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Bailey FOP endorsement coverage roundup

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Illinois

Hoping to at least partially reset a campaign that now appears well behind, GOP gubernatorial hopeful Darren Bailey cranked up his rhetoric on rising crime rates, asserting that a markedly new approach is needed if “chaos” is to be ended.

Bailey tied Gov. J.B. Pritzker to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, dubbing them “the three musketeers of crime,” while for the first time laying out a specific list of changes he would seek to enact.

* Tribune…

While billed by his campaign as a news conference, Bailey declined to take questions from reporters Monday morning, just as he did at a campaign event in the Chicago area on Sunday. He did not address the federal investigation involving Sims.

Bailey instead called Pritzker, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx the “three musketeers of crime” in Chicago.

“Do you feel safer than you did four years ago? Has your quality of life gotten better over the last four years?” Bailey asked in his remarks at Chicago’s FOP headquarters. “For most Illinoisans, you know as well as I do, the answer is a pretty quick ‘no.’ ”

Bailey again said that, if elected, he will move to repeal the criminal justice law, a goal that is almost certainly unrealistic given that Democrats are expected to maintain overwhelming control of both legislative chambers.

* Mike Miletich…

“It breaks my heart to see and watch what’s happening to our neighborhoods and our law enforcement members,” Bailey said. “JB Pritzker, Lori Lightfoot, and Kim Foxx - well, they’ve become the three musketeers of crime with chaos, tragedy, and crime in Chicago. As shootouts and mayhem terrorize the city, the trio have more than turned their backs on our police officers.”

Bailey claimed Pritzker, Lightfoot and Cook County State’s Attorney Foxx have actively attacked, threatened and endangered the lives of police officers. The Pritzker campaign quickly said Bailey’s real record shows staggering inaction and contradiction. Campaign Press Secretary Eliza Glezer said Illinois deserves better. […]

Although, Pritzker had the opportunity to respond to Bailey’s criticism during an unrelated press conference Monday afternoon. The Democratic governor said Illinois voters have seen that Bailey is a hypocrite.

“When he says he is pro-public safety and then votes against expanding our crime labs, votes against adding police, votes against us being able to solve crimes quickly, he is not somebody that actually has public safety in mind,” Pritzker said. “He’s a hypocrite on so many things. He’s somebody that thinks that abortion is a greater tragedy than the Holocaust.”

* ABC 7…

The Illinois FOP has buyer’s remorse over its previous support for Gov. JB Pritzker.

“It’s time we have a governor who places the rights of citizens before those of criminals, a governor who helps police officers do their jobs rather than punishing them,” said Chris Southwood, Illinois FOP president.

* Daily Herald…

“If lax prosecutors like Kim Foxx don’t want to prosecute violent offenders, that won’t be an option when I’m governor,” Bailey said.

“My first order of business will be to file legislation allowing residents to recall Kim Foxx. We will create an office of statewide prosecutor under the state attorney general’s office with the power to prosecute crime … if prosecutors like Kim Foxx refuse to do their jobs.”

* Sun-Times…

Bailey said he’d repeal the SAFE-T Act and reinstate cash bail; repeal limits on pre-trial detention for violent criminals; prioritize state funds to hire and retain officers by increasing a sign-on and retention bonus; and work to end anonymous complaints against police.

Pritzker signed the SAFE-T Act, a criminal justice package aimed at addressing longstanding public safety issues and police distrust, into law last year. Republicans and some state’s attorneys are concerned about the act’s provision to end cash bail beginning in January 2023. The law also requires body cameras at all departments by 2025, reforms use-of-force standards and expands detainee rights.

Bailey also said he’d increase penalties for those who assault law enforcement and reinstate the death penalty for convicted cop killers. He’d also get cameras on all public transit vehicles.

But, again, he refused to take questions so no details could be sussed out.

* Back to the DH…

Illinois FOP President Chris Southwood said Bailey “supports public safety, law enforcement and sanity, three things that are definitely not priorities for the current administration.”

Meanwhile, Lightfoot noted that Bailey had sponsored legislation in 2019 to split Illinois into Chicago and the rest of the state. “Does that tell you that’s a guy that wants to lead this great state? No,” she said.

