Today, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy announced the formation of the new ILGOP Election Integrity Committee dedicated to giving voters confidence in their elections by making it easy to vote and hard to cheat in Illinois.

“The integrity of our elections is one of the most important issues we face in Illinois. Using the pandemic as cover during the last election, Democrats in Illinois permanently changed election laws to remove important election safeguards, opening up the election process to more opportunities for fraud. At the same time, they opposed common sense and widely supported election security measures such as a voter ID requirement. 

The 2020 election is over. This is about ensuring the 2022 election is secure and free of uncertainty. As Republicans, we believe legal voting should be easy, and illegal voting should be hard. Democrats seem only to want voting to be easy regardless of the potential for fraud.”  – ILGOP Chairman Don Tracy

While the ILGOP deploys an election protection team every cycle, this committee represents a renewed focus on making sure the upcoming election is free, fair, and transparent leading up to November 2022. The committee will work closely with stakeholders across the state in formulating strategies to implement best practices and recommendations for voter integrity at the grassroots level.

Special focus will be paid to the recruitment, training, and placement of election judges and poll watchers, with the goal of ensuring a bonafide Republican is in place in every polling place across the state. In addition, the committee plans to look at the integrity of voter rolls and to verify Vote-By-Mail (VBM) and election day ballot handling is done appropriately, including adhering to ballot chain of custody standards such as those established by the independent and bipartisan U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

The Election Integrity Committee is chaired by 7th District ILGOP State Central Committeeman Mark Hosty. Others on the committee are ILGOP General Counsel John Fogarty, Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman, Attorney David Shestokas, and LaSalle County Republican Chairman Larry Smith.

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Jenny Thornley is a family friend of JB and MK Pritzker. Jenny Thornley worked on Pritzker’s gubernatorial campaign and then was given a plum job as CFO of a state agency. Unfortunately for Jenny Thornley, she was also indicted last month by a Sangamon County grand jury for defrauding taxpayers and stealing up to $100,000 dollars during her time at said state agency.

What is curious is that a small provision inserted into the recent omnibus criminal justice legislative package, signed into law by Governor Pritzker, was specifically designed to oust the individual who began investigating Thornley for her corruption. That individual was former state trooper and executive director of the State Police Merit Board, Jack Garcia.

From the Chicago Tribune…

“The Illinois legislature’s top two Republicans are asking if Gov. J.B. Pritzker and top Democrats placed a little-noticed provision in the massive criminal justice reform package passed in January specifically to oust the head of a state agency who was investigating a Pritzker supporter accused of filing phony overtime reports.”

[…]

“But GOP leaders want to know why a line was stuck into the sweeping crime package passed by legislators in January that prohibited anyone who has worked for the State Police — as Garcia had — from holding the merit board’s top job as of January 2022.”

That’s right, after a family friend of the Pritzkers was caught by a former state police officer stealing taxpayer money, Democrats covertly inserted a seemingly random provision into a larger bill that specifically barred this former state trooper from continuing in his role in state government because he was…a former state trooper. 

“Pritzker and his Democrat allies utilized the Madigan playbook once again. If someone crosses them – even in the interest of protecting taxpayers – they will go after that person’s livelihood. This corrupt way of governing has gone on for decades, and not only is JB Pritzker never going to fix it, he has become a master practitioner of it.” – ILGOP Spokesman Joe Hackler

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Moments ago, Illinois Democrats in the House and Senate passed their do-over redistricting map after relying on faulty population estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS) back in May. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy released the following statement in response:

“Democrats are back at it again disenfranchising voters and putting politicians before the people of Illinois. Back in May, Democrats employed a sham redistricting process devoid of transparency that was lambasted by good government and community advocacy groups relentlessly. They doubled down on that process in their cleanup efforts this week and the result is a map drawn by and for politicians behind closed doors – again.”

House and Senate Democrats repeatedly said that population data from the American Community Survey would be accurate enough to warrant going forward with redistricting before official census data was released by the federal government in August. Republicans and a multitude of good government and community groups said otherwise and asked Democrats to wait for the census data and to follow through on their past support for an independent mapmaking commission.

Democrats refused, went back on their word supporting an independent commission, ignored advice on not using ACS data, and rammed through their initial redistricting map on a party-line vote. Unsurprisingly, official census data showed their first map was wildly flawed with a 30% variance between the House district populations.

The ILGOP has joined the House and Senate Republicans in their pending lawsuit asking the courts to step in and strike down this unconstitutional map and move to a bi-partisan mapmaking commission as outlined by the state constitution.

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Today, Politico did a great job outlining the team of Madigan loyalists and lawyers generally unknown to the public that are representing Democrat leaders – House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon – in their fight to preserve their politician-drawn redistricting map.

