We’ve been through a lot, and I’ve been so proud to see Illinoisans come together during the toughest of times. I'm excited to fight for the state I love with @JulianaforLG, and there’s no limit to what we can do going forward. pic.twitter.com/r5UXILlrb3
Today, Governor JB Pritzker announced he and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton will run for re-election to a second term in 2022, releasing a video that highlights the strength of the state’s response to the COVID pandemic and JB’s commitment to the people of Illinois.
“I can’t tell you what pride it gives me as Governor of the state to see the people of Illinois standing up for one another. We saw the fundamental goodness of the people of Illinois exists in Southern Illinois as it does in Central Illinois as it does in Northern Illinois,” Governor JB Pritzker says in the video. “Part of why I’m running for re-election is because I watched the heroes across our state step up and do the right thing. We had so much to accomplish and we were able to do that — together. I’m very proud of all of the people of the state of Illinois and we have so much more we can do together.”
“It has been my honor to work alongside Governor JB Pritzker these last few years to move Illinois in the right direction and lift up working families. From increasing the minimum wage, making historic investments in infrastructure and creating jobs, to expanding access to health care and bringing fiscal stability back to state government, we’ve made real progress for the people of Illinois,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “I don’t think any of us could have predicted the challenges the last year brought for all of us, but through it all I’m proud of what a strong leader JB has been in these tough times, and I can’t wait to continue our partnership.”
The video features Illinoisans from across the state praising Governor JB Pritzker’s strong leadership in tough times:
“From the beginning Governor Pritzker was very present and transparent about his process and following facts and following science,” says Corey Brooks, a physician assistant and member of the National Guard from Belleville.
“I feel like the Governor was a partner with nurses and doctors and the whole medical community,” says Jenica Krushall, a registered nurse from Springfield.
“He’s compassionate, he really cares about Illinois, and he’s brave. He did a lot of things he probably didn’t need to do but he took care of us,” says Rose McNaughton from Staunton.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re in a big town or a small town, Governor Pritzker guided us with leadership that got us to this point,” says Mayor John Bearrows of Rochelle.
“JB totally understood the plight of small businesses,” says Emily Paul, small business owner in Staunton. “I really don’t think we would have made it without the support of the Governor, in fact I know we wouldn’t have.”
“He trusted the science. He did what was necessary to keep us safe,“ says Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin of Matteson.
“This was a time when we had to get it right, and Governor Pritzker did it for us,” says Polly Poskin of Springfield.
Governor JB Pritzker is announcing his re-election on the heels of a successful legislative session in which the Governor signed into law a balanced budget that made responsible investments in the future of Illinois. In the last month alone Illinois has received two credit upgrades, was ranked the top state for infrastructure and jumped 15 spots in America’s top states to do business. See more of Governor Pritzker’s leadership and accomplishments in his first term as Governor at www.jbpritzker.com.
…Adding… Another campaign video featuring LG Stratton…
…Adding… DGA…
Today, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker announced his re-election campaign for governor of Illinois.
Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Noam Lee released the following statement:
“When COVID struck Illinois, Gov. Pritzker demonstrated national leadership, acting swiftly to protect the health of Illinoisans and standing up to the deadly lies of Donald Trump. As the state emerges from the pandemic, Gov. Pritzker is putting Illinois back on firm fiscal footing, leading to credit rating upgrades and an improving business environment.
“Gov. Pritzker has proven to be a strong and effective governor for the people of Illinois. Under his leadership, Illinois has increased the minimum wage, enshrined reproductive rights into law, made college more affordable, increased access to early childhood education, and legalized and decriminalized the use of cannabis. The Pritzker administration has restored funding for mental health and social services and expanded health care coverage to 129,000 more Illinoisans. And the governor has strong plans for the future of Illinois with his infrastructure plan to improve roads and bridges over the next six years while creating and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs — the largest infrastructure program in state history.
“As governor, Gov. Pritzker has worked hard to put Illinois’ government back on the side of working families. Gov. Pritzker has delivered on his promises for the people of Illinois, and we look forward to helping re-elect him next year.”
