Newsroom

After filing its second quarter state and federal fundraising report last night, the Illinois Republican Party is proud to announce it has raised $459,775 ($131k state / $328k federal) during Don Tracy’s first full quarter as ILGOP Chairman – the state party’s best quarter in over 10 years outside of a large contribution from former Governor Bruce Rauner in 2015. 

“I made clear from the beginning that raising the necessary funds to combat the entrenched and corrupt Democrat machine would be one of my main objectives as Chairman,” said Tracy. “I believe our team at the state party, including our newly formed finance committee, rose to the occasion and delivered results Republicans across Illinois can be proud of. I cannot thank our finance team enough for the work they have done these last few months.”

Members of the Illinois Republican Party Finance Committee are Chairman Vince Kolber, RNC National Committeeman Richard Porter, Lynn O’Brien, Brian Kasal, Kathy Salvi, Kevin Crumly, Julie Cho, and Roger Claar.

The ILGOP collected 2,027 individual donations, bringing their total to 4,105 contributions for the year. “These funds will be used to implement a much needed ballot integrity program, conduct volunteer training, deploy campaign technology and buy advertising,” explained Tracy. “We aren’t backing down. We are fighting to save Illinois.”

The ILGOP’s record quarter and positive momentum stands in stark contrast to the Democratic Party of Illinois which has been hamstrung by its new Chairwoman’s inability to raise money. Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL-2), who defeated Governor Pritzker’s hand picked candidate to become DPI Chairwoman in March, has been waiting on a ruling from the Federal Election Commission regarding her restrictions on raising non-federal funds.

Yesterday, the FEC ruled that Kelly, as a member of Congress, is barred from raising any money for state and local elections and cannot be involved in appointing anyone to the DPI committee now tasked with raising those funds and deciding how to spend them. One FEC commissioner said Kelly is now performing in a “purely honorary role.” 

While Illinois Republicans are surging, Illinois Democrats are embroiled in internal divisions leading to the selection of an ineffective and powerless state party chair heading into the 2022 cycle.

###

It was just announced that Carol Pope, Illinois’ Legislative Inspector General, has resigned her position citing a lack of ethics reform, making her job virtually meaningless. Illinois Republican Party spokesman Joe Hackler released the following statement in response:

“The Illinois Democrat Crime ring has struck again, successfully eliminating another obstacle in their pursuit of power and state sanctioned grift. Carol Pope’s resignation is another sign that Democrats feigned efforts at ethics reform this past session was nothing more than lip service. Illinois Democrats and the remaining Madigan Machine have made a career of using their power for personal gain and they have no desire to break up the system now. That should be clear to everyone.”

State Democrats, who control all levers of government, have failed to pass any meaningful ethics reform that would give teeth to the LIG to pursue the type of public corruption that has plagued this state and has been uncovered of the course of two years by federal investigators. Pope said in her resignation letter that her former office “has no real power to effect change or shine a light on ethics violations.” Illinois Democrats have designed it that way and stand in the way of making a change.

###

Today the Chicago Tribune published an expose detailing how the Pritzker administration failed to protect Illinoisans from an onslaught of fraudsters gaming the state’s unemployment insurance program to steal taxpayer money meant for those experiencing joblessness during the pandemic. 

TRIBUNE – How Illinois failed to stop a flood of unemployment fraud during the pandemic: “Records obtained by the Tribune show the flood of fraud happened after IDES failed to follow federal recommendations to adopt free fraud-fighting tools that were made available in 2019. Only recently did the agency begin using those tools. A separate process to help identify problematic claims also didn’t become fully functional until February, nearly a year into the pandemic.”

If someone had fraudulent claims made in their name and then subsequently became jobless, they most likely spent months in purgatory, working with a failing state agency to receive the aid they needed during a global pandemic. That’s what happened to  Kristin Deming, a Lockport woman who “said that when she tried to file an unemployment claim in March, she learned someone had already received benefits in her name.” She then spent three months “trying to get IDES to rectify the problem.”

Not only were victims of fraud denied important unemployment benefits, likely billions of dollars in taxpayer money was wasted and handed over to scam artists while Pritzker’s administration stalled on implementing the necessary safeguards. The Tribune reports that while the state hasn’t released figures yet, that “if the amount tracks with national estimates, it could involve billions of dollars.”

Disgusted by this abject failure, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy released the following statement:

“The Pritzker administration’s incompetence has cost countless jobless individuals the benefits they deserve and wasted billions of dollars in taxpayer money. On a day when the Governor is touting bond agencies upgrading the financial position of Illinois from the worst state in America to a slightly better worst state in America, victims like Kristin Deming are struggling to recover because the State of Illinois failed them.”

