By: Mark Glennon*
For its New Year’s resolution, Illinois should look in the mirror and acknowledge what it is.
You would never know it from election results, but Illinois is a centrist, moderate state. It should be labeled as such. In fact, given how distorted political labels have recently become – with the establishment and much of the press labeling everything they don’t like as conservative or “far right” – a reasonable case can be made that Illinoisans can be called conservative, provided you focus on what Illinoisans say on the issues.
For sure, Illinois’ political leadership is part of today’s progressive left along with the policies they’ve enacted. The public, however, is not, election results notwithstanding. On nearly every issue considered important today, Illinoisans have elected leaders who don’t truly represent them. Polls and surveys prove that gap, even in Chicago, which is much further left than most of the state.
“Yesterday’s radicals have become today’s establishment.” That was the headline on a Chicago Magazine column, about the city last year, but it largely applies statewide. “This new Chicago is as close as we can get to a revolution within our democratic system,” the column said. “The protestors have the power. The grass is eating the cows. The radicals of 100 years ago, or even 10 years ago, are now the establishment.”
Illinoisans self-identify as moderate.
As an initial matter, it’s very clear Illinoisans don’t think of themselves as part of the left. They say they are centrists, which has long been the case, and recent surveys show it.
“Just 26% of Illinois voters in this last election identified as liberal, compared to 35% who identified as conservative. The big winner? Moderates at 39%,” wrote one pollster. Another pollster found 25% saying they are “very conservative and only 15% saying they are very liberal. The largest group on the center, surprisingly, identify as “somewhat conservative” at 25%.
Yes, far more Illinoisans identify as Democratic than Republican. Polls typically find self-identified Democrats leading Republicans by something around 16%, though results vary.
But that doesn’t make them leftists. Even in Chicago, in a survey of voters that were 69% Democratic and 12% Republican, just 38% considered themselves liberal.
On the issues, Illinoisans are as moderate as they perceive themselves.
More important than how Illinoisans self-identify is their position on issues, and that’s what really confirms how Illinois should be labeled. Go through the major issues today and in the last election cycle. Search yourself to see the polls and surveys reported. You won’t find support for today’s progressive left. A few are linked below but are not exhaustive. Other surveys definitely vary to some degree, but they are all directionally consistent and show that Illinoisans are centrist.
Here are just a few issues on which Illinoisans are centrist, in conflict with their government’s policy:
Immigration and sanctuary/welcoming policies. Polls say even most Chicago voters oppose Chicago’s sanctuary city policies. That’s undoubtedly true statewide given that, nationally, polls show as much as 80% oppose sanctuary city policies. Seventy-three percent want a border wall. Americans overwhelmingly view illegal immigration as an “emergency.”
Crime and punishment. Illinoisans want criminals prosecuted. They opposed the SAFE-T Act eliminating cash bail, which was passed into law. Crime was the second most important issue to voters in Illinois’ 2022 election according to most polls, behind only taxes and spending. Disapproval of Cook County State’s Attorney, notorious for lax enforcement, is high, at 54%, with just 33% approving her. Fifty-five percent of Chicagoans say punishment is too lenient versus just 15% saying too harsh. Seventy-nine percent want stronger punishment for repeat offenders. When asked to choose between spending for more police versus more social services, 48% choose police topping 40% for more social services.
Antiracism and politicized classrooms. Illinoisans reject racialism and other political indoctrination in classrooms. A clear majority of Americans likewise oppose teaching critical race theory in schools. In Illinois and everywhere, they support teaching about racism and the history of slavery, but not about systemic racism, implicit racism by whites and the like, and think the focus on race in schools has gone too far.
Climate. While no recent Illinois polls are available, Americans generally support the switch to renewable energy sources but want a mix with fossil fuels. They reject ending the use of fossil fuels and quickly adopting renewables, which is the policy Illinois is pursuing. The most popular position is an approach that emphasizes renewables – including nuclear – and fossil fuels.
Financial crisis. Over three-quarters of Illinoisans say the state is in a financial crisis, contrary to government denials.
Population loss. Sixty-two percent of Illinoisans say it’s a problem that Illinois is shrinking, contrary to government denials.
