This postal indicia is used on attack mailings in a nasty GOP primary
SPRINGFIELD – One topic on the IL GOP State Central Committee's upcoming meeting agenda will be the guidelines of using the state party's postal indicia on primary race materials.
The IL GOP's mailing indicia was allowed to be used on mailers attacking Burr Ridge mayor Mickey Straub, who is challenging Republican House Leader Jim Durkin in the March 20th primary.
After learning of the Illinois Republican Party's postal indicia being used on a sleazy mailer earlier this week, IL GOP Committeeman for the 14th CD Stan Bond requested the distribution guidelines be discussed at the IL GOP State Central Committee to be held in February.
"This has been a topic of previous State Central Committee meetings (rightfully so), and I would be happy to raise the issue again and report my observations of the discussion," Bond wrote on a public Facebook forum. "I encourage everyone to ask their State Central Committeeman for their position on this and other issues. Everyone can look theirs up at www.illinois.gop."
Bond said he would much rather see positive party building messages on IL GOP-related mailings, and he encourages concerned Republicans to contact their State Central Committeemen before the meeting.
"At the very least maybe we can adopt some standard of civility for any message on which the party’s postal indicia appears. I will make that motion at the Feb 24 meeting," Bond said.
Any mailing using the IL GOP's indicia is charged a discounted price and is given handling priority. Even though funds transferred in from Durkin's leadership coffer, the party's postal status benefits Durkin's campaign.
"When candidates take advantage of their ability to use the state party’s postal rates and efficiencies, the mailing piece must identify the party. In reality, the candidate committees are paying for the mailing, but that is not the impression left by the imprint on the mailer," Bond said.
"This has surfaced before as cause for concern, and yet the statutes regulating the wording to be used is pretty specific. No endorsement or party involvement is indicated or intended by the required phrase."
But the IL GOP is blatant about its attacks on Straub with stories featured on the IL GOP's website.
The IL GOP reported raising $5,030,000 in the last quarter of 2017. Those funds came in from only three sources: Associated Beer Distributors, Citizens for Durkin, and Citizens For Rauner:
