* I switched back to an iPhone from an Android model over the weekend. Still having some transfer issues and having to relearn some things, but it was a necessary move. I’m not looking back.
* The Question: What mobile device do you use and have you recently considered switching or not? Explain.
What kind of Republican says he supports Black Lives Matter strongly and passionately?
The kind of Republican who voted Democrat in seven of the last eight primaries.
The kind of Republican who says this about JB Pritzker: ‘It is my honor to bring to the podium a great friend and a great leader who has guided our state with professionalism and compassion.’
You know who you call Richard Irvin? You call him ‘a Democrat.’ In the Republican primary, vote for, you know, a Republican. Vote ‘No’ on Democrat Richard Irvin
But the Irvin campaign is claiming that their media tracking shows Proft’s new PAC, perhaps ironically called People Who Play by the Rules, has spent $2,473,131 so far on broadcast TV, cable and radio ads while only claiming to have raised $1 million.
Hmm.
I sent Proft an email asking for comment.
*** UPDATE *** From Proft…
Clerical error. Received $2.55M from Dick Uihlein on April 20. Should’ve been reported accordingly. Thought it was. The person who keeps my books made a reporting mistake online. He is on the phone with the State Board of Elections now to notify them of our mistake and correct it. Our bad.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Democratic Party will host a high dollar fundraising reception with President Joe Biden in Chicago on Wednesday evening, with the top ticket price $365,000, the Sun-Times has learned. […]
The White House also said Biden will attend a Democratic National Committee fundraiser while in Chicago. The Sun-Times obtained a copy of the invitation and the price levels:
*$365,000 to be a “sponsor.”
*$250,000 to be a “leader.”
*$100,000 to be a “supporter.”
These top three levels get a donor into a small meeting — called a “clutch” in fundraising — with Biden plus a photo.
A pic for a ticket is standard in politics. For instance, the going rate for a photo with former President Trump at US Rep. Mary Miller’s recent fundraiser was $25,000…
The Winnebago County GOP is calling for their chairman Eli Nicolosi to resign from his position.
Precinct Captain for the Winnebago County Republican Central Committee (WCRCC) Austin Davies told 13 Investigates that Nicolosi was not conducting meetings properly with the organization’s bylaws.
Davies has also expressed concern over an order of protection that was filed against Nicolosi in April, which was later withdrawn on May 4.
“We think it’s important at this time to let the public know that Eli does not represent us based on these new allegations by his wife, by his conduct over the last couple years of his chairmanship and his unwillingness to meet with those that are concerned,” Davies said. […]
Nicolosi is currently running for state senate in the 35th district against incumbent Dave Syverson.
* Stolen hunter valor? /s…
According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Jesse Reising does not have a hunting license. That didn't stop him from wearing camo and hunter orange in campaign videos.
However, according to FOIA documents from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources obtained by 5 On Your Side, Reising does not have a hunting license in Illinois. He acknowledged as much during a recent interview.
“Right. No, I don’t,” he said. “I haven’t hunted since I was a young kid.”
Illinois state law allows 15- to 18-year-old teenagers to hunt with a provisional license if they have a licensed adult hunter accompanying them.
A spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee gave a statement on the campaign tactic.
“Already Chicago lawyer Jesse Reising is running a dishonest campaign,” Elena Kuhn with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said in a statement. “Reising has made clear he’s not up for the job.”
Reising says portraying himself as a hunter is fair game because he used to go hunting years ago.
Firefighter Eric Mattson, who’s running to represent the 43rd state Senate seat that’s been held by former Sen. John O’Connor, was appointed to the seat over the weekend.
How convenient: The move was designed to give Matson an edge in the June primary over Democrat Rachel Ventura, a Will County board member who’s also running for the seat. O’Connor stepped down a month ago to care for a family member. […]
Insiders have worried that Mattson, a moderate Dem with establishment support, will have a tough time against Ventura, a progressive who ran for Congress in 2020 and has higher name recognition.
Local unions are also almost entirely opposed to Ventura.