Overall budget and taxes. Illinoisans – over 70% of them – want the state budget cut, with nearly half saying the budget should be “dramatically cut.” Eighty-six percent say taxes are too high and just 13% say too low.
Biological men playing women’s sports. Not a chance. While no Illinois poll is available, Americans oppose biological men playing in women’s sports by two-to-one, according to national polls, and opposition is no doubt similar in Illinois.
Gender transition. Once again, two-thirds of Americans oppose gender affirming care for minors, likely indicating at least a majority of Illinoisans are also opposed.
Term limits and fair legislative maps. Each has long been highly popular, but there’s not a chance of any of that being considered in Springfield.
School choice. Few issues garner more support than school choice, which Illinois and Chicago government oppose. Across all lines – racial, political party, age, location and more – Illinoisans want school choice.
But here are the two big ones where the story is different.
Abortion. About 52% of likely Illinois voters polled say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, with 36% saying it should be illegal, and 12% unsure. That issue has undoubtedly been central to victory by progressives in Illinois elections.
Trump: Donald Trump has been particularly unpopular in Illinois, losing the state in his last two elections by margins of 17% and 16% in 2020 and 2016.
Those two issues have no doubt helped progressive Illinois candidates enormously.
Importantly, however, only 24% of Illinois voters say abortion should be legal in all cases. Illinoisans oppose public funding for abortions and favor parental notification, putting them at odds with Illinois law policy on those matters. Also notable, is the case made in a New York Times column last month that the secret to Trump’s success is that he’s a centrist, albeit chaotic in execution and bombastic in tone.
Don’t election results provide the ultimate proof that Illinois is far left?
Elections are the best polls, right? And progressive leftists have run the table in Illinois elections lately, right?
Not so fast. For many reasons, today’s progressives punch far above their weight in Illinois elections.
We will document those reasons in a later column.
For now, however, here’s the short answer: The far left has a superb organization and a vastly superior “ground game” of party workers turning out their vote. Social media companies, conspiring with the federal government, massively distorted the news and censored stories embarrassing to the left. Illinois election maps are the most rigged in the nation to favor progressives. Excessive public union power provides inordinate cash and manpower to the left. Schools from K-12 through college teach the left’s doctrine. Most Illinois media is biased, rarely challenging anything from the Pritzker Administration. Abortion and Trump have been deal-killer issues for many voters. And Republicans, simply haven’t put up good candidates.
Conclusion:
Gov. JB Pritzker may be right about Illinois leadership and its policies when he said “Illinois is the most progressive state in the nation and damn proud of it.”
The public, however, doesn’t agree.
*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
This column was updated in the second and third paragraphs to further emphasize that the column is about voters’ views on the issues, not election results.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
I am in Miami this week and I am fortunate to have many Cuban friends. They see this entire thing as a Marxist strategic takeover with a different wrapper of course but still big time Marxist. What we witness in Illinois is a more advanced version than any other states. The one party system with its Jelly Belly Oligarch is easily able to control the entire state. Those currently in power are trying to push us to a civil war so the power of government could forever crush it’s opposition. Don’t think it’s not happening here because it most certainly… Read more »
What are you doing to prevent this looming crisis?
I am standing on Biscayne Boulevard waving a sign about cohesion. Someone tried to run me over 4 times and missed. I changed my sign to read “normative conformity” and I was arrested for total stupidity with zero chance of parole. 🤣🤣
Illinois is a Democrat state full of Democrat/Progressives. Don’t think there is much of a difference between the two anymore. Of course, the Dem/Progressives are ignoring moderates. All they want from moderates is their money and their votes, definitely no suggestions or ideas on improving the State. Until we are more careful and do more close examination into politicians we vote for, we will always be a progressive State.
I have two friends who teach and one who is a DOC administrator who have voted Democrat for decades. All three claim to support almost exclusively conservative values and say they only vote D for their jobs.
When I tell them they are what lever they pull (apologies to Bill Parcells) they become indignant.
What about all of the people that you trust and agree with? You should focus on your strengths. There’s no point in trying to convince people otherwise when their paycheck depends on it.
I’m sure you can handle some “righteous indignation”. It’s so much easier to swallow when you’re right. Bless you for telling your friends the truth.
