Month: September 2022

Springfield, IL – Candidate for State Treasurer and Illinois State Representative Tom Demmer is continuing to stand up for Illinois taxpayers:

From Fox32Chicago this morning:

“A candidate for state treasurer is blaming a delay in Cook County property tax bills on an alleged plan to hide tax increases, until after the election. 

State Rep. Tom Demmer from Dixon called out Cook County Democratic leaders Wednesday for the significant delay.

Cook County property tax bills, which typically go out over the summer, won’t arrive until close to the end of the year.

This is the latest they’ve ever been in history.

Some of those bills will be higher because of new assessments.

‘Cook County taxpayers who are paying some very high property taxes haven’t yet seen what they’re going to be required to pay this year and won’t see it until the very end of the year. Again, conveniently timed until just after the election in order to hide the true impact of Illinois tax policy from voters when they go into the voting booth,’ said Demmer.”

Demmer’s opponent, State Treasurer Mike Frerichs repeatedly championed tax increases in the legislature, Pritzker’s failed tax referendum, and has made comments in the past supportive of the idea of even taxing retirement income. From the Daily Herald, June 17, 2020:

“Frerichs added one argument for the progressive tax is the consideration of taxing retirement income of those who can afford it. He said he knows people who receive 6-figure yearly pensions and do not pay income taxes, but the current system doesn’t differentiate between them and retirees who barely get by on their savings or pensions.”

‘One thing a progressive tax would do is make clear you can have graduated rates when you are taxing retirement income,” he said. “And, I think that’s something that’s worth discussion.’”

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Springfield, IL – Candidate for Illinois Supreme Court Judge Elizabeth Rochford’s political connections and ties to the Madigan Machine run deep. She’s funded by trial lawyers allied with Mike Madigan, she personally wrote a big campaign check to indicted Chicago Alderman Ed Burke AFTER the FBI raided his office, and she used her connections to appeal and lower her property taxes under the same property tax appeals system that made Madigan millions of dollars.

For years, trial lawyers allied with the Madigan Machine have bankrolled judicial candidates preferred by Madigan. In 2020, Madigan-allied lawyers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to save Madigan ally Justice Tom Kilbride during his unsuccessful retention campaign. Now, Rochford’s campaign has received nearly $600,000 from law firms, attorneys, and trial lawyers, including many of the same lawyers and firms who have backed Madigan and his judicial candidates.

Further, Rochford has financial ties to some of the biggest cogs in the Madigan Machine. Rochford donated $1,500 to indicted Chicago Alderman and political machine boss Ed Burke, after he was indicted on corruption charges. When asked, Rochford called Burke a “longtime friend of our family.” Rochford has donated a total of $15,350 to Burke since 1999. 

Rochford has appealed the property taxes on her Lake County residence multiple times, reducing her own property taxes at the expense of Lake County homeowners and taxpayers. She even took one of her appeals all the way to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board and hired a big Chicago law firm to help reduce her taxes. This is the same property tax appeals system that made Mike Madigan millions of dollars as a property tax appeals lawyer. It’s an inside game where Madigan represented the powerful and politically-connected, saving his friends millions and forcing Illinois homeowners to pay more.

“You know someone by the company they keep. That’s how we know Illinois voters can’t trust the politically-connected, Madigan Machine judge Elizabeth Rochford,” said Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Shaun McCabe. “Rochford’s campaign is being bankrolled by Madigan’s trial lawyer allies to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. She even cut a personal check to her “longtime family friend” indicted Chicago Alderman Ed Burke AFTER the FBI raided his office. It’s clear that Rochford will put herself and her political friends before the people of Illinois.”

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Springfield, IL – 100 of 102 Illinois State’s Attorneys have come out against the [un] SAFE-T act – including multiple Democratic States Attorneys who have filed lawsuits to stop its most dangerous provisions that go into effect on January 1st 2023. Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Chris Welch is doubling down on House Democrats’ support with open arms.