* Another appointment is coming for the Supreme Court that so far has not been covered like the appointment above…
For nearly five decades, Justice Rita Garman has been a judge in central Illinois. Effective July 7, the sitting justice of the Illinois Supreme Court will retire.
“This is the right time for me to step back from my public role and allow someone else to assume this all-important position,” Garman wrote in an open letter on Monday. [scroll all the way to the end…]
In the short term, Garman will be replaced by a judge appointed by the state Supreme Court. Her seat will then be filled in the 2024 election cycle, according to Matt Dietrich, a spokesperson for the state board of elections.
There are two seats up for election on the state’s highest court in the 2022 cycle. The partisan elections are for the Second District, which covers the northern suburbs of Chicago outside of Cook County, and Third District, which covers the southern and western suburbs outside of Cook County.
* By my count, Richard Irvin said “Let me finish!” to reporters 18 times in about 10 minutes. Let’s take a look at one representative example. After refusing to answer pretty much every question, and dodging some direct questions about whether he’d voted for Trump and whether he would vote for Trump if he was the GOP’s nominee in 2024 with his usual deflection that it’s what JB Pritzker wants him to talk about, Rick Pearson tried to pin him down…
Pearson: Isn’t it just a bit disingenuous to your rivals for the nomination alleging how they voted when you yourself who pulled Democratic primary ballots will not say who [you] voted for? How can you attack Darren Bailey and call him a soft on Trump, or a never Trumper? How can you attack Jesse Sullivan as a never Trumper when you yourself will not say who you voted for, if you voted voted for Donald Trump and would you vote for him again if he’s the nominee in 2024?
Irvin: Let’s just talk about records for a second. As a matter of fact, campaigns are about records matter. As I pointed out, you know, JB Pritzker, and my opponents on the Puffin side were attacking me and my record even before I formally announced but I’m not gonna fall into the trap of JB Pritzker.
Pearson: This isn’t about JB Pritzker. [Crosstalk]
Irvin: …You know, I’m not gonna fall, I’m not gonna fall into the trap of JB Pritzker talking about what he thinks we should be talking about in this campaign…
And then he went on to attack Darren Bailey over property taxes, migrant workers and mask mandates.
* Let’s move to the constant “Let me finish” refrain. After a long attempt at trying to change the subject from a question about whether there should be a federal law outlawing abortion (which would directly impact Illinois, since it has such strong abortion rights in statute), Irvin was interrupted by a reporter and said…
Hold on, let me finish, let me finish, let me finish. Let me, let me, let me finish. Let me finish. Let me, let me finish. And, you know, as I said…
* As mentioned above, he was asked if he would vote for Trump in 2024. He talked about Pritzker, the Safety Act, etc., and when Mary Ann Ahern eventually grew impatient and tried to ask the question again…
Let, let me finish. Just let me, let me finish. Let me finish. Let me finish. You know, he, he said, he said that we should be grateful that Mike Madigan is the Speaker of the House
* While avoiding an answer to Pearson’s Trump question, Irvin began talking about how he was “offended” at Jesse Sullivan’s claim to military service, his filibustering was interrupted again…
Let me finish, let me finish, so, so let me, let me just say this, also Jesse Sullivan, he advocates, advocates and supports open borders, that means he doesn’t really want there to be a United States.
The Irvin people are quite upset that reporters didn’t ask their candidate about the press conference’s topic, which was the deaths at the LaSalle Veterans Home and the Pritzker administration’s failure. But they almost never make their creation available to reporters and Irvin completely dodged commenting last week on one of the biggest issues in the entire nation and he’s been hammering away at his Republican opponents for being closet Democrats, so they had to expect that there would be some off-topic questions.
Again, this is a campaign based on a fantasy world of his opponents being secret Democrats and the only person interested in his voting record is the governor. Check out his latest TV ad, for crying out loud…
And reporters apparently have finally had enough of it and want him to answer for it. This ain’t rocket science.
Veterans are responding to Richard Irvin’s latest attack ad on Jesse Sullivan, calling on Irvin’s campaign to pull the ad and apologize to families who have lost loved ones serving in military or civilian roles abroad.