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Shia Kapos at Politico…

“The legal team representing the Democratic-led General Assembly on the remap includes attorneys who have for years worked for the former House speaker.”

“Michael Kasper, the noted election lawyer and former general counsel to Madigan when he was speaker, is heading up the legal team.

“Other attorneys are Heather Wier Vaught, who was chief counsel to Madigan and represented him when his team was accused of ignoring sexual harassment claims. Adam Vaught, her husband, is also on the General Assembly’s legal team and has represented Madigan, too, including when the former speaker was sued for allegedly orchestrating sham political candidates. And Devon Bruce is with the well-connected Power Rogers law firm, which has donated to Madigan’s campaign fund.”

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Madigan’s team has a long history of using the legal system to keep their leader’s iron-grip on power. Kasper was lead counsel and argued before the Illinois Supreme Court to strike down the 2016 Fair Maps citizen referendum. The 4-3 majority decision was written by Madigan’s Favorite Judge, Tom Kilbride, who Madigan spent millions to put on the Supreme Court, and the plaintiff in the case was John Hooker, former ComEd lobbyist who was indicted last November in the ongoing federal corruption probe.

The Madigan Machine is not dead – it’s leader is simply within the shadows. Why else would Mike Madigan’s top lawyers and longtime friends be the lead litigators for the House and Senate remap team? They’re protecting their investment as they’ve done for years.

ILGOP Spokesman Joe Hackler: “There could be  a world where Mike Madigan and his remaining lieutenants do not infect every part of state government with their corrupt tentacles. But Illinois Democrats don’t want that world. Democrats are still loyal to the man who brought them into power and the people of Illinois suffer the consequences every day.”

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Late last week the US Census Bureau released their official numbers from the 2020 decennial census, which revealed Illinois Democrat’s partisan politician-drawn map to be in violation of federal law and provisions within the Illinois State Constitution. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy released the following statement in response:

“Illinois Democrats forged ahead with a nakedly partisan and unethical process of politicians drawing their own districts behind closed doors in the face of repeated pleas from good government reformers and community groups to wait until the official census numbers were released. Democrats refused. Now the courts have no option but to strike down this wildly unconstitutional amatuer artwork presentation masquerading as a lawful legislative map. It’s time for the bi-partisan map-making process to take over.”

According to an analysis done by the House and Senate Republican caucuses, “[t]he Democrats’ proposed House districts have population counts ranging from 92,390 (District 83) to 124,836 (District 5)—a difference of 32,446. Based on a test directed by the U.S. Supreme Court, that difference represents a total population range of 29.88 percent, which is three times the maximum range allowed by federal law. Because the Democrats’ plan unequivocally violates federal law, it is and will be declared void.”

Republican Leaders have asked the federal court to declare H.B. 2777 (legislative map) void, meaning it was never of any force or effect. The Illinois Republican Party joined the Republican caucuses map lawsuit on July 27, 2021.

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Today the Illinois Republican Party is joining the Illinois House and Senate Republican caucuses in a lawsuit challenging the partisan legislative maps drawn and passed by Illinois Democrats in the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker.

“I am proud to join Republican leaders in Illinois who are fighting to put the power back in the hands of the people. Voters should pick their politicians instead of politicians picking their voters,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy. “From the Speaker of the House to the Governor, Democrats fundamentally betrayed the people of Illinois when they ran for office supporting an independent map-making commission and then broke their word by ramming through partisan redistricting. The Illinois Republican Party is standing up for our democracy as Democrats openly and proudly disenfranchise voters.”

The lawsuit argues that the use of American Community Survey (ACS) estimates violates federal law, including well established “one-person, one-vote” principles under the U.S. Constitution. Republicans aren’t the only ones criticizing Illinois Democrats’ partisan map-making process devoid of transparency. 

President Joe Biden recently spoke passionately in communications to the National Democratic Redistricting Committee that the partisan redistricting process performed by House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon, and approved by JB Pritzker, was part of an “unfolding assault taking place in America today, an attempt to suppress and subvert the right to vote in free and fair elections.” He said politician-drawn maps are “an assault on democracy, assault on liberty, and an assault on who we are as Americans.”

Chairman Tracy added, “The ILGOP joined the lawsuit today because the people of Illinois need all the help they can get in restricting the ability of a billionaire bully like JB Pritzker to ‘suppress and subvert the right to vote in free and fair elections,’ as President Biden said.”

The lawsuit requests that the court declare the Democrats’ plan to be unconstitutional, invalid, and void ab initio. The lawsuit also requests that the court direct Speaker Welch and President Harmon to make their appointments to the Illinois Legislative Redistricting Commission as required by the Illinois Constitution.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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