The truth hurts!
That’s a big issue in Chicago/Illinois, I believe there are so many public sec folks who simply go along with all the liberal/progressive stuff or simply keep their mouth shut and vote dem machine because they understand the vast majority of resulting $spending$ on all the lib/progressive stuff goes into their public sec guaranteed/ not to be diminished pockets in the form of increased salaries, benefits and job security. So many public sec folks trying to find their little nitche to hide out in “the machine”, the system and ride it out to retirement…..PLEASE RESPOND IF FEEL I’M WRONG!!! But… Read more »
Thanks again for writing this article and publishing it on the first of the year! This makes my job here a lot easier and exposes a lot of the demoralization I’m fighting hard against. Contrary to perceptions, Illinois is a centrist, moderate state. Perception is the key word here and valuable currency in social engineering! Do moderate Illinoisans think their vote will make a difference? How do they perceive odds for or against them? How much do negative online comments and presentations of defeatism weigh into people’s decisions? If one were to make a voting decision based solely on the… Read more »
Thanks, but I do think the obstacle is an electoral one, not a matter of perceptions, opinion and psychology. Radical progressives have been exceptionally successful at capturing the Dem party and general elections. I listed some of the reasons at the bottom, though more explanation is needed. Overcoming their mastery of the process is the real obstacle to getting policy to democratically reflect the common sense of the masses.
800,000 to 1,000,000 more straight ticket Republican ballots is what we need to win a midterm election. Republicans need 1,400,000 to 1,600,000 million straight ticket Republican ballots to win a presidential election. To win IL in 2024, the Illinois GOP hiring 1,000 ballot harvesters to each harvest 1,600 NEW straight ticket Republican ballots. If early voting is open for 40 days before each election, then each of these 1,000 ballot harvesters need to harvest 40 ballots per day, every day, in the 40 days before the November election. That’s roughly 5 ballots an hour, every 8 hours, for 40 days.… Read more »
Finally some arithmetic, but I just don’t see it. The voters are the # 1 problem.
Taking a step further back, you need to have the right attitude to vote and contribute politically in the first place.
I think if we had a ground game which focuses on massive harvesting we may have a chance. Since BHO they have made this like a Mafia style organization which uses all forms of fraud. With BHO as the shadow president we see his end goal of destruction of the country. In addition to the various forms of vote harvesting, ballot rigging, they really have the ace in the hole if other efforts failed. The intelligence community is still operating in the shadows and with impunity. They are completely compromised as their leadership is far ahead for 2024. They did… Read more »
I vehemently disagree. I suggest you take a scientific approach instead of stating your opinion. The entire Wirepoints experience is rooted in advanced psychology!!! LOL Do you want to correct the ship or not? I’ve got over 100 years worth of evidence related to crisis management, public opinion and political activism. There’s nothing new going on here.
Curious why I care so much about upvotes and downvotes?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyDDyT1lDhA
I’ve got a lot more.
Follow the science! Where have we heard that before?
1.8 Million views and it’s a YouTube post that’s 11 years old. Talk about full of hot air! This horse manure is getting so deep. More academia without any realization of what’s happening with the boots on the ground. The crisis is one that is 100% self-inflicted. These wounds won’t heal until the border is closed and the policies are changed by those in power. There are no grass roots opposing parties, candidates, and nor is their room for anything “moderate” in the political sense. The numbers simply are not there. The taxes will not go down, the crime will… Read more »
It’s a video about one of the most famous psychology experiments of the 20th century, explaining normative conformity. The experiment is the foundation of Facebook and is a great introduction to the manipulation of public opinion.
You focus on manipulating opinion by psych methods if you want, as Facebook does. We don’t, and we think arguing with facts is best.
I’m not trying to manipulate anybody’s opinion, unless you’re holding motivating others to vote against me. I’m pointing out how it’s done. Normative conformity is a very important subject in politics and sociology. What do you think upvoting and downvoting is??? Last I checked, you have upvoting and downvoting.
How do you think they captured it? They did it with social science research and manipulating perception of mass collectives.
$, and what I said in the column.
