* Victory Geek, 512 voters called 8/25-28, automated (90%) and live calls (just 10%), MoE is ±4.3 percent…
…Adding…48 percent of the respondents for this poll were in Downstate and just 19 percent were in Cook County. In the last election, 36 percent of the votes cast for governor were from Downstate and 39 percent were cast in Cook County. So, that huge difference would tend to skew the poll even more Republican. Not good. At all.
Not really sure about this pollster, but 18-23 point leads across the board and every Dem above 50 is pretty wild.
* Um, is Steve even a Republican these days?…
Republicans know that Darren Bailey is too extreme for Illinois — take it from former GOP Floor Leader Steve Andersson.
Illinoisans rejected Donald Trump at the ballot box twice. They won't hesitate to do the same to his mini-me in #ILGov, Darren Bailey. pic.twitter.com/YDvKsK2Fiz
Former Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias just can’t seem to shake his past as he attempts his reboot. It’s been twelve years since Giannoulias left the public eye. As he continues his rehabilitation tour hoping voters will forget about his scandal-laden past, let’s recap his greatest hits.
First, there was his mismanagement of Illinois’ college loans savings programs, causing families to lose millions. According to NBC Chicago from January 6, 2010:
“Bright Start was supposed to be Alexi Giannoulias’ shining achievement. Instead, the beleaguered fund, which lost more than $150 million through risky Oppenheimer investments, is radiating trouble for the Illinois State Treasurer and his Senate campaign.”
Then, there were the loans to mobsters when he was a Senior Loan Officer of Broadway Bank. According to the Chicago Tribune from April 1, 2010:
“The family bank of Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias loaned a pair of Chicago crime figures about $20 million during a 14-month period when Giannoulias was a senior loan officer, according to a Tribune examination that provides new details about the bank’s relationship with the convicted felons. Broadway Bank had already lent millions to Michael Giorango when he and a new business partner, Demitri Stavropoulos, came to the bank in mid-2004. Although both men were preparing to serve federal prison terms, the bank embarked on a series of loans to them.”
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Broadway Bank was later seized by the feds. According to Reuters from April 23, 2010:
“Regulators on Friday seized a Chicago bank owned by the family of the Democratic nominee running for the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama. Broadway Bank was among seven Illinois banks whose failure was announced on Friday. U.S. regulators have seized 15 banks in the past two weeks, as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp ratchets up efforts to clean up the banking industry.”
“Trouble seems to follow Alexi Giannoulias wherever he goes, and it never seems to be his fault if you ask him,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy. “The Giannoulias family bank loaned money to mobsters when he was a Senior Loan Officer there, and Giannoulias as Treasurer lost millions in college savings loans. Putting Alexi Giannoulias in charge of the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office, where he’d be in charge of 4,000 state jobs, would be like putting an arsonist in charge of the fire department.”
* Press release…
This morning, Nikki Budzinski, candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District, released her plans for middle class tax relief and to fight inflation. From ideas expanding the child tax credit to investing in union apprenticeship programs, Budzinskiis focused on attainable solutions that will bring down costs for working families.
Budzinski made the following statement: “There are some short-term solutions to inflation that Congress needs to act on today to provide immediate relief to working people. But ultimately, this is not a problem that occurred overnight.”
“Decades of Democrats and Republicans have contributed by allowing our jobs to be shipped overseas, exporting manufacturing from America to China, and allowing China to become the global economic leader that America used to be. In addition to short term measures, I will fight for long term, bipartisan solutions that will increase American manufacturing so we can start to make things at home again.”
• Repeal the Trump tax cuts that benefit the super-rich over working people
• Extend the child tax cut for working families
• Cap the cost of life-saving drugs for everyone like insulin at $35
• Invest in union apprenticeship programs to promote alternatives to a 4-year college degree and a path to a debt-free, high-paying trades career
• Lower the price at the pump by implementing a year-round E-15 blend to provide sustained relief at the pump and support Illinois farmers
• Enact a windfall profit tax on oil and gas companies to make sure oil companies aren’t profiting at our expense
* Same district…
Farmer trustees representing county Farm Bureaus in the 13th Congressional District will be endorsing Regan Deering for Congress with a three-stop tour in Champaign, Sangamon and Madison counties. Local leaders meeting as trustees for Illinois Farm Bureau ACTIVATOR® – the organization’s political action committee –endorsed Deering after interviewing both candidates in the race.
