By Illinois Review
During the 2022 Illinois Republican Primary, IL GOP leaders played favorites with their preferred list of so-called “establishment” candidates – even funding mailers that viciously attacked their conservative grassroots opponents.
And in exclusive audio obtained by Illinois Review, IL GOP chairman Don Tracy, during a meeting with conservative leaders in July, admits that the Richard Irvin campaign for governor was allowed to use the IL GOP postage discount for mailers – a perk not afforded to other candidates in the governor’s race.
But when it comes to supporting conservative school board candidates who are running in the upcoming April 4th election, the IL GOP is silent – despite messages from candidates to Republican leaders asking for help in the form of infrastructure support, walk lists and voter data.
And candidates have confirmed that IL GOP leaders replied to emails asking for help with messages that included,
“Sorry, we can’t help you.”
Meanwhile, Gov. JB Pritzker, D, is publicly attacking conservative grassroots organizations that recruit and support local school board candidates, calling them “racists” and “anti-LGBTQ” among other things.
Gov. Pritzker is even directing funding to support Democratic school board candidates across the state, while IL GOP leaders have all but abandoned the conservative ones.
IL GOP chairman Don Tracy argues that the party does not have the funding to support local school board candidates because the focus is on funding the party’s “infrastructure” – whatever that means – even writing in Friday’s Chairman’s Memo that,
“This, of course, is a tough love way of saying that the State Party is not able to finance the campaigns of the thousands of great Illinois Republicans that run for office in both partisan races like last November and non-partisan races like this Spring in which the candidates do not run under a party banner.”
But Tracy and the party didn’t have a problem financing mailers that attacked conservative candidates during the primary – with the words “Paid for by the Illinois Republican Party” printed across the top.
And Tracy and the party didn’t have a problem financing a lavish downtown Chicago luncheon featuring former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.
And they certainly didn’t have a problem financing the salary of IL GOP general counsel John Fogarty, who at the same time, served as the general counsel for Irvin’s campaign for governor during the primary.
And while the IL GOP brags about the measly $2.2 million they raised over the last two years, not one penny was spent in support of conservative candidates.
The IL GOP is obsessed with money, and they heap praise on their donors, yet they don’t even support what really matters in elections — and that’s strong, conservative grassroots candidates who can win elections.
Just a few weeks ago, Illinois State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D, introduced legislation to allow illegal aliens to register to vote in Illinois school board elections.
The proposed legislation states,
“The State Board of Education shall create a voter registration affidavit that shall be the exclusive means by which a noncitizen of the United States may register to vote in school board elections.”
The legislation goes on to cite Article III Section 1 of the Illinois Constitution that school board races are considered “non-State elections” and that illegal aliens could vote in school board races because there is not a specific citizenship requirement for voting in such an election.
And where’s the IL GOP? They are silent.
Observe any flyer promoting an event featuring school board candidates, or an event talking about school board issues – and you won’t see the IL GOP’s logo anywhere.
Why? Because they don’t care.
Ronald Reagain famously said,
“The nine most terrifying words in the english language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
And here in Illinois, there’s eleven words in the english language that conservatives will never hear – and that’s,
“I’m from the Illinois Republican Party and I’m here to help.”
And it’s why Republicans can’t win elections.
And perhaps, that’s on purpose.