From the Chicago Tribune yesterday:

“Despite continuing criticism about the law that will do away with cash bail next year, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch doubled down in his support for the SAFE-T Act, addressing critics head on during a City Club speech.”

As reported by NBC5 Chicago:

“The debate over the SAFE-T Act is pitting Democrats against members of their own party. Today Speaker of the house Chris Welch defended the wide-ranging bill but several States Attorneys are suing the Governor and the Attorney General saying the changes are unconstitutional.

In his speech, Welch defended the Act despite its extreme unpopularity with the general public, saying “We know the SAFE-T Act will help people, it will help people.”

Violent crime in Chicago is up 37% over this time last year. Meanwhile, since similarly eliminating cash bail for most nonviolent offenses in 2019, New York City has seen a massive spike in crime citywide. It has also increased recidivism – 20.1% of “felony arraignments” are rearrested, with 16.1% failing to appear at arraignment.

“It’s unclear who the ‘people’ are that Speaker Welch feels that the un-SAFE-T Act will help, because the Act will lead to the release of more dangerous criminals and more crime in our communities,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy. “The question remains, does Democratic leadership in the General Assembly even care about law-abiding citizens of Illinois including crime victims? With so many Illinois Democrat legislators recently indicted for criminal misconduct, it may be that protecting career criminals is more of a priority for Democrat legislators than public safety.”

Seven members of the Illinois General Assembly and nine Chicago Democrat Aldermen and women have been indicted, convicted or plead guilty since 2019. Also, the [un] SAFE-T Act’s chief sponsor, Senator Elgie Sims, is now under federal criminal investigation, and another Democrat – Senator Michael Hastings – has faced accusations of domestic violence and workplace harassment.

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Madigan Machine Judge Mary K. O’Brien is misrepresenting Illinois Supreme Court Justice Michael Burke in a negative TV ad regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned the Roe v. Wade abortion decision. O’Brien offered no proof or citation for her misleading claims, and now one media outlet has called O’Brien’s false claims “baseless.”

From Patrick Pfingsten of The Illinoize:

Appellate Court Justice and Democratic Illinois Supreme Court candidate Mary K. O’Brien released a new ad Tuesday that makes a baseless claim about the political positions of her Republican opponent, incumbent Justice Michael Burke.

The :30 ad claims Burke, who has served on the Supreme Court since his appointment in 2020, “says he agreed with the decision to overturn Roe” while superimposing “Supports overturning Roe” on the screen.

The claim does not come with a citation, so we asked the O’Brien campaign Tuesday to cite their source. A spokesperson provided the link to a public access TV interview with Burke from July.

In the interview, Burke never claims he supports or agrees with the decision to overturn Roe.

“Running for judicial office…I have to be very circumspect about what I say in a public forum like this as far as my personal beliefs as they relate to issues that may appear before us on the Court,” Burke says in the interview, specifically avoiding stating his personal feelings. “Whether I would have voted for it, or whether I would have signed it as a Governor doesn’t matter.”

…One Republican insider we spoke to Tuesday was apoplectic after we sent them the ad, stating O’Brien is “lying in an unprecedented way for a judicial candidate.”

The Illinois Republican Party denounced the ad Wednesday morning.

“It’s unsurprising that Madigan Machine Judge Mary K. O’Brien is resorting to misleading attacks against Justice Michael Burke so close to Election Day. As someone who cut her teeth as a Madigan loyalist in the General Assembly, O’Brien seems to be following the Madigan playbook. We call on O’Brien to take down her misleading TV ad and apologize for running a smear campaign against Justice Burke,” said Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Shaun McCabe.

Judge Mary Kay O’Brien’s deep ties to the Madigan Machine are well known. O’Brien was appointed as an Appellate Court Justice during her final year in the Illinois General Assembly after voting with Madigan 93.6% of the time. O’Brien also “Helped Madigan Regain The Speakership,” and received over $200,000 in political contributions from political groups led by Madigan over the course of her career.