What: Three Stop Media Tour to announce Farm Bureau Endorsement of Regan Deering
Who: Candidate for the 13th Congressional District Regan Deering and farmer trustees
When: Tuesday, August 30, 2022
The Republican candidate running for Illinois U.S. House District 17 received a major endorsement on Monday, Aug. 29, ahead of a tour through rural parts of the state.
Esther Joy King, who is running against Democrat Eric Sorensen in the 2022 midterm elections, was endorsed by the Illinois Farm Bureau’s political committee ACTIVATOR.
The organization has a long history of supporting Republican candidates, and, this year, has also endorsed IL District 16 rep. candidate Darin LaHood and many other conservative bids for the Illinois state legislature.
“It’s truly an honor to be endorsed by the Farm Bureau activator,” said King. “I sat in a room being grilled by a lot of farmers, and for them to put their trust in me, it’s pretty extraordinary. It’s my goal and my ambition to be a champion for agriculture in Washington, D.C.”
…Adding… Press release…
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers(IAM) Districts and Locals in Illinois have raised $100,000 to support an Illinois constitutional guarantee of workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. The Illinois Workers’ Rights Amendment would be one of four such guarantees enshrined in state constitutions, but Illinois Amendment 1 goes a step further than other states by also banning anti-union “right-to-work” laws.
The IAM is joining the Illinois AFL-CIO and legislative allies to promote the passage of the pro-worker ballot initiative, which will be on the ballot for Illinois voters on Nov. 8, 2022. To amend the state constitution, 60% of voters will need to vote “yes.”
The proposed amendment would add a new section to the Illinois Bill of Rights, guaranteeing workers the fundamental rights to organize and bargain collectively and to negotiate wages, hours and working conditions. It would also prohibit any law from being passed that interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and workplace safety.The pro-worker efforts under Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker are in stark contrast to former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who failed in his effort to pass a statewide anti-union “right-to-work” law to weaken unions in 2015. At that time, Rauner declared that Illinois cities, counties, towns and villages could enact “right-to-work” laws. State courts threw that measure out.
“IAM members in Illinois, along with our allies in labor and state government, are leading the charge to make the state more worker-friendly,” said IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Steve Galloway. “It’s our hope that other states will also make efforts to put workers’ rights at the forefront of their state constitutions.”
…Adding… Press release…
Illinois State Treasurer Candidate and State Representative Tom Demmer will join other Illinois legislators and candidates to discuss the harmful impact a retirement tax would have on Illinois families and why he is running against its champion Treasurer Mike Frerichs.
WHO:
Illinois State Treasurer Candidate and State Representative Tom Demmer (R-Dixon)
Illinois State Representative Amy Elik (R-Fosterburg)
Candidate for the Illinois Senate 56th District Erica Harriss
WHAT: Press conference and media availability to discuss Demmer’s prevention of the harmful effects of a retirement tax suggested by Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs.
WHEN: Wednesday, August 31, 2022, 2:30 pm
WHERE: Madison County Courthouse
157 N. Main Street
Edwardsville, IL 62025
* More…
* Pritzker calls Bailey a ‘liar’ without addressing farmers’ Grain Belt Express concerns: “If J.B. is comfortable walking into a room and lying to the faces of working people about this, how can he be trusted to tell the truth about anything? I’m focused on honest leadership that identifies problems, brings people to the table, and finds solutions to make Illinois safer and more affordable for everyone,” Bailey said.
* Who is this guy? Treasurer candidate hits the hustings: Demmer said that he’s been disappointed by Frerichs’ failure to be a more energetic financial watchdog. If elected, Demmer said he’ll embrace a “more active role in advocating for sound financial policy.” “I think (Frerichs) has taken a keep-your-head-down, don’t-ruffle-any-feathers approach,” Demmer said.
JESSE WHITE: I’ve committed myself to Alexi to be at his side every day, to make sure that you become the next Secretary of State for the state of Illinois.
ALEXI GIANNOULIAS: What holds us together as our unified belief in the rule of law, in democracy, in character integrity, and in fair and honest elections. We have seen what the political cult on the right has done to our neighbors where lawmakers are passing laws as we speak to make it tougher to vote harder, to make a living and more difficult to seek abortion care. And now more than ever we need a Secretary of State on the front lines to protect our democracy. The stakes in this election could not be higher. Our right to vote, the rights of working families and the reproductive rights of women are all on the ballot this November. My job as the first new Secretary of State in a generation will be to build on his legacy of public service.
