Illinois Review

Where Weyermuller? With Kayleigh McAnany at Freedom Initiative event

By Mark Weyermuller - 

Former White House Press Secretary and Fox News Host Kayleigh McEnany keynoted a Chicago area event recently at Christian Liberty Academy. Over 500 people attended. 

McEnany was joined by local pastors and business leaders that addressed the Left’s attacks on Christianity, breaking news stories of the day and the ongoing COVID pandemic. She also promoted her new book coming out in December, "For Such a Time as This: My Faith Journey through the White House."

She graduated from Harvard Law School with a Juris Doctor and Georgetown University School of Foreign Services with a degree in international politics. She also studied politics and international relations at Oxford University, St. Edmunds Hall. McEnany is a recipient of the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service and the Department of Homeland Security Secretary's Public Service Award.

Darren Bailey Dominates GOP Field for Illinois Governor in Recent Poll

From Bailey for Governor website     

CHICAGO – A new Illinois survey of likely 2022 GOP Primary election voters was released today. This Illinois GOP Gubernatorial primary survey measures President Trump's approval and breaks down voters' preference in the 2022 primary election. Ogden and Fry, a nationally recognized polling firm, conducted the poll from October 3-4, on behalf of the Northwest Side GOP Club -- a Chicago based Republican umbrella organization.

President Trump's approval rating remains strong. The results showed that 86.6% of voters approve of President Trump, 13.4% disapprove. 

On the second question, voters were asked their preferred candidate in the Illinois Republican Primary for Governor. The results showed that State Senator Darren Bailey, who sued Governor Pritzker over unilateral lockdowns last year, has a commanding lead with 33.3% followed by Jesse Sulllivan at 6.2%, Gary Rabine at 5.2%, and Paul Schimpf at 3.0%.

Senator Bailey was eager to respond to the Ogden polling:

Marter to Underwood: Condemn Ilhan Omar's anti-Semitism

Underwood & Omar

Oswego, IL – GOP Congressional Candidate James Marter called out Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14( Wednesday for being a "friend to anti-Semites" instead of a friend to Israel.

"Representative Underwood failed to denounce her friend, [Congresswoman] Ilhan Omar in 2019, for what Illinois NPR called hate speech towards Israel," said Marter. "Now in 2021, Congresswoman Underwood failed us again, remaining silent in response to Omar's remarks comparing the U.S. and Israel to Hamas. How can we let a representative remain in office if they can't tell an ally from a terrorist organization?"

Referring to The Hill and Roll Call news sources, Marter said Democrats stripped away $1 billion dollars in funding for Israel’s critical Iron Dome self-defense system. The Iron Dome protects Israeli civilians from indiscriminate rocket attacks launched by Hezbollah and Hamas.

Illinoisans deserve better, as does our nation and our ally Israel, Marter said in the statement.

Di Leo: Adam Kinzinger, a Stranger in our House

By John F. Di Leo - 

US Rep Adam Kinzinger of Rockford, IL has again grabbed some undeserved attention, this time by throwing the Republican Party under the bus, going on national television to attack GOP efforts to put an end to Democratic election fraud. The Kinzinger quote with which the Left is having the most fun is "I think if we're going to be in charge and pushing conspiracy and pushing division and pushing lies, then the Republican Party should not have the majority."

Now it’s easy to dismiss this as just “Kinzinger being Kinzinger.”  He likes being this generation’s version of Jim Jeffords or Arlen Spector, a gadfly who runs as a Republican but publicly badmouths his own party while hardly ever calling out the Democrats, likely because he wants to be welcomed if he ever needs to change parties.

But his argument requires deeper consideration, because it’s at the root of two key crises of identity in the current Republican soul.

IL CD 17 Republican Esther Joy King Announces 50+ Grassroots Endorsements

EAST MOLINE, IL –  The campaign for Esther Joy King released this week over 50 local endorsements from grassroots leaders in western-central Illinois along with a number of high profile conservative leaders from across the country who strongly believe King is the Battle-ready leader needed in Illinois and support her campaign to win the open IL-17 congressional seat. 

“Illinois deserves a leader who will fight for our values and what's good for our communities and not just rubber stamp Nancy Pelosi's far-left progressive agenda. We have a from-the-ground-up movement of positive energy to make our state better, and I welcome support from so many leaders locally and nationally who want to fight for our values together. It is an honor to have Leader Kevin McCarthy's support, and I look forward to making him Speaker McCarthy in 2023. This campaign started with people across central-Western Illinois and has grown because of the dozens and dozens of elected leaders here in the District who joined us early and believed in this campaign. Now our campaign is taking on momentum and growing stronger each day because our roots run deep.”