Money helps, but it can also be a liability. A solution starts with cohesion, leadership, and winning language. We’re literally millions strong! History books are full of individuals and movements making the ultimate sacrifice (without pay!!!) for ideology, freedom, the party, religion, the king, and revolution. Joan of Arc – “One life is all we have and we life it as we believe living in it.. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without believe, that is a fate more terrible than dying.” Patrick Henry – “Give me liberty, or give me death!” Alexander The Great – “I… Read more »
A million strong but another million short.
Did the White Army defeat the Bolsheviks?
You would have a better chance of speaking to a large granite boulder than Pritzker in
Springfield. The Dumocrats think our money is all for them.
To the mayor I say “ Let’s go Brandon “.
Sorry Mark, nice try. While I used to agree with this premise, in my 30 years in the Chicago area (before I moved to Florida 2021), I found most Illinoisans love to self-identify as “moderate” to avoid political confrontation, while the massive socialist public sector union members and leadership have NO fear of of lurching FAR to the Left…and any conservatives in the public remain quiet and in the shadows. Most Illinoisans (primarily Chicago-landers) still associate their “working class” status with Democrats and will continue to vote that way (remaining “apolitical & moderate”) for future generations…until the likes of mayor… Read more »
I could not agree more.
Chris, I think you entirely missed the point of the article. It says clearly, as you say, that they vote Dem, and why. The point of the article, instead, is that they don’t agree with the policy positions being implemented by today’s progressive Dems. On the issues people are moderate. In fact, most of the lefty press would call them “conservative” or “far right.” I changed the wording in second and third paragraphs to make that more clear, though I thought it already was.
It’s clear the progressives have usurped the Democrat Party infrastructure and they’ve change the rules and are committed to voter fraud, to ensure they keep winning elections, despite forcing unpopular policies on the public. This is nothing new – Putin keeps winning elections too. And Obama said in 2008, and the top link on the Citizen Free Press today is this quote…. “But look, I come from Chicago. So I want to be honest, it’s not as if it’s just Republicans who have monkeyed around with elections in the past. Sometimes Democrats have too. Whenever people are in power, they… Read more »
He’s pushing an agenda. Your article was very clear and concise. He didn’t miss anything.
I agree 100%. I have relatives who “must vote Democrat to keep their jobs”. Dummies can’t get past the fact that their vote is secret and if they felt the need to declare themselves as Democrats in the primaries they could vote for the WEAKEST Democrat candidate and beat the system.
Obviously the heavy concentration of population in indigo blue Cook County, the City of Chicago and much of the metro means the rest of the state has little say. Combine that with a lackluster IL GOP, voter detachment/apathy and the resulting low turnout (was Chicago turnout 33% last April?), you get the result of a small minority of highly motivated activists heavily affecting elections. People grumble to friends but do they actively participate and vote?
Low turnout is exactly what Democrat leaders want. They plan it this way. Chicago had FOUR elections in a 12 month period. FOUR!! June 2022 Primary elections; November 2022 Mid-term elections; February 2023 City mayoral election April 2024 City Run-off election FOUR ELECTIONS IN less than a year! No wonder there was less than 33% turnout. Who can remember to vote all these elections? Oh that’s right, the harvested mail-in ballots, that’s who. And those vote totals always go one way. Didn’t Vallas have a decent sized lead until the ‘mail-in’ ballot were counted? LOL Funny how that works, right?… Read more »
Everyone knows how they cheat, everyone knows they cheat. They can count mail-in ballots for up to two weeks after the election?
How convenient!
We’ve still got to get out there and vote. We’re gaining lots of ground and Johnson is a huge weak point for them.
Please give me at least some details, even in broad strokes, how the IL GOP plans to find 1,400,000 o 1,600,000 straight ticket Republican ballots in the 40 days before the November election, in order to defeat Joe Biden and Democrats throughout the state. The IL GOP sends me emails asking for $10 a month, after they squandered away the tens of millions Rauner gave them out of his own pocket. It’s a hopeless situation, even Ken Griffin who has billions himself, quickly learned that picking a fight with JB Slobster was a losing battle, because the IL GOP can’t… Read more »
BTW 800,000 to 1,600,000 NEW straight ticket Republican voters, in addition to the 1,600,000 to 2,400,000 Republican voters that regularly vote in midterms and presidential years, respectively.