Just days after new reporting revealed video footage of two Bailey campaign surrogates participating in the January 6th insurrection, Bailey marched in Du Quoin with campaign supporter David Paul Blumenshine, organizer of a “Stop the Steal” bus tour to Washington, D.C. on January 6th and current “regional director” on Bailey’s campaign handling “election integrity.” Bailey has yet to explain his associations with the two pastors or Blumenshine, and has refused to acknowledge their work for his campaign.
These new ties are just the latest in Bailey’s long string of connections to disgraced former President Trump and the violent attack on the Capitol.
Lawrence Ligas, a “good friend” of the Baileys, was seen campaigning alongside a paid Bailey staffer as recently as May after being charged with three criminal counts for his involvement in the insurrection.
On his support for Bailey, Ligas said: “I believe in Darren Bailey so strongly that I’m out here trying to wake up the people that don’t get it.”
Ligas and Blumenshine weren’t the only Bailey supporters involved in the January 6th attack. One couple, identified by the article as Bailey supporters, is seen in a video yelling: “Do your (expletive) job or swing!,” presumably in reference to the MAGA refrain to “Hang Mike Pence.”
That’s after Bailey himself perpetuated uber-MAGA voter fraud conspiracy theories in the aftermath of the 2020 election and happily accepted millions from billionaire Dick Uihlein, the same man who threw millions at the ultra-conservative ‘Patriots’ group that helped organize the rally leading to the violent insurrection.
“From surrounding himself with extremist insurrection participants to spreading the same lies that sparked the violent attack, Darren Bailey has made his stance crystal clear: his allegiance is to his party, not his country,” said DGA Illinois Press Secretary Yael Sheinfeld. “Illinoisans won’t let an uber-MAGA insurrectionist apologist anywhere near the state’s highest office.”
You know, one thing I can’t figure out, and I really can’t, I have not discovered the answer to this: Why the liberal media and press wants to try to destroy any conservative conversation or idea to get this state under control? And why instead they go ahead and prop up people like Joe Biden and and JB Pritzker with their destructive policies? I, I really, truly don’t understand that because the freedom of speech is what makes this country so great. So you could do and say what you want, but they’re the ones that are able to, you know, report what they want and, and the I see, you know, people on the other side of the aisle looking to eventually take that away. I mean, we’re seeing that in our college campuses and in our schools. It’s not like we’re making something up. There’s a problem here. And we have got to stand up and change out our governments this year and in 2014. We have an amazing opportunity to do that. So keep spreading the word
* Last week, Darren Bailey reported raising just $1,000. This week, he’s reported $26,000 in contributions, including $1K from state GOP Chair Don Tracy and his spouse. If Bailey keeps up that blistering pace, he’ll raise another $300,000 by election day. By contrast, state House Democratic candidate Sharon Chung reported $119,800 in cash receipts this week.
Republican Mark Curran faces Democratic Judge Elizabeth Rochford in the race. As you know, a lawsuit has been filed to strike down the Illinois statute barring out of state and dark money contributions to judicial races. But it’s always possible, I guess, that Leonard Leo could take some of that $1.6 billion from Chicago businessperson Barre Seid and spend it on independent expenditures here. Leo has displayed a keen interest in state court races.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker visited Charleston on Thursday at the Charleston Carnegie Public Library on his way down to the DuQuoin State Fair.
While Pritzker was at the library, an event hosted by the Coles County Democrats, Pritzker urged Democrats in Coles County to vote in the upcoming general election because of what the future may look like for Democrats following the election.
“I’m so excited for this election because I know we can win, but it’s going to be a fight,” Pritzker said. “… Hate is on the ballot in Illinois this year. Hate has no place in Illinois.”
Charleston native Kim Miller, who was among the Bailey supporters, said she was motivated to turn out in protest by several concerns, including her opposition to abortion and to school sex education programs that promote gender transition medical measures to students. She added, “Those young people are vulnerable at that stage in life.”
Miller said she also has safety concerns about the criminal justice reform SAFE-T Act, particularly a provision that limits officers responding to criminal trespass incidents to issuing citations instead of being able to remove the trespasser. In addition, Miller said she disagrees with Pritzker’s COVID-19 closures of schools and the subsequent masking requirements for returning students.
