Author: jnjhackler

J.B. Pritzker has spent his entire term as Governor ignoring rising crime in Illinois’ largest cities. It’s only fitting that on the final day of his “Think Big” bus tour he’d visit Rockford – a city hit hardest by one of the biggest failures of his governorship.

In 2021, the media reported Rockford was ranked the 17th most dangerous city in America and now violent crime, auto theft, and robbery continue to be on the rise. Meanwhile, like businesses and families across our state, people are leaving Rockford in droves as a result of Pritzker’s failures.

“J.B. Pritzker has been a disaster for working families all across Illinois. Under Pritzker’s watch, he has time and again chosen to empower violent criminals over Illinois families. The so-called “SAFE-T Act” implements Chicago’s failed cashless bail policy across the state and will ensure more criminals are back on our streets. Pritzker’s message has been clear, business in Illinois is only booming if your business is crime. Meanwhile, job creators and residents continue to flee the state,” said Illinois GOP Chairman Don Tracy.

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Springfield, IL – Last Thursday, Illinois Republicans from across the state gathered for Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield to support Darren Bailey for Governor and Stephanie Trussell for Lieutenant Governor, Kathy Salvi for U.S. Senate, Dan Brady for Secretary of State, Tom Devore for Attorney General, Shannon Teresi for Comptroller, Tom Demmer for Treasurer, and Republican candidates up and down the ballot and across the State of Illinois. 

“We’re energized, we’re excited, and we’re ready to get to work to restore Illinois from the damage and corruption brought by the Pritzker-Madigan machine. While J.B. Pritzker is focused on running for President, we’re going to take our message right to the voters up-and-down the ballot and across every corner of Illinois. Republicans are the party of law-and-order, lower taxes, reliable and affordable energy and food prices, and fiscal sanity. This November, we’re going to elect leaders who will fight against corruption, keep our communities safe, and return fiscal responsibility to state government,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy.

Four former rivals for the Illinois Republican Governor nomination joined together in a show of unity with Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy on Wednesday night. Thursday afternoon, Republican candidates for office this fall assembled on the Director Lawn at the State Fair to make their case to restore Illinois.

Read the Highlights from Republican Day Below…

“Enough of JB Pritzker’s out-of-control crime. Enough of JB Pritzker’s forever gas tax hikes. Enough of the hypocrites like JB Pritzker who avoid paying their own property taxes while increasing ours. Enough of the lockdowns that bankrupted small businesses and left our children behind. I may be a little rough around the edges, but I will work for YOU because I’m just like you. And friends, I can promise you this, no one will work harder for YOU.” – GOP Governor Nominee Darren Bailey

“Working families have lost wages, the right of conscience, and they have lost faith in our institutions. We are going to beat JB Pritzker because Darren and I represent a real alternative to the status quo politicians who are the architects of our state’s decline.” – GOP Lieutenant Governor Nominee Stephanie Trussell

“Let’s make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. I will be a Secretary of State that is a hands-on leader, helping to provide staff the resources and training they need. Together, let’s make the Secretary of State’s office about public service and above party politics.” – GOP Secretary of State Nominee Dan Brady

“Let’s talk about crime. The people of our urban areas are scared. They’re scared to leave their houses. How are they ever to have opportunity and to succeed in this great state if they’re scared to leave their house?…What does Kwame Raoul do? Nothing. You think he’s going to go against the Democratic machine? No. You make me Attorney General and if Kim Foxx won’t prosecute ‘em, I will.” – GOP Attorney General Nominee Tom DeVore

“Year after year, [Mike Frerichs] supported constitutional amendments to raise your taxes. In 2020 he went around Illinois with J.B. Pritzker and they spent $60 million to try and convince, to threaten, or sometimes bully taxpayers into approving their $3.5 billion tax increase – but Mike Frerichs took it a step further. He said one of the reasons he supported that tax increase was because we could use it to tax retirement income in the State of Illinois. As if we need another reason for seniors to leave our state – but you know what, voters said no. Republicans led the charge, and Republicans and Independents, and Democrats rejected that $3.5 billion tax increase. They rejected that retirement tax and they said enough is enough. I’m running for State Treasurer because I will stand up for you. I’ll fight against those tax increases. I’ll say no to the retirement tax and I won’t be afraid to call out the games and the gimmicks they play with the budget every year.” – GOP Treasurer Nominee Tom Demmer

“During my time as the McHenry County Auditor, I have rooted out waste, fraud and financial abuse. Mendoza doesn’t have that same track record. Since she has been Comptroller, Illinois has become the most taxed state in the Nation and corruption continues to skyrocket!” – GOP Comptroller Nominee Shannon Teresi

“Tammy Duckworth votes with Joe Biden 100% of the time. If two people vote the same way 100% of the time, one of them isn’t needed. It’s time to fire Tammy Duckworth.” – GOP Senate Nominee Kathy Salvi

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On Wednesday evening, Republican central committees in all 102 counties held reorganizational meetings to elect new leadership, including members to the State Central Committee = the governing board of the Illinois Republican Party.