###

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy has released the following statement in response to JB Pritzker signing the new Democrat-drawn legislative maps:

“Governor Pritzker lied to the people of Illinois when he pledged to veto a politician-drawn map. Governor Pritzker promised to take politicians out of the mapmaking process and hand it over to an independent commission that would be required to follow the Voting Rights Act and protect minority representation. Instead, he let politicians pick their own voters, split up numerous communities of interest, and use faulty data all in an effort to rig the system for those already in power. Pritzker didn’t keep his word and cannot be trusted.”

Pritzker was asked in 2018 by Capitol Fax publisher Rich Miller whether he would veto a map in “any way drafted or created by legislators, political party leaders and/or their staffs or allies?” The Governor responded, saying, “Yes, I will pledge to veto.”

Today, after finishing up numerous one-on-one interviews with media outlets this week, he didn’t veto. He signed off on the maps created by “legislators, political party leaders and/or their staffs.” 

The media must now demand answers to why the Governor lied. The media should not let him get away with vague answers pontificating on his definition of fairness. That is irrelevant to the very specific pledge he made in 2018 that he has now violated.

###

Illinois Democrats routinely put on a masterclass in how not to govern a state. Nothing displays this total disregard for good governance quite like their annual late-night budget drop and last minute blind vote. That’s right, Democrat budget negotiators again dropped an over 3,000 page document that spends more the $42 billion on the laps of legislators late last night and asked them to vote on the package minutes later without reading the document, holding committee hearings, or engaging in debate on the floor.

Democrat members of the General Assembly dutifully voted for this year’s budget and will undoubtedly go back home to their districts and tell taxpayers they are fighting for their interests in Springfield. That would be a lie.

Highlights of this years budget include:

• $1,100 pay raises for legislators
• A doubling of the legislator district budget allotment
• Hundreds of millions in new discretionary spending
• Increases taxes by over $600 million on job creators across the state
• Passed at 3 AM with no committee hearing and no debate

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy released the following statement in response to last night’s charade:

“The budget process in Illinois is an embarrassment. This year’s budget, like last years, was passed in the dead of night with no legislators actually reading the bill. It features new spending, higher taxes on small businesses, legislator pay raises, and extra perks for politicians. At a time when families and businesses have had to tighten their belts due to the pandemic, Illinois Democrats are going hog-wild at the federal government bailout trough with billions in new spending. 

Democrats should be ashamed of the process and the resulting budget they rushed to the floor at midnight when no one was watching. This budget makes clear that it’s not a ‘new day’ as Speaker Welch claimed when he took over for his mentor, Mike Madigan. This is deja vu all over again.”

###

Last Friday at 7:30 PM, Illinois Democrats unveiled the Microsoft Paint version of their proposed remake of our state legislative maps. Late Sunday, they released a Google Map version with more detail. Still missing is any shred of data that could help the public understand why the maps look as ridiculous as they do.

The idea of an independent map commission determining new redistricting lines – a proposal previously championed by dozens of Democrat legislators – has been abandoned. Instead, this wholly partisan process conducted behind locked doors in the Stratton Building has been led by a former independent map commission supporter, new Speaker Chris Welch.

Specifically, Welch wrote an op-ed in support of such a commission and stated the following: 

1. An independent map commission would “protect minority representation.” And that it would “ensure that Illinois meets federal requirements under the Voting Rights Act to protect minority representation.”
2. “[T]his measure will make the redistricting process more transparent and take the process out of the hands of elected officials, which many of my constituents and residents across Illinois strongly support.”

At any point since becoming Speaker of the House, Chris Welch could have followed through on what is clear were hollow words of politician-speak. 

ILGOP Spokesman Joe Hackler responded, saying, “When given the opportunity to protect minority representation and take the mapmaking process out of the hands of partisan politicians, Speaker Welch crumbled. His word meant nothing in 2016 and it certainly means nothing now. The only Democrat left who has the opportunity to live up to their promises, is Governor JB Pritzker. The people of Illinois demand that the Governor follow through on his pledge to veto any new map drawn by politicians.”

###

Late last week, an IG report was released to the public detailing massive failures throughout the Pritzker administration and the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs that led to the preventable deaths of 36 veterans at the state-run LaSalle Veterans’ Home.  

News reports painted the horrific picture:

WBEZ – ‘Nobody Seemed To Know What To Do’: Blistering Report Outlines Illinois’ Failure To Protect Vets From Deadly COVID Outbreak: “An internal watchdog report blamed “inadequate leadership” in Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration, including a former agency director who “abdicated” her duties, for a COVID-19 outbreak last fall at the state-run LaSalle Veterans’ Home that killed dozens of residents.”

CHICAGO TRIBUNE – Watchdog report details large-scale mismanagement of COVID-19 outbreak at LaSalle VA home where 36 veterans died: “It cites a lack of planning, training and communications at the home that resulted in the failure of contact tracing among COVID-19-positive employees, improper use of protective gear and a screening desk that was “frequently left vacated.””