…Adding… Possible GOP opponent…
Here's a snapshot of the @JBPritzker record: ❌ Pushing tax hikes ❌ Embracing corruption ❌ Executive incompetence ❌ Failing our veterans ❌ Abandoning police J.B. Pritzker is just another lying, failed politician. https://t.co/6He0GliwfI
The Democratic Party of Illinois today announced its support for Gov. Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Stratton for re-election in 2022. The following is a statement from Congresswoman Robin Kelly, Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, supporting Gov. Pritzker’s re-election:
“Governor Pritzker has shown outstanding leadership during one of the most challenging times in our nation’s history and proven he is the right leader for the State of Illinois. It is because of Gov. Pritzker’s courage, compassion and guidance that we are emerging from a global pandemic safely and stronger than we were before it began. When others ignored science and condemned sound judgement, Gov. Pritzker forged ahead with the tough choices our families, workers and businesses needed. Gov. Pritzker made the hard decisions that put Illinois back on solid financial footing after years of dysfunction. Gov. Pritzker is the leader we need to continue making progress in Illinois, and Illinois Democrats are excited to re-elect him Governor of our great state.”
* ILGOP…
Governor JB Pritzker released a COVID-themed video today announcing his re-election campaign for a second term. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy released the following statement in response:
“During a global pandemic that required steady leadership, Governor Pritzker failed our most vulnerable in their time of need. When our children missed an entire year of in-person education, Pritzker was silent while political teachers unions forced children to stay home even when the science and CDC said they should be back in school. When thousands of Illinoisans were laid off from work, they went weeks without help from Pritzker’s incompetent state unemployment agency. And when our nation’s elderly heroes needed protection from the virus in our state facilities, the tragic mistakes of the Pritzker administration led to the death of 36 veterans at Lasalle Veterans Home.
Governor Pritzker’s record on helping Illinois through the pandemic is a failure. I look forward to talking about that and his radical policy agenda out of step with Illinoisans in the upcoming election.”
* Schimpf…
Paul Schimpf, Republican candidate for Governor of Illinois, issued the following statement in response to Governor JB Pritzker’s re-election announcement:
“Governor Pritzker’s reelection announcement today means the voters of Illinois will face a stark choice about the future of our state in 2022. Under the Pritzker Leadership Deficit, he has failed to stand up to corruption, failed to protect our veterans and families, and failed to help overtaxed Illinoisans. In three years, JB Pritzker has demonstrated he has neither the vision nor the leadership skills to unite our state. Simply put, Illinoisans deserve better–they deserve a leader with commonsense who will renew our state.”
— Darren Bailey for Governor (@DarrenBaileyIL) July 19, 2021
…Adding… Rabine…
Gary Rabine, a candidate for Governor, is issuing the following statement on JB Pritzker’s announcement that he is running for re-election.
“The last two and a half years have been a disaster for Illinois on JB Pritzker’s watch. Governor Pritzker has raised taxes, increased spending, and signed into law some of the most radical, far-left legislation in the nation. When Pritzker didn’t get his income tax increase, he raised taxes and regulations at a record pace to dominate the highest taxed citizens in America. All this isn’t enough as Pritzker threatens to pursue higher income tax again if elected to a second term.
JB Pritzker doesn’t mention in his announcement his leadership in outmigration or that Illinois has the worst credit rating of all 50 states, even with the billions in federal bailouts.
Under Pritzker, our state has become one of the most violent in America with 385 homicides and 1,897 shootings midway through 2021. A great leader would not sleep until this tragic environment was changed.
The people of Illinois cannot afford four more years of JB Pritzker. I am confident, that in 2022, we will reject him and his radical agenda that is driving our state into unacceptable insolvency and violence.”
* Gov. Pritzker’s campaign has spent more than $400,000 to run these ads on Facebook since July 6. Click here to see the buy details. Click here to see the landing page…
Thoughts? Also, are you seeing any Pritzker ads on Facebook or other platforms?
During the pandemic, states suspended their work search requirements for those who were unemployed and the federal government supplied an extra $300 per week in unemployment insurance benefits. This was an understandable reaction given the pandemic. Recognizing that the worst of the pandemic is behind us and at least 56% of Illinoisans 18 years of age or older are fully vaccinated and 72% having received at least one shot, the Illinois economy is now re-opened.
