Illinois Review

Di Leo: An Afternoon with Darren Bailey, GOP 2022 Candidate for Governor

By John F. Di Leo - 

photos by Mark Weyermuller

Looking back at the Founding Era after 250 years, we often think of the challenges the Framers faced.  A single legislature, or a bicameral arrangement?  A strong head of state or a figurehead… or none at all?  How often should terms last?

What we tend to forget is that the first debate, before they could even get started in planning all this in the summer of 1787, was the question of whether any of it was possible at all.

Our Founding Fathers were educated in the history of government; they had studied political science for years, even decades.  And there were two conclusions that seemed almost certain, and had been agreed-upon for centuries: First, that direct democracy can only work in the smallest of towns, and second, that even a representative republic could probably work as a city-state or similarly small country, but most likely couldn’t be successful in a large nation… because you could never know your representative personally, if the country was too large.

GOP opponents respond to Irvin entry into gubernatorial primary race

Mayor Richard Irvin.                       State Sen. Darren Bailey                Businessman Gary Rabine

SPRINGFIELD - Two GOP gubernatorial primary opponents that have been campaigning for several months responded to the news that Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin is entering the Illinois GOP's effort to oust Illinois Governor JB Pritzker in November 2022.

Illinois 2022 GOP Congressional primary races to watch

From 270towin website

WASHINGTON DC - Illinois will have one less representative to the US Congress in 2023, and after a chaotic re-mapping that Illinois Democrats controlled, the new districts are very different and purposely drawn to weaken Republican strongholds. 

The process left downstate districts in confusion - and as candidates begin to notify the Federal Election Commission of their plans to run in the 2022 election, the FEC listing is showing just how this normally considered quiet "off year" election is likely to get a lot of attention. 

Illinois Review is hearing rumors of various campaign entry announcements to be made next week -  from new GOP entries in Congressional races to new GOP entry slates in the state's gubernatorial race. 

According to current projections, analysts see Illinois coming out of the 2022 with 13 Democrat US Congressional districts, three Republican and one - the 17th CD - a toss-up.

Di Leo: Joe Manchin, Giant-Killer?

by John F. Di Leo - 

In the great Woody Allen comedy, Love and Death, Allen plays a Russian nebbish who is celebrated for his heroism when, after hiding in a cannon during a battle, he gets fired into the Napoleonic command tent, taking down four enemy generals and thereby winning the battle.  His rival, played by Harold Gould, derides his newfound celebrity with the understated line, “I understand your heroism was quite inadvertent.”

Americans may soon realize that the newfound celebrity of U.S. Senator Joe Manchin may be due to something similar.

The Build Back Better Bill, also known as the $5 Trillion spending plan, or the $2 Trillion spending plan, or the $3.5 Trillion spending plan, or the Moving Target spending plan, is essentially the Green New Deal married to a Welfare State wish list, with an alliterative and euphemistic title slapped on top for PR.

Conservatives rightly oppose it, not merely because it’s expensive, but because it includes a litany of distinct policy directions that are dead wrong for this country – wrong, in fact, for any country.

For Example...

More, in the American Thinker, here...

Di Leo: Illegal Mandates and the Abandonment of a Sacred Oath

By John F. Di Leo - 

In just one week, four federal courts have said no, and the US Senate voted the same way. The vaccine mandate is crumbling.

Earlier this fall, Jabbin’ Joe Biden issued his commands in no uncertain terms:  OSHA will mandate that all employers of over a hundred people must force their employees to accept these experimental Covid-19 vaccines.  Every federal department must mandate that all their federal employees accept it too.  All federal contractors and health care workers, all members of the military, must take it as well.  There is no freedom anymore; the days of human rights are over. Uncle Joe has spoken.

Many of us assumed that the federal mandate was a con from the start – that even the ultra-statists of the Biden-Harris regime knew full well that they don’t have the authority, so they hoped that Biden’s speech would be enough to scare people into compliance on the basis of his speech. He might never have to issue an illegal executive order; his department chiefs might never have to publish illegal regulations in the Federal Register, if they just said they were going to, and a gullible public acted on that promise alone.