Members of the ILGOP State Central Committee are elected by a weighted vote of precinct committeemen within the congressional districts that appear on the November 2022 ballot (new maps). The newly elected State Central Committee members elected in Illinois’ 17 congressional districts are as follows:

Tim Ozinga, 1st District

Judy Diekelman, 2nd District

Jeanne Ives, 3rd District

Jay Reyes, 4th District

Aaron Del Mar, 5th District

Sean Morrison, 6th District

Mark Hosty, 7th District

Vacant, 8th District

Joan LaSonde, 9th District

Mark Shaw, 10th District

Laura Pollastrini, 11th District

Rhonda Belford, 12th District

Tim Butler, 13th District

Larry Smith, 14th District

Jason Plummer, 15th District

Jan Weber, 16th District

Chad Weaver, 17th District

ILGOP Chairman Don Tracy released the following statement in response:

“I congratulate all of this week’s winners and look forward to working with each and every one of them to elect Republicans statewide and up and down the ballot in November. Our party is strong, it’s united, and it will be successful in the upcoming election as more and more people wake up to the realities of failed Democrat leadership in Washington DC and Springfield. The working families of Illinois simply want safe communities, a lower cost of living, and a government that works for them, not corrupt politicians. That’s what Illinois Republicans will deliver!” 

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A normal person following Governor JB Pritzker’s extensive travel schedule in recent months would be racking up the frequent flier miles. Luckily for our trust-fund billionaire governor, Pritzker has private jets to whisk him around the country – and even overseas – as he continues to give a wink and a knowing nod to the idea he may be just what national Democrats need in order to keep the White House in 2024 as Biden stumbles mightily.

After a recent trip to Europe to stump for Green New Deal policies, and political stops in New Hampshire (wink, wink) and Maine, Pritzker is headlining an annual Democratic gala in Florida this week. His spokeswoman said, “Florida is in dire need of a pro-choice, Democratic governor, and Governor Pritzker is proud to support the Florida Democratic Party in their efforts to flip the state blue.”

“Illinoisans don’t care what Florida needs and neither should Governor Pritzker at a time when working families are drowning under historic levels of inflation and high gas prices,” said ILGOP spokesman Joe Hackler. “Illinois has the highest taxes in the nation, highest gas prices in the midwest, an economy lagging far behind our midwest neighbors, and the imminent threat of power outages across almost all of the central and southern parts of the state. If Pritzker wants to run for President, he should start by doing his current job as Governor of Illinois – and doing it better.”

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In the least surprising news of the week, it was announced that Illinois has missed out on a new large manufacturing employer that chose to locate just an hour’s drive from the Illinois border in Kokomo, Indiana.

Crains…

“…South Korean battery manufacturer Samsung and vehicle producer Stellantis today announced that they’ll build a $2.5 billion factory in Kokomo, Ind., about an hour’s drive east of the Illinois state line.

The two companies and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said the facility would create 1,500 jobs, with the total cost potentially rising to more than $3 billion.

Illinois last year had made a run at the plant, which could serve Stellantis’ Belvidere plant. Insiders say the state fell out of the race awhile ago, and the Kokomo facility will be close enough to Belvidere to serve that factory if it is converted to EV production.”

This news comes on the heels of Illinois Democrats crowing about the US Census undercounting Illinois population over the previous decade while ignoring concrete IRS data showing over 100,000 Illinoisans fled the state in 2020 alone.

For Illinois Democrats like Governor JB Pritzker, crafting an alternate reality in which Illinois is actually a healthy state that employers and people want to move to is easier than acknowledging and addressing our highest in the nation taxes, rampant violent crime, and notoriously corrupt state government. 

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Today, a report from Illinois’ Auditor General was released detailing how Governor JB Pritzker and his administration failed to act in mitigating a COVID outbreak at the state-run LaSalle Veterans Home that tragically took the life of 36 veterans. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy has released the following statement in response:

“When will Governor Pritzker finally take responsibility for the ‘shameful neglect’ that resulted in the deaths of 36 of our nation’s heroes at LaSalle Veterans Home? How many more reports have to be released detailing his administration’s deadly incompetence before he stops pointing fingers and deflecting?

In 2018, Pritzker blamed his predecessor for a ‘callous regard for human life’ and  ‘fatal mismanagement’ of the Quincy Veterans Home. Given that LaSalle’s tragedy was much more deadly, the Governor must surely agree that in this instance, his own leadership demonstrated a ‘callous disregard for human life’ and ‘fatal mismanagement’ of a veterans home. If not, he should explain why.”