Maybe we could get away with 1,200,000 millions new votes instead of 1,600,000 in 2024, but it would be close. Biden won the state with over 1,025,000 votes more than Trump in 2020…but it will be a razor thin win.
Republicans need to learn to make up votes “out of thin air”. It can be done. In Illinois we see it happen in every election.
Let’s go “thumbs down”! Love that thin air.
Democrats in Illinois don’t consider never ending ballot counting as cheating. They have been doing it so long it’s acceptable and normal.
People aren’t getting out because they’ve been beaten up by legacy media and online comment sections. Most of what you read is a lie and this article proves it. People will get out and vote if they think it matters. This article is an important first step in reversing the process.
DaveHardy is right. I didn’t vote last time because of the online comments I read telling me it would be stolen anyway. Why vote if one side will produce more fake ballots. What’s the point
How many other things do you just give up on in your life?
If elections are stolen anyway what’s the point of voting. Just doing something to make you believe you are making a difference. Maybe if the comments were more positive like Dave says. Comments can influence.
If comments can influence, then MOVE TO A RED STATE AND VOTE TO MAKE IT REDDER.
Sean Thompson just had a caller several minutes ago who moved from Illinois to Lake County, Indiana, and she said she moved to Indiana TO TURN IN RED, in part thanks to Sean Thompson, and she thanked him.
Don’t be the last remaining Czarist in Bolshevik Russia, they were all slaughtered by the communist. “Oh perceptions can change things! As they put a bullet in the back of your head – politically of course – and push you into the grave.”
I hope you re being facetious, but if not, best if you not vote.
Thanks for making the comprehensive argument against progressivism.
If true, this is clear evidence of voter fraud and stolen elections. What other explanation can there be that we are the most progressive state but the voters are moderate, at best? Voter Fraud, that’s why. JB Pritzker in 2018 and 2022 managed to turnout 800,000 more votes than Quinn did in 2018. His 2018 vote total of 2,479,000 votes was the MOST OF ANY GOVERNOR in the history of the state of IL; and he beat by half a million votes Edgar’s COMPLETE BLOWOUT in 1994 of Dawn Clark Netsch (roughy 2M votes to 1M votes). In 2022, he… Read more »
Get out there and document the cheating. Let’s turn this thing around.
Thats right Debstor. Do what Dave suggests and document the cheating. Go down in your basement where all the voting machines exist and tally the election results for all to see.
It is impossible to trust ones own opinion if they are moderate, liberal or conservative. It’s totally subjective. The only correct way to measure a persons political stand is against a hard list of polarizing issues. “Measuring” is at the heart of all science and engineering, quantification leads to the math that unlocks the secrets and discoveries. If measured properly I would say Illinois is the most left-wing wokeism state in the country. A woke-infused person who believes abortion up to the moment of birth, will also argue that this is a perfectly “moderate and reasonable” stance, which it is… Read more »
All the numbers showing that IL isn’t quite the Moscow of the Midwest that comrade Pritzger and his other central committee co- conspirators hoped for mean nothing when a tried and true voting bloc puts the progressive/ socialist/ Dem/ Marxists into power and they sneak laws through that negatively impact us all. Either these people that supposedly oppose the nonsense going on in IL start voting these sons of Marx out, silently enable them or move.
Well then those moderates need to get out and vote then don’t they?
A vote for a moderate Democrat always turns into a vote for the far left agenda. Never vote for a Democrat.
If Republicans miraculously took over Illinois, the state would be thriving again in a few years.
Disagree, a lot of damage has to be undone. It would not only the GOP to decisively win multiple statewide elections, but to do so several consecutive times.
As I showed above, the moderates DO get out to vote (or at least their ballots are being counted!) JB SLOBSTER had the most votes of any governor in the history of IL. And not just by a little, but by a lot. Up until Pritzker, the most votes any Gov. got in IL’s history was Jim Edgar’s reelection campaign in 1994 where he had 1,984,318 votes to Dawn Clark Netsch’s 1,069,850 votes. He blew her out of the water, 2:1. That is until JB Slobster showed up. In 2018, he got in 2,479,746 votes, the MOST OF ANY ANYONE… Read more »
This is just like Biden getting more votes than Obama after not campaigning.