But no, to the surprise of some, the regime went ahead and filed those illegal rules, knowing they would eventually be overturned.  And many businesses, especially the “woke” ones, both small and large, did climb aboard that sinking ship.  A few vocal refusals by airline pilots and mailmen followed, along with thousands (or maybe hundreds of thousands?) of quiet resignations as well, and the mandate defenders are more visibly desperate every week.

Update 1x: Marter boasts national taxpayer group's endorsement

Editor's correction: The Marter campaign sent IR a correction Wednesday evening, saying their press release had listed the wrong group endorsement. The National Taxpayer Union does NOT endorse candidates. The campaign asked the endorsing group to be correctly identified as the Taxpayers United of America and extended their apologies for the error in their previous campaign statement.

From Marter campaign spokesman Paul Hurst: 

...We noticed after sending you today's release, that our contact person appeared in TWO tax advocacy organizations' online searches and this led to some confusion. While both NTU and TUA oppose Lauren Underwood, it is actually TUA (Taxpayers United of America) that has confirmed their endorsement of James Marter this time. Our contact was speaking on behalf of TUA, not NTU. Therefore, I thought I should send you our correction in case you wish to issue one.

OSWEGO - There's a clear contrast in tax policy between the Republican and Democrat candidates running for Illinois' 14th Congressional District in 2022, challenger James Marter said Tuesday. 

UPDATE 1x: A spokesperson for the National Taxpayers Union Taxpayers United of America confirmed the group will be officially endorsing GOP challenger James Marter, while Democrat 2-term incumbent Lauren Underwood received an F Grade from the NTU every year she has been in office.

17th CD GOP candidate Esther Joy King releases "Battle-Ready" campaign ad

See whole map at fivethirtyeight.com  

EAST MOLINE - With hopes of winning a Trump-favoring central Illinois district in 2022, 17th CD GOP candidate Esther Joy King released her first campaign ad for next year's election. The incumbent - Democrat Cheri Bustos - has announced she's retiring, so the 17th CD seat will be open in 2022 in a conservative district with likely strong headwinds for Republican candidates. 

“With less than a year to go until the midterm elections, Illinois Democrats just put the final seal of approval on their corrupt, gerrymandered maps drawn for one purpose: to protect the Left's control of Washington and Illinois," King said in a statement.

"The Corrupt Springfield Democrats' desperate power-grab changes nothing. Since Day One, my campaign has been about fighting for the people of Northern, Central, and Western Illinois and protecting our communities from the radical Left-wing agenda. As a battle-ready leader, I am ready to double down for our generation's fight against socialism and keep America strong and free.”

The newly-drawn 17th congressional district includes much of the northwestern part of Illinois - an area considered "highly competitive" by political prognosticators. 

Davis to run for Congress again in 2022

TAYLORVILLE -- Despite political rumors that he might run for Illinois governor in 2022, Rodney Davis, a Republican from Taylorville, announced Tuesday he is choosing to run for re-election to Congress in the newly-drawn 15th Congressional district, which includes his home in Taylorville and much of the district he currently represents. He is the only incumbent member of Congress who resides in this district following the Congressional redistricting process.

Davis' announcement leaves only Republican Congresswoman Mary Miller as not yet announcing her re-election plans for 2022. The newly-drawn districts place her in the Democrat-intended situation of having to challenge a Republican US House colleague in a 2022 primary.

“My family and I are excited to announce that I am running for re-election to Congress,” Davis said in a statement. “I’ve been proud to fight hard for and work on behalf of central Illinois families in this district for many years, both as a member of Congress and as a staffer to my good friend and mentor, former Congressman John Shimkus.”

Op-Ed by Mark Curran: Lake County's Shanes, Filenko bad for Illinois

Lake County Judge Daniel Shanes 

An Op-Ed by Mark Curran, former Lake County sheriff and candidate for Illinois Supreme Court - 

The day that Fox Lake Sargent Joseph Gliniewicz took his life, Lake County made national headlines.  

