Month: November 2022

For decades, the Mike Madigan – Ed Burke Machine has controlled Illinois’ judiciary, including the Illinois Supreme Court. The Machine controlled the appointments and slating of all judges in Cook County (which has 3 Supreme Court seats) and at least one other judicial district (out of 7 statewide) in perpetuity for decades.

The Machine has used the Supreme Court and lower courts to protect their power and block good government and pro-business reforms. The Supreme Court has blocked term limits, legislative redistricting reform, pension reform, tort reform, medical malpractice reform, and other policy measures.

The Supreme Court also controls the appointments of all vacancies on the Illinois judiciary, so if there’s a vacancy at any court level (trial court or appellate court), the Supreme Court decides who gets appointed and is more than likely elected on the court.

Who sits on the Supreme Court may decide the future of redistricting reform in Illinois, or how your representation in the Illinois General Assembly and in Congress is decided. In 2016, the Court struck down a citizen-led bipartisan Fair Maps referendum on a 4-3 vote with an overtly partisan decision that every Republican on the Court publicly decried. 

The Fair Maps effort was led by the nonpartisan group Change Illinois and had overwhelming bipartisan support, as it was led by former Republican Governor Jim Edgar and former Obama White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley. But the Madigan Machine, the Dem-controlled legislature, trial attorneys, and the public sector unions opposed it because it would have taken power away from Springfield insiders.

With so much turnover on the Court in recent years, citizen activists and good government groups may try again to get a citizen-led referendum on the ballot regarding redistricting reform. With a court majority that isn’t controlled by the Machine and Springfield insiders, redistricting reform is plausible.

Who sits on the Supreme Court may also decide the future of public safety in the State of Illinois, as a lawsuit regarding the constitutionality of the Governor’s so-called “SAFE-T Act” is making its way to the Court.

Elizabeth Rochford and Mary K. O’Brien are both Madigan Machine judges who will put the Machine before the people of Illinois.

Rochford’s political connections and ties to the Machine run deep. She’s funded by trial lawyers allied with Mike Madigan, and she personally wrote a big campaign check to indicted Chicago Alderman Ed Burke AFTER the FBI raided his office. Rochford served for years on the Illinois Court of Claims, which is a patronage political appointment that typically goes to political insiders.

O’Brien’s deep ties to the 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 nearly $200,000 in political contributions from political groups led by Madigan. In the General Assembly, O’Brien supported Madigan’s gerrymandered legislative maps and even had her own district changed to incorporate family members who lived in another district just so they could vote for her.

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Throughout the 2022 election cycle, the Illinois Republican Party has been closely monitoring the voting process to ensure that the election is conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner, and in accordance with the law.  In doing so, it has relied on reports from Republicans from polling places and Clerks’ offices throughout the State.  

In a bid to require the Kane County Clerk to follow the Election Code and for the sake of greater transparency, the ILGOP has joined candidates Cody Holt and Gary Daugherty in filing suit against the Kane County Clerk following the Clerk’s Office’s refusal to require that election judges and election workers initial Vote By Mail ballots as they process them.  From the suit:

“On or about October 25, 2022, counsel for the ILGOP sent a letter to the Kane

County Clerk requesting that the Clerk conform VBM ballot processing to the requirements of the Illinois Election Code by having his election judges initial VBM ballots that are processed by the Clerk…Despite this demand, the Kane County Clerk has, contrary to the Election Code, persisted in refusing to abide by the requirement of election judges endorsing VBM ballots with their initials when processing VBM ballots received by Kane County voters.”

“It is vitally important that there be a transparent and accountable process. The failure by the election officials in this case to not initial these ballots completely frustrates that process,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy. “The Illinois Republican Party and the campaigns joining the suit, are simply asking the County to follow the law.  The Clerk’s stubborn attitude erodes confidence in the electoral process.”

In a second suit, while not a party to the suit, the Illinois Republican Party is monitoring and supportive of the recent action filed by Jim McGuire against the Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons. It has come to light that an employee of the Champaign County Clerk’s office was found to have a stack of loose ballots on the front seat of her car.  McGuire’s action seeks to determine what these ballots were doing in this employee’s car, and to bar that employee from participating in election activities, at least until the facts around the mishandled ballots could be vetted by a Court.

“The Illinois Republican Party supports any effort to get a complete, credible, and expedited explanation into how these ballots ended up on the front seat of the Deputy County Clerk’s car. Whether this was intentional conduct or mere carelessness, it is absolutely unacceptable.  We call on the Champaign County Clerk to immediately take responsibility for this breach and corrective action in his office,” said Tracy.

