Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Earlier this year Hannah Meisel noted this in a story about a lawsuit filed against the legislative redistricting plan passed in May…

Of the four districts identified in the lawsuit, three of them saw minor adjustments to their proposed borders under the new district maps Democrats published Monday, compared with the maps passed in May. That includes the 1st House District, which State Rep. Aarón Ortiz (D-Chicago) has represented since 2019 and will continue to represent under the new map, despite the changed territory.

The slight change to the first district does not affect its neighbor to the south, the 22nd House District, represented by freshman State Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar (D-Chicago). Guerrero-Cuellar, who was appointed to the House seat vacated by longtime former House Speaker Mike Madigan in February, recently filed an unusual motion in the MALDEF suit asking to be added to the list of defendants, along with Democratic leaders.

In the filing, Guerrero-Cuellar said she was asking the court on behalf of her constituents as she wanted to prevent any sort of settlement of surrounding districts that may affect her own. According to internal data, the new 22nd District’s population is nearly 63% voting age residents of Hispanic origin — the third-most largest share in the new proposed map.

“The Representative of the 22nd District has a significant interest in maintaining the current configuration of the map to protect her constituents’ rights to a fair and reasonable opportunity to elect candidates of their choice and avoid dilution of Latino/a/x votes,” Guerrero-Cuellar’s attorneys wrote.

Guerrero-Cuellar is represented in the matter by the Del Galdo Law Group, whose namesake Michael Del Galdo has long been close with Madigan.

* As we’ve discussed, Rep. Guerrero-Cuellar along with help from 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn attempted to round up enough votes to stop the congressional remap bill from passing. It didn’t work, but she complained during debate about how her own House district was drawn…

The lone Democratic “no” vote came from Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar, who was appointed to the 22nd state legislative district in Chicago to replace former House Speaker Michael Madigan, who resigned earlier this year.

Guerrero-Cuellar said on the floor that she remained upset about how the 22nd District was reshaped during the legislative redistricting process in August.

“And there was something done to that district intentionally to exclude Latinos and that representation,” she said. “So when someone tells me, ‘Hey, we’re here to represent the Latinos on the southwest side,’ I’m gonna say, hold on. That was not the case.”

…Adding… I mean, AGC voted twice for this district, so I’m not quite sure what her beef is…

Here's what former House Speaker Mike Madigan's 22nd House District (now repped by @RepAGC) looked like under the 2011 maps vs what it looks like under the 2021 remap (both what passed in May and August. Also the same in other draft maps I can find, though can't access them all). https://t.co/6bhHQWM4jE pic.twitter.com/EaR9YrjliD

— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) November 3, 2021

* The map passed in May was tossed out, but a new one was drawn and then signed into law in September. Rep. Guerrero-Cuellar has now filed another motion to intervene…

A Democratic member of the Illinois House has filed a motion in federal court to intervene as a separate defendant in a pair of lawsuits challenging the legislative redistricting plan that was signed into law in September.

Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar, who represents the largely Latino 22nd District on Chicago’s southwest side, is arguing that the composition of her district, and therefore her chances of reelection, could hang in the balance if the court decides to alter the map. […]

“The [Republican lawsuit] explicitly proposes a revised September map that cuts through the 22nd District,” the motion states, referring to one alternative map portrayed in the GOP complaint.

The motion also states that Guerrero-Cuellar has a right to intervene, “to protect her right to reelection.”

She also claims in the filing that her interests “are not adequately represented” by the other defendants.

Man. The lengths these folks will go to protect the sacred boundaries of the 22nd House District is quite something to behold.

I mean, I get it that over the decades they have put a whole lot of time and effort into constituent services and developing relationships with the residents (which produce major benefits come election time). It’s the same argument used by Ald. Quinn with legislators last week against the bill which divided his ward into two congressional districts. It’s just that… wow.

…Adding… Remember this from September?…

A Hispanic candidate who lost a 2016 House Democratic primary to then-Speaker Michael Madigan is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on a case that alleges Madigan planted two sham candidates with Hispanic-sounding names on the ballot to confuse voters and ensure his victory.

In an appeal to the high court filed Thursday, Jason Gonzales argues that lower court judges incorrectly tossed the matter on grounds that voters knew about the alleged sham candidates from pre-primary publicity and Madigan still won with 65% of the vote.

I’ve been meaning to tell you that the United States Supreme Court refused to take Gonzales’ appeal this week. He doesn’t give up easily, either.

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Bailey promotes profit-sharing while candidates tie themselves to Youngkin

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Just the other day, Bailey was complaining about Marxism in Illinois…

2/3 Since 2010, manufacturing jobs in Illinois has declined due to poor policies in Springfield negatively impacting our businesses and workers. When we have a good year on my farm we share profits with the people who help make it happen, these big corporations should do the same

— Darren Bailey for Governor (@DarrenBaileyIL) November 2, 2021

From the story…

Bailey on Tuesday met with several striking John Deere union workers in Moline.

The UAW members he spoke with are supportive of the agreement that was struck with Deere to extend their contract through 2027 (including a 10% wage increase the first year, and $82,000 total average increase over the term of the contract), he said. “One thing on the line I found that I was happy about – people love their job; they love John Deere; they love Illinois.”

Those folks were in the minority. UAW members voted to reject the contract offer yesterday.

* Gary Rabine on the Virginia race…

Gary Rabine, Republican candidate for Illinois Governor, says Glenn Youngkin’s victory in the Virginia governor’s race sends a clear message that voters want candidates who will stand up for families and oppose the far-left agenda of woke politicians.

“I have met Glenn Youngkin and I can tell you he is a common-sense leader who can’t be bought,” Rabine said. “Throughout his campaign, Glenn sounded the alarm about the war on families. Instead of ignoring the concerns of parents, he embraced them. Not only was his message the right message, but it proved to be a winning message.”

Rabine said woke politicians in Illinois should be worried. In 2022 people in Illinois will stand up for Life, Liberty and Freedom as Virginia has.

“Governor Pritzker wants to be the wokest of the woke and he continues to ignore common sense and continues to wage his war on families,” Rabine said. “He has doubled down on vaccine mandates and mask mandates. He has signed legislation to put sexually explicit and borderline pornographic material into classrooms and he has pushed legislation to take away the Right of Conscience for working people. While Pritzker was not on the ballot in Virginia, his far-left views were. Voters in Virginia rejected woke politics and I am confident voters in Illinois will do the same.”

* And here’s Paul Schimpf’s take…

Republican candidate Paul Schimpf celebrated new Virginia Governor-Elect Glenn Youngkin’s decisive, seismic victory yesterday, saying that Youngkin’s win sends a message that Republicans can prevail in so-called “blue” states by focusing on issues that are relevant to everyday Americans.

“I’m thrilled to see Governor-Elect Youngkin win in Virginia,” Schimpf said. “But it isn’t just that he won, it’s how he won. He ran a thoughtful, inspired campaign that spoke to voters on what matters most—their wallets, their freedom, and, most importantly, their children.”

“This is also my vision for our state, and I fully believe that this is the blueprint for how to connect with voters and win in Illinois as well,” Schimpf added. “Illinoisans are fed up with corrupt, partisan politics and the blue-red divide and just want to know that their communities are safe, the economy is strong, and they can give their kids the best possible future.”

“To make that vision a reality for Illinois, we need to clean up corruption, support our law enforcement community, and reduce our state’s massive tax burden to grow our economy for working families,” he said.

“Governor-Elect Youngkin was able to persuade voters across the ideological spectrum and regardless of party by appealing to their core values and priorities,” Schimpf continued. “And, just as Youngkin stressed in his campaign, nothing is more important to me than for parents—not the government—to have the power to decide what’s best for kids when it comes to education, health, and more.”

Pushing back against the Pritzker Administration and Springfield Democrats’ desire to have more and more control over our lives, Schimpf has proposed an “Illinois Parents’ Bill of Rights,” which ensures that parents of minor children have a variety of educational, financial, and health-related rights when it comes to raising their kids as they see fit.

Explaining the importance of parental rights further, Schimpf elaborated that “a pro-family reset is long overdue. Let’s restore the relationship between the parents of Illinois and their government to one that gives back to parents the autonomy and respect that they never should have lost in the first place.”

As the next Governor of Illinois, Paul Schimpf will be a common-sense conservative leader who will stand up for parents, stand up for small businesses, and stand up for everyday Illinoisans. That’s what it will take to fix Illinois, and that’s what Paul Schimpf can deliver.

Bailey didn’t say much on Facebook and the same thing went for Jesse Sullivan on Twitter.

…Adding… IDCCA…

Yesterday, Senator Darren Bailey — Republican candidate for Governor with a zero percent Illinois AFL-CIO rating — stopped by a UAW union picket line. IDCCA President Kristina Zahorik issued the following statement:

“Watching Republicans like Darren Bailey constantly gaslight Illinoisians is like living in the Twilight Zone — what’s up is down, and what’s fact is fiction. Let’s be clear to Illinois workers: Darren Bailey has a zero percent lifetime rating from the Illinois AFL-CIO, and he opposed letting voters have their say at the ballot box over whether we should constitutionally protect workers’ rights — like those UAW members — to collectively bargain.”

“Illinois Democrats and the IDCCA stand with our union brothers and sisters at John Deere, and we support their right to collectively bargain. We can’t let Darren Bailey lie to us, and voters need to remember he’s full of BS.”

As reported by Mark Maxwell of WCIA, Darren Bailey voted against putting the workers’ rights amendment on the ballot in 2022.

*** UPDATE *** Center Square…

Venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan’s campaign said Youngkin’s win shows Illinoisans they can move beyond an era of high taxes, high crime and self-interested career politicians.

“[M]others and fathers and people from all walks of life stood up and spoke loudly against a government that has reached into their homes, their schools, and their lives,” a Sullivan spokesperson said in an email. “Leadership is about prioritization, and time and time again, J.B. Pritzker and the radical legislature has prioritized virtue signaling and personal aspirations over the lives and livelihoods of working people.”

And while Illinois’ gubernatorial election isn’t for another 12 months, Bailey said the momentum from Youngkin’s win in Virginia will persist, especially after the recent veto session where Illinois Democrats passed controversial legislation.

“I don’t think anyone is going to forget this anytime soon,” Bailey said. “I think momentum, yes, will build and it’s going to build even much more than it did in Virginia.”