George Filenko – recently featured at a press conference with Illinois Supreme Court candidate Daniel Shanes – was the Commander of the LCMCTF -- the Lake County Major Crime Task Force -- that day. Created in response to a need for investigative resources for police agencies in Lake County, the LCMCTF has had one of the worst reputations in the country for wrongful convictions.

IL Dem Majority Leader Greg Harris to step down for next generation of Democrats

CHICAGO - Saying "it's time," 66 year old State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) announced Monday that the "younger leadership" needs room to exercise their political muscle, so he's not running for re-election in November 2022.

Harris, an openly gay lawmakers, is proud of making Illinois one of the earliest states embracing same sex marriage, he told Crain's. 

"...[A]s the highest-ranking openly gay person ever to have served in state government, he says his proudest accomplishment was serving as chief sponsor of the bill allowing same-sex marriage in the state, an action that came years before the U.S. Supreme Court mandated that nationally," Crain's political reporter Greg Hinz writes Monday. 

What does that mean for the Democrat super-majority in the Illinois House under the leadership of State Rep. Chris Welch, who just took over within the last year?

Billionaire Griffin says he plans to "go all in" to defeat Pritzker in 2022

NEW YORK - In a New York Times interview Wednesday, hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin said he was willing to donate to whomever challenges Illinois Democrat Governor JB Pritzker in 2022. 

Griffin didn't indicate who that candidate would be, but said “I’m going to make sure that if he runs again, that I am all in to support the candidate who will beat him,” Griffin continued. “He doesn’t deserve to be the governor of our state.”

The urgency of the situation involved how brazen Chicago criminals have become - personally affecting Griffin. 

Talking today about crime in Chicago, Griffin said that over a recent weekend, one of his Citadel partners had a gun put to his head outside his home in Chicago. He didn’t provide additional details on the incident, but said that on the following Monday, the colleague told him: “I don’t know if I worked my whole life to live like this.”

Griffin also mentioned the story of a 24-year-old University of Chicago graduate who was shot and killed in Hyde Park on Tuesday. Griffin said the shooting happened a few blocks from his kids’ school.

Those two incidents follow one Griffin mentioned last month at the Economic Club in which he said carjackers had attacked his security detail outside his Chicago home.

More at NYTimes' DealBook. 

Di Leo: Data & Guesswork... Campaigns and the Specter of Vote Fraud

by John F Di Leo - 

On November 2, A.D. 2021, a red wave swept the nation, and the talking heads were bewildered.

It’s certainly not unusual that the party in power would lose seats in midterm elections, but even the most casual of observers could tell that there was something else going on this time. It was quite a sweep.

Throughout the night, and throughout the day that followed, the talking heads couldn’t help themselves, as they repeated the depressing statistic, “but Joe Biden won that state by 10 points just a year ago..." and “But Biden won that state by 16 points just last year…"

Watching the television or listening to the radio, astute observers could not help but mutter, “Well… maybe he didn’t.”

Bost to seek re-election; boasts 20 IL GOP leaders' endorsements

MURPHYSBORO, IL– U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) announced Wednesday his re-election campaign is endorsed by 20 Republican Central Committee leaders from across the newly-mapped 12th Congressional District. Bost's coalition of support includes the 12th District Central Committee chair and vice-chair; all 11 county chairs from Bost's current district; and seven chairs redistricted from the current 15th District into the new 12th District.

“As leaders of Illinois' 12th District Republican Central Committee, we are pleased to endorse Congressman Mike Bost for re-election,” said the IL-12 Central Committee leaders in a joint statement. “He has a proven track record of fighting for our conservative values and delivering real results for Southern Illinois families during his service in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Illinois General Assembly. As Democrats in Washington continue to tax and spend their way towards socialism, Mike is the strong conservative voice we need to push back on their extreme agenda. We proudly support Congressman Mike Bost and look forward to working together on behalf of the people of Southern Illinois.”

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.