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* I’m the oldest of five brothers, so my Uncle Kenny has always been like my older brother. He’s also developmentally disabled. Back in the day, the jocks at his school took him under their wing. Nobody could say anything bad about Kenny or they’d get beaten to a pulp, and he’d be right in there with them. Kenny is the strongest, most generous and loving man I’ve ever known in my life. He’s just a treat to hang out with. He’s overcome so much and has lived a life almost fully in the mainstream, retiring from a state job he held for decades.
Tom Devore is a few years younger than me, but we grew up in about the same era. I was raised in rural Iroquois County, as was my uncle. We had our faults, but we definitely didn’t want people like him around us…
"As for the phrase “window licker,” generally recognized as a derogatory term for an intellectually disabled person, DeVore said he “grew up in a different era.”" https://t.co/EaZ0G3zUUV
— Michael Hawthorne (@scribeguy) September 13, 2022
Too often, people like this get a pass because they’re deemed as somehow not responsible for what comes out of their mouths. DeVore blames the era he grew up in, instead of the fact that he apparently hasn’t learned anything since then.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:12 am
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You get a law degree from SLU, you don’t get to play the yokel who never had enough experiences to know better.
Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:14 am
Despicable, awful, horrible person. Lawyers are supposed to be ethical people. has he crossed any lines for which we can report him to the ARDC for any matters because he should be held accountable any way possible.
Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:20 am
This is the Illinois GOP showing who it is. Bailey and DeVore are the Illinois GOP standard bearers. Embrace them Republicans, they are who you are.
Comment by Give Me A Break Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:23 am
I sure hope everyone that has a relation or friend that is developmentally disabled (or just in a special ed program of any kind) remembers this when they vote. What a jerk.
Comment by Interim Retiree Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:24 am
Bailey is a buffoon and not qualified for government work yet next to Devore he looks like a cross between Lincoln and FDR
Comment by DuPage Saint Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:25 am
I’m in my mid 50s, I’ve never heard that phrase until just now. Perhaps Devore is just an _______?
Comment by Steve Rogers Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:25 am
What ArchP said !! Dude is a blight on the legal profession.
Comment by NorthsideNoMore Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:26 am
He’s was in high school in the 1980’s. The era of after school specials and TV shows like Life Goes On. If I would’ve made fun of someone’s condition in that manner back then, well….let’s just say the differences in “era” would probably be the bruises I would receive from numerous family and friends. And they would not have been looked down on for it.
Tommy boy is also wrong when he says he “grew up in another era”, because he clearly hasn’t grown up even to this day.
Comment by fs Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:27 am
Judge a person’s past accomplishments and failures through the lens of the past. Judge today’s accomplishments and failures based upon how you should have grown with knowledge and experience. If you haven’t learned and changed, that says something about your base values structure.
DeVore’s actions tell us that his values structure doesn’t include decency.
Comment by Norseman Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:28 am
This man needs to go away. The sad part is there is still a constituency this type of horrible language appeals to. Someone from his party needs to stand up to this guy and say enough is enough.
Comment by Pool Boy Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:28 am
Literally never heard this phrase before. Not something that can just slip out of your mouth out of habit like some other derogatory words that some people used to use a few times a day. If it was, I think that is just weird and so much worse that this is something he just causally uses in everyday life. It was intentional and deliberate, and set up for him to next complain about cancel culture.
Comment by Ok Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:31 am
And literally the whole purpose of the AG’s office is to represent the unrepresented, to protect the vulnerable, and to give voice to the voiceless.
You can’t get more misaligned than this man.
Comment by Ok Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:33 am
=== DeVore blames the era he grew up in===
As you point out, there’s nothing about when Devore grew up that mandates he be a jerk to people who don’t deserve it. If his generation is that inherently cruel, and there’s no possible recourse, he should oppose everyone his age running for office.
Of course, the more likely explanation is that he enjoys picking on the innocent and vulnerable, but doesn’t want to be held responsible. Life is tougher than that.
Comment by vern Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:35 am
Something to seriously consider when deciding Raoul or DeVore.
Voting for DeVore is supporting his thinking.
