Month: December 2023

CHICAGO — Former alderman Ed Burke was found guilty today on charges of racketeering, bribery and extortion. Burke, alongside fellow indictee Mike Madigan, were active participants in the culture of corruption that has plagued this state for decades.

In response to Burke’s conviction today, the ILGOP released the following response:

“Alderman Burke’s conviction is just the latest example of prominent Illinois Democrat corruption at the highest levels of government,” ILGOP Chairman Don Tracy said. “Years of machine electioneering, pay to play politics, insider dealings, and catering to special interests have driven working families out of Chicago and Illinois, increased the tax burden and regulations on those of us who have stayed to fight for a better state, and hugely benefited the powerful few. As the latest prominent Illinois Democrat to be convicted of official corruption, Alderman Burke will finally be held accountable much like Democrats Senator Sandoval, Senator Link, Governor Blagojevich, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr, and the 38 other Chicago Aldermen convicted in the last 50 years as we await Speaker Madigan’s corruption trial.”

CHICAGO — Former Illinois State Representative LaToya Greenwood’s reelection effort is hitting a roadblock as her petitions are being challenged following a history of fraud in the area surrounding fake signatures on official election documents. ILGOP Chairman Don Tracy called attention to this problem late last year after concerns were raised over forged write in ballots in the Democratic Party Primary in Madison County, after election judges from both political parties observed suspicious signatures on write-in ballots in a judicial contest.

The objection takes particular issue with the signatures collected by a number of circulators, including Greenwood herself.

Wavey Lester, the district resident leading the objection to Greenwood’s signatures, released the following statement: 

“Having lived in the Metro East area for many years, I have seen too often incidents of corruption and fraud go unreported. As a military veteran, I can no longer watch as another career politician tries to take advantage of our system. No one deserves to be on the ballot if they or their campaign use corrupt or dishonest means to get there. That is why I am filing this objection, the people of East St. Louis and the 114th District deserve honest and trustworthy candidates for office who will genuinely advocate for our interests.”

CHICAGO — The Chicago Sun-Times reported this morning about trouble in paradise between Governor JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson. Between the migrant crisis Pritzker brought to the state, Johnson’s inability to crack down on crime in Chicago that has made national headlines, and Illinois’s continued stagnation as Pritzker auditions to replace Biden, Illinois Democrats are facing new divisions heading into a critical 2024 for the state’s national profile.

From the Sun-Times: “There is real frustration behind the scenes on both sides, stemming from the migrant crisis, Chicago’s crime wave, a tug of war over leadership of the Democratic National Convention and the parade of tax increases and costly mandates being imposed on Chicago’s business community.”

Even fellow progressives understand that they are failing Chicago on an epic scale, as Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor told Ben Joravsky: “We should not be on the Fifth Floor. And I’m speaking my whole heart. We were not ready because we haven’t been in government long enough to know how government really works. … We’re pretending like now we got the power, let us show you how it’s supposed to be done. And we look real stupid, right now.”

ILGOP Chairman Don Tracy released the following statement in response:  
“If the Democrat party’s idea of a progressive utopia is Chicago and Illinois, I am more worried than ever for the future of this country. We have a Governor who pushes a radical left agenda while auditioning to replace Biden and an incompetent Mayor of Chicago who is all talk. National Democrats are in for a rude awakening when they arrive in Chicago this summer and see firsthand how even a great City like Chicago can be compromised and eventually ruined by corrupt and progressive Democrat political machines.”