THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Pritzker on abortion, Bailey on the Holocaust, You know where this is going...
August 4, 2022
Good morning, Illinois.
If you missed our Livestream and podcast yesterday with Todd Maisch of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and Jim Leach of WMAY Radio, click below to check it out. (Or find the podcast version here.) We’re going to try to do it every week. Your thoughts welcome (and so are guest ideas!).
I’m guest hosting on WMAY in Springfield tomorrow morning from 6-9. Looking forward to hanging up on callers who believe conspiracy theories like the election was stolen, Biden has Alzheimer’s, or that birds aren’t real.
Listen online at www.wmay.com.
Governor Pritzker will be on the southside this morning kicking off a sales tax holiday on school supplies and “introducing” new IDPH Director Sameer Vohra. The Bailey campaign has not released a schedule as of this writing.
A note, if you’ll allow, on the news yesterday that Indiana Congresswoman Jackie Walorski was killed in a car accident. I know this is an Illinois newsletter (I am aware of what state I live in), but I had the chance to work with Rep. Walorski on issues related to farm policy and biofuels in Indiana. She was always honest, thoughtful, and cared about the people she represented. She was one of the best people I knew in politics. I also knew Zach Potts, her district director who was killed and actually just saw him and said a quick hello in June. Emma Thomson, her press secretary, was also killed in the accident.
It’s a gut punch to hear about the loss of someone you know and respect. We do a lot of criticizing of politicians around here, but we should remember they’re real people with families, and a staff of young people around them who have families, friends, and spouses. We’re praying for their families and friends.
Ok, let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker says defeat of Kansas abortion amendment a warning to Republicans seeking to ‘undermine bodily autonomy’ (Chicago Tribune)
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker hailed Tuesday’s overwhelming defeat of a Kansas ballot measure that would have repealed abortion protections enshrined in the conservative state’s constitution as a warning to Republicans looking to roll back access to the procedure in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
“Kansas voters have spoken — and they’ve forcefully stood up for the right to choose,” Pritzker, who’s positioned himself as a national leader on abortion rights as he seeks a second term, said Wednesday in a post on his campaign Twitter account. “This is a sign to the Republicans seeking to undermine bodily autonomy: Americans will not stand for this extremist agenda.
Pritzker’s Nov. 8 opponent, Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey, is a staunch opponent of abortion rights from downstate Xenia who favors allowing the procedure only to save the life of the mother. Bailey’s campaign did not respond immediately Wednesday to a request for comment on the Kansas vote.
The unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary election in ruby red Kansas, which show 59% voted against repealing the state’s constitutional protections for abortion rights, is likely to encourage that thinking.
A couple of things: first, “a staunch opponent of abortion rights” is really incendiary language. If the left demands the media to use “abortion rights,” then the media should be using “pro life” descriptions.
Secondly, Kansas is not “ruby red.” It has a Democratic Governor, Lt. Governor, and Treasurer. It is a “red state,” but let’s not act like no Democrats live there.
Related: Opinion: We must use every legislative tool to defend abortion rights, says Duckworth (Chicago Sun-Times)
Democrats, Planned Parenthood slam Bailey over Holocaust-abortion comments from 2017 (State Journal-Register)
Comments made by Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey – comparing abortion with the Holocaust during a 2017 livestream – made headlines on Tuesday and caught swift condemnation from Democrats, abortion-rights organizations and anti-defamation groups.
Posted on his official Facebook page, Bailey made his remarks in a 12-minute, Oct. 12, 2017 video when he was running for state representative of House District 109.
First reading from Psalm 139, verses 13 through 16, the Xenia Republican said it was his foundation in believing that "life is conceived in the womb."
“I believe that abortion is one of the greatest atrocities of our day and I believe it’s one of the greatest atrocities probably forever,” Bailey said in the video, around six minutes. “The attempted extermination of the Jews of World War II doesn’t even compare on a shadow of the life that has been lost with abortion since its legalization.”
After his comments resurfaced, the Gov. JB Pritzker's campaign team called the remarks "antisemitic" and "offensive to Illinoisans everywhere." The campaign also used the excerpt in a YouTube video released on Tuesday with the well-used tagline of "Too Extreme for Illinois."
Subscribers got my take on this yesterday, but, essentially, he was trying to make a point about the number of babies aborted each year and used a really dumb comparison. But, to call him anti-Semitic is just way over the top, even for political rhetoric.
Related: Bailey responds to criticism over his remark contrasting Holocaust deaths with abortion (Daily Herald)
Rep. Steve Reick criticizes fellow Republican Darren Bailey’s past remarks comparing abortion to Holocaust (Shaw Media)
Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey struggles to unite his party (WBEZ)
Bailey, Pritzker present in different ways on social media (Quad City Times)
Lightfoot: Chicago making progress on fighting crime despite continued downtown violence (Chicago Sun-Times)
Despite rising violence this year in downtown Chicago, the city is making “progress” in fighting crime, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in an interview Wednesday, pointing to citywide decreases in the numbers of killings and shootings.
Lightfoot pointed to big businesses moving to and expanding in Chicago as a sign they believe the city has a plan to deal with crime — even as it continues to make national news with incidents like the mass shooting in May at a McDonald’s on the Near North Side.
Earlier this week, the Chicago Police Department said the number of killings this year is down 16% citywide versus the same period last year, and the number of people shot is down 20%.
Asked whether those decreases don’t merely reflect a national post-COVID trend — New York and Los Angeles also have seen drops this year in such crimes — Lightfoot said it’s the result of a “multitiered strategy” to combat gangs and gun proliferation and invest in neighborhoods.
Data posted last week showed a 35% increase in all reported crimes in Chicago this year. But the numbers of killings and shootings are up sharply in the two police districts that cover downtown, with vehicle thefts and other thefts up just as steeply.
Related: Editorial: Anti-violence efforts must be more than PR spin, window dressing (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: Casten: Congress must pass these gun violence prevention bills, now (Chicago Sun-Times)
POLITICAL SMORGASBOARD
Ex-Speaker Michael Madigan’s pension payments balloon as judge grants defense until next year to file motions in racketeering case (Chicago Tribune)
In post-Madigan power vacuum, Illinois Democrats settle once more into détente ahead of midterm election (NPR Illinois)
Federal lawsuit challenges new limits on contributions to Illinois judicial candidates (Chicago Tribune)
Pritzker highlights Rebuild Illinois funding for Cahokia Heights sewers, Rend Lake Resort (Capitol News Illinois)
Pritzker discusses grant to help fix “notorious” overflowing sewers in Cahokia Heights (Belleville News-Democrat)
Pekau taking heat for award from group that criticized sex education, bakery's drag show (Daily Herald)
No public money for Bears stadium? Conservative group wants village to ban subsidies for businesses (Daily Herald)
SOME TOP LINKS FROM THE WEEK SO FAR
JOIN US
I truly hope you’ll help our cause of cutting through the noise in politics and government by joining us as a paid subscriber. It’s just $99 per year or $9.99 per month and it’s how we support our endeavor. You’ll get two more exclusive newsletters each week and breaking news alerts. Will you help us meet our subscriber goal?