Illinois is not moderate. It’s far left. If it were moderate, the voters wouldn’t vote for the likes of Jelly Belly and the rest of the lunatics at the state level.
$300,000,000 from a personally funded campaign makes for a heck of a ground game, that managed to fabricate 800,000 new straight ticket Democrat ballots of out thin air, which is about 500,000 more votes than Edgar got in his 1994 BLOW OUT of Dawn Clark Netsch when he got about 2,000,000 votes.
Yes, it is clear that JB managed to capture/fabricate/harvest 800,000 ballots that vote in presidential years but not mid-terms. And yes, in this sense, IL does lean far left.
Bingo, JB and his $$$ can control the entire city and state for as long as he likes.
Sorry, John, but you, too, missed the point, which is they vote for radical progressives who hold views they don’t agree with. Show me any polls that they hold leftist positions on the issues.
John Proud Maga is merely repeating the circular argument of Pensions Paid First, that every election result is always the perfect reflect of the will of the voters. And even when Putin wins every election, it’s still the will of the voters, and even when there is obvious fraud, the fraud is the will of the voters because they elected a candidate who would obvious engage in fraud. and so on, and so on…
My favorite is the gerrymandering ‘will of the voters’. The voters voted for the ruling party to gerrymander elections, so that the ruling party would always win every election. And when enough voters become angry and try to vote out the bad ruling party, they can’t, because gerrymandering prevents the angry votes from being counted in the districts that matter. It was the ‘will of voters’, in the past, who voted to give the ruling party permission to gerrymander power for themselves, forever, and that’s the will of the voters that the ruling party should be in party forever because… Read more »
I think I understood the point of the article, that being, Illinois moderates are simply too uninformed to vote correctly. Perhaps, but couldn’t they also simply be fools, products of the Illinois public schools, unable to reason thru an issue from cause to effect? Let’s see how Illinois votes in the next presidential election. If it’s between Biden and Trump, there will be no issue with the voters being uninformed. They will have had 4 years of experience with each man already being president. I predict Illinois will choose Biden, proving my theory that Illinois moderates are simply fools. If… Read more »
Honestly spot on, they will cut off their nose despite their faces. They will take more pain for their pensions and to avoid mean tweets or X’s.
Illinois is moderate. A lot of people DON’T vote for “the likes of Jelly Bean and the rest of the lunatics at the state level.” BUT, unfortunately their votes ARE COUNTED FOR Jelly Bean and the lunatics. Remember where you live.
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Excellent analysis by Wirepoints. It is the gerrymandered legislative districts that account for the caucuses in the two state houses. But the statewide elections are more difficult to explain. Legislative gerrymandering does not directly affect the statewide races, which have almost overwhelmingly gone D in the last 8-10 years. The Cook County commissioner districts are also gerrymandered into heavy D leaning. Cleaned up legislative districts would help a bit, but I’m not sure it would totally solve the dilemna.
It’s the state wide ballot harvesting operations and fraud that secured 800,000 NEW votes for the Democrats in 2018/2022 that were absent in 2014. JB’s pumped over $300,000,000 in his statewide campaign to ‘find’ votes, and they sure did find votes! They found 800,000 voters who failed to show up for any election since the 90’s and everyone of them voted straight ticket Democrat!
Not much has changed in the state, maybe 100,000 Republicans have left, but the ground game they have collecting ballots puts them over the top.
In a republican democracy, elected officials largely reflect the will of the electorate if not exactly on every issue. Illinoisians are among the most politically progressive (I prefer “regressive”) Americans.
The litmus test is how IL favors late term abortion. People who you may even see at Mass, say judges and officials, will pray for the unborn on Sunday and then go to work on Monday morning and work for late term abortions. In IL it’s far more important to be a good Democrat than a faithful Catholic.
I have a neighbor lady who is a very devout Catholic. She teaches religion classes on Sunday for the children and participates in many events. Two elections ago a Democrat ran against a Republican where the abortion was a big issue based upon the mailings. She put up a sign for