Illinois
Pritzker has to keep Illinois a priority as he eyes the presidency
During a rip-roaring speech in New Hampshire this week, Gov. JB Pritzker called for mass national protests and “disruption,” assailed “do-nothing” Democrats for their “simpering timidity” and labeled President Donald Trump a “madman” who cannot be reasoned with.
The Jewish Ukrainian American governor said of Trump: “Stop tearing down the Constitution in the name of my ancestors. Do not claim that your authoritarian power grabs are about antisemitism. When you destroy social justice, you are disparaging the very foundation of Judaism.
“These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.”
Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters that line “clearly could be construed as inciting violence.”
The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., tweeted at the governor: “Are you trying to inspire a 3rd assassination attempt on my dad? Two wasn’t enough for you?”
Illinois Republican Party chair Kathy Salvi claimed Pritzker was “calling for political violence against Republicans” during his speech.
Fox News host Sean Hannity jumped into the fray, claiming the governor, “all but threatened half the country with violence.”
But here’s the rest of Pritzker’s paragraph: “They must understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soapbox and then punish them at the ballot box.”
Pritzker called the Republican accusations “ridiculous” and continued: “I called for people to take out their megaphones and their microphones, to stand up on soapboxes and get to the ballot box in order to defeat the people who are trying to take so many things away from the American people. That has nothing to do with violence.”
Basically, Pritzker was the Republican outrage of the day. It’s all pretty standard stuff.
The Pritzker folks appeared to be unfazed and even found it kind of amusing, with one calling the developments, “a master class in the right-wing echo chamber.”
As for the rest of us, we should probably just learn to get used to this. We’re in for about three or four more years of this stuff if Pritzker runs for reelection and then campaigns for president.
Mention to anyone near Pritzker that it sure looks like he’s setting up a presidential bid, and they will tell you he’s simply trying to rally the party and the nation against Trump. His folks will also correctly remind you the 2028 election is years away and the 2026 midterms are the next real concern.
But it’s obvious he can be fighting in the here and now and positioning the party for 2026 and also be trying to set himself for a 2028 bid.
Whatever the case, I only care about whether he’s doing the job he was twice elected to do. I was born here and have lived in Illinois all but a few years of my life, and I plan to be a resident for the rest of my life.
So far, Pritzker seems to be keeping up the pace of his state public events. And his agencies, while far from great, are not falling into further disrepair.
He’s made some poll-friendly proposals the last year or so, which a few have claimed are explained by his grand ambitions. But c’mon. Politicians love to push ideas that poll well.
The billionaire also has access to a fleet of jets, so he can zoom back and forth to national events in about the same time that it would take us mere mortals to drive from Chicago to Springfield during rush hour. And a Sunday event in another state is hardly the end of the world.
But if Pritzker’s governance does start slipping because he’s running for higher office, I pledge to let my opinion be known. I will not stand for it. This state is far too important, and its position has long been far too precarious to sacrifice it on the altar of national ambition. This ain’t Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton running for president. Arkansas could’ve slid off a cliff and nobody would’ve cared, because it was mostly already there.
And if he decides to run for reelection, he absolutely must choose a running mate who could step into the position if, by chance, Pritzker actually wins the nation’s top job. He also needs to make sure he has staffers in place who can keep the government running while his top staffers are directing his national efforts.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
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Illinois
4 shot in Rockford, suspect in custody; police ask public to avoid area
Saturday, July 18, 2026 11:43AM
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WLS) — Rockford police are investigating a quadruple shooting on Saturday.
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The shooting happened near Island and Clifton Avenues, police said.
Police said four people were shot. All injuries appeared to be non-life-threatening, police said.
The shooting suspect was in police custody.
No other information was immediately available.
The public is asked to avoid the area as they continue to investigate.
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Illinois
Produce Recall Issued In Parasite Outbreak Hitting IL
A number of Taco Bell locations have posted signs announcing they are “currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall,” according to Detroit-area news radio outlet WWJ.
Taco Bell told the Post it would keep monitoring the situation and follow authorities’ guidance.