Full stop
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:38 am
Also, Rich, I’m very sorry that this causes pain for you and your family. these things spill over and are not nice to hear even if they are not directly at someone.
Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:41 am
I don’t care what era you grew up in, that kind of terminology is just plain WRONG and if he is so ignorant not to know that….well it just shows his true character. As if we didn’t already know.
Comment by Because I said so.... Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:43 am
Everybody grew up in a different era.
That’s how time works.
Not everybody behaves like Devore.
Just add another check mark into the ‘ILGOP candidates have no personal agency over themselves’ column.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:45 am
== Everybody grew up in a different era.
That’s how time works.==
Exactly. We don’t accept this excuse anymore from old dudes who sexually harass women or use racist language. Luckily he’ll lose by 20 and he can go back to fishing with his idiot judge buddy
Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:49 am
He grew up in a different era. Yeah and apparently learned nothing. There are many references I used when younger that as I grew older and times changed realized I needed to change. Only a complete and utter fool does not grow and evolve, but sadly today’s GOP is made up of many such types.
Comment by low level Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 10:52 am
The old Boomer defense from DeVore. There is a certain constituency that is very forgiving of this behavior. It overlaps with Trump’s people.
Comment by Highland IL Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:01 am
===The old Boomer defense from DeVore===
He was born in 1969.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:02 am
When we needed in home care for grandpa, and he had more problems with some caregivers than others, it was something we took into account because it was his house, his retirement, his final years. Finding a good match is extremely difficult, and ol’ folks can be stubborn about the darndest things, from the trivial to the very serious. In that case, we needed to accommodate grandpa’s world view because when your faculties, body, eyes, hearing, and everything else are failing, and you were raised in a completely different time, you get a few passes on a few things (like being uncomfortable with under dressed workers).
Grandpa wasn’t running for a statewide office against an incumbent who is older than he is. The election is in 2022, you better have some 2022 sense and sensibility.
Comment by Shark Sandwich Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:04 am
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 1 Cor.13:11 NIV
Some adults still act like children.
Comment by Steve Polite Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:05 am
===He was born in 1969.===
Oof. Life has not treated that man kindly.
That is pure GenEx. The man is almost a geriatric millennial stuck in the body and mind of a boomer.
Comment by Ok Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:06 am
This is reminiscent of Trump’s mockery of a disabled reporter, which his MAGA rally crowd seemed to find hilarious.
If this is the best the ILGOP can come up with, they have only themselves to blame.
Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:07 am
Tom Devore is younger than me. I learned a long time ago that comments like these shouldn’t be made.
For Devore it’s not that he grew up in a different era, it’s that he didn’t grow up.
Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:07 am
“He was born in 1969.”
Are you kidding me? He’s only 53 - he looks so much older. And yea, I’m a bit older than he is and it sure as hell ain’t about the era. I also never heard that expression until today. Maybe he just hangs out with bad people.
Comment by New Day Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:08 am
This campaign is yo-yo’ing me around. I read this and thought DeVore is worse than Bailey. Then I scrolled down and read the Bailey post with the Palestinian group and yikes!
Comment by George Ryan Reynolds Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:09 am
As an attorney and a person with a disability I would have been offended had I thought Devore was capable of intelligent thought. Reprehensible in so many ways!
Comment by Saul Morse Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:12 am
Tom DeVore is an embarrassment to the legal profession, the GOP, and the human race. His disparaging comments towards Developmentally Disabled Individuals indicates that he lacks the capacity to take responsibility for his remarks. Using “I was from a different era” is a poor excuse for his vitriol.
When someone shows you who they are, pay attention.
Comment by Rudy’s teeth Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:12 am
Something else that Devore shouldn’t need to be reminded of. When you’re a elected to a public position you represent all people regardless of their ethnicity, race, or whatever challenges they may have in life. What Devore’s comments reveal is that he has little regard for those that are different. Someone that willing shares such views should never hold public office and certainly not become the chief legal officer of the state.
Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:14 am
Keep in mind he said those things as an adult in his late 40s.
He should try using the ‘grew up in a different era’ excuse when smoking indoors or driving while intoxicated.
Comment by Jocko Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:16 am
=“grew up in a different era.”=
So what. I am older than he is and I know it is wrong. Full stop.