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ICYMI: Second Source Confirms Frerichs Retirement Tax Support Comments

Chicago – State Treasurer Mike Frerichs is untruthful again and cannot keep his retirement tax story straight. In an interview that aired on WGN, Frerichs was asked about his June 17, 2020 comments in support of a retirement tax.

“My opponent in that debate supported taxing people’s pension income. He wanted to tax specifically people with higher incomes….That’s something I thought he would like and that was the argument I made.” 

He is referring to Todd Maisch, President and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, who led a coalition against the progressive income tax and has been and continues to be an ardent opponent of new tax increases. Todd Maisch directly responded to Frerichs’ false claims:

“I do not, nor does the Chamber, support a progressive income or retirement tax and have spent my entire career fighting to reduce, not increase taxes in Illinois,” said Maisch, who has been with the Illinois Chamber of Commerce for nearly 30 years. 

“I was surprised that Treasurer Frerichs brought up taxing retirement as an argument for the progressive tax because it is such an unpopular idea in Illinois.

“It’s par for the course with Treasurer Frerichs who ducks, dodges, and deflects to hide his own failures,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy. “Multiple sources have now confirmed what we all know – Frerichs is untruthful in his comments claiming he never supported a retirement tax.” 

In 2020, he ran away from reporters and voters at a press conference he called to address his comments. Last month, his campaign said anyone saying he supports a retirement tax is “lying.” State Treasurer Mike Frerichs is now blaming a fellow forum participant for his comments on why Illinois should consider taxing retirement income. 

“While there is no winner in Treasurer Frerichs’ never-ending blame game, there is one clear loser, Illinois voters,” said Chairman Tracy. “Illinois voters must hold Frerichs accountable and elect a true fiscal watchdog in Tom Demmer.”

Frerichs has spent his time as a state legislator championing tax increases. Introducing not one, but five pieces of legislation to create a progressive income tax with SJRCA69, SJRCA92 , SJRCA89 , SJRCA101 and SJRCA17 .

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Madigan Machine Judge Mary K. O’Brien is misrepresenting Illinois Supreme Court Justice Michael Burke in a negative TV ad regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned the Roe v. Wade abortion decision. O’Brien offered no proof or citation for her misleading claims.

Unlike Mary K. O’Brien apparently, Justice Burke supports judicial independence and has not expressed any opinion on that issue or any issue that may come before the Illinois Supreme Court, which is ethically required of judges and candidates for judicial office. That maybe be partly why the Illinois State Bar Association, which is comprised of attorneys from across the legal field and political spectrum, has rated Justice Burke as “Highly Recommended,” a rating higher than that of O’Brien.

The Illinois Republican Party is calling on Mary K. O’Brien to take down her misleading ad and apologize for running a smear campaign against a respected and qualified judge, Justice Michael Burke.

“It’s unsurprising that Madigan Machine Judge Mary K. O’Brien is resorting to misleading attacks against Justice Michael Burke so close to Election Day. As someone who cut her teeth as a Madigan loyalist in the General Assembly, O’Brien seems to be following the Madigan playbook. We call on O’Brien to take down her misleading TV ad and apologize for running a smear campaign against Justice Burke,” said Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Shaun McCabe.

Judge Mary Kay O’Brien’s deep ties to the Madigan Machine are well known. O’Brien was appointed as an Appellate Court Justice during her final year in the Illinois General Assembly after voting with Madigan 93.6% of the time. O’Brien also “Helped Madigan Regain The Speakership,” and received over $200,000 in political contributions from political groups led by Madigan over the course of her career.

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Last Friday Kendall County States Attorney Eric Weis joined with Kendall County Sheriff Dwight Baird as the latest countywide law enforcement official to sue the Pritzker administration to stop the “horrendous unintended consequences” of the UN-SAFE-T Act.

