice. When parents of my special needs students met with him to ask for more funding for special education, he turned on the TV to tune them out. He is a corrupt politician who underserved our community, and must be held accountable.
“But the 3rd District is not out of the woods yet. The same corrupt donors, politicians, and lobbyists who backed Arroyo have hand-picked his successor: a corporate lobbyist and People’s Gas executive who is price-gouging Chicagoans on their gas bills in the middle of winter. I denounced this rigged appointment process, but my opponent willingly accepted the tainted position and has stayed silent on the corruption and harm caused by her predecessor.
“It’s time to turn the page on corrupt insider deals. I’m running because the people of the 3rd District don’t need more pay-to-play lobbyists representing them in Springfield. They need a fighter who knows their struggles, who has a track record of fighting back, and who will work hard every day for working people.”
…Adding… Cameron has covered a lot more of these than I have, so I defer…
Disgraced ex-state rep Luis Arroyo leaves court with no comment after pleading NOT GUILTY to federal bribery charges in a criminal information, suggesting he’s co-operating with the feds. pic.twitter.com/280DRtLA49
Arroyo’s arraignment before U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger lasted roughly five minutes. Though he pleaded not guilty through his lawyer, Michael Gillespie, he also waived indictment by a grand jury that would find probable cause for the charge against him.
Advocates continued to call for state officials to reverse the transition of 19,000 adopted children and former foster children to Medicaid managed care that took place Saturday.
The same change is set to take place in April for 17,000 current foster children.
Against this backdrop, a joint Senate panel will hear from foster and adoptive parents Tuesday morning in Springfield, as well as representatives from the Department of Children and Family Services and the Department of Health Care and Family Services.
The Senate Human Services Committee and the Special Committee on Oversight of Medicaid Managed Care is set for a 10:30 a.m. hearing on both this weekend’s transition and progress for the coming transition for foster kids on April 1. […]
Saturday’s transition follows criticism from the child welfare community last week after Pritzker’s State of the State address did not mention foster children or child welfare more broadly.
Kyle Hillman, the director of legislative affairs for the Illinois Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, told The Daily Line that he felt it was an extension of the “wait-and-see” approach he felt the Pritzker administration is taking on child welfare.
“I think it’s incredibly disappointing considering the amount of challenges that we’re currently having within the child welfare system, not to highlight that in the State of the State,” This is an opportunity to speak to the legislature on what their priorities need to be and I think we were incredibly disappointed that DCFS is not one of their priorities.”
* Hannah is covering the hearing…
An atty from the Cook County Public Guardian's office just testified that at least 2,500 children who are supposed to be signed up with a Medicaid managed care plan other than IlliniCare were “kicked out of the system due to a glitch" and have had no insurance since Saturday. https://t.co/fIxsCMGYxY
*** UPDATE *** OK, fine, but if the system is so good then why did that Sunday meeting even have to take place?…
A rep from the Department of Health Care and Family Services claims this was fixed on Sunday, with an emergency meeting with the CEOs of all the Medicaid managed care organizations, who committed to covering the 2,500 despite them not being fully enrolled.
Before knowing the extent of Iowa’s debacle, Gov. J.B. Pritzker tweeted that Illinois should be first to hold a Democratic primary. “If you’re looking for a state whose people represent the diversity of America, look no further than Illinois. It’s time for the most representative state in the country to be the first in the nation.” He linked to a 2016 NPR story that lists Illinois as “the perfect state” to host the first Democratic presidential contest.
We spoke to Anne Caprara, Pritzker’s chief of staff, late last night — given she knows something about waiting on Iowa. In 2016, Caprara worked for Priorities USA, Hillary Clinton’s super PAC. “I remember that that result went late into the night and it was a very close win by Hillary. So, I think there was a general sense coming out of Iowa that nothing had been decided,” she told Playbook.
And we can say the same today. Like her current boss, Caprara sees Illinois as being a better fit for the Democrats’ first foray into presidential primaries. “We are the most representative of the rest of the country. We have a rural population, urban population and representation of literally every ethnic group in the country and all sorts of business and manufacturing. It makes sense that Illinois should help decide who the Democratic nominee is.”
…Adding… Caskey had some pretty funny insights into this topic last night. A sample from his thread…
America you think Iowa has mess? This is just a stupid app crashing. Chicago will BRING IT. Republicans will love to scream about us. You get every race on the planet to court. At LEAST three people will get caught buying votes with beer. And we have legal weed!
