THE ILLINOIZE: Burke calls O'Brien ad "unethical"...Republicans strapped for cash in crunch time...U.S. Senate candidates debate
October 4, 2022
Good morning, Illinois.
Welcome to debate week.
Governor JB Pritzker and GOP nominee Sen. Darren Bailey square off on the same stage for the first time Thursday evening on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal. It will be broadcast on Nexstar TV stations around the state (WGN in Chicago, WCIA in Champaign-Decatur-Springfield, WMBD in Peoria-Bloomington, etc.)
It’s hard to tell at this point how many truly undecided voters will actually be watching. WGN’s poll last week showed 8.4% undecided, our poll last month showed 6% undecided. There are roughly 3.5 million homes with a TV in the Chicago market and WGN’s 6pm news gets around a 1.4 rating, which is 49,000 people in Chicago watching that newscast. 8.4% of those viewers would mean around 4,100 undecided voters. A 7pm debate probably pulls a lower rating and has a higher percentage of “die hards” than the average newscast audience. That saying, there aren’t that many undecideds for these guys to go after.
Happy five weeks from Election Day. Governor Pritzker has nothing on his public schedule. The Bailey campaign has not released a public schedule. (By the way, the last release I have from the Bailey campaign came September 20th.)
We’ll have another of our weekly Livestream/Podcast shows tomorrow at noon. We’ll be joined by Sen. Rob Martwick (D-Chicago) and we’ll preview the aforementioned debate with former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady. You can see it (and subscribe) at our YouTube channel.
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Let’s get to it.
BURKE: O’BRIEN AD “HIGHLY UNETHICAL”
Supreme Court Justice Michael Burke is shooting back at two new television ads he says are “fabricating” his position on abortion.
The first ad, from Burke’s Democratic opponent, Appellate Justice Mary K. O’Brien, claimed Burke said in an interview that he supported overturning Roe vs. Wade. Though, a review of the tape showed he never said what the O’Brien campaign claims.
The latest ad, from a new Democrat-controlled PAC named “All for Fairness,” claims Burke wants to ban abortion “even in cases of rape and incest.”
“I never gave any opinion on whether [Dobbs] was correctly decided or not,” Burke said in an interview Monday. “The Supreme Court sent it back to the state legislatures, they didn’t send it back to the state courts. I have no opinion on the case one way or another that I’m going to express publicly.”
In fact, Burke called it inappropriate for judicial candidates to appear pro-abortion rights or pro choice.
“We as judges cannot express our personal views about issues that may come before the court because they may be seen as committing us to a particular position,” Burke said. “ [O’Brien] has committed herself to a particular position on this issue, which is, in my opinion, highly unethical.”
We reported last week a group of pro-Burke attorneys were considering filing complaints against O’Brien with the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), which is the disciplinary arm for lawyers in the state. They could also file a complaint with the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, which investigates complaints against active Illinois state court judges.
Burke says O’Brien told a Democrat-friendly blog that Illinois has a “higher right to privacy” than the federal constitution and that abortion falls under that right to privacy. Burke pointed to a 2013 unanimous decision by the court that is counter to O’Brien’s claim.
“She’s taken a position that is unethical and she’s taken a position that is contrary to stare decisis (settled law) from the Illinois Supreme Court,” Burke said. “The citizens of this district expect more from someone running for the highest court in the state and they deserve more.”
Burke says claims in the ads he wants to ban abortion “are all fabrications” and that he has never made any statements or ruled on any abortion cases for the ad to cite.
Democrats have cited that Burke attended a pro-life charitable dinner earlier this year and have used it as a basis for what he supports.
“The cannons of ethics allow us to attend non-profit fundraisers and non-profit events as long as we do not publicly endorse or adopt the platform of those organizations,” Burke said. “I have never publicly adopted the platform of any organization, that one included. People can draw whatever inferences that want, but I’m not a person that imposes my personal beliefs on the legislation duly passed by the legislature and signed by the governor. I have a track record of not legislating from the bench.”
Burke, who has served as a circuit court judge, appellate justice, then as a Supreme Court justice since 2020, called the attacks “disappointing.”
Neither a spokesperson for O’Brien or a representative for the All for Fairness PAC returned messages from The Illinoize Monday.
Burke and O’Brien are facing off in the redrawn 3rd District on the court, comprising of DuPage, Will, Kankakee, LaSalle, Grundy, Iroquois, and Bureau counties. O’Brien was a State Representative from the Kankakee area before she was appointed to the Appellate Court in 2003.
