* Tribune…

Rep. Ron Sandack, a top ally of Gov. Bruce Rauner, said he made his decision to step down from the Illinois House after several fraudulent social media accounts were set up in his name in recent weeks. He also cited recent automated telephone calls accusing him of accosting a Democratic staff member.

“I wasn’t looking forward to an ugly general election as it were; this additional stuff added undue pressure,” said Sandack, who up for re-election in November. “It made my family uneasy and made me re-evaluate my priorities. Politics has gotten too ugly. I don’t need it, and my family doesn’t deserve it.”

Sandack would not say if he believed the social media shenanigans was politically motivated but said he filed a report with the Downers Grove Police Department. Downers Grove police did not immediately say whether they had any police reports involving Sandack, instead suggesting the Chicago Tribune file an open-records request. The Tribune did so, but police have five days to respond. […]

Last week, Sandack suddenly deleted his Facebook and Twitter accounts. Asked Monday if any compromising information was accessed before he deleted his social media accounts, Sandack said “no.”

The word coming out of the HGOP organization is that, from what they know (and it’s not much), the attacks didn’t appear politically motivated.

* Gov. Rauner was asked about Sandack’s resignation yesterday after his press conference, but he walked by without saying a word…

* The governor’s PR people are flat-out refusing to respond to all questions about Sandack. Part of the problem here is that Sandack left without consulting them and refused to reconsider, and they are really not happy. “What am I supposed to do, say it’s a sad day but we’re thankful for Capitol Fax telling us about it?” asked one top Rauner official yesterday.

It also doesn’t help that the rumor mill is still in hyper-drive on this one. If this thing completely blows up, they don’t want to be anywhere near it.

So, it’s no coincidence that Team Rauner is backing a replacement who threatened to run against Sandack last year and who is supported by Sandack’s top local foe, DuPage County Republican chairman Brian Krajewski, a former Downers Grove mayor who Sandack defeated in 2007. Krajewski is by far Sandack’s biggest local detractor.

* Back to Sandack…

The GOP floor leader in the House was rattled after finding several social media accounts set up in his name by unknown cyber-attackers.

Sandack was a prolific Twitter and Facebook user at the time, connecting with constituents during a regular flow of quips and chatter on social media.

In Downers Grove, where Sandack’s home office is, where he lives and where he was once the mayor, the fraudulent accounts prompted Sandack to take down his own pages and contact local police.

* And finally…

But for Democrats in Sandack’s district his resignation is a happy surprise. Sandack was up against Democratic Downers Grove Commissioner Greg Hose in the November Election.

“They are going to have to run a 12-month campaign in 3 months,” said Dupage County Democratic Party Chairman Bob Peickert. “We are optimistic that the democrat is going to benefit from this.”

The Republicans I’ve spoken with are confident that choosing Krajewski’s guy David Olsen will not increase the likelihood of a Democratic pickup, which, while not outside the realm of possibility, was kinda small to begin with.