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Governor’s Day coverage roundup

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* More background is here if you need it. The day began with the county chairs brunch. Chicago Tribune…

But on a day traditionally reserved for unbridled partisanship, [Pritzker] and other leading Democrats speaking at the brunch exuberantly assailed Republicans, who have their State Fair rally Thursday.

“The lunatic fringe has taken over their party and they’ll say anything, do anything, destroy anything to get elected,” Pritzker said. “You see, the Donald Trumps and the Darren Baileys of this world want us to feel alone in the struggles that we’re all facing together. They want to distract us into believing that marriage equality, Black history, Disney World, and library books are more of a threat to our children than AR-15s. They’re attempting to divide America with hateful words and a radical agenda.”

Targets for Democrats included Rauner’s tumultuous term as governor, marked by a historic two-year budget stalemate; Bailey’s controversial statements, including his contention that the Holocaust pales in comparison to lives lost through abortion; and Trump’s continued hold over the GOP. […]

The attacks on Republicans overshadowed lingering internal strife among Democrats over the choice of Hernandez as chair of the state party. Hernandez ousted U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson who held the post since March of last year following the resignation of scandal-plagued former House Speaker Michael Madigan.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Former Gov. Rauner, an Evanston Republican, and former President Donald Trump were mentioned as frequently as Pritzker’s 2022 challenger, state Sen. Darren Bailey.

“I was never worried about the finances of this state even during the darkest days of the pandemic,” Comptroller Susana Mendoza said. “When my colleagues in other states would ask, ‘How do you seem so calm?’ I would say, ‘Well, it’s easy – the worst virus to ever hit Illinois’ finances wasn’t COVID, it was Bruce Rauner.’ And thank God we now have JB Pritzker.”

Mendoza, who took office halfway through Rauner’s term as governor, frequently sparred with the ex-governor. She looked back on that, saying she would fight every day to “save our state,” and “metaphorically speaking, kick him in the groin with much joy and pleasure.”

A short video presented at the brunch event showed a montage of clips from Rauner’s four years in office before cutting to images of Bailey with the text “he’s worse.”

* State Journal Register…

Happening jointly with the brunch was a press conference at the state fair, advocating for passage of the “Keep Illinois Home” Tenant Protection Act.

House Bill 5390, also being brought up in the Senate with Senate Bill 3992, would prevent landlords from increasing the rent more than once every 12 months – this sole increase not being allowed to exceed the inflation rate for the same time period

The Lift the Ban Coalition combines more two dozen groups statewide to advocate for renter’s rights. Organizer Helena Duncan said the need for this legislation comes as many are facing sudden rent increases of substantial amounts.

“What we’re seeing is landlords, particularly corporate landlords, are raising the rents above the rate of inflation,” she said. “They’re not just keeping of with price, they’re using this an opportunity to price gouge their tenants.”

* Hannah Meisel…

Though Illinois is a reliably blue state, Gov. JB Pritzker and other Democrats told the hundreds of local party leaders at the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association brunch that the next 83 days were crucial for increasing voter turnout and energy before the Nov. 8 election. Though voters in reliably blue Illinois won’t determine whether the U.S. House and Senate are returned to Republican hands, they still framed this election season through the lens of national issues, including abortion, voting rights and civil rights for people of color and the LGBT community.

“The lunatic fringe has taken over their party and they’ll say anything, do anything, destroy anything to get elected,” Pritzker told the crowd on Wednesday. “You see, the Donald Trumps and the Darren Baileys of this world want us to feel alone in the struggles that we’re all facing together. They want to distract us into believing that marriage equality, Black history, Disney World and library books are more of a threat to our children than AR-15s.”

Pritzker’s comments came one day after his Republican challenger, State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) spoke to a small rally organized by a “parental rights” activist group that earlier this summer called the governor a “groomer” for signing new sex education standards into law. Also on Tuesday, a contentious school board meeting in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Barrington ended with the approval of LGBT-themed books in District 220’s libraries — a loss for activist group Moms 4 Liberty, which had mobilized opponents by likening the literature to pornography.

The governor said he believed in reaching across the aisle “to build a better, less rancorous political climate.” However, Pritzker said, the stakes are too high to not prioritize scoring political victories.

* The Sun Times…

Abortion remains a key focal point, as Democrats in Illinois and nationally try to further protect women’s reproductive rights after the reversal of Roe v. Wade — and help boost November voter turnout.