* Full Lightfoot quote…

Let me just jump in on on that last question regarding Darren Bailey. And Governor, you’ll get you’ll get a kick out of this. I’ve met the guy twice.

The first time was the first time that I went to Springfield, as mayor, and he came up with another gleeful little pack. They called themselves The Secessionists. And at that time, they were advocating for, you remember this right? They wanted to secede from the state of Illinois. So does that tell you that that’s a guy that wants to actually leave this great state? No.

The second time I met him was in the House Republican caucus, where he aggressively, literally came up to confront me, because, he said, quote unquote, I don’t like the way you talk about my president. He was talking about President Trump, to which I said, ‘I don’t like the way your President is talking about my city. And if he continues to, I’m gonna keep talk calling him out every single day.’

So here’s a guy that the day after the primary, says ‘Oh, I want to meet with Mayor Lightfoot.’ And then today when he gets the FOP endorsement he’s fire and brimstone about how terrible Chicago is? Well, which Darren Bailey is showing up? Right?

It’s not a person, who by the way, educates himself about anything related to the city of Chicago. Newsflash, Darren: homicides down 16%, shootings down 20%. And we are going to do better this year. Newsflash, Darren Bailey, you want to be the governor of this state but you continually attack and denigrate 50% or 60% of the state economy. And if you add in Chicagoland it’s about 80%.

So the politics of division and dystopia, which he keeps swinging towards, depending on which base he’s pandering to, they don’t match up with their realities on the ground in our city. And I don’t think they match up with the reality on the ground in cities across the state and the progress that we’ve made coming out of the pandemic, precisely because of our leadership, the governor’s leadership and the leadership of mayors across the state.

But also, what you see is a guy who depending on what camera’s in front of him, what audiences he’s in front of, is going to say and do anything to pander to that crowd. So his Republican right-wing money is drying up. So now suddenly moving away from, ‘Oh, I want to meet with the mayor and talk to her,’ to ‘Oh, this is a hellhole and we’ve got to throw all the bums out.’ This is this feckless person. No, no way, no how deserves to be taken seriously. And he certainly doesn’t deserve anyone’s vote to be governor of this state We have a governor that’s leading us and he’s standing right here. His name is JB Pritzker.

Sounds like she really wants that Pritzker endorsement.

* WGN…

“The attempted extermination of the Jews in World War II doesn’t even compare on a shadow of the lives that have been lost with abortions,” he said in 2017.

Bailey’s remarks were widely condemned. On Monday, the candidate left his FOP appearance without taking questions from the media.

Bailey’s campaign promises to take questions from reporters again soon.

Sure.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 10:56 am

Comments

==Bailey’s campaign promises to take questions from reporters again soon.==

Darren, I can guaran-dang-tee that when you want to actually answer a question from the public, we will let you finish. Just keep talking. Say whatever comes to mind. It’s all gold.

Comment by Roadrager Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:04 am
If they’re the three musketeers, does that make Bailey the Cardinal Richelieu of crime? Not sure how much Dumas he’s read…

Comment by vern Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:05 am
Given that FOP can’t really give Bailey a ton of money or really any effective manpower, he had to be hoping for a better press pop from their endorsement. This wasn’t bad, it was just a little muted.

Comment by Arsenal Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:09 am
I am surprised Mr. Bailey has not yet realized that he can use his personal lawyer, Mr. DeVore, as a campaign spokesperson and thereby displace responsibility for the craziness. /s

Comment by H-W Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:10 am
Reposting this from the “Open thread”:

I made a point to pay extra attention to Chicago television news coverage of the story yesterday and this morning. The coverage was pretty extensive and very positive for Bailey.

Which should create a dilemma for local journalists: if a candidate refuses to take questions at a “press conference,” do you give him full bore coverage? Most of the reports I saw included quotes from Pritzker, so there was a cursory attempt to provide balance.

But no questions or answers about Bailey’s views on police pensions or his votes against funding increases for law enforcement.

I’m not saying the news media shouldn’t cover a question-free press conference, but if I was an editor I wouldn’t dedicate more than a couple paragraphs (or on TV, more than a 10-second read over) to the story.