“It will have huge impacts and I just don’t think people realize what’s really coming,” Weis said. “It’s not a Republican or Democrat thing. The two state’s attorneys who filed first are Democrats, so I’m telling you this is not politics. It is something that truly needs to be addressed, and if it’s not addressed before Jan. 1, it will be almost impossible to fix.”

The [un]SAFE-T Act’s no-cash-bail provision goes into effect across Illinois on January 1st. With crime already sky-high in major cities across the state, the release of potentially violent criminals does not bode well for the safety of Illinois residents.

The State of New York abolished cash bail for most nonviolent offenses in 2020.

Since then, New York City has seen a massive spike in crime, while 20.1% of “felony arraignments” are rearrested, with 16.1% failing to appear at arraignment. This doesn’t bode well for Chicago which has already seen a 38% spike in crime since this time last year.

“Public safety is on the ballot this November. This election is about more than the usual policy differences; it’s about what kind of state we want to be on January 1st when the Democrats’ no-cash-bail provision is slated to go into effect,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy. “Beyond merely being ‘soft-on-crime’, Illinois Democrats are fast becoming the party of ‘crime’. 15 Democratic legislators and Chicago Alderman have been indicted, convicted, or plead guilty to criminal misconduct since Pritzker became governor. Some of these same legislators helped pass the [un]-SAFE-T act in the dead of night. We must send corrupt Democrats packing and repeal the Democrat’s no-cash bail law on November 8th, before it’s too late.”

States Attorney Weis and Sheriff Baird join McHenry County States Attorney Patrick Kenneally, and Democrat States Attorney James Glasgow of Will, and Democrat States Attorney Jim Rowe of Kankakee in challenging the SAFE-T Act in court.

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Treasurer Mike Frerichs and candidate for Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias are both hiding from their records and are hoping voters won’t notice

Giannoulias’ past is well-known as he attempts his rebrand 12 years after last being rejected by Illinois voters on account of his abysmal record as Treasurer and allegations of his shady past. Under then-Treasurer Giannoulias, Illinois parents lost millions in college savings. According to NBC Chicago from January 6, 2010:

“Bright Start was supposed to be Alexi Giannoulias’ shining achievement. Instead, the beleaguered fund, which lost more than $150 million through risky Oppenheimer investments, is radiating trouble for the Illinois State Treasurer and his Senate campaign.”

Giannoulias’ family bank also gave loans to mob bankers when Giannoulias was Senior Loan Officer, “The family bank of Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias loaned a pair of Chicago crime figures about $20 million during a 14-month period when Giannoulias was a senior loan officer,” according to the Chicago Tribune from April 1, 2010. Later, federal regulators seized the Giannoulias family bank.

Meanwhile, his eventual successor Mike Frerichs is attempting to hide his own abysmal record and troublesome policy statements. Under Frerichs, once again the Illinois College Savings Programs have lost millions. When questioned, Frerichs’ office passed the buck onto struggling families, “[I]ndividuals choose their 529 investments based on their own risk tolerance, goals and time horizon”.

Further, a third term of Frerichs could be costly for Illinois retirees. Frerichs has floated potential support for taxing retirement income. According to Crain’s Chicago Business, “Frerichs made a comment at a forum in 2020 in which he said a graduated income tax could allow for a broader conversation about taxing high levels of retirement income.” Additionally, Frerichs was one of the biggest proponents of Governor Pritzker’s failed 2020 tax referendum.

“Treasurer Frerichs and Alexi Giannoulias owe Illinois voters answers. Treasurer Frerichs must defend his record and past statements of potential support for taxing retirement income. Former Treasurer now SOS Candidate Giannoulias must fully explain how voters can trust him to lead Illinois’ largest state office, despite his past fiscal mismanagement of Bright Start and his family bank loans to Chicago crime figures and subsequent bank failure,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy.

