By Illinois Review
Just hours after Illinois Review exposed how AM 560 The Answer used its official social media platforms to attack conservative Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey, the radio station quietly removed the controversial posts.
The sudden deletion comes after widespread backlash from grassroots conservatives across northern Illinois, many of whom began calling for a boycott of the station after Illinois Review published its investigation.
The removed posts included direct attacks on Bailey posted from AM 560’s official Facebook account.
One post mocked Bailey’s 2022 election performance by comparing his Chicago-area vote totals to former Gov. Bruce Rauner.
“In 2022, Darren Bailey received about 120,000 fewer Chicago metro votes than Rauner in his 2018 loss. Maybe Darren needs to get a new map of Illinois,” the station’s Facebook page wrote.
Another post went even further, ridiculing Bailey with a parody-style poem that asked, “Where in the State is Darren Bailey?”
The posts sparked outrage among grassroots Republicans who accused the station of abusing its platform to influence the Republican primary for governor.
The criticism was not just about tone – it was about conflicts of interest. Two of the station’s most prominent hosts, Dan Proft and former state Rep. Jeanne Ives, are also senior political advisors to the gubernatorial campaign of Ted Dabrowski, Bailey’s opponent in the Republican primary.
To many conservatives, that raised serious questions about whether AM 560 had allowed its media platform to be used as a political weapon.
Illinois Review reported on the controversy and highlighted how grassroots activists were calling for a boycott of the station.
Within hours of the article circulating widely across conservative networks and social media, the Facebook posts targeting Bailey disappeared.
Sources familiar with the situation say AM 560 management ordered the posts removed following the growing backlash. The move represents a clear rebuke to the conduct that sparked the controversy in the first place.
For many grassroots conservatives, the episode underscores the importance of holding media outlets accountable – even conservative ones.
AM 560 has long marketed itself as a trusted voice for conservative news and commentary in Illinois. But activists say that credibility depends on maintaining clear boundaries between journalism and political campaigning.
Using official station platforms to attack candidates – particularly when hosts have financial or political ties to a rival campaign – crosses that line.
The controversy has also renewed scrutiny of Proft and Ives, who have spent years influencing Illinois Republican politics through media platforms and political action committees funded by billionaire donor Richard Uihlein.
Despite tens of millions of dollars spent over the past decade, critics note that candidates backed by the Proft-Ives political network haven’t won a single race.
While AM 560 has not issued a public explanation for deleting the posts, the timing makes one thing clear: the pressure created by Illinois Review’s reporting forced action.
And for many grassroots conservatives, that outcome sends a simple message. No media outlet – even one that claims to represent conservatives – should be allowed to weaponize its platform against the very movement it claims to serve.