However, Illinois employers of all types and sizes are struggling to attract needed employees resulting in reduced hours and lost sales. Those lost sales directly impact the budgets of the state and units of local government. Before we lose any more economic ground, now is the time to reinstate normal unemployment insurance operations, including work search requirements, and benefit levels.
In Illinois alone, there are tens of thousands of unfilled jobs. Employers are offering substantially higher wages, employment bonuses and taking other steps to encourage people to return to work. The problem is employers cannot compete with the approximate $35 per hour unemployed workers have received over the last four months as a result of enhanced UI benefits, tax credits, and stimulus payments. Most employers cannot compete with those benefits, which equate to $35 per hour, no matter how much wishful thinking is applied.
In order to remove the artificial brakes being applied to Illinois’ economy, the members of the respective organizations listed below respectfully request the following actions be taken without delay:
1. Re-start work search requirement. Normally, unemployed workers are required to seek employment while receiving unemployment insurance benefits. This was suspended during the pandemic when jobs were not readily available and there was a greater risk of hospitalization or death from the virus. By any measure, that is no longer the case. More than 100,000 jobs are currently listed on the state’s own job site and that is far from inclusive of all the jobs available. UI benefits were never intended to be a permanent replacement for gainful employment. Even President Biden stated this should be the case in remarks he made on May 10th and subsequently directed USDOL to work with states to re-start the work search requirement. To-date, 47 states have taken this common-sense step. Now is the time for Illinois to do likewise.
2. End the PUA benefit. The $300 federal supplement made sense during the pandemic when jobs were not widely available. As previously noted, tens of thousands of jobs are now widely available.
3. Restore the UI Trust Fund to solvency. With $4.5 - $5 billion of ARPA funds remaining, Illinois should utilize those funds to return the Illinois Trust Fund to solvency. Without such an action, employers face yet another substantial tax increase and employees a substantial benefit cut. Neither can afford it. It has been estimated that as much as half of all UI benefits nationally were paid fraudulently. We know Illinois was a primary target. Employers and employees should not be required to pay for that fraud and utilization of the ARPA monies is an appropriate and responsible use as it pays down debt, saves the state tens of millions in annual interest payments, and protects employers and employees. Guidance from the U.S Department of the Treasury clearly allows and encourages the use of ARPA monies for this purpose stating as follows “… recipients may make deposits into the state account of the Unemployment Trust Fund up to the level needed to restore the pre-pandemic balances of such account as of January 1, 2020, or to pay back advances received for the payment of benefits between January 27, 2020 and the date that the Interim Final Rule is published”. Importantly, S&P signaled they would look favorably upon Illinois if they utilized the remaining ARPA monies to repay part of the monies borrowed from the federal government for unemployment insurance. Finally, state revenues continue to exceed all expectations. Assuming spending restraint, the combination of ARPA monies and state revenues provide more than enough resources to meaningfully address the UI Trust Fund as well as other debt reductions.
We thank you for the attention we know you will give this request and the timely actions we believe you will take to re-ignite the Illinois economy for the benefit of all.
The governor has repeatedly said that a big part of the problem right now is that parents can’t find child care. He seemed open to the concept of paying bonuses to nudge people back to work, but the Illinois Chamber voiced staunch opposition…
“Paying people to return to the productive workforce is something that is not only going to create perverse incentives, but second, it’s really going to undermine small business confidence in their government,” he said. “Basic question: ‘I’ve got a job at a good wage. Why should I be paying higher taxes to pay someone to take my job?’ It’s just the wrong approach and we hope that the governor doesn’t go that route.”
* The Question: Do you think Illinois should re-start its work search requirement for unemployed residents and end the PUA benefit, and/or pay workers bonuses to go back to work, or just let it be as-is? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
* We haven’t checked in on this in a while. Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 4,449 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 62 additional deaths since reporting last Friday, July 9, 2021. 73% of Illinois adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and more than 57% of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,399,946 cases, including 23,357 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since reporting on Friday, July 9, 2021, laboratories have reported 228,430 specimens for a total of 26,292,979. As of last night, 476 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 94 patients were in the ICU and 28 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from July 9-15, 2021 is 1.9%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from July 9-15, 2021 is 2.3%.
