By Illinois Review
Grassroots conservatives across northern Illinois are calling for a boycott of AM 560 The Answer after the conservative talk radio station began using its platform to attack Republican candidates in the Illinois governor’s race.
The backlash has intensified after the station’s official Facebook account posted direct attacks targeting Darren Bailey, the Republican nominee for governor in 2022 and a favorite among grassroots conservatives.
For years, AM 560 has branded itself as a hub for conservative news, commentary, and political analysis in Illinois. But activists say the station is abandoning that mission and instead engaging in partisan attacks against Republicans who have long been friends of the station and its audience.
One of the posts circulating widely online criticized Bailey’s performance in the Chicago suburbs during the 2022 election.
“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 posted.
Another post mocked Bailey with a parody-style message that quickly drew backlash from grassroots conservatives.
“Move over, Carmen Sandiego! We’re looking for Darren Bailey!” the post began. “Well he’s cruisin’ down the highways across the southern Illinois plains, Shakin’ hands at county diners, talkin’ corn and harvest rains. From Effingham to Marion, he’s on the campaign trails, But if you’re lookin’ in Chicago … well, that search usually fails. Where in the State is Darren Bailey?”
Many conservative activists say these kinds of attacks are inappropriate coming from a media outlet that claims to represent the conservative movement.
“The job of a radio station is to provide news and commentary,” one northern Illinois GOP volunteer said. “It’s not to get in the gutter and attack conservative candidates.”
Criticism has also focused on the station’s hosts Dan Proft and former state Rep. Jeanne Ives.
Both are not just commentators – they are senior political advisors to the gubernatorial campaign of Ted Dabrowski, Bailey’s opponent in the Republican primary.
To many grassroots Republicans, that creates an obvious conflict of interest.
“They’re not acting like journalists,” said one activist helping organize the boycott. “They’re acting like campaign operatives using a radio station as a political weapon.”
The attacks have not been limited to Bailey.
Proft and Ives have also used their shows to criticize another Republican candidate in the race, Rick Heidner, a wealthy Illinois businessman who recently entered the governor’s race.
Heidner gained national attention last year when he hosted Donald Trump Jr. at his home for a reception and fundraiser before launching his campaign.
Grassroots activists say targeting both Bailey and Heidner suggests a pattern of using the station’s platform to undermine candidates who are not aligned with their preferred campaign.
The controversy comes as AM 560 appears to be facing financial challenges. The station has reportedly cut shows and staff, and engagement on its social media platforms appears to be declining. In one example, Proft, who hosts his Chicago morning radio show from Naples, Florida, generated just one like.
Critics say that turning the station into a political attack machine could further damage its credibility with conservative listeners.
Despite spending tens of millions of dollars in past political efforts backed by billionaire donor Richard Uihlein, critics note that Proft and Ives have not supported a winning candidate in nearly a decade.
For many grassroots conservatives, the issue now comes down to trust.
And unless AM 560 returns to its role as a conservative news platform rather than a campaign attack arm, activists say the boycott will only grow.