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES – Response to coronavirus outbreak ‘inefficient and chaotic’ at LaSalle Veterans’ Home where 36 died, report finds: “Among Prince’s other initiatives are plans to develop clear, statewide policies applicable to each home; restructuring senior leadership with chain-of-command clarity and assurances that the homes are receiving proper clinical and administrative direction…”

RICH MILLER – Cleaning up LaSalle mess a vital task: “36 veterans died during the LaSalle catastrophe last year, a quarter of the facility’s population. Frankly, after reading the report, I was surprised more people didn’t die. It’s that bad.

The trouble started with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s hasty appointment of a state legislator to fill the IDVA director job after his initial appointee abruptly dropped out – a mystery that he has not explained to this day.”

“The Governor ran for office in 2018 blaming his predecessor for the Legionnaires outbreak at the Quincy Veterans’ Home that tragically took the life of 14 American heroes. Pritzker said the incident revealed a callous regard for human life and a fatal lack of leadership,” reminded ILGOP spokesman Joe Hackler. “36 dead veterans later at LaSalle and the Governor is on record as now saying ‘these things can happen’ and has refused to take full responsibility for this tragedy on his watch. The IG report makes clear that candidate Pritzker in 2018 would think Governor Pritzker’s administration is fatally incompetent and responsible for the deaths of 36 American heroes.”

Today during a press conference, Governor JB Pritzker gave his clearest signal yet that he will go back on his 2018 campaign pledge to veto a new redistricting map drawn by partisan politicians. After months of numerous vague statements that he would veto an undefined “unfair” map, Pritzker was asked about his specific pledge today. 

His response (Watch the Video) was clear: he has no intention of following through with his specific promise and will instead happily sign the partisan gerrymandered map that Democrats in the House and Senate will send him. It turns out his promise in 2018 was a BIG LIE.

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy has released the following statement in response: 

“The people of Illinois fundamentally do not trust our leadership in Springfield to spend their money wisely, to do the right thing, or to reform our system. Absolutely nothing fuels that fire more than politicians who say one thing to get elected and then do another once in power. Governor Pritzker lied to the people of Illinois and promised to turn our partisan and corrupt system of redistricting over to an independent commission. 

The Governor should come to his senses and keep his word by vetoing the politician’s map. A man is nothing without his word. Pritzker still has the chance to keep his.”

###

A Chicago public employee pension bill was just signed into law that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and business groups opposed, “arguing that the cost to taxpayers would be too high.” 

Dan Petrella of the Chicago Tribune reports…

Lightfoot sent a letter to aldermen on April 1 urging them to oppose the bill. She said it would double pension costs by $18 million to $30 million each year.

“If the governor does not veto this bill, the city will have to find a means to address the increased cost since the legislation does not provide a way to pay for these increase costs,” Lightfoot wrote.

“During the 2022 budget season, it will then fall on the members of the City Council to make difficult decisions to pay for these additional costs.”

She said “the obvious revenue solution, another property tax increase…”

The bill passed in Springfield was signed by the Governor and Tax-Avoider-In-Chief himself, JB Pritzker. As a Chicago resident, Governor Pritzker should be sensitive to the ever-growing tax burden the city inflicts on its residents, but since he has a history of dodging taxes that others have to pay (stashing his fortune away in offshore accounts, ripping out toilets of his Gold Coast mansion to lower his property tax bill, begging Biden to lift SALT cap), Pritzker likely doesn’t mind because he’ll just find a way to avoid paying it.

“The Governor’s lifestyle is so far removed from the average working family in Chicago he may be under the assumption everyone has a second mansion they can rip toilets out of to lessen their tax burden. Well, he’s wrong,” said ILGOP Spokesman Joe Hackler. “At a time when the pandemic has hit small businesses and workers the hardest, the last thing Chicagoans need is the Governor stepping in to hike their property taxes. Take it from Mayor Lightfoot, Pritzker’s legislation will raise property taxes.”

### 

It was revealed recently that Governor JB Pritzker joined with six other Governors from high-tax Democrat-led states in penning a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to eliminate the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions (SALT cap) – a provision of the 2017 Republican tax cuts. 

A study from the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that if Governor Pritzker – champion of the so-called “Fair Tax” – were to get his way and the SALT cap was lifted, 62% of the resulting benefits would go to the top 1% of income earners. And 86% of the benefits would go to the richest 5% of Americans. Governor Pritzker is in the top 1%.

The 2017 Republican tax law was a tremendous boon to the middle class because it nearly doubled the standard deduction for single and joint filers, while the SALT cap is not applicable for the vast majority. Governor Pritzker is begging Biden to end the SALT cap that primarily targets the richest Americans, including himself.

ILGOP Chairman Don Tracy released the following statement in response to Pritzker’s letter:

“Governor Pritzker begging Biden to lower his tax bill and that of his billionaire buddies is not surprising given his history of trying to avoid taxes. But this time, instead of writing a work order for a contractor to rip out the toilets in his mansion, he wrote a letter to the President. JB needs to answer how many thousands of dollars he stands to save if Biden grants his wish.”