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Harmon remains silent on Senator Hastings as Emil Jones III becomes the 4th Illinois Senator to be indicted since 2019

Deputy Majority Leader and Senator Emil Jones III was hit with federal bribery charges this week, alleging that he took a $5,000 bribe from a firm that installed red light cameras, making him the fourth federally indicted Senate Democrat in the last few years. Emil Jones III’s indictment also marks the second high-profile misconduct allegation against a member of Harmon’s leadership team in as many months. 

“These are grave allegations,” Harmon said in the statement regarding Jones III. “Members of the Senate and all public officials need to hold themselves to a high ethical standard for the public to have trust and faith in our work.”

Unfortunately for Illinois taxpayers those ethical standards apparently don’t apply to another member of President Harmon’s leadership team, Senator Michael Hastings who used taxpayer funds to settle a case involving “accusations of racial and gender discrimination” from his former Chief of Staff. In addition to spending $150,000 of taxpayer money to settle his harassment claims, Hastings faces additional grave allegations of domestic abuse from his wife including that he, “battered her, by placing her in a choke hold/neck restraint, and slammed her body into a door multiple times,” according to the police report obtained by the Edgar County Watchdogs.

Harmon has only made one public statement on the matter in two months, accepting his resignation from leadership. “‘Senator Michael E. Hastings has stepped down from his role on Senate Democrat Majority Caucus Whip. I have accepted this resignation and it is effective immediately. If you have any questions, please contact Jake Butcher, Chief of Staff,’ he said in writing to the Secretary of the Senate.”

Not exactly a reproach from President Harmon who has lauded himself a defender of victims of abuse and has no problem accepting praise for his support for domestic violence organizations.

“What is this ‘high ethical standard’ in today’s Democrat-controlled Senate?” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy. “Is everything short of a federal indictment and conviction ok? Senate President Harmon should call on Sen. Hastings and Sen. Jones III to resign.”

Harmon said of Hastings in July of 2021 after Hastings dropped out of the race for Secretary of State, “Though I am saddened the people of Illinois won’t benefit from the leadership and dedication to working families Senator Mike Hastings would bring to the office of Secretary of State, I’m happy that the people of the 19th District and our colleagues in the Senate Democratic Caucus will continue to have him fighting for Democratic values in the General Assembly.”

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Judge Mary Kay O’Brien’s deep ties to the Madigan Machine are well known. O’Brien was appointed as an Appellate Court Justice during her final year in the Illinois General Assembly after voting with Madigan 93.6% of the time. O’Brien also “Helped Madigan Regain The Speakership,” and received over $200,000 in political contributions from political groups led by Madigan over the course of her career. In addition to her ties to the indicted former party boss, O’Brien’s record on the bench is even more concerning. 

As an Appellate Justice, O’Brien has overturned the convictions of some of Illinois’ most heinous and violent criminals and has a history of coddling criminals while turning her back on local law enforcement.

For example, in 2013, Jesus Zambrano was convicted of murder for his role in the Joliet murder where the “victim was shot in the head inside a third-floor apartment at the Larkin Village apartment complex during an apparent lover’s triangle”. Zambrano was arrested while attempting to flee to Mexico, and would later appeal his conviction on the grounds that he received “ineffective assistance of counsel”. In 2016 O’Brien’s court granted his appeal and ordered a retrial for Zambrano. He was later found not-guilty and released. In 2021, Zambrano was once again arrested, this time for shooting a man in the groin during an altercation.

All told, O’Brien has overturned many serious criminal convictions, including murder convictions and numerous robbery, drug, and sexual assault convictions.

“Madigan Machine Judge Mary K. O’Brien has a history of using the courtroom to coddle criminals. As Illinois grapples with the impending elimination of cash bail on January 1st, 2023, the last thing Illinois families need is a soft-on-crime judge on our state’s highest court. O’Brien might say nice things on television, but she has been a card-carrying member of the Madigan Machine who’s spent her judicial career putting criminals before crime victims and the safety of our communities,” said Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Shaun McCabe.

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