“If we don’t stand up for our kids, what kind of nation are we leaving them,” Miller said.
Frustration with the state’s COVID-19 response was also voiced by The Body Club owner James Di Naso from Charleston when he stood up from his chair inside the banquet hall and shouted, “You shut down my gym during COVID,” as Pritzker began his remarks at the Coles County Democrats gathering. Di Naso was then removed from the banquet hall by some of the attendees around him.
* From Dan Proft’s PAC…
IL State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D) joined Dan & Amy’s Chicago radio show this morning with an interesting perspective on the People Who Play By The Rules PAC “Summer Of Joy” ad controversy: the most offensive thing of all was Lightfoot’s comments on the ad, specifically regarding “darker” skin being somehow “bad.”
..
Transcript beginning at ~8:43AM CST 8/25/2022 on AM 560 WIND Chicago:
Proft: “So what about that, what about the assertion that Lightfoot made?”
Ford: “Well I mean of course we live in America, people can make assertions all they want. I’ve been in politics for over 15 years and it’s the job of the opponent to put out ads that they see and as a candidate, I mean, you have to have tough skin if you’re in politics especially if you’re playing at the level of mayor. And I really really think that you have to pick your battles and this is not the battle that I think we need to be focusing on as a negative. I don’t need anybody saying the darker you look, the more dangerous you are. That’s bad. And so I find it offensive that we focus on saying that that’s an ugly vision of a person because that person is darker.
Proft: That’s what Lori Lightfoot said.
Ford: ”Yeah, that’s what I mean. I find…it takes us back. You know, in America where you have images of black people that have, you know…people have been discriminated because of darker skin, and so even if you had intentions on whatever, you pick your battles, and to say that because you made me [Lightfoot] darker, that means ‘I’m scary to white people.’ That’s not right. And so what we need to do is embrace all colors.
“You can’t expect your opponent to put you in the best light when they’re trying to defeat you. I know this. You know, so you’re not going to give her best image for ads that you’re trying to convey a message. Now, if you’re trying to convey a message that she’s darker than she is, and that makes her bad, then that’s your prerogative, but I don’t see how being darker makes the Mayor of the city of Chicago threatening to white suburbia.”
Proft: “It’s also so ridiculous because it’s like, everybody knows who she is and what her skin color is, this is not like a controversy, it’s not the topic of discussion which is why I can never even conceive of this allegation being made. This is like JB Pritzker arguing about being presented as ‘fat’ on screen, like ‘Oh no you know you got me from the wrong angle, you made me look fat’ I mean it’s just…everybody knows the physical characteristics of people who have been omnipresent in our lives particularly because of the every other day press conferences we had for two years during the pandemic, so it’s just silliness to suggest that I’m now I’m introducing a figure that people don’t know anything about in order to ’scare’ people.”
Ford: “Right. Let me tell you, and this is the truth, whether you’re a white person or black person, when you go into your Secretary of State office, go take a passport picture, and go do anything, everyone wants their picture to look pretty accurate and even in hands to make them look better. But you don’t come out against the color of your skin when it could really make a person that color be offended. I mean, the color you had her in, is just a little shade darker than me, and so we cannot play…even if you are offended you have to have thicker skin to avoid that issue, I mean, you just can’t do it.”
Amy: “Do you think the black community is upset at all with this ad?”
Ford: “You know, I don’t think so. So I don’t think the black community is upset, I mean we’ve seen, when I think about ads that have been put forth, I’ve seen ads of white people darkened too…I’ve seen it happen. Now, we know that there is such thing as racism, and there’s such thing as you know in society that you want to make people look scary…you know I mean just gotta have tough skin and pick your battles and this is not one that you go into to highlight, to make it you [Lightfoot] as a person confirming that ‘because I’m darker, I’m scarier’…that’s her confirming that because she’s darker, she’s scarier. She validated…even if you had intentions on making that assumption, she validated it. And that’s offensive.”
…
They went on to debate the merits of the highly controversial SAFE-T Act through the top of the hour.
* The Daily Herald looks at campaign contributions made by Richard Uihlein this cycle…
• State Sen. Dan McConchie of Hawthorn Woods, whose campaign received $277,137.
• Kane County treasurer candidate Chris Lauzen of Aurora, who received $15,000.