A total of 12,917,362 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 21,217 doses. Since reporting on Friday, July 9, 2021, 148,520 doses were reported administered in Illinois.
Last week, it was 2,945 new confirmed and probable cases, 430 in the hospital, 91 in ICU and a 1.5 percent test positivity rate.
Statewide incumbents are all on different fundraising paths. Comptroller Susana Mendoza raised $311,000 and has $446,000 cash on hand. Treasurer Mike Frerichs has raised $340,000 and has $1.7 million in the bank. Illinois Attorney Gen. Kwame Raoul raised $10 (as in an Alexander Hamilton) and has $193,000 cash on hand. We’re told not to read into the low fund-raising number. It’s still a pandemic after all.
People have been holding Zoom fundraisers for over a year now and have raised decent bucks. No excuses.
Polls have long showed that few things in Illinois have more bipartisan support than term limits, with 80% of voters in support. Springfield, however, will have none of it. “A lot of hay was made,” as Politico said this week, about the Illinois House passing term limits earlier this year, though the bill was only for the speaker, Senate President and minority leaders of both chambers.
But Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Lawn) has shelved even that watered-down bill in that chamber, so nothing will happen. Harmon’s excuse? He said the legislation isn’t necessary given that the Senate in 2017 passed 10-year term limits for Senate leadership posts, according to Politico. He also questioned whether the bill would be constitutional.
That’s bunk. That change was just a rule change, not statutory, so the politicians themselves can change the rule at will. And a constitutional challenge in court just wouldn’t be a workable solution for a candidate for those positions. Harmon learned the ropes as former Senate President John Cullerton’s sidekick. He learned well.
“The politicians themselves” can change state statutes, too.
But, yeah, there are huge differences between a rule change and a statute change. Rules are voted on by each chamber every two years. Individual rules can be changed or even omitted when that happens (which is how the House Republicans under their previous Leader quietly dumped their own term limit language from their caucus rules). Statutory change requires both chambers being on board as well as the governor. It’s much more difficult to change a statute than it is to change a rule.
But this is particularly ironic since the Senate Democrats made such a big deal about their new rule. And the SDems under John Cullerton got into a massive fight with Speaker Madigan and organized labor over 2018 campaign TV ads that pushed leadership term limits. Madigan’s state party also refused to process mailers for the SDems which mentioned the topic.
And these are the same Senate Democrats who pushed for a clearly unconstitutional budget provision to zero-out funding for midterm legislator pay raises. So, yeah, spare me the constitutional argument, please.
[The Democratic Party of Illinois] logged an astonishingly low $5,000 in the second quarter amid uncertainty about party Chair Robin Kelly’s ability to raise soft money — funds for state and local candidates — as someone who holds federal office. The quarterly numbers were revealed the same day the Federal Election Commission issued an opinion saying Kelly can’t be involved in raising or spending soft money.
A committee will be created to oversee that non-federal fundraising. We don’t know who will be on the panel but a source close to House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch says he won’t be on it. This all adds to the concern about how the party will learn to raise big money after former House Speaker Michael Madigan pulled the strings on the fundraising juggernaut for so long.
It’s still too early to know if Senate President Don Harmon will join the committee. Or will the party hope to rely on the largess of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire who famously funded his own campaign and that of others in 2018?
I’m about a thousand percent sure there’s no way the party is even thinking about relying on the governor’s personal stash at the moment. Things ain’t great between the two camps, to say the least.
The state of the 16th floor in the Thompson Center. Yes we have maintenance staff that works around the clock to try & keep up with the leaks & creaks of the JRTC. But as anyone who has worked here (R or D) will tell you, the building has never served its residents well. pic.twitter.com/VJUtKl30P3
Pritzker had more than $32 million in his war chest at the end of last month, thanks to a personal contribution he made in March. With a fortune estimated at $3.5 billion, the Democrat can replenish his political fund whenever he feels like it just by taking out his checkbook.
Among Pritzker’s current Republican rivals, suburban businessman Gary Rabine raised the most, pulling in $344,921.74 during the quarter, twice the $165,455.92 that GOP rival Darren Bailey raised. But Bailey, a state senator from Xenia in southern Illinois, had $490,700.75 left in his fund on June 30, while his Bull Valley rival had $287,325.29.