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Amendment 1 might is worded to sound great but make no mistake, it is a trojan horse tax increase that will give super-legislative powers to big government unions while forcing property tax increases on the rest of Illinoisans. Here’s what the Editorial Boards are saying:

Wall Street Journal:

“If you think teachers unions are powerful now, wait until this passes. Amendment 1 would bar the Legislature from passing anything that ‘interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and work place safety.’”

Crains:

“As Crain’s business columnist Joe Cahill pointed out on Oct. 3, if the WRA passes, Illinois will stand out for giving broader constitutional protections to organized labor than any other state. The amendment bars any legislation that interferes with unions’ bargaining rights, and—going further than any of the handful of states that constitutionally protect collective bargaining—explicitly prohibits “right-to-work laws” like those recently adopted by neighboring states”

Chicago Tribune:

“Moreover, since the public sector also has to raise funds to cover its cost, the amendment seems likely to put pressure on property taxes and other sources of government revenues. We’ve not heard a viable counterargument to that. It certainly won’t reduce the size or expenses of government.”

Daily Herald:

“We recommend a “No” vote on Amendment 1 because it is not needed and because unneeded Constitutional provisions unwisely tie the hands of the people’s representatives and the representatives of future generations to deal with problems we may not even foresee today.”

The News Gazette:

“This amendment is a masterpiece of obfuscation sailing under the banner of making Illinois a constitutionally-mandated non-right-to-work state. In other words, it’s a Trojan horse. One need not be a foe of unions or collective bargaining to have serious doubts as to the wisdom of this proposal. One can vigorously support the rights of employees — public or private — to work out their issues at the bargaining table without seeing this amendment as necessary to enhance their existing statutory rights.” “Make no mistake – Amendment 1 is a trojan horse tax increase, even 5 major news editorial boards agree,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy. “This constitutional amendment is designed to give big government unions super-legislative powers and pass higher property taxes on to Illinoisans. Voters should reject Amendment 1 at the polls tomorrow.” ###

The Illinois Republican Party is condemning a desperate, last-minute mailer targeted to Republican voters that attacks Illinois Supreme Court Justice Michael Burke. The mailer was paid for by a shady Democrat Political Action Committee (PAC) called “Ballot Access Illinois,” which has close ties to indicted Democrats. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy released the following statement in response to the Democrats’ mailer:

“Just hours before the polls open on Tuesday, Democrats are flailing at the prospect of losing control of the Illinois Supreme Court and launching ridiculous attacks on Justice Michael Burke. Machine Democrats and shady political operatives are behind this desperate, last-minute mailer targeting Republican voters. The momentum going into Election Day is clearly on the side of Michael Burke and Mark Curran, and the Democrats are doing everything they can to mislead voters and stop Republican momentum.”

The chairman of “Ballot Access Illinois” is Rudi Patitucci, who currently works for Alexi Giannoulias’ campaign and has worked for Democratic candidates like scandal-ridden State Sen. Michael Hastings over the past decade, according to Patitucci’s LinkedIn page.

“Ballot Access Illinois” currently reports having no money in its bank account, according to its most recent D-2 filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections, and hasn’t had any contributors for years. The Democrat PAC filed its most recent D-2 over two weeks late. Previous contributors to the PAC include indicted Democrat politicians Tom Cullerton and Danny Solis and several labor unions.

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Joe Biden’s agenda is so unpopular that purple state Democrats don’t want him anywhere near their campaigns. Forced to spend the Saturday before the Election bailing out once-safe suburban Democrat Lauren Underwood who is now on the run from her support for his disastrous agenda, Biden lashed out at critics of his record, calling them “idiots”. 

The Illinois Republican Party issued the following statement from Communications Director James Zenn, calling for Rep. Lauren Underwood to disavow Biden’s comments:

“With inflation at record levels unseen in 40 years, Biden would rather name-call and distract than have to explain to voters why his terrible energy policies and reckless spending agenda have ratcheted up their gas and grocery bills. Underwood supported these policies every step of the way, proving that she is just as out of touch with what is ailing western suburban voters as the President. Underwood can disavow the President’s out-of-touch comments, or she can continue to follow his agenda to its final destination – out of office on the morning of November 9th.”

