By Illinois Review
Dan Proft, the Chicago political operative and Florida-based radio host long accused of blurring the line between media and campaign operations, went on air Wednesday morning from Naples with what he billed as a bombshell revelation. Instead, what unfolded was a blatant lie – one now exposed by text messages, emails, and time-stamped receipts that contradict nearly every word of his story.
On his Chicago morning show early Wednesday, Proft read aloud portions of a confidential 2022 campaign complaint and accused attorney Scott Kaspar of being the source of the leak. Proft claimed Kaspar had personally emailed him the document back in October 2022 – an act he said constituted a breach of attorney-client privilege deserving referral to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC).
But the receipts tell a very different story.
The October 21, 2022 email in question – sent to a small, internal group – shows no record whatsoever of Dan Proft’s name or address on the “To” or “CC” lines. He wasn’t copied, blind-copied, or even mentioned. In short, the document never went to him.
Two days later, on October 23, 2022, Proft reached out to Kaspar by text for the first time. “Scott. Dan Proft. Can you give me a call?” he wrote. Kaspar’s phone didn’t recognize the number – confirming that Proft wasn’t previously in his contacts.
That alone debunks Proft’s on-air claim that he’d received the confidential file directly from Kaspar two days earlier.
Even more damning, Proft wrote that he had “heard rumors” about the campaign issue. If he truly had the email, why refer to “rumors”? Why not say, “Let’s discuss the document you sent me”?
Proft also insisted he had “no involvement with the campaign,” yet here he was contacting an attorney about a confidential campaign matter.
Soon after, Proft texted Tom DeVore, the Republican nominee for attorney general at the time, saying: “Tell that f***ing clown Kaspar to go ahead. Please file it.”
The exchange reveals that Proft was not only aware of the developing internal issue but was actively urging Kaspar to file the very complaint he now pretends was improperly leaked to him.
By reading from the complaint on live radio – and falsely accusing Kaspar of misconduct – Proft crossed an ethical and factual line. The text and email records prove he lied about how he got the document and misled his listeners about his role in pushing for its filing.
For years, conservative activists have accused Proft of using his media platforms to wage personal vendettas and manipulate Republican primaries. This latest deception cements those fears. It’s not journalism – it’s orchestration.
The evidence is clear: Dan Proft wasn’t a victim of an unethical leak. He was the instigator, caught rewriting history to smear a political rival and deflect attention from his own behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
His Wednesday tirade wasn’t a defense of integrity – it was a desperate attempt to rewrite the paper trail.
And while Proft now trashes the very campaign that elevated his profile, he had no issue cashing the checks that came with it. Records show he paid himself handsomely from his People Who Play By The Rules PAC, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in “consulting” and “media” fees thanks to billionaire Richard Uihlein.
He made a fortune off the very movement he now discredits. The hypocrisy is staggering – Proft had no problem profiting from the campaign’s donors when it benefited him. Only now, after enriching himself, does he turn his fire on the people and campaign that made him rich.
That brings us to where we are today. The very complaint Proft denies leaking ultimately surfaced on his own network of Brian Timpone-operated websites – the same outlets that later amplified attacks by Jeanne Ives, Proft’s longtime ally and now a top advisor to Ted Dabrowski’s gubernatorial campaign, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
What began as a confidential campaign matter in 2022 was transformed into a public smear – pushed through Proft’s media operation and weaponized by Ives to benefit Dabrowski, who is now running against Darren Bailey for the Republican nomination for governor.
After all the lies, deflections, and finger-pointing, one truth remains unmistakable: Dan Proft didn’t just cover the leak – he and Jeanne Ives were the leak.
