The Irvin for Illinois campaign is setting the record straight on Pritzker’s cowardice in having his Democratic allies launch illegitimate attack ads to hijack the Republican gubernatorial primary.
The new 30-second tv spot “Best Chance” clears the air that the Democratic Governors Association is doing Pritzker’s dirty work to smear Richard’s strong record as a decorated combat veteran, tough on crime prosecutor and successful mayor of Illinois’ second largest city.
“Instead of manning up, J.B. Pritzker is letting the Democratic Governors Association do his dirty work in maligning the strongest candidate to take him out this November,” Irvin for Illinois campaign spokesperson Eleni Demertzis said. “J.B. Pritzker needs to take the silver spoon out of his mouth and fight his own battles.”
“Instead of being a man and putting his name on these false attacks, Governor Pritzker chooses to hide behind political insider groups by forcing them to meddle into the GOP primary on his behalf,” Durkin said.
…Adding… Christina Amestoy at the DGA…
“Republicans can whine all they want but they can’t point to anything false in this ad. This ad reveals Richard Irvin’s real record on crime and even he knows it - that’s why he still won’t talk about the 15 years of his career profiting off of defending these types of criminals. Turns out the only thing Richard Irvin won’t defend is his own record.”
* Another Irvin press release from this morning…
Today the Irvin for Illinois campaign is announcing a new list of legislative co-chairs who support Richard Irvin and Avery Bourne to take back Illinois from skyrocketing crime, high taxes, and never-ending corruption.
Topping the list of endorsers is State Senator and Deputy Minority Leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris), who believes we need new leadership in Springfield for a better Illinois.
“Our state has been critically mismanaged under JB Pritzker’s leadership,” said Rezin. “Illinois faces out-of-control crime, ongoing corruption within the statehouse, and diminished care for veterans at state-run facilities without real solutions to address these challenges. We have an opportunity for real leadership in Illinois with Richard Irvin and Avery Bourne, and I’m proud to support them.”
State Representative Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) has worked alongside Avery Bourne in the statehouse, and has seen her success in the General Assembly firsthand.
“Illinois under JB Pritzker has been one disaster after another—from his failure to take accountability for the state’s significant challenges or his inability to manage problems at state agencies,” said Spain. “Now we have an opportunity to elect proven leaders who have prioritized Illinois families and have pledged to root out crime and corruption, and provide the relief residents so badly need, which is why I am putting my full support behind Richard Irvin and Avery Bourne.”
Aurora Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin and his running mate, State Representative Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonvile) released the following statement regarding the endorsements:
“We are pleased to have this resounding support from legislative leaders who understand that JB Pritzker has not met the needs of families and businesses across Illinois. There are countless challenges our state faces–from crime and corruption to our state’s fiscal stability. Together, we are committed to taking our state back and working to reduce crime, cut taxes, and fight corruption.”
The legislative endorsements include the following lawmakers:
Tim Ozinga, Illinois State Representative (HD 37)
Seth Lewis, Illinois State Representative (HD 45)
Dan Ugaste, Illinois State Representative (HD 65)
Jeff Keicher, Illinois State Representative (HD 70)
Ryan Spain, Illinois State Representative (HD 73)
David Welter, Illinois State Representative (HD 75)
Jackie Haas, Illinois State Representative (HD 79)
Jim Durkin, Illinois State Representative (HD 82)
Tim Butler, Illinois State Representative (HD 87)
Mark Batinick, Illinois State Representative (HD 97)
Amy Elik, Illinois State Representative (HD 111)
Donald DeWitte, Illinois State Senator (SD 33)
Sue Rezin, Illinois State Senator (SD 38)
John Curran, Illinois State Senator (SD 41)
Jesse Sullivan tried hard to convince Sen. Rezin to be his running mate. Didn’t work. Rep. Spain is one of the most likeable members of the HGOP caucus.
Announcing: The Bitcoin & Freedom panel at #TGFB2022:@jimmysong will be joined by AZ Senate candidate @bgmasters, IL governor candidate @JesseSullivanIL, & former NFL player/philanthropist @TimTebow to talk about Bitcoin as a tool for freedom.
Sullivan said “hand on the Bible” he will not do the bidding of his big crypto currency donors or any others.
“I want to go to Heaven more than being Governor,” said Sullivan. “I owe no man anything when I step into office. So all my top donors, that I have gotten to know, have done this work with me around the world…trying to back companies and create jobs…didn’t even really know my politics. For me, the one area that I believe in that they also believe in is in the future of the internet.”
As governor, Jesse Sullivan will transform Chicago into a hub for cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies.
Sullivan’s top campaign contributor said the candidate will “put Chicago in the rightful position as a top-five global financial center by embracing fintech and crypto. He’s a bridgebuilder to a more unified future.”
*** UPDATE *** Also from the Thank God for Bitcoin conference organizer J.M. Bush’s Twitter feed…
A bill that allows teachers and other school and university employees or contractors who are fully vaccinated to take paid administrative leave if they have to miss work due to coronavirus-related issues cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday and will soon be sent to Gov. JB Pritzker.
House Bill 1167, by Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, and Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, would guarantee full pay for any day that a fully-vaccinated school employee misses if they are required to stay home because they have a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19. […]
Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, pointed to a hypothetical example of two teachers, one vaccinated and one not, who have to stay home to take care of a sick child. He said one of those would receive paid leave to do so but the other would not. […]
Harmon, however, said the bill does not mandate that any school employee be vaccinated, and he compared the extra benefit vaccinated employees would receive to the extra pay some teachers receive if they pursue an advanced degree.
“This is not a vaccine mandate,” Harmon said. “There is no requirement that one needs to be vaccinated to work in public schools. It is, however, an incentive.”
There are also provisions in the measure giving retroactive time to vaccinated staff who previously took time off because of COVID-19 issues and guarantees pay for workers like bus drivers if schools have to shut down because of a COVID-19 outbreak.
The measure found bipartisan opposition, but secured enough votes to pass both chambers and could now be sent to the governor.
Senate Democrats not voting were Belt, Collins, Crowe, Loughran Cappel, Muñoz and D. Turner.
No Republicans voted for the bill.
…Adding… IEA President Kathi Griffin…
“Our state is in the middle of a growing teacher and education employee shortage. We have thousands of open public education positions right now. We need to be doing everything we can to attract young people to the profession and to also show those who’ve chosen education as their life’s work that they are respected. Providing COVID administrative days and paycheck protection for hourly employees is one way we can do that. We know some of our support staff and teachers have exhausted their sick and personal time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have educators who saved their sick time to take after the birth of a child, who have since run out of days and are now forced with a very difficult decision - to take unpaid time off or to cut precious bonding time with their newborn short and return to work early. We have support staff who’ve used all their sick and personal days, and are being forced to take unpaid time off to quarantine or for another COVID related reason. House Bill 1167 would provide much needed relief to our teachers and support staff who’ve worked diligently to not only provide a quality education for students but also work to keep their students, schools and their communities safe over the past two years.”
