A member of the Illinois Republican Party's governing body is lauding gubernatorial candidate Rep. Jeanne Ives' provocative new ad, "Thank You, Bruce Rauner," while taking her critics to task for trying to force the party to take sides in the contentious March 20 primary.
“In an age of ambiguity in politics, it’s a clear, unambiguous message about what Rauner stands for,” said John McGlasson of Pontiac, a state central committeeman for the 16th District, which includes Ottawa, Morris, DeKalb, Dixon, Streator and Rockford.
“Everything in the video is correct,” he said.
State Central Committeeman John McGlasson says everything in Jeanne Ives' controversial ad is correct.
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McGlasson, a sales executive and former Livingston County Board member, also said he wishes state party Chairman Tim Schneider had made his comments criticizing Ives (R-Wheaton) as “Tim Schneider, the person” and not “Tim Schneider, the head of the Republican Party.”
“He shouldn’t be taking sides in a primary race,” McGlasson said. “But it appears as though Rauner has bought and paid for the Republican Party with all the money he’s given it.”
McGlasson was referring to the fact that, since taking office, nearly all money raised by the Illinois GOP to fund party operations has come from Rauner himself.
Schneider released a statement Saturday that called the ad "rhetoric that attacks our fellow Illinoisans based on their race, gender or humanity,” asking Ives to stop running it.
But Ives pushed back, challenging Schneider's depiction as an attempt to distract voters from Rauner's record in office.
“The ad represents Gov. Rauner's chosen constituents based on the policy choices he made,” the Ives’ campaign said in a statement released along with the video.
“Those Republican primary voters who don't know of Rauner's betrayals of conservatives need to know. Now they will,” the campaign said.
The ad features actors sarcastically thanking Rauner for signing legislation that uses taxpayer dollars to expand abortion access; signing legislation that protects immigrants in the country illegally, some dangerous, by making Illinois a "sanctuary state"; and signing legislation that allows individuals to change their sex on their birth certificates.
It also criticizes Rauner for supporting a $17 billion state bailout of Chicago Public Schools at the expense of suburban and downstate taxpayers, increasing electricity rates by bailing out Exelon and presiding over a massive income tax increase when he ran for office as a fiscal conservative.
Meanwhile, Rauner and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Saturday night headlined a Chicago fundraiser for an Illinois LGBTQ rights group.
The 2018 Equality Illinois Gala was expected to attract 1,500 to the Hilton Chicago, according to a press release group. The group said the event is "annually the Midwest's largest LGBTQ formal celebration."
Rauner and his wife, Diana, were listed as platinum sponsors of the gala.
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