Taco Bell Lettuce Linked To Growing MI Parasite Outbreak: FDA
“Public health officials have not confirmed a link to Taco Bell or any specific ingredient, supplier, restaurant or retailer,” the company told the Post. “While authorities continue their broader review, Taco Bell has voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure.”
In Michigan, where cases have been concentrated, media reports said notices were posted at some Detroit-area Taco Bell restaurants last week telling customers the chain was “currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro-Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall.”
Illinois
Illinois GOP trails badly in midterm cash
The Illinois Republican Party filed its quarterly campaign finance report on the July 15 deadline. The party reported having just $223K in the bank. The next day, the party sent a letter to the Illinois State Board of Elections saying they were “reconciling” their records after a leadership change, and then noted that their actual end balance was $101K higher than it had reported the day before.
But that bit of found money was basically the end of the “good news” for the GOP last week.
Republicans no longer have a pet billionaire. Bruce Rauner and Ken Griffin have fled the state. The legions of wealthy business titans who once contributed and raised money have either retired to sunnier climes or passed away. Several prominent party members have publicly shunned labor unions and their hefty political war chests, although the state GOP legislative leaders have at least tried to rebuild ties to trade unions and even the Illinois Education Association. But the heavily gerrymandered legislative map combined with the current political climate means they’ll mostly receive scraps.
And, yes, the House Democrats are struggling this month with scandals, including a state representative who resigned under pressure and another who was indicted. I’m not trying to downplay that at all. But Democrats have the national political environment, the local infrastructure and tons of cash behind them. The Republicans have little to none of that.
The GOP’s gubernatorial candidate, Darren Bailey, raised $1.3 million in the second quarter, which ended June 30. That sounds like a lot, but he spent almost all of that on direct mail fundraising costs. The huge expenditures do give him a prospect list for future fundraising, but he ended the quarter with a mere $128K in the bank. That was still a whole lot more than the rest of the statewide ticket.
Attorney General nominee Bob Fioretti, a perennial candidate, raised $31K, spent $39K and had $28K on hand at the end of the quarter along with almost $15K in recent debt. Secretary of State candidate Diane Harris raised $6K, spent a bit over $4K and had a paltry $1,816.42 in the bank. Treasurer candidate Max Solomon, who ran as a write-in during the primary because the party failed to recruit anyone, raised less than $3K, reported no spending and ended the quarter with less than $8K. Comptroller candidate Bryan Drew raised $30K and received $47K in in-kind contributions from a company owned, ironically, by independent gubernatorial candidate Collin Corbett, spent less than $3K, ended with $54K and had $25K in debt from earlier this year.
Man, that’s just downright pathetic.
But I suppose it doesn’t really matter anyway unless we see a massive sea-change in national opinion in the coming months or the federal government finds a way to not certify certain election results. Regardless of where individual candidates are at this moment, they’ll have the money to compete. Unlike the Republicans, the Dems do have a pet billionaire (JB Pritzker) and, I assume eventually for most of them, organized labor.
The Republican legislative leaders have tried to scrape and claw as much as they can, but they’re vastly outgunned. Senate Republican Leader John Curran raised just $75K in the second quarter. He spent $71K and reported having a bit more than $3 million in the bank. His caucus committee reported having $160K in the bank.
Leader Curran has three Republican-held districts to defend in the Chicago media market that have all trended Democratic in the last three cycles. Depending how bad things get, he could be defending a couple, two or three more.
The Senate Democrats have a ton of money to do whatever they want. Senate President Don Harmon has about $20 million in his personal campaign account and $1.7 million in his caucus account.
Over in the House, Republican Leader Tony McCombie has at least four Democratic-trending or swingy districts to defend and just $1.3 million in her personal campaign account and another $363K in her caucus account so far.
In contrast, House Speaker Chris Welch had $11.4 million in his personal account and $1.2 million in his caucus account. Like Senate President Harmon, he has more than enough money already, but more is never enough when there’s so much out there, so those numbers will likely rise by November.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
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