The Sullivan campaign released a new ad, featuring veterans voicing their disgust with the shameful political attack that is riddled with falsehoods.
Veterans from across the state also published an open letter this morning, saying, “Every veteran who served in combat served alongside Department of Defense civilians. They undertake the mission at great personal risk. They love our country. And they serve honorably…Irvin’s ad contains multiple falsehoods, most notably the dismissive comment that Jesse was a ‘social worker.’ Irvin’s shameful use of veterans to dismiss this form of public service is a disgrace.”
Major Monte Montes, US Army (ret.) and Sullivan’s former supervisor emphasized the personal risk Jesse faced, saying: “The location the HTS team (and Jesse) was assigned to in 2012 was extremely hostile and volatile … the patrols the HTS team participated in were often targeted by insurgents with improvised explosive devices, rifle fires, and mortars.”
Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, US Army (ret.) underscored the importance of DOD civilians to the overall effort, saying, “Civilians who volunteered to serve at the front in Afghanistan were critical to protecting our nation from jihadist terrorists who use mass murder as their principal tactic in a war against all civilized people. It is courageous to serve in combat environments, in any capacity. and we should value and thank those who have served our country, putting their own lives at risk doing so.”
For his work abroad, Sullivan received the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism, and the Department of the Army Commander’s Award for Civilian Service.
In a press conference today, Richard Irvin yet again ducked important questions on abortion and his own Democrat voting record, distorted his own background, and blatantly lied about Jesse Sullivan.
He once again omitted details about his defense of violent criminals, his own record of tax hikes, and big-government expansion in Aurora. He presented no ideas or solutions for the state of Illinois, which is more of the same for a campaign that seems to have no relationship whatsoever with the truth.
IRVIN LIE: “[Sullivan] says that he wore, you know, he served in uniform. C’mon. We all know what that means…”
FACT CHECK:
• A coalition of veterans released an open letter today calling on Richard Irvin to apologize for his disgusting attacks.
• Jesse Sullivan was an Army civilian, deployed by the Department of Defense to Afghanistan.
• According to DOD records, Sullivan was a Human Terrain Analyst under US Army TRADOC G2, who led fieldwork and intelligence collections on more than 68 dismounted patrols outside of the wire.
• Sullivan received the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism, and the Department of the Army Commander’s Award for Civilian Service.
• Additional background: “As veterans.. we are repulsed” by Irvin ads attacking Sullivan.
IRVIN LIE: ”[Sullivan] advocates and supports open borders. That means he doesn’t really want there to be a United States.”
FACT CHECK:
• Irvin’s citation is a magazine article, written by someone Jesse doesn’t know, in a college magazine years after Sullivan had graduated. Sullivan had nothing to do with it.
• Richard Irvin has voiced support for sanctuary cities and as mayor of Aurora, praised a law to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities as “the right, just and fair thing to do.”
• Sullivan believes in enforcing the law, and does not support sanctuary cities or preventing federal authorities from enforcing the law.
With President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address calling for the nation to “fund the police” with better training and resources, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best & Worst States to Be a Police Officer, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.
In order to determine the best states to pursue a career in law enforcement, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 30 key indicators of police-friendliness. The data set ranges from the median income for law-enforcement officers to police deaths per 1,000 officers to state and local police-protection expenses per capita.
Life & Work for Cops in Illinois (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
13th – Law-Enforcement Officers per Capita
1st – Median Income for Law-Enforcement Officers (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
8th – Median Income Growth for Law-Enforcement Officers
8th – State & Local Police-Protection Expenses per Capita
22nd – Police Deaths per 1,000 Officers
Note: “Law-enforcement officers” includes police and sheriff’s patrol officers, detectives and criminal investigators.
The first Hispanic member of Congress from Illinois – ex-Rep. Luis Gutierrez — and the second — Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia — are endorsing different candidates in the Democratic primary virtually certain to yield the third Hispanic member of Congress from the state.
The Chicago Sun-Times has learned that Gutierrez on Monday will endorse the Democratic primary bid of Ald. Gil Villegas (36th) at an event at the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local Union 130 hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd.
Villegas will also pick up the support Monday of Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, the highest-ranking Hispanic elected official in Illinois. […]
Villegas “represents the future of the Democratic party,” Gutierrez told the Sun-Times. He is critical of Democrats and groups — such as the Working Families Party which supports Ramirez — who identify with the “defund the police” slogan and movement. […]
Gutierrez said, “I don’t want to send another congressman (to Washington) who is going into the defund the police caucus.I want a Congressman who is going to hold the police to a high level of accountability but is also going to guarantee they are better trained, better equipped and better understanding of the (impact of) escalation.”
* But it’s not just the groups that have endorsed Ramirez talking about defunding the police. Rep. Ramirez herself called for defunding the police less than 2 years ago…
— United Working Families (@UWFIllinois) July 18, 2020
When asked for comment by the Sun-Times, Ramirez pointed to votes she took during the spring session to increase police funding. I’ve asked for the full statement and will post it when I get it.
…Adding… The Ramirez statement…
As State Representative, Leader Ramirez voted to secure over $300 million in evidence-based approaches like expanding mental health resources, violence prevention, and domestic violence programs, as well as supporting major efforts to reduce the rape kit backlog. And she voted to invest resources into creating corresponder programs along with providing more than $100 million in funding training and pension benefits for police officers and first responders. Leader Ramirez wholeheartedly believes that investing in people and the root causes of violence, namely poverty, and racism, is the best approach to reckon with the violence we face.
Almost every weekday since the beginning of February, the Richard Irvin campaign has sent at least one press release to reporters about a host of issues, from crime to taxes to corruption to former House Speaker Michael Madigan to, well, you name it.
Last week, however, the Irvin campaign was conspicuously silent for 24 hours. While pretty much everyone in both political parties felt the need to be heard the day after a U.S. Supreme Court draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked, the Irvin campaign hit the mute button. No comment would be forthcoming, the campaign told reporters.
It goes without saying that Irvin is attempting to win a Republican Party primary without saying or doing anything that could derail his chances in a general election. Abortion rights are generally popular in Illinois but unpopular with Republican primary voters.
Obviously, the decision was made to protect the candidate and not give his rivals within or outside his party any ammunition to use against him before or after primary day. Again, pretty basic.
Irvin’s Republican opponents are so hapless and cashless that they haven’t yet been able to force him out of his protective shell, including last week on an issue that has, along with gun rights, defined the GOP for decades. Darren Bailey posted a standard milk carton meme on his social media accounts that tried to press the issue, but it was pretty vague and contained a misspelling of the word “statement.” At least he tried, I suppose.
The Chicago-area news media, which dominates coverage in this state, has spent more time focused on the 2023 mayor’s race than the 2022 contests and, perhaps understandably, hasn’t shown much interest in helping a gaggle of ultimately doomed far-right candidates whack a Black and seemingly moderate Republican who has an actual chance of winning in November.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Democrats have spent big bucks on ads trying to deflate Irvin and promote Bailey. Aside from pushing a hoped-for Bailey win, the Democratic Governors Association ads are designed to hit back at the well-funded Irvin, who has focused much of his advertising on Pritzker, which is a surefire unifying force among Irvin’s targeted GOP primary voters and also helps keep the governor’s numbers from rising as the Republicans argue (albeit tepidly to date) among themselves.
From the start, this whole Irvin thing has had the vibe of a campaign apparatus seeking out and building a candidate instead of the usual other way around. The Irvin campaign, of course, denies this. But we’re at about the halfway point between when Irvin formally announced his candidacy in March and nomination day, and his campaign has so far managed to only present what it wants the electorate to see, with just a couple of memorable candidate flubs.
The problem is the Irvin GOP primary strategy is to essentially gaslight Republican voters. In Irvin’s manufactured world, Bailey and Jesse Sullivan are closeted liberal Democrats who hate Donald Trump, despite the fact that Irvin has taken numerous Democratic primary ballots and won’t say if he voted even once for Trump. And I dunno about Sullivan, but I’ve covered Bailey for quite some time now and he ain’t any kind of liberal.
Also in Irvin’s world, the candidate who claims to be pro-life won’t specifically define what that means or what he would do about it if elected. That’s really not much different than any other important issue. Irvin makes a claim, obfuscates when he’s asked to define it, then won’t say what he’d do about it come January 2023.
The gaslighting was elevated to new heights last week when Irvin promised in a television ad that he would refuse to commute Madigan’s sentence if the indicted former House Speaker is convicted. As I pointed out to my blog readers, the pledge is utter nonsense. Madigan is under federal indictment. A state’s governor can’t do anything about that.
Irvin’s campaign has literally created a fantasy world where an ultra-right, anti-vax Republican state senator is a secret Democrat, where a mayor can call out the National Guard to put down rioting and a governor can commute a federal prison sentence. It’s just bonkers, but it’s also brilliant so far because almost nobody else is effectively calling him out on it.
* Meanwhile…
MEDIA ADVISORY: IRVIN, BOURNE AND LEGISLATIVE LEADERS REACT TO LASALLE VETERANS HOME AUDIT REPORT
WHO: Aurora Mayor and Gubernatorial Candidate Richard Irvin and his running mate, State Representative Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonville), Senate Deputy Minority Leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris), and State Representative David Welter (R-Morris).
WHAT: Irvin, Bourne and legislative leaders to discuss the Illinois Auditor General’s report that shows J.B. Pritzker’s team and senior leadership at the Illinois Department of Public Health were well aware, in real time, of the Covid-19 epidemic at the LaSalle Veterans Home and failed to take quick action to address the outbreak that ultimately took the lives of 36 veterans.
WHEN: 11:30AM on Monday, May 9th
WHERE: Irvin for Illinois Campaign Headquarters, 1 East Benton Street, Aurora, IL 60505
…Adding… I’ve posted several of these from the ILGOP, so here’s one from DPI…
With only 50 days until the primary election, Richard Irvin still hasn’t answered basic questions of critical importance about his background and his campaign for governor—from who he voted for when he pulled Democratic primary ballots in 2014, 2016, and 2020 to if he thinks Roe v. Wade should be overturned.
As Irvin heads to his first press conference in months, major unanswered questions remain top of mind for voters:
• Does Irvin think Roe should be overturned?
• Does Irvin support the increasingly widespread Republican efforts to enact a nationwide abortion ban? What restrictions on abortion would he like to see in Illinois?
• Will Irvin consider vetoing the state budget to enact his personal agenda like Bruce Rauner did in 2015?
• Who did Irvin vote for in the 2016 and 2020 Democratic primaries? Did he ever vote for Donald Trump for president? And why is he hitting his opponents for pulling Democratic ballots when Irvin himself did the same?
• Did Joe Biden win the 2020 election fairly?
• Was the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol “legitimate political discourse?”
• Does Irvin support the minimum wage increasing to $15 an hour?
• Is Aurora still a sanctuary city?
• What does Irvin have to say about reporting that shows your campaign donors getting big city contracts in Aurora?
Irvin’s endless flip-flops also deserve explanation. Despite requiring vaccines for city workers in Aurora and imposing penalties against businesses that failed to comply with mask mandates, on the campaign trail Irvin now says he is “against all mandates.” He also went from a “strong and passionate supporter” of the Black Lives Matter movement to saying Donald Trump’s favorite phrase, “All Lives Matter.”
It’s time for Irvin to finally come clean with Illinoisans and truthfully answer basic questions about his record. His first press conference in months would be a great place to start.
The annual Paul Simon-Jim Edgar Statesmanship Award is presented to a former or current state or local government official in Illinois who has demonstrated a pattern of public service characterized by vision, courage, compassion, effectiveness, civility, and bipartisanship.
Former Governor Jim Edgar and the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute invite you to nominate an Illinois elected official who has displayed this kind of exceptional leadership.
We created the Simon-Edgar Statesmanship Award to shine a spotlight on remarkable public service that is taking place in our state and local communities. Please join us as we celebrate the Prairie State’s best traditions. Nominate an Illinois statesperson by June 1.
