Rich Miller
Pritzker’s beat-down of Bailey will continue
By Rich Miller
The ongoing uproar over Darren Bailey’s 2017 claim that the Holocaust “doesn’t even compare on a shadow” to the lives lost to abortion reminded me of a scene in an old movie called “A Bronx Tale.”
The claim Bailey made on Facebook exploded into view courtesy of a brutal TV ad by Gov. JB Pritzker’s campaign.
The ad begins with an announcer previewing an already-used video clip of Bailey saying he would not allow a woman who was raped or a victim of incest to have an abortion. “You may have thought you heard everything that Darren Bailey had to say about abortion,” the voice-over person says before the clip is played. “But that’s not all Darren Bailey has said,” the person continues as the newly unearthed clip is shown to viewers.
The closing tagline of “Darren Bailey, too extreme for Illinois,” is then flashed on the screen. That’s pretty close to the same language used in Democratic ads which aired during the Republican primary.
There are those who say that, judging from experience, if Pritzker is using something this over the top in August, then oh my goodness he must have some really strong opposition research in store for voters when the campaign cranks up this fall.
That could very well be, and it doesn’t help matters much right now that Bailey’s billionaire GOP primary benefactor, Richard Uihlein, has not directly contributed any money to Bailey’s campaign since the primary, so attacking when your opponent can’t fight back in-kind has its advantages.
Bailey released a response video to another Pritzker TV ad (calling him out for hypocritically taking millions in federal farm subsidies while opposing other government social programs) that has so far received views in the hundreds, not the millions who would see something on TV.
Either way, this is a true political beat-down, and it didn’t stop there. Bailey at first walked his comments back by saying, “The Holocaust is a human tragedy without parallel. In no way was I attempting to diminish the atrocities of the Holocaust and its stain on history. I meant to emphasize the tragedy of millions of babies being lost.”
Then, the very next day, Bailey told Fox 32’s Dane Placko that his words were “taken out of context as they typically are,” and blamed reporters.
Then, Bailey was asked by a Fox Valley radio station host if he needed to apologize. Instead of doing so, Bailey laughed and said, “The Jewish community themselves have told me that I’m right,” and went on to claim that “the Jewish rabbis” he’d met with had told him he was “actually right.”
Bailey inexplicably kept the story alive, and Pritzker took full advantage, pounding away at his opponent every chance he got. Since then, the Pritzker campaign has piled on by providing some opposition research to reporters about other Bailey Facebook posts. The Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition recently issued a press release complaining that “Multiple social media posts by gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey and his wife are Islamophobic, anti-semitic, and xenophobic.”
That brings me back to the movie, which follows a young Italian-American boy as he learns life lessons from those around him, including from some mobsters.
In the scene, a biker gang known for busting up bars unwittingly walks into a mob-owned bar and, after being told they could stay for a couple of beers, begins to cause trouble. The top mob boss tells the bikers to leave. After being rudely rebuffed, he quietly walks to the front door and locks it, then turns around and faces the bikers. “Now youse can’t leave,” he says.
The mob boss’ underlings immediately stream in through the back door brandishing baseball bats, pistols and other implements of destruction and absolutely pummel the bikers, who are then dragged outside and beaten some more, including by bystanders.
That’s basically how the rest of this campaign is going to go, even when/if Bailey’s coffers are replenished. Pritzker never took his foot off of Bruce Rauner’s political throat four years ago, even though he was way ahead in the polls, and he kept whacking Richard Irvin long after Irvin was clearly no longer viable in the recent GOP primary. It’s just how they roll over there. Toss in the fact that Pritzker helped found a Holocaust museum and abortion rights is an issue which appears to animate him, and you can understand the desire to go all-out on this one.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
Local News
Area wrestlers advance to sectionals
Spread the loveFrom Staff Reports The following wrestlers have qualified for sectional competition after placing in the top three at their respective regional tournaments. (Name, class, finish at regional) Class 3A Marist Regional Marist George Marinopoulos, Fr, 2nd at 106 Michael Esteban, Fr, 1st at 113 Will Denny, Fr, 2nd at 120 Jesse Herrera,…
Mayor ‘out of control,’ hero says
Spread the lovePolice ranks ‘thousands’ short, dispatcher tells Scottsdale By Tim Hadac It’s not every day that a City worker has the courage to attend a public meeting and call a mayor “out of control.” But Keith A. Thornton Jr. did exactly that earlier this week on the Southwest Side. A 911 dispatcher hailed as…
Rockie is the new kid on the block
Spread the love While some folks see heavy snowfall and curse the skies, children across the Southwest Side seemed thrilled with last week’s winter windfall. Schools cancelled classes, and kids like 9-year-old Rosie Arroyo showed her creativity by working with her father, Raul, to build a snowman in front of their home near 49th and…
Kaegi, legislators, advocates unveil affordable housing initiative
