By Illinois Review
Here in Illinois, Dot Foods, Inc. – a family-owned company that employs more than 6,000 people in the US and Canada – is the nation’s largest distributor of food and related products. Headquartered in Mt. Sterling, IL, the company is owned by twelve siblings, including IL GOP chairman Don Tracy.
Tracy is very proud of the family business, where he is an owner. He brings it up frequently in speeches and it’s even on his bio on the IL GOP website under the section, “Meet Our Chairman.”
But over the last six years, owners of Dot Foods have made some political donations that tell an interesting story.
In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, owners made a $6,193 donation to Joe Biden.
By contrast, in 2018, owners made a $250 donation to President Donald Trump.
And in 2022, owners made a $3,900 donation to US Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R.; a $4,900 donation to US Rep. Rodney Davis, R.; and a $51,000 donation to the Republican Party of Illinois.
Sen. Murkowski remains one of Trump’s most vocal critics. After January 6th, she supported his impeachment and removal from office. On January 9, 2021, Murkowski said, “I want him to resign. I want him out. He has caused enough damage.”
Murkowski went on to say that, “if the Republican party has become nothing more than the party of Trump, I sincerely question whether this is the party for me.”
In 2020, US Rep. Rodney Davis was one of 35 House Republicans to support the January 6th Commission to investigate the attack on the US Capitol – a move that angered Trump.
Davis has also said that he’d vote for Liz Cheney for president; he supported some forms of Black Lives Matter ideologies; he said Trump needed to “grow up;” and in 2016, he withdrew his endorsement of then GOP nominee for President Donald Trump.
But these donations should come as no surprise from the owners of Dot Foods. After all, in 2002, Don Tracy ran in the Illinois primary for the 50th State Senate District as a Democrat.
In 2002, Tracy was a registered Democrat. In 2021, he was elected chairman of the IL GOP.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but political donations can tell a story too.
Bad article with lots of bias. Why not point out his individual contributions to GOP? Are we going to hold him responsible for decisions the whole family has to make? Whoever wrote this article, I guarantee, has not donated as much as Mr Tracy has to GOP causes, doesn’t matter to what wing of the party.
What a weird comment. You do not know who wrote the article but you GUARANTEE the unnamed writer didn’t contribute as much as Tracey. I presume you are neither a police investiagor or a certified private investigator.
Summarily: Bad comment with bias. (PS: Yur’s should be” lots of BIASES.”)
A point of clarification. Articles by “Illinois Review” are on behalf of the Editorial Board and are approved by the Editor-in-Chief Mark A. Vargas and the Publisher Scott R. Kaspar.
Who sits on the Illinois Review editorial board?
Still waiting for the answer….is this a secret?
You, Rusty, are a guest. Does this make you entitled to an answer to your question?
The 3-T’s of being a good party member are TIME, TREASURE, and TALENT. Not everyone can give money, but just because they can give money does not make them somehow better than someone who gives the time (volunteering and doorknocking, especially) or the talent.
I am Facebook friends with the new owners. I don’t know them personally, but I GUARANTEE that Don Tracy has them both beat on donations to Biden!
Besides, Mr. Kaspar has posted what seems like dozens of signed photographs with Trump. I’m not in that league, but I don’t think those come cheap.
Too many of the alleged “Republican” leaders often make financial contributions to Democrat candidates, either individually or coporately. And many are often alleged “former” Democrats who allegedly become Republicans, albeit nominal. Defenders of such critters will counter with “Ronald Reagan was a Democrat and he switched.” While that’s tue, Reagan worked diligently over many years for the Republican Party and Republican candidates long before he even was considered for public office; his October 1964 speech for Barry Goldwater sealed everything, Thank God! Many Republican candidates are former Democrats who eiher lost primaries or lost re-election and then switched parties. Some voters might suggest such entities are opportunistic.
For the ambiguous “leader,” Sean Morrison, read
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/juice/dark-money-helps-cook-county-commissioner
Andy VanMeter the SANGAMON REPUBLICAN COUNTY BOARD CHAIRMAN who has been in office for the past 20 years has donated to Mike Madigan for the Past 20 years including contributions to Madigan’s ELECT DEMOCRATS PAC. All according to the Illinois Board of Elections Records. You Can’t Make this stuff up!
Where is Trump with his money? He is sitting on 100,000,000 and didn’t help anyone.
He’s running for President and needs about $1,900,000,000 more.
Besides, he’s a smart business man. Why would he possibly invest in Illinois right now? Serious question.
NotoriousSA didn’t say Illinois, they said ANYONE….
Would have been an easier path for some had he supported candidates he energetically backed with his words, but not his treasure. A million more here and a million more there might have helped Senate candidates in Nevada, Alaska and PA, maybe even Georgia.
Read up https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vzUUWBBqzLUYudXqGiujj3WYclrkeDVh/view
This mirrors another reports I’ve read:
https://rollcall.com/2022/11/16/it-was-all-about-the-independents-again/
At the same time, thought this was an interesting article about moving ahead:
https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/12/02/returning-to-pre-trump-dead-consensus-gop-would-be-big-mistake/
Hope this doesn’t happen in the Land of Lincoln, however, Illinois Review currently seems to leading a bunch of pitchfork-carrying boasters who have zero wins under their belt:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-michigan-gop-20221203-e4avl3my4bhqtpagj5q7vakapq-story.html
We publish well-sourced, well-written articles based on facts. If we publish an opinion piece, it is labeled as such. We strive to provide a platform that fosters and provokes individual thought.
So far, I’d describe your “articles” akin to requesting hard-right keyboard warriors to light up your Facebook page, so you can create some content.
Not sure I would paint cherry-picked and context-free Facebook comments as “well-sourced” but, it’s your publication…..so that’s your right. You also seem to be looking for scalps in the wrong places.
The fact that Tracy was elected to the Chair of the IL GOP in February, 2021 and inherited an arguably dysfunctional, underfunded (actually: unfunded) party apparatus with a questionably competent and definitely arrogant Executive Director who finally left (to join the Irvin campaign) in December, 2021 seems to be FACTS that are missing from your screeds. Tracy’s new hires thus far show good skills and a vision toward stabilizing the party in Illinois. They’ve been able to ramp up the fundraising apparatus (still minuscule compared to the Pritzker/Madigan fundraising apparatus – not all of which was legal, as we can see) and have started initiatives that were just “hoped for” in the past.
The group that I think should be getting the most scrutiny from your digital publication moving forward are the 17 (many new) State Central Committee members who should not just look up at Tracy, but should be ‘looking out’ to any GOP organizations within their districts who are failing to develop (or strengthen) their townships or their counties and calling them on the carpet for (their lack of) 21st century outreach, canvassing, VBM and ballot harvesting operations. They should also be looking beyond the Congressional candidates that emerge in their 17 districts and strongly encourage (demand) their local township precinct committeemen recruit strong, level-headed, candidates that fit their IL House, IL Senate and county board districts. They need to stop complaining about stolen elections (it’s really tiring) and move forward with operations that ‘steal them back’
My opinion: A hard-right Trumpian-lurch in Illinois that your Facebook followers seem to be advocating (if you research who the posters actually are) will be the end of the Illinois GOP and will contribute to the one-way roller-coaster that will make Illinois forever blue.
Good luck getting below the surface and dealing with the real issues facing the IL GOP with your current editorial focus.