• DuPage County Board candidate Annette Corrigan of Wheaton, whose campaign received $2,500.
• Lake County sheriff candidate Mark Vice II of Round Lake, who got $3,000.
A recent audit of the Illinois Treasurer’s office shows several accounts understated $1.6 billion.
The report from the Auditor General for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021, said testing of financial statements show uncorrected duplicate deposits between the treasurer’s office and the office of the Illinois Comptroller.
“It was determined only the duplicate deposit portion of the reconciling items would have been double counted in the available cash balance reported by the [comptroller],” the report said.
The report was released in June and said state law requires financial reporting to be “properly recorded and accounted for to permit the preparation of accounts and reliable financial and statistical reports to maintain accountability over the State’s resources.” […]
State Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, who is challenging Frerichs in the November election, advocates to combine the treasurer and comptroller offices.
“But one thing that’s concerning with this I think is that after the auditor general has laid out, again, a repeat audit finding, repeated from last year, we only get a cursory explanation,” Demmer told The Center Square.
* Ma’am, it’s Du Quoin, not DeQuoin….
Illinois Republican U.S. Senate nominee Kathy Salvi will attend the following upcoming public events as she campaigns throughout Illinois. […]
Tuesday, August 30:
12:00pm CT: Kathy Salvi will participate in Republican Day at the DeQuoin State Fair.
Location:
DeQuoin State Fairgrounds
655 Executive Drive
DeQuoin, IL
…Adding… MISO says there have been no brownouts anywhere in its territory this summer, contrary to Darren Bailey’s claims of a brownout in his district…
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, is the federally-regulated regional transmission organization that serves 15 states including most of Illinois outside of the Chicago area.
The grid operator told me they had no knowledge of any “brownouts,” which is a term it does not use.
“As of Friday, August 26, MISO has been in normal operating conditions for the entire month,” a spokesperson said. “None of our emergency operating conditions this summer have resulted in power interruptions.”
* More…
* Pritzker preaches policy priorities to packed UI crowd: “They want to distract us into believing that gay marriage, and Black history, Disney World, and library books are somehow more of a threat to our lives than AR-15s and ghost guns,” Pritzker said. “We are not going to let anyone put the LGBTQ+ community back into a closet. We won’t let anyone take away the civil rights and economic rights owed to our Black and Brown citizens. And we are never, ever going back on a woman’s right to choose.”
* The Illinois Public Safety and Violence Prevention task force met yesterday to share information and discuss strategies to prevent hate crimes. State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) said the meeting comes after many of those groups requested help from the state. WGEM…
The Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes is looking into the possibility of creating a statewide hate crimes and bias incident hotline. Illinois Human Rights Director Jim Bennett said Thursday that the hotline would be separate from reporting to law enforcement.
Bennett explained the new hotline could help victims of hate crimes and bias incidents talk with an expert on the other phone line. He also believes it could be a great opportunity to get people connected with agencies and local groups that people turn to when they are facing a crisis. […]
The commission is also recommending that the state create a grant program to help organizations connect with the helpline and develop more services to assist victims of hate crimes. They would also like to educate law enforcement about how to respond to hate crimes and create a continuing education course for state attorneys, public defenders, and judges.
Bennett told the Illinois House Public Safety and Violence Prevention Task Force that commission members would like to see a data collection and analysis hub for hate crimes and bias incidents. Experts across the country know hate crimes are underreported, even in Illinois.
* Anti-Defamation League Director David Goldenberg told lawmakers antisemitic incidents in Illinois have increased by 430 percent since 2016…
* Equality Illinois’ Director of Public Policy Mike Ziri said there has been an increase of Illinois LGBTQ students reporting harassment in school over the past year…
State Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, a member of the task force, told The Center Square that the state needs to address past policies and reforms and increase the penalties on offenders if they hope to stop hate crimes.
“I believe if we are determined to deter these types of crimes, we need to make sure there are significant consequences for those who engage in this type of activity,” Windhorst said.
Windhorst said that the SAFE-T Act and eliminating cash bail will not help the issues.
“With the SAFE-T Act and the Pre Trial Fairness Act, it appears to me that the offense of hate crime is not a detainable offense through trial,” Windhorst said. “If an individual is arrested for a hate crime, they will be released within 48 hours.”
[Added by Rich Miller: Rep. Windhorst did not make his comments during the hearing, when they could have been rebutted.]