“Roe Roe Roe Your Vote” T-shirts were for sale for $25 at the Democrats’ annual brunch at the Bank of Springfield Center.

“Our work honestly is far from over. To protect our fundamental freedoms and fight for working families, we have to elect pro-labor, pro-choice, pro-voting rights, pro-civil rights candidates up and down the Democratic ballot,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. […]

Bailey and the state’s Republicans have their turn Thursday to poke Democrats at the Illinois State Fair’s Republican Day. The GOP nominee’s campaign has been drawing daily $100 gas cards at the fair, which it has dubbed the “Repeal the Pritzker Gas Tax Hike” giveaway.

* The Center Square…

Pritzker spoke about a unified party but was asked about possible strife inside the party due to Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez, D-Cicero, being named the new chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, replacing U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Matteson.

Pritzker said if anyone had any problems, they could come talk to him.

“I do not think there is strife. I think we are all working pretty well together,” Pritzker told media at an event on the fairgrounds. “If people feel that way, they should stand up and come see any of us if they want to talk.” […]

Pritzker also spoke about the November elections.

* Axios on messaging…

What they’re saying: “We have one message and that’s that Democrats deliver,” Gov. JB Pritzker said at the rally. “We’ve delivered so much over the last four years I had to bring a cheat sheet.”

“Don’t let anyone tell you differently: the Democratic party is the party of fiscal responsibility, the party of individual rights, the party of infrastructure and of public safety.”

By the numbers: The two biggest issues searched online in Illinois, according to Google Trends, are jobs and taxes.

So Democrats may be onto something preaching fiscal responsibility.

Yes, but: The party hasn’t had a smooth election year. The election for the state party chairman was controversial, with accusations of racism.

* ABC7…

Pritzker rallied with party leaders on Governor’s Day with a focus on getting out the vote and getting Democrats elected up and down the ticket.

“The last thing we’re gonna do, that I’m motivated about is, we’re gonna beat that Trump-supported MAGA extremist Darren Bailey on November 8th. Let’s do this,” Lt. Governor Julianna Stratton, said to rousing applause.

The governor spoke about the urgency of this election, attacking Republicans over abortion rights and gun control. [..]

Democrats used Donald Trump’s endorsement of Republican nominee Darren Bailey as a rallying cry to motivate supporters to get out the vote. With Democrats outnumbering Republicans in Illinois, they are optimistic.

* WCIA’s coverage from the fair…

* Political journalists reminisce about the fair…

Rick Pearson, chief political reporter for the Chicago Tribune:

“It was two decades ago at Democrat Day at the fair, but the memory still lingers as do the personalities.

“It had only been a few days earlier that Rod Blagojevich, then the Democratic nominee for governor and likely next chief executive after the George Ryan scandal, had criticized veteran Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan for steering $1.6 million in state funds to a college classmate who ran a private livestock show at the fairgrounds.

“Blagojevich termed it an act of arrogance by Madigan at a time when funding for social services and education were being scrutinized and slashed and he vowed to veto a similar grant if he was elected.

“On Democrat Day, Madigan did something unusual. He went out of his way to speak to the media because he wanted to leave a mark.

* A volunteer created this for SoS candidate Dan Brady…

* Other fair happenings over on Twitter…

posted by Isabel Miller
Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 9:31 am

Comments

1. No mention of the Chris Young concert? I heard it was great, and it probably cost JB a giant bag of cash to have a big country music star like him come play at 12:30 on a Wednesday afternoon.

   Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 10:11 am

2. ===No mention of the Chris Young concert?===

   That’s coming.

   Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 10:17 am

3. The Illinois State Fair Democrat Day:

   The one time Chicago area Democrats go south of I-80 when the Legislature isn’t in session.

   Comment by Soapbox Derby Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 10:24 am

4. Kick him in the groin? Uh, that’s a little weird.
   Mendoza needs to drop the scrap and polish it up.

   Comment by Bad Goya Vitch Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 11:01 am

5. No Mayor of Chicago at Democrat Day? Richard J. Daley must be spinning in his grave

   Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 11:15 am

6. So much to see and do

   Comment by Just a Citizen Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 11:47 am

7. ==That’s coming.==

   Didn’t mean from you, I meant no mention by Illinois dems. A lot of Chicago dems probably don’t listen to country music, but down here it was considered a BFD. I’d have thought they would have touted the appearance, or at least tweeted some pics with the guy.

   Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 12:14 pm

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