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Yesterday, ILGOP Chairman Don Tracy joined suburban Republican leaders to speak out against the behavior of State Representative Jonathan Carroll in the wake of continued allegations:

“We would hope the Democratic leadership at the state, Congressional District, Township and Precinct level would share the belief with us that these allegations — which by the way were revealed far too late to be of political advantage to Republican candidate Rory Welch — need to be addressed expeditiously so that voters who have not yet gone to the polls can hear them, hear both sides and make their judgments in the voting booth. The time is now to demand this from Carroll; waiting until after the election would show callous disregard to the electorate we are supposed to serve,” said the 17 GOP leaders in their statement. 

Most recently a former staffer of Carroll’s, Elly Fawcett-Neal filed a complaint with the Inspector General last month claiming that Carroll’s chief of staff pressured her to get an abortion. She was later fired. 

Springfield Lobbyist Tiffany Elking claims that Carroll called her and threatened to thwart the legislative agenda of the PAC she represented unless her client Jay Edelson dropped an objection to a class action settlement where Carrol’s ex-wife served as co-counsel. 

Further, he has been accused by his ex-wife in a sworn court filing of “refus[ing] to meaningfully financially contribute toward the support of his two minor children since the parties’ separation in October 2021.”

“These allegations detail potentially illegal behavior and reprehensible treatment of women. State Rep Carroll must immediately answer in detail each allegation publicly. If he fails to do that, he should immediately resign his seat and suspend his campaign.”

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Today, President Joe Biden visits Illinois for a series of rallies to bail out sputtering Congressional Democrats in the Chicago suburbs. ILGOP Chairman Don Tracyissued the following statement:

“As the Biden economy sputters, races for suburban Congressional Democrats once thought safe are trending in the wrong direction. Now President Biden is making a last-ditch effort to dig them out of the hole they dug together. Senator Duckworth, Congressmen Sean Casten, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Bill Foster, and Congresswoman Lauren Underwood have all spent two years supporting the inflation-fueling Biden-Pelosi spending binge every step of the way. Now with historic inflation fueling skyrocketing gas and grocery prices, they can follow their spending binge to its final destination – out of office on the morning of November 9th.” 

A recent New York Times poll indicated that 44% of likely voters cite the economy and inflation as their most important issues. The U.S. economy is facing its highest inflation rate in 40 years as a direct result of runaway spending by President Biden and Congressional Democrats that even respected Democrat economists warned could fuel the historic inflation we are now experiencing. Reps. Casten, Krishnamoorthi, Foster, and Underwood supported this spending agenda at every turn.

RealClearPolitics recently moved Casten (IL-6) and Underwood’s (IL-14) races from Lean D to toss-up as the Congressional Leadership Fund announced a massive seven-figure investment in Illinois’ 6th Congressional District race.

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Safe-T Act’s future could be decided by two judges whose campaigns received millions from elected officials of two coequal branches of government with a vested interest in the failed law’s future

Billionaire Governor J.B. Pritzker is using a trust to skirt campaign contribution limits, that he signed into law, in an effort to influence two tight Supreme Court races. From the Chicago Tribune yesterday:

“Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker is using his personal trust fund to circumvent contribution limits in two races that will determine whether his party maintains its 4-3 majority on the Illinois Supreme Court.

Pritzker earlier this year signed into law a measure that limits contributions to a judicial candidate campaign from “any single person” to $500,000.

In September, Pritzker’s campaign fund, JB for Governor, contributed $500,000 each to the campaigns of Democrats Elizabeth Rochford and Mary Kay O’Brien, who are running for two open seats on the high court. 

Last week, the billionaire entrepreneur and Hyatt Hotels heir dipped into a trust fund called the Jay Robert Pritzker Revocable Trust, to give the Democrat Supreme Court candidate’s campaigns another $500,000 each, state campaign finance records show.

The Illinois State Board of Elections historically has treated trusts as separate entities for the purpose of enforcing contribution limits, spokesperson Matt Dietrich said.”

Meanwhile, the ILGOP held a press conference yesterday in Chicago at which two former prosecutors and a former appellate justice criticized the unprecedented judicial campaign contributions by Governor Pritzker, House Speaker Welch, Senate President Harmon, and other Democrat legislators.

Especially troubling is that Pritzker, Welch, and Harmon’s money could ultimately influence future Supreme Court rulings on the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act – Pritzker, Harmon, and Welch’s signature legislation that will end cash bail across Illinois on January 1st. 

“Our three branches of government are designed to serve as checks and balances on each other,” said former Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon. “Unfortunately, the multi-million dollar bankroll from the governor and the leaders of the General Assembly serve to skew that balance and are a disservice to the people of Illinois in the Second and Third Districts especially.”

