By Illinois Review
Federal election campaign disclosures reveal that Julie Kelly – a close friend and ally of Naples, Florida based Chicago radio host Dan Proft – and a frequent guest on his radio program – donated to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in 2019 and Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016.
In 2020, Kelly rose to prominence within the MAGA ranks talking about the events on January 6th – appearing regularly on Tucker Carlson’s primetime show on Fox News and other news outlets favored by conservatives. On her X account, she even includes “J6 conspiracy theorist” in her bio. But prior to 2020, she had built her brand as a local Chicagoland food blogger.
On Tuesday, social media exploded with screen shots of Kelly’s $2,700 donation to Hillary for America in 2016 and her $2,800 donation to Biden for President in 2019. Since 2003, Kelly has made 23 donations to both Republicans and Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Elise Stafanik (R-NY), U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Jim Newbuerger (Rep.) for U.S. Senate and Bush-Cheney in 2003. Donations to Democrats include Richardson for President in 2007, Friends for Harry Reid in 2009 and Alexi (Giannoulias) for Illinois in 2010. In 2022, Giannoulias was elected the 38th Secretary of State of Illinois.
Missing from Kelly’s donation record? A donation to Donald Trump.
In 2023, Giannoulias testified before Congress against book bans in public libraries – calling it “freedom of speech.” Giannoulias was also the driving force behind the legislation signed by Ill. Gov. JB Pritzker – making Illinois the first state in the country to outlaw book banning – a move that angered parents across Illinois.
Kelly, who remains close to Proft, is a regular guest on his shows and the two regularly share each other’s posts on social media. Kelly not only appears on Proft’s AM 560 radio show, but also on the Dan Proft Podcast.
Proft hosts his Chicago morning radio show – where he routinely talks about Chicago violence, from his studio in Naples, where he lives full time. In 2022, Proft moved to Florida. In March, a caller called into the show and told Proft, “We’re neighbors now. I’m down here in Florida.” A visibly uncomfortable Profit simply replied, “Very good. Congratulations, Bill.”
In addition to hosting a Chicago radio show from Florida, Proft has amassed a fortune running Illinois political campaigns as a consultant – but sadly, an overwhelming majority of those candidates that he’s advised have lost. But Republican political consulting is a lucrative business in Illinois, regardless of one’s winning record.
Last April, this publication revealed that the Richard Uihlein-funded People Who Play By The Rules PAC, in quarterly disclosures, paid three political consultants $142,000 while spending just $3,700 to support conservative school board candidates during the April elections. Unfortunately, the candidates lost, but the real winners were the consultants who paid themselves generously. The founder, president and treasurer of the PAC – Naples’ Dan Proft – received the majority of the consulting fees, totaling $75,000 while the rest went to two other consulting firms closely aligned with Proft.
During a pro-Trump rally hosted by Gary Rabine on August 18th at the McHenry County Fairgrounds, Proft was the only AM 560 radio host not listed as a speaker alongside Amy Jacobson, Shaun Thompson, John Anthony and Jeanne Ives. And during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last week, Proft was absent during Trump campaign media events at Trump Hotel in Chicago that included former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
In February 2023, this publication revealed that former IL GOP chairman Don Tracy’s family owned business, where he is an owner – donated $6,193 to Joe Biden during the 2020 election. Just months before his election as chairman of the IL GOP, Tracy donated to a Democratic candidate endorsed by liberal U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Democrat U.S. Rep. Cherie Bustos, a friend and ally of former Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Late on Monday, Kelly responded to the reporting of her donations to Clinton and Biden, writing,
“Few people know what we went through during early years of exposing J6. It was a huge risk personally and professionally. Now some late comers and suspicious actors want to discredit me and my family. Probably to stop from reporting the truth.
Shame on them. And I won’t stop.”