THE GOP CASH CRUNCH
Senate Republicans see an opening.
They believe embattled Sen. Mike Hastings (D-Frankfort), who is embroiled in controversy surrounding a settlement with a former legislative staffer and accusations of domestic abuse, is vulnerable in a district JB Pritzker won by 15 points in 2018.
The problem is, the Senate GOP is scrambling for cash to help Patrick Sheehan, the Plainfield police officer hoping to unseat Hastings, up on TV and competitive over the final five weeks.
Billionaire Richard Uihlein gave $2.1 million so Senate GOP Leader Dan McConchie in early September, which has allowed the Senate Republians to get multiple candidates up on TV, including Dennis Reboletti in the suburbs, Mike Thoms in the Quad Cities, Sandy Hamilton in Springfield, and Erica Conway Harriss in the Metro East.
A source says a fundraiser last week for McConchie in suburban Oak Brook brought in just $10,000.
“It’s a terrible time to be a Republican right now,” said a longtime GOP operative. “You aren’t relevant in Springfield and it means donors don’t want to invest their time in you.”
The money problems impact GOP candidates from the top of the ticket down.
Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), the Republican nominee for Governor, received $1 million from Uihlein at the end of August and has raised around $435,000 in large donations since then. It pales in comparison to the $20 million billionaire Governor JB Pritzker gave himself last month to replenish his campaign.
Bailey has yet to run a single TV ad since winning the GOP nomination in June.
“If you have a southern Illinois conservative who has to present a message to suburban voters who don’t know him, you have to be on TV,” said another GOP consultant. “Bailey hasn’t been able to do that, and he’s allowed JB Pritzker to define who he is. And that hasn’t been pretty.”
The situation is even bleaker for House Republicans. Large donors like Uihlein have been silent and Democrats are running TV ads in more than a dozen races while the GOP isn’t on the air in any.
“[House GOP Leader] Jim Durkin put all his efforts this spring in cozying up to Ken Griffin, expecting millions,” said a former GOP lawmaker. “Now they’re paying for it.”
Many insiders we spoke to believe GOP fundraising troubles can be traced back to Bruce Rauner’s takeover of the party in 2014. Rauner funded numerous campaigns and causes to the tune of millions of dollars.
“Republicans stopped calling their top donors because they were waiting for [Rauner’s] cash,” an operative said. “Now there’s no fundraising base to speak of. And Democrats have their billionaire sugar daddy (Pritzker) and unions raising all the money they need.”
How does the GOP turn it around?
“We have to engage the business community,” said a former lawmaker. “We have to show them a return on investment and make it clear that funding Republican candidates isn’t like throwing money out the window during a tornado.”
DUCKWORTH, SALVI FORUM FOCUSES ON IMMIGRATION, ABORTION
The two candidates for U.S. Senate met Monday in what may be their only joint appearance in the final five weeks before Election Day.
Incumbent Senator Tammy Duckworth and Republican nominee Kathy Salvi appeared via Zoom with newspaper editors from around the state in an hourlong forum. The pair sparred about immigration, the economy, and abortion, among other topics.
When asked about migrants who are legally applying for asylum in the United States and being shipped to Chicago from the Texas border, Salvi pressed Duckworth on border security.
Duckworth conceded there is a crisis at the southern border and advocated for comprehensive immigration reform.
“In order to fix [it], we need immigration reform that is practical, humane, and fair,” Duckworth said. “We need a fair, earned pathway to citizenship and also stronger border security.”
Duckworth says she supports more funding for border patrol agents and more investment in fencing, electronic monitoring, and drones. Duckworth says she also supports a stronger guest worker program, H-1B Visa reform, and a pathway for illegal immigrants to remain in the country legally and become citizens.
“If you broke the law to come here, you need to pay fees, fines, and penalties, you need to learn English, go to the end of the line and work your way toward a pathway to legal status,” she said.
“Nothing that she said admits to a crisis at the border,” Salvi shot back. “This is our humanitarian crisis. And what have we heard [from Duckworth]? Crickets. Nothing.”
Salvi accused Duckworth of voting against legislation that would have provided 18,000 new border agents and against $300 million in anti-narcotic trafficking programs.
Duckworth accused Salvi of opposing abortion even in the case of rape and incest, a charge which Salvi did not deny. Though, Salvi said she supports the recent Supreme Court case overturning Roe vs. Wade and returning abortion decisions back to the states.
Duckworth says she supports existing Illinois law, which limits elective abortions after the point of viability.
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