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi was joined by state legislators and affordable housing advocates earlier this week to launch the Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program, a new form of property tax relief recently signed into law. Kaegi worked with legislative partners who passed the law last spring, including State Sens.…
Lopez nixes dibs
Spread the love While calling dibs on parking spaces in the winter is an informal tradition in the city, 15th Ward Ald. Raymond Lopez recently reminded his constituents in Back of the Yards, Brighton Park, Gage Park and West Englewood that no one may call dibs indefinitely. He instructed his Streets and Sanitation ward superintendent…
St. Dan’s Summerfest to return
Spread the lovePopular event was gone for several years By Tim Hadac Details are just starting to emerge, but it looks like St. Daniel the Prophet Parish’s Summerfest will return in 2022, after an absence of several years. The family-focused event is set for Thursday, June 16 through Sunday, June 19 on parish grounds at…
Skating is winter’s silver lining
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Hi everyone. As I write this, snowmageddon is raging outside. I’m not sure how many inches we have as of yet, or how many we will end up with; but I hope by the time you read this, we are…
Property tax bills due soon, Pappas says
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas recently mailed nearly 1.8 million Tax Year 2021 First Installment property tax bills. Payments are due March 1, 2022. The First Installment is 55% of the previous year’s total tax. Exemptions that can reduce a property owner’s taxes are applied to the Second Installment bill.…
Marchers welcome in St. Patrick’s Day parade
Spread the loveBy Tim Hadac Southwest Side organizations are welcome to march in the community’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, set for Saturday, March 12. It is anticipated that local schools, churches, Scout troops, youth athletic associations and others will have units in the parade. Units will have to register in advance with parade organizers.…
Neighbors
Boys Volleyball | Sandburg seeks 26th regional title
Spread the loveBy Randy Whalen Correspondent Coming off the worst season in program history in 2023, Sandburg was not going to settle for anything less than better results this year. Past the midway point of this season, however, the Eagles had a record of 11-8. But they closed the regular season strong, winning 11 of…
Baseball | Red-hot Reavis looks to make noise in postseason
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Reavis is determined to send their head coach Don Erickson into retirement on a high note and will head into the postseason red hot and as South Suburban Red champions. The Rams defeated Oak Lawn 3-0 for the second straight day on May 15 to clinch the conference title.…
Sports Bits | Rice boats at Carlyle Lake, Hawkeye DB and Do It Stevie’s Way
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Noteworthy sports briefs from May 12-19 • Brother Rice’s No. 1 boat of Joe Hall and Joe Judeh took 31st in the state bass fishing tournament, which wrapped up on May 18 at Carlyle Lake. The Crusaders had a two-day haul of 7 pounds, 12 ounces. The Crusaders’ No.…
Nothing NU at SeatGeek
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent There was speculation that because of the renovations being done at Ryan Field, Northwestern would schedule a few football games at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview this fall. The Wildcats announced their schedule and no home games are listed at SeatGeek, but the situation is still fluid. They are opting…
College Softball | Close losses at nationals end Saint Xavier’s season
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Saint Xavier softball team played three nailbiters in the opening round of the NAIA Tournament. But the end result was a 1-2 record to eliminate the Cougars from advancing. SXU (28-14) opened the tournament by nipping Bellevue (Nebraska), 5-4, in Sioux City, Iowa on May 13. Alexus Reese…
Red Stars’ Naeher misses loss to Gotham
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The world’s best kept secret is still a mystery. The Chicago Red Stars are not releasing information to the public about the severity of a thigh injury or the status of world-class goalie Alyssa Naeher. What is known is that she did not play in a 2-1 loss to…
Summer calendar filling up quickly
Spread the love. By Patti Tyznik Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • ptyznik@gmail.com . Summer is rapidly approaching, and the neighborhood is geared up for lots of great summer fun and activities. The Midway Chamber of Commerce’s farmer’s market will be opening on Wednesdays at the end of May through September…
Shepard’s Kyla Motley cruises to two medals at girls state track finals
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Shepard junior Kyla Motley medaled in two events in the Class 3A girls state track and field meet, the finals for which were held May 18 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Motley finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 4 inches. She finished…
Boys Tennis | Lyons’ Jack McLane and Mason Mazzone win sectional doubles title
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The area produced a handful of boys tennis state qualifiers, but only one entry is headed to state as a sectional champion. At the Class 2A Lyons Sectional, the Lions’ Jack McLane and Mason Mazzone were doubles champs. The state meet opens May 23 at various sites in the…
Water Polo | Lyons boys win third state title; girls finish 3rd
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The best matchup of the IHSA boys water polo state tournament was arguably in the quarterfinals. That battle between Lyons and New Trier could have been considered the real state championship match. But no matter what, the Lions are state champions. Heading into the postseason, Lyons had just three…