McHENRY - Ten-term Democrat State Rep. Jack Franks is likely not to have a Republican challenger in 2016, and it isn't because there was no one willing to challenge him in McHenry County's 63rd District.
Republican candidate Steve Reick was once again out getting signatures until he gave up - just days before candidate petitions were to begin being filed at the State Board of Elections.
On his blog Illinoyances, Reick wrote Friday:
For the past several months I, along with several volunteers have been passing petitions to get my name on the ballot for the General Assembly from the 63rd District. I was doing it so I could keep my options open as long as possible before deciding whether to run again in 2016. Specifically, I wanted to find out what kind of support I could hope to get from the State GOP and the Rauner political operation, knowing that without their material support, I couldn’t compete with the resources that Jack Franks could throw into the campaign.
Today I found out what I could expect: nothing.
The House Republican Organization doesn’t have the resources, the State GOP and Rauner’s group are looking for someone who would run and could self-fund his or her own campaign. It’s like the old line about banks: they’ll help you only if you don’t need the help.
Therefore, even though I have enough signatures to get onto the ballot, I’ve decided to call it a day.
While I’m disappointed, I can’t say I’m surprised. In 2014, the Republicans had the wind at their backs, yet Mike Madigan held serve on every seat he had in the House. With a Presidential year coming up, the odds of the Republicans doing anywhere near as well are considerably less. While I think I could have built on my 2014 results and made Franks have to defend this seat, to try to do so without a significant infusion of campaign funds, far beyond what I could contribute or raise from those who supported me in 2014 was unrealistic. It would also have been unfair. As one donor who’s a good friend of mine said: “If your own party won’t step up and help, is it fair to ask me?” No, it’s not.
There’s another thing that drives my decision. Yesterday I learned that a flyer has been sent to voters throughout the District which purports to be a response to a letter I wrote to the Northwest Herald about the recent fight over township consolidation. On the flip side of the flyer were a number of bullet points, several of which are nothing short of actionable defamation. At the bottom it says: “Paid for by The Commission on Fiscal Responsibility”.
A quick search of the Illinois Board of Elections website shows no committee by that name, yet such “groups” have been credited with having paid for similar screeds in this district in the past, all of which have one thing in common: they denigrate anyone who opposes Jack Franks.
I know that Jack isn’t dumb enough to have written that flyer himself, but I’m not so naïve as to think that he doesn’t know who did.
If this is what he’s capable of before I’ve even filed my petitions, I hate to think how low he’d sink during the campaign, even though I got a taste of it in 2014. If he has to rely on toadies to do his dirty work just so he can get his 10th term and his full taxpayer-funded public pension, then he can have it.
More at Illinoyances.com