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Under Governor JB Pritzker’s leadership, Illinois has become one of the most radically pro-criminal, anti-police states in the nation. So, it’s no surprise that state’s attorneys – the top prosecutors in each of their respective counties – are no fan of Pritzker’s new criminal “reform” of eliminating cash bail.

As reported by WGEM, even a Democrat state’s attorney, Will County’s James Glasgow, has serious concerns about the new law as he relayed a frightening scenario. “If someone murders a person, and that’s the only person that we’re aware of that they’re a danger to, that doesn’t fulfill the burden,” Glasgow said. “I mean any normal sane person would say that’s insane, that’s absurd, that’s ridiculous it can’t be in the law but it’s in the law.”

You’re right, James. Any “normal sane person” would say a law immediately releasing violent criminals onto our streets to commit more acts of violence is “absurd” and “ridiculous.” More importantly, it doesn’t keep our communities safe.

Governor Pritzker has the abnormal and insane governing philosophy that prioritizes the thoughts and feelings of violent criminals above law enforcement and public safety.

Four more years of JB Pritzker is dangerous for Illinois.

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House Republican Leader Jim Durkin calls on DCFS Director to resign

Another day, another contempt charge for DCFS Director Marc Smith as he and his agency under the direction of Governor JB Pritzker continue to fail vulnerable children. 

WICS…

Marc Smith, the director of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), is being held in contempt of court for the ninth time.

This new order involves a 15-year-old boy who has been kept in a psychiatric hospital for more than two and a half months since he was ready to be discharged.

According to the cook county public guardian, the courts ordered DCFS that the boy be discharged to an appropriate placement by March 25.

As a result of this latest news and the a continued failure to immediately address the situation, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin called on Smith to resign, saying, “Governor Pritzker clearly isn’t bothered by a ninth contempt of court charge against DCFS Director Marc Smith and has done nothing about it – that is simply unacceptable. The Governor has had three and a half years to get this agency under control – he owns this ongoing tragedy. Since the Governor has failed to take action, I call on Director Smith to resign for the good of the children in this state who depend on DCFS.”

Pritzker is again burying his head in the sand as tragedies occur under his watch. After waiting months to push out former veterans affairs chief Linda Chapa LaVia because of her negligence in protecting our veterans at LaSalle Veterans Home, and his ongoing public support of Smith, it’s clear the Governor does not care about protecting our state’s most vulnerable populations.

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 Families to face massive rate hikes, rolling blackouts

Just last week, we learned that ComEd – the company connected to the federal indictment of Mike Madigan’s criminal enterprise – plans to increase costs for ratepayers to the tune of $199 million starting in 2023. Now we understand that residents in other parts of the state may soon see eye-popping rate hikes, too. Combine those rate hikes with rolling blackouts and the months and years ahead will be painful for Illinois families thanks to Pritzker’s radical energy policy.

As media reported last Friday, ComEd filed a request to increase residential electricity rates by $2.20 a month to offset the costs of new mandates imposed under Pritzker’s energy tax law. 

And now, a new bombshell report from Crain’s Chicago details how the Pritzker Administration’s war on coal and natural gas will significantly impact customers in downstate Illinois.

From Crain’s…

The cost of losing coal-fired power plants downstate is proving steep already, with many central and southern Illinoisans expected to pay an extra $150-plus on their annual electric bills beginning in June, due to inadequate power supply.

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Critics of policies phasing out coal and natural gas in favor of renewable power are seeing their doomsday forecasts start to come true far faster than even they thought. 

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The statute requires the closure of all fossil fuel power plants in Illinois no later than 2045. Effectively, it’s made the usual method of addressing power-supply shortages—construction of new natural gas-fired plants—uneconomic and significantly reduced the tools available to address the shortage that’s emerged.

And not only will ratepayers be paying more, Pritzker’s misguided energy agenda will likely cause rolling blackouts this summer according to Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, the regional power grid overseer for much of the Midwest, including central and southern Illinois. 

Again, from Crain’s…

MISO sounded the alarm last week, saying it was concerned about the rapid closure of coal-fired power plants, which have kept the lights on for decades in much of the Midwest. Replacement sources aren’t being established fast enough to offset the loss.

Pritzker is currently running TV ads right now touting his temporary, election-year “relief” for taxpayers while those same taxpayers will be using all those “savings” to pay for energy rate hikes caused by his ill-advised, Green New Deal inspired war on reliable energy generation. 

And downstate Illinoisans will most likely have to dig into their wallets even further to purchase generators and battery powered lights to deal with Pritzker’s rolling blackouts this summer.

Taxpayer savings? What savings?

And this is just April 2022. Experts expect things to get much worse in the years ahead.

We simply cannot afford another four years of J.B. Pritzker.

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