He thought it was funny, that is why he said it. He is an intellectual coward.
Comment by JS Mill Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:24 am
Sadly, it is just not Devore, but so many other family and friends that don’t get it. From an early age we were taught to reach out and go the extra mile for those that were different from us in anyway or struggling. No passes should be given ever.
Comment by Mister Ed Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:27 am
This is who the GOP is today. Many of its voters love the bile. It’s been years of stored up negative feelings, but now TFG and those following him have made it okay to be jerks.
Comment by Grandson of Man Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:29 am
I know this is about DeVore’s lack of respect for members of society with intellectual or developmental disabilities, however, others have included some general comments about Darren Bailey, so I will too, specifically about the private school he is involved in. DeVore and Bailey seem mostly in lockstep, not withstanding DeVore’s objection to Bailey’s comments about Chicago being a “hellhole.” One family with six children were planning on sending them all to Bailey’s FACA in Louisville. One of the children has anger and behavioral issues. Guess which child of the six was not accepted at FACA and had to attend public school. So much for acceptance of those who have challenges in life through no fault of their own in Baileyworld.
Comment by MoralMinority Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:31 am
Disgusting. Just when you think these wingers have gone low enough. Trump also mocked disabled people at his events and then got elected President, which is as sickening as DeVore.
Comment by Cosgrove Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:32 am
I guess all the GOP members who came from an era where honor and integrity mattered have all died. The silence is deafening while the bar is continually lowered both in Illinois and nationally.
Comment by Lincoln Lad Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:38 am
==The old Boomer defense from DeVore
He was born in 1969.==
That’s the rhetorical trick. Be in your 50s, act like you’re a contemporary of voters in their 70s, all while sliding checks for services rendered to your girlfriend in her 20s. A man for all ages.
Since DeVore used these terms in his 40s, maybe he could have pulled out the old Henry Hyde “youthful indiscretion” line.
Comment by Roadrager Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:39 am
==He should try using the ‘grew up in a different era’ excuse when smoking indoors or driving while intoxicated.==
Exactly. This was never a term, and I never heard it until it came out this awful man’s mouth.
I’m his age and had a disabled sister until she passed a few years ago. We heard many callous things over the years, some of which could probably be chalked up to “the times.” But never that.
Comment by Leslie K Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:49 am
I’m of about the same vintage as DeVore, and I never heard that phrase, either. What a nasty thing to say. Was he raised by trolls (the kind that live under bridges)?
Comment by Crispy Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:50 am
I lack a sufficient quantity unbanned words to adequately describe this worthless example of a political candidate.
If you can’t be an example - be a warning.
Comment by Name Withheld Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:52 am
== grew up in a different era ==. Too bad he didn’t grow up in a different place. Like maybe North Korea.
Comment by Siualum Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:56 am
He grew up in an era when forearm tats were accepted? /s
He is a jerk. Just like his hero former “president” who made fun of disabled people.
Comment by Vote Quimby Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:57 am
He is five years after the “boomer” generation OF 1946-1964. He wasted gobs of taxpayer dollars on civil lawsuits based on his own hyperbole. ….PT Barnum of the legal field go away please.
Comment by NorthsideNoMore Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 11:58 am
“That word, which you can find in a slang dictionary, was used in my time to refer to irritating, unruly, mean, disrespectful, right to people’s face,” he told KSDK.
No.
It.
Wasn’t.
Comment by btowntruthfromforgottonia Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 12:08 pm
What does it say for voters who will know what he said and why he said it amd vote for him anyway?
Comment by btowntruthfromforgottonia Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 12:10 pm
The entire Republican party has been moving in this direction for years (especially at the state and local levels). They reward and promote the actively worst people.
Comment by Homebody Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 12:16 pm
this makes me sick and sad, like my child is not welcome in Illinois.
Comment by Suburban Mom Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 12:17 pm
This was why he couldn’t run for school board. I found it funny they didnt vet this, since he sued a few people over reposting his post
Comment by Blu_dawg Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 12:18 pm
…yet the GOP chose him as their candidate… along with Bailey. And they are silent in repudiating either in a meaningful way.