King’s announcement comes on the heels of raising over $400,000 in April, May and June which put her in the top five of all GOP challengers nationwide. Her campaign noted resources alone are not enough, this campaign is about people and hard work. Because of King’s strong commitment and personal connections across the district she is able to announce an unprecedented number of early grassroots endorsements.

Rabine comments on Dems' energy plans: Insider dealing and influence peddling cloud energy debate

Gary Rabine

SPRINGFIELD - A very important energy bill was placed on hold when the legislature paused last week. Gary Rabine, a candidate for Governor, issued the following statement on the ongoing efforts that would have a powerful impact on businesses in Illinois.

“Electricity is an essential part of modern life. Electricity heats and cools our homes. It saves lives in hospitals and powers essential modern tools such as computers, tablets, cell phones and automobiles. We all depend on electricity being accessible, affordable, and reliable. We in Illinois have been blessed with some of the best, most competitive energy in America, these blessings could end soon.

Rabine said the energy legislation being considered in Springfield will impact every person in Illinois.

"We all have a stake in this bill and we all should be very concerned about what the eventual outcome could be," he said. "The bill Gov. Pritzker is pushing is essentially a gift to extremists who want to close coal plants before we have any realistic energy alternatives. Our commitment to clean energy should not come at the expense of affordability and reliability. We need to give companies time to adjust to the transformation to clean energy."

Illinois residents simply want their energy costs to be competitive with or without alternative options, Rabine's statement said. "Working class families in Illinois are experiencing the highest cost in taxes in America, closing our most efficient energy producing facilities will increase our energy cost and our families cost of living. We must not accept that."

Rabine, who owns the Rabine Asphalt Company based in Schaumburg Illinois, is vying to be the Illinois Republican Party's gubernatorial nominee in 2022.

2022 Gubernatorial hopeful Paul Schimpf speaks with Illinois Review

WATERLOO - Former state Senator Paul Schimpf is running to challenge Illinois Governor JB Pritzker in 2022.

In this first interview with Illinois Review, Schimpf lays out his plans for winning the GOP primary, and what he'd do if he were elected by Illinois voters.

He discusses what a Republican candidate will need to do to win in 2022, his concerns with the Democrats' effort to reform the state's law enforcement policy, among other crucial topics. 

Davis explains opposition to Dems' Federal Election debacle

WASHINGTON DC - What exactly do Republicans oppose in the federal election legislation that passed earlier this week? 

Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis esplained his views on H.R. 1 - what he refers to as "the largest expansion of the federal government's role in our elections." As Committee on House Administration Ranking Member, Davis delivered this opening statement at a recent hearing on elections.

Davis' remarks focused on the federal election mandates, public funding of campaigns, and attacks on the First Amendment within H.R. 1, which passed the US House this week with only Democrats supporting.

Davis invited a witness that has experience running elections to testify in committee about the real-life impact H.R. 1 would have on states and localities working to administer elections. The written testimony for Ricky Hatch, who is the County Clerk/Auditor for Weber County, Utah, can be found HERE.

Marter: I'm "all in" to replace Congressman Adam Kinzinger

By James Marter - 

Now more than ever, America needs protection from the Radical Left, rather than surrender and submission. I have unfinished business with Adam Kinzinger. I am "all in" to repeal and replace him. Let’s send him to an early retirement from Congress!

We need real Republican leadership in Congress, which will stick to conservative principles, not just side with the politically-abusive and dangerous Left.

Last week I had an interview on the SiriusXM Patriot Channel's Wilkow Majority Show. The show’s host, Andrew Wilkow, stated “(James Marter is) ...a serious primary candidate who's running in a juxtaposed set of principles to Adam Kinzinger. If you want Kinzinger out, do not complain about it, support the primary challenger."

Lombardi: Why I Am Challenging Adam Kinzinger in the 2022 GOP primary

By Jack Lombardi - 

Adam Kinzinger seems to have forgotten what it is like to represent the people. He has been in Washington for eight years and during that time he has slowly become more a representative of the Washington establishment, and not a representative of the people and values of the 16th district. Adam Kinzinger has been putting himself and his own career ahead of his constituents and their best interests. That is unacceptable.

The people of the 16th district voted to elect Donald Trump by an overwhelming 16 percentage point margin. Just weeks later, Adam Kinzinger voted to impeach Donald Trump. He has publicly written that, “Convicting Donald Trump is necessary to save America from going down a sad, dangerous road."  He has been critical of not only Donald Trump, but of Trump’s supporters and the movement that brought Donald Trump into the presidency. If you are a Trump supporter, or a strong supporter of Conservative values, Adam Kinzinger has been speaking out against you.

That is why I have decided to run against Representative Kinzinger for the 16th Congressional District seat in the 2022 election. The voters of our district deserve a representative who will go to Washington and truly represent the people of the 16th Congressional District and their values. I promise to be that type of representative.