58 Democratic and Republican State’s Attorneys have filed suit against Governor Pritzker and others over the constitutionality of the legislation. The plaintiffs were granted a motion to consolidate into one suit – Rowe v Raoul – which could make its way to the Illinois Supreme Court to ultimately decide its fate. 

The outcome of the case, and the law’s future, could very well be decided by two judges whose campaigns accepted millions from elected officials of two coequal branches of government with a vested interest in the decision.

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Pritzker, Harmon, and Welch have contributed millions to affect the outcome of two Illinois Supreme Court races, which may potentially impact possible future Court rulings on the SAFE-T Act, legislative redistricting

Chicago, IL – Earlier today, two former prosecutors and a former Appellate Court Justice held a press conference to highlight the unprecedented level of spending from Democratic leaders on the two contested Illinois Supreme Court races in the Chicago suburbs. 

Former Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon, former Appellate Court Justice Bob Spence, and State Sen. John Curran, who served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County, all spoke out against the millions of dollars Governor Pritzker, Speaker Welch, President Harmon, and other Democratic lawmakers have spent to elect Justice Mary K. O’Brien and Judge Elizabeth Rochford.

“I and all of us are here today because the future of good government; reforms like independent map and fair maps, public safety, bipartisanship in the State of Illinois are on the ballot in this election for the Illinois Supreme Court in the 2nd and 3rd district. The independence of all three coequal branches of government is critical to restoring Illinois as a leader in job creation, public safety where people want to work and live,” said former Kane County State’s Attorney Joseph “Joe” McMahon. “An independent and impartial jury is critical to good government and is the only remaining check on the absolute political power of the Democrat Party in Cook County. Public confidence in judicial independence and impartiality is eroding when leaders of the other two branches of government try to control and dictate the outcome of judicial elections.”

“The Supreme Court is supposed to be a check on the General Assembly and on the Governor, we learned that in eighth grade – it’s not difficult, said Former Appellate Court Justice Robert Spence. “Other issues that could be decided by the court are “gerrymandering and fair maps.”

The sheer scale of spending by Democratic lawmakers in these races has major implications for the independence of Illinois’ judiciary. The outcome of these two Court races could decide the future of legislative redistricting, the so-called “SAFE-T Act,” and other issues that Pritzker, Harmon, and Welch have a major stake in. This unusual level of involvement from lawmakers in a Supreme Court race hasn’t been seen since Speaker Mike Madigan bankrolled the failed retention campaign of former Supreme Court Justice Tom Kilbride.

As of yesterday, October 31st, Governor Pritzker, Speaker Welch, President Harmon, and other Democratic lawmakers have spent over $3.5 million to elect Justice O’Brien and Judge Rochford:

President Don Harmon and other Democratic lawmakers have poured in $850,000 to an outside political action group – “All for Justice” – that backs O’Brien and Rochford.

Provisions of the “SAFE-T Act,” including the controversial elimination of cash bail, go into effect across Illinois on January 1, 2023. 58 Democratic and Republican State’s Attorneys have filed suit against Governor Pritzker and others over the constitutionality of the legislation. The plaintiffs were granted a motion to consolidate into one suit – Rowe v Raoul – which could make its way to the Illinois Supreme Court to decide its fate. The decision as to the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act could ultimately hinge on the decisions of two justices who have received millions of dollars from SAFE-T Act champions – Pritzker, Welch, Harmon, and others – as part of their pathway to the Supreme Court.

Given the amount of turnover in the Illinois Supreme Court, it’s possible that civic organizations and good government-oriented citizens may try another attempt at a citizen-led referendum to reform Illinois’ legislative redistricting process. Another “Fair Maps” or “Independent Maps” referendum initiative would likely end up before the Court before the referendum would be placed on the ballot. Pritzker, Welch, and Harmon are all supporters of gerrymandering, and Mary K. O’Brien herself supported Speaker Madigan’s gerrymandered maps in the General Assembly. O’Brien even had her district redrawn to include family members who lived outside her old district so they could vote for her (Kurt Erickson, “AFL-CIO endorsement big news for Kelleher,” The Pantagraph, 12/16/01).

Pritzker contributed $500,000 each from one of his many financial trusts to O’Brien’s and Rochford’s campaigns. Doing so was a convenient way to skirt campaign contribution limits for judicial races that Pritzker himself signed into law just five months ago.

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