Prairie State Wire

Thomas Devore for Attorney General has issued the following press release:

ICYMI: DeVore on 560-AM: Due process and the rule of law distinguish us as a nation… where we come from and where we might go. That’s why I’m running for this office.

September 7, 2022 - This morning, Tom DeVore discussed his candidacy for Illinois Attorney General in a comprehensive interview on AM560’s Morning Answer with Dan Proft and Amy Jacobsen. In it DeVore laid out how the Attorney General could combat Illinois’ corrupt political machine by empowering private citizens, legally challenging abuses of power in the Governor’s office and municipal government. He discussed the problem of public corruption, the Jenny Thornley case and Kwame Raoul’s abdication of duty in that case. Finally, he addressed the role the Attorney General can play in reducing crime. 

Watch the full interview here, 1:53:33 - 2:13:22. 

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Key points: 

On Pritzker’s interpretation of his executive authority, which he has used to issue 30-day emergency orders in pertitutity, and what the Attorney General could do about it: 

There are two things we could do:

One, which depending on the results of our election may be a tall order, is to try to get the legislature to clean that language up. If that’s not an option, then that’s why the Supreme Court races become extremely important. 

This issue needs to be taken to the Supreme Court. We have an appellate court decision called the “FoxFire Matter” where the justices made a horrible decision, suggesting that language in the emergency management agency act could be interpreted to say that the Governor could issue these serial proclamations. It’s an absolute ruse. It’s a twisted interpretation of that language that the Governor has been getting away with… that the legislature has been letting him get away with. I think if that went back to an appellate court today - 3 years later - that they may have a different opinion on that. But the courts and the legislature need to clean that up. If I were the Attorney General, I would do everything I could to make that happen. 

On the lasting impact of the case he took up on behalf of parents against Governor Pritzker over the mandates: 

I think the lasting impact of that is one of the things that I have always encouraged people to do: It is to stand up for themselves. As much as the law had to do with that case, it also had to do with people being willing to defend their liberties and freedoms. I’ve told people all along that - ultimately- branches of government don’t defend your liberty and freedom. You defend it on behalf of yourself and your family. The message for me on that issue, is people being involved is the most important part. 

Judge Grischow’s ruling in February 2022, was contradictory to the ruling she issued 16 months prior on the same issue in August 2020. The law didn’t change. Nothing changed but the people. And when people change in the way that they manage their affairs with the government, it has a significant impact. And I hope that that’s something people learned over the past few years and through that case. 

On due process, the rule of law and separation of powers: 

[Due process, separation of powers and the rule of law] distinguish us as a nation... where we came from s a nation and where we might go. That is why I am running for this office… It is what makes this country different from others that have come before us. And [Judge Grischow] was exactly right [due process and the rule of law] was set aside, it was orchestrated around… There was a concerted effort by the Governor and his administrative agencies to work around due process, to try to exclude the court from oversight of these matters. It was horrific and it doesn’t get talked about enough. That’s exactly why I am running for Attorney General. The rule of law always controls. We don’t like the rule of law? We can change the law through the legislature. But to let executive officers - any executive officer, I don’t care what party you’re from - work around it, as a quick-fix solution to allegedly keep people safe… if that’s how we’re going to govern moving forward in this state and this nation, we’re going to lose this republic. It’s all I care about.

On local government overreach / abuse of power: 

We like to talk about Governor Pritzker and the abuses that he has engaged in. But when you get down to city council levels and lower-levels of government, these abuses happen on an exhaustive basis statewide. It needs to be addressed. And our Attorney General has an obligation at all levels of government to make sure that these elected officials stay within the confines of their delegates authority by the people. It’s probably one of the most important jobs the Attorney General has. And the current Attorney General, and the one before, have not done it because they’re more concerned about politics than they are about making sure the rule of law is followed. 

On public corruption and the Thornley case: 

She was indicted for overtime fraud, where she was logging in hours that she had in fact not worked. And that’s documented. But the issue of the workers comp fraud is conclusive. Because what happened is when she knew she was had on the overtime fraud, she concocted an alleged sexual assault claim against her boss. And she filed a notice of injury with Tri-Star, which is this third party insurance administrator for the state. In that, she alleged emotional trauma from this - now debunked - assault. She listed the Governor’s office as her employer and JB Pritzker as her direct supervisor in that application, which makes it a patently false application, to receive workers comp benefits. Under the law, this is a felony. She filed that notice and then eventually started collecting almost $70,000 in benefits after she was fired for stealing from the taxpayers. 

(Proft) If only we had a media who would ask questions. She always pointed to the Governor, And the Governor seemed to always have her back, maybe continues to… 

He did. And the Department of Insurance said in emails that this is a clear case of Workers Compensation fraud. A clear case. And they said ‘we will, in fact, refer this for prosecution, if it’s going to be prosecuted.’ So the question, then, is why wouldn’t it be prosecuted? Kwame Raoul has been on-camera twice being asked by Greg Bishop, ‘Why aren’t you prosecuting?’ Kwame concocts a conflict. There is no conflict, whatsoever. But if there was a conflict, the AG would then file a motion with the courts saying, ‘Please appoint an appellate prosecutor to take this case against these specific, identifiable people, because I have a conflict. He has never done that. There was actually an email from the appellate prosecutor office saying, “We don’t know what you’re talking about. We’ve never been appointed to this case. If you want us appointed to this case, you’ve got to ask the court. But we don’t know why we would be taking this case. It’s your case.” Raoul doubled down on that. And the reason he hasn’t actually filed the motion, is because he has to actually convince a judge that there’s a conflict, and there’s not one. And he would have to list who he’s going to prosecute. That would not just be Jenny Thornley, because we have emails that Ann Spillane, herself - General Counsel for the Governor’s Office - materially participated in getting her those $70,000 of work comp benefits. The application itself is patently fraudulent because it lists the Governor as being her employer - who she never worked for. 

And then the Governor gets on television and says, “I don’t know anything other than I’ve seen in the newspapers - notwithstanding there’s emails to Mrs. Pritzker that [Thornley] wanted to make sure JB knew. 

On the role a State AG can play in reducing out-of-control crime:

The Attorney General’s office has concurrent jurisdiction over criminal cases. And the Attorney General can absolutely go into these counties and prosecute criminals that the states attorney won’t prosecute. It’s the law, and it’s clear. So, if I’m the Attorney General, and there is someone like Kim Foxx, who is clearly abdicating her duties, I will go in with prosecutors myself and we will be prosecuting criminals. The Attorney General’s office can do it. If it’s my administration, we will.