The third GOP challenger, former state Sen. Paul Schimpf of Waterloo, raised just $83,235.00 during the quarter and had $116,280.47 left in the bank at the end of last month.
The paper also reported that Alexi Giannoulias’ cash on hand is “nearly three times the size of three secretary of state rivals combined.”
* Not a lot of cash on hand…
The IL Republican Party reports receivng $131k, including $5,000 from Gary Rabine's gubernatorial campaign. After expenses, it now has $168k on hand:https://t.co/oEHnwtMxa5
— Reform for Illinois (@Reform4Illinois) July 16, 2021
* He does pretty well with small contributions…
GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey raised $165k this quarter, including $64,000 from contributions of $150 or less:https://t.co/wyG5EITAMR
— Reform for Illinois (@Reform4Illinois) July 16, 2021
* More stuff…
Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie reports taking in roughly $100k, with the largest contributions being $10,000 donations from PACs:https://t.co/KYUkr78yZt
— Reform for Illinois (@Reform4Illinois) July 15, 2021
The Republican Senate campaign arm, the RSSCC, took in $240k, mainly from Senate members and business PACs, and made a $320k transfer to the newly formed Senate Republican Victory Fund: https://t.co/ZJCDTrSk7C
— Reform for Illinois (@Reform4Illinois) July 15, 2021
The House Republican Organization takes in $268k, with more than $100k coming in as transfers from GOP House members:https://t.co/Iuh7Fs7xzN
— Reform for Illinois (@Reform4Illinois) July 15, 2021
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin reports raising nearly $157k and spending $129k, which includes a $25k transfer to the federal Republican Leadership committee:https://t.co/LQOJkPwmEp
— Reform for Illinois (@Reform4Illinois) July 15, 2021
Senate President Don Harmon raises nearly $237k this quarter–including some $25k contributions made possible by Harmon's triggering of the self-funding rule with a $100,001 to his committee:https://t.co/MYbx305z2m
— Reform for Illinois (@Reform4Illinois) July 16, 2021
House Speaker Chris Welch raises $391k, more than any other legislative leader this quarter. More than $100k came from IPACE and the SEIU:https://t.co/6y1JdPBAUi
— Reform for Illinois (@Reform4Illinois) July 16, 2021
Democrats for the Illinois House, the relatively new caucus committee set up by Chris Welch, raises $400k in its second quarter, giving it nearly $1.3 million in cash on hand:https://t.co/1fOOCJQNSN
— Reform for Illinois (@Reform4Illinois) July 16, 2021
*** UPDATE *** ILGOP…
After filing its second quarter state and federal fundraising report last night, the Illinois Republican Party is proud to announce it has raised $459,775 ($131k state / $328k federal) during Don Tracy’s first full quarter as ILGOP Chairman - the state party’s best quarter in over 10 years outside of a large contribution from former Governor Bruce Rauner in 2015.
“I made clear from the beginning that raising the necessary funds to combat the entrenched and corrupt Democrat machine would be one of my main objectives as Chairman,” said Tracy. “I believe our team at the state party, including our newly formed finance committee, rose to the occasion and delivered results Republicans across Illinois can be proud of. I cannot thank our finance team enough for the work they have done these last few months.”
Patrice Campbell, a Black staffer for Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, is suing Schneider’s office, alleging that her supervisor, Karyn Davidman, made lynching references directed at her, among other hostile work environment and retaliation allegations in a lawsuit filed Thursday.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Davidman created a hostile work environment aimed at Campbell because of her race and that the office did not properly discipline Davidman after being made aware of those actions.
On a March 3 phone call, Davidman, who is white, allegedly was relaying a story to Campbell about lanyards that secure face masks to protect against COVID-19. At one point, Davidman told Campbell, “Patrice — you are going to have to get a rope and put it around your neck!”
The complaint says Campbell was “taken aback by Davidman’s obvious reference to lynching” and told Davidman her words were inappropriate and inflammatory.
In addition to the hostile work environment allegation, Campbell also alleges that she was retaliated against for reporting Davidman’s behavior and subsequently was assigned a smaller work portfolio.
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