Comment by Lincoln Lad Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 12:21 pm
Has DeVore now passed Bailey in the race to the bottom? It’s hard to keep track.
Comment by Lurker Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 12:29 pm
And I’m not one to keep picking on LP but his comments that defend these guys, and those of similar ilk, without saying this is inane, are the problem.
Comment by Lurker Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 12:35 pm
-Lurker-
I note that LP has not posted on this thread.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 12:46 pm
Well Tom DeVore says a lot of things. I guess you have to throw them all against the wall and see what sticks and what doesn’t. He claims to be a graduate of Collinsville High School and to have grown up there with lots of family there. He claims to be in the class of 84. So I was in the Collinsville Class of 82 there’s No DeVore in my yearbook. I lived in Collinsville 30 years and never heard the name DeVore. Plus I never heard anyone use the term “window licker”. So he might be in an era of his own.
Sadly Tom DeVore is what the Illinois Republican Party is today. A name calling wantabe politician.
Comment by Club J Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 1:04 pm
Some years ago, one of my nieces, was one of three high school seniors nominated by her class for Homecoming Queen. She was not expecting to be nominated but was working for a classmate who had both physical as well as mental disabilities. From what I understand she was a very sweet young lady but one who did not fit into any stereotype. My niece and the other candidate quietly made sure that the entire student body supported this special lady. That had to be a very special day for her when she was crowned queen.
Maybe there is some hope for the younger generation. My niece, who is fairly apolitical but aware, is definitely voting this year and not for DeVore.
Comment by illini Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 1:08 pm
Very well said, Rich.
Devore has shown over and over who he is. I hope the voters recognize that he’s unfit for the Attorney General post.
Comment by Night Rider Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 1:19 pm
The people who voted for him in the primary know exactly who he is and yet still voted for him anyway. I don’t hold any of the people who voted for him in very high regard. Speaking of “I can’t even,” I can’t even with this group of voters in this country who put up with this type of behavior and even cheer it on.
Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 1:56 pm
The GOP has been using the different “era” and other excuses to justify their, to say the least, repulsive actions. The Illinois GOP is going down, and fast.
Comment by Romeo Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 2:12 pm
That’s weird…I grew up in the same era as DeVore (born in ‘67) and don’t recall ever referring to persons with cognitive deficits in a derogatory manner. Degrading others who you feel are ‘inferior’ is a character flaw and has nothing to do with when you were raised. It’s HOW you were raised.
Comment by Cubs in '16 Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 3:02 pm
@clubj: He was a 1988 graduate of Bond County Unit #2 high school in Greenville. He has indicated that he is “from Madison County” but also shares his upbringing in Sorento. I went to high school with him, same “era” and do not recall ever thinking that phrase was ok. Heard it, never heard it should be used. Certainly not within the last few years.
Comment by Go Comets Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 3:06 pm
Club -
” He claims to be in the class of 84. So I was in the Collinsville Class of 82 there’s No DeVore in my yearbook.”
Checking Ancestry he shows up in the 1984 Yearbook. This is another example where he shows he does not understand what class means.
Comment by no relation Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 3:10 pm
“Ladies and gentlemen; I’m just a simple cave man. I fell into some icy crevasse and was frozen, and your scientists found me and thawed me out. Your modern world full of equality and empathy scares and confuses me. But you should absolutely elect me to make your world more like the one I came from.”
Comment by Give Us Barabbas Tuesday, Sep 13, 22 @ 5:15 pm
He not only used the disgusting language, he thought that it was amusing to purposefully ridicule these kids publicly. He did this while he was in the middle of a race for a position on his local school board - how dumb do you have to be? He thought that instead of apologizing, the best course to take was to sue the people who dared to criticize him publicly over his actions when the evidence consisted of his own words written by him and posted by him on his own Facebook page. Arrogance and stupidity is never a good combination.
Comment by Sally Forth Wednesday, Sep 14, 22 @ 6:17 am
It is not that DeVore has any chance to be Attorney General, he does not.
The question is does this individual have a chance to become a decent human being? My magic eight ball suggests “outcome is unlikely”.
Comment by Go Figure Wednesday, Sep 14, 22 @ 8:40 am