Comment by Telly Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:22 am
Wanting JB’s endorsement or not, I think Lightfoot brought several good points in her statement regarding Bailey.

Comment by Hot Taeks Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:23 am
I wonder what “The Jews of World War II” would have thought of Darren Bailey minimizing their horrendous deaths?

Comment by Dotnonymous Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:26 am
=Bailey’s campaign promises to take questions from reporters again soon.=

So Richard Irvin couldn’t finish and Darren Bailey doesn’t want to start.

Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:38 am
Wasn’t a major conclusion that crime didn’t have much effect on people’s choice for gov? And the FOP got trounced in the primary. I know Bailey needs to take any victory he can, but this is a nothing burger if you ask me

Comment by Sox Fan Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:38 am
It’s a shame that 60 years of conservative mau-mauing results in reporters allowing themselves to be used and disrespected by Bailey for the sake of proving they aren’t biased libruls.

Comment by Moe Berg Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:42 am
The crime platform that the GOP wants to campaign on got even shakier after yesterday’s events. After his Highland Park comments, and Holocaust references, I can see why Bailey wouldn’t want to take questions right now.

Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:52 am
It’s an important identity aspect for Bailey that 1) He’s a Christian, and 2) He will pray on social policies like abortion “just like you”

Every day Bailey can make it about diminishing other religions that aren’t “his Christianity”, that’s a good day for his base, and if it’s making less in a Jewish religious experience for his followers….

One tell is always the purposely wrong number to the victims of the Holocaust, the other is comparing anything to the Holocaust in the first place.

Not a bug of Bailey’s.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:55 am
Wonder what promises Bailey made to the FOP regarding police pensions?

Comment by Aaa123 Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 11:57 am
==Bailey’s campaign promises to take questions from reporters again soon.==

The word “again” is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Probably the same for the word “soon”.

Comment by SAP Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 12:01 pm
==The crime platform that the GOP wants to campaign on got even shakier after yesterday’s events.==

Not really, when you consider that 1) The GOP’s “Punishment to the fullest extent of the law for thee, not for me” is not an error of hypocrisy, it’s a bedrock belief; and 2) The crackpot theory that county sheriffs are the true highest authority in the United States is creeping into mainstream, thereby rendering any action by FBI/DOJ against someone they like unconstitutional.

Comment by Roadrager Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 12:04 pm
It’s almost like an attempted reincarnation of Richard Irvin.

Comment by Medvale School for the Gifted Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 12:11 pm
==We will create an office of statewide prosecutor under the state attorney general’s office with the power to prosecute crime==

I’m asking, as I don’t know, is this even constitutional?

It does sound similar to what DeSantis is trying to do in Florida.

Comment by G'Kar Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 12:26 pm
Pritzker losing the FOP endorsement should not be a surprise to anyone.
Still think the FOP endorsement is important and will influence not only it’s members but also some voters.

Comment by Back to the Future Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 12:43 pm
Bailey FOP endorsement summary: The candidate who said the Holocaust “doesn’t even compare on a shadow of the lives that have been lost with abortions” was endorsed by the police union who’s leader compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.

– MrJM

Comment by MisterJayEm Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 12:43 pm
===Still think the FOP endorsement is important and will influence not only it’s members but also some voters.===

The “back the blue” phonies… those that are whining about other legal things these past hours are already with Bailey.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 12:46 pm
Who the heck cares what the FOP says anymore as far as candidates go? They lost bigly in the June primary.

Comment by low level Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 12:54 pm
Im a Chicago resident who cant stand LL. That said, I cant disagree w anything she said.

Comment by low level Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 12:59 pm
All of Bailey’s proposed solutions include filing legislation to either repeal or amend existing law… all of which are things he could do right now… as a sitting Senator. In fact, he’d have an easier time filing these bills now than if he was in the Executive! Pulease

Comment by Laughable Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 1:01 pm
=== They lost bigly in the June primary===

Primaries aren’t generals.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 1:02 pm
“Who the heck cares…”
“I’m proud to have the support of Illinois FOP and the working families they represent”. JB Pritzker - 2018.

Comment by Back to the Future Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 1:08 pm
“We will create an office of statewide prosecutor under the state attorney general’s office with the power to prosecute crime”

There’s something analogous to what Darren is witlessly suggesting here, and it’s called the statewide grand jury bureau. I guess the question I have is why he’d want to change this system from one in which the local county prosecutors ask for assistance with difficult (generally multi-jurisdictional) cases to one in which the state AG will apparently be dictating to county prosecutors which cases he’s going to snake from them.
As per usual just a brilliant and really well thought out policy proposal from a republican politician.

Comment by Larry Bowa Jr. Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 1:12 pm
===JB Pritzker - 2018.===

Has anything happened, especially in law enforcement, since 2018 where the FOP then *might not* be the same FOP today?

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 1:13 pm
Police Officers are still overwhelmingly decent hard working folks
in 2018.
They are still decent hard working folks now.

Comment by Back to the Future Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 1:25 pm
==Primaries aren’t generals.==

No doubt, but it calls into question their decision making. Another point is that anyone this speaks to was probably going to vote red anyway. That is to say I dont see many independents swayed by this.

Comment by low level Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 1:27 pm
===Police Officers are still overwhelmingly decent hard working folks
in 2018.
They are still decent hard working folks now.===

That’s not what I asked. You know that.

Also, as a Harold Washington supporter, is it still the same FOP that supported Bernie Epton over Washington at a 92% internally polled clip?

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 1:30 pm
- Back to the Future -

A big fan of John Catanzara?

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 1:32 pm
OW
Not a “Big” or any size fan of John C.
State FOP basically has the same leadership that supported Pritzker last time so the fact that they dumped him this time around is interesting.
The diversity, job responsibilities and management of the CPD are all much different than the CPD Chicago had back when Harold was Mayor.
The CPD and the city has changed for the better in a lot of ways. While the influence of local politics is sometimes present, the professionalism and training is worlds away from Harold’s time.
My suggestion is watch less TV and take a cop out for coffee.

Comment by Back to the Future Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 1:47 pm
==all of which are things he could do right now… as a sitting Senator==

Not only is Darren’s voice annoying but his logic isnt very good either.

Comment by low level Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 1:49 pm
===State FOP basically has the same leadership that supported Pritzker last time so the fact that they dumped him this time around is interesting.===

Law enforcement, ones that backed Democrats in 2018, are they backing Dems in 2022? Why not?

What has happened since 2018?

What exactly is said when one “backs the blue”?

===The CPD and the city has changed for the better in a lot of ways.===

I mean, what?

This is comedy in regards to the city AND the idea CPD is better, as one can begin with the number of payments towards victims approved by the Chicago City Council…

===My suggestion is watch less TV and take a cop out for coffee.===

I have to spend time with my in-law uncle. If I wanna hear FoxNews talking points I’ll spend the time with my favorite aunt saving me.

First Sullivan, now “backing the blue” as you are… whew.

A long-long way from your Harold Washington days.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 1:53 pm
Just know a lot of good folks that are in law enforcement.
Police Officers come with all sorts of political views just like other professions. I know you know that.
Have a few relatives that seem to be like your in-law uncle, but no no aunt to save me. You are a lucky fellow.

Comment by Back to the Future Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 2:06 pm
G’Kar

==We will create an office of statewide prosecutor under the state attorney general’s office with the power to prosecute crime==

I’m asking, as I don’t know, is this even constitutional?

Both offices were created by the Illinois Constitution which leaves the powers and duties of each up to the legislature. Conceivably, the legislature could empower the AG to preempt local prosecutors at his discretion. That said, such a law isn’t getting thru the GA anytime soon.

Comment by Tominchicago Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 2:12 pm
=Just know a lot of good folks that are in law enforcement.=

Does that include the FBI? Because the thing is that support of the “back the blue” crowd seems to come down to who’s being arrested. And if your contention is that the likes of John Catanzara holds sway, then you haven’t been paying attention to who he and his supporters are.

Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 3:17 pm
Not a fan of John C.

Comment by Back to the Future Tuesday, Aug 9, 22 @ 4:50 pm