For the first time in its 13-year history, Illinois Review is endorsing a candidate.
Why are we breaking our long-standing tradition?
Three reasons: 1) the desperate need for leadership to address the economic and cultural crisis Illinois presently finds itself in; 2) the preservation and promotion of rational and conservative principles and public policy in the Land of Lincoln; and 3) the soul of the Republican Party.
The Illinois Republican Party's heart is its base – the volunteers, the taxpayers, the people that put their reputations on the line every time they convey to those in their precincts and networks their ballot choices. The Illinois Republican Party missed the Reagan Revolution because of the Left-leaning, platform-ignoring GOP governors in the 80s and early 90s.
We're sadly watching history repeat itself – almost 40 years later – as the Republican National Convention's conservative principled head Donald Trump is leading the nation to the Right while the Illinois Republican Party's leadership is faltering further and further to the Left. There is one choice in the IL GOP gubernatorial primary that will lead the IL GOP to stick to its solid platform and respect its conservative base: Jeanne Ives.
The future of Illinois' conservative movement is also on the line in the 2018 GOP primary. In past GOP primaries, there were several conservative-leaning candidates vying for the party nomination, splitting the state's conservative movement into shreds. As a result four years ago, conservatives were given a weak, if not detrimental, choice in the General Election. To win over incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn, conservatives were insulted and demeaned into "putting their big boy pants on" to vote for a candidate that was just a little less liberal than the Democrat.
This time it's different. Conservatives in Illinois have a real choice for governor. In his first term, GOP incumbent Bruce Rauner proudly sided with Leftists on social issues and brazenly slapped the state's conservatives across their faces – numerous times. Conservatives must stand up, reignite their passions, recharge their energies and try just one more time to elect a candidate that will offer healthy, constructive and conservative solutions to our state's dismal condition. That candidate? Jeanne Ives.
The state of Illinois' critical condition is the last reason IR is endorsing for the first time. The state is on life support. We've lost friends, family and neighbors to surrounding states as living in Illinois has become more and more expensive, depressing and embarrassing. Friends have closed their businesses and taken good jobs out of state. Family has taken loved ones, their talents, their passions and their exemplary work ethic with them – leaving us with strangers that are protected by laws and offensive policies that force those of us remaining to fund, while struggling to keep our heads above water. Neighbors are leaving houses vacant, inviting crime and distress to take their place.
Illinois is at a crux in the road, and this primary election will determine the state's ultimate course. One path will continue its downhill slide, ending in ultimate destruction. The other path could be the start of a long, steep climb upward, ending with Illinois shining on a hill. We could be an example of what can happen when conservative values are implemented. Who can lead that way? Jeanne Ives.
For us at Illinois Review, it is now and has always been about conservative values leading the Illinois Republican Party, the Illinois conservative movement and the state of Illinois.
There's only one conservative choice for governor in the Illinois Republican Primary on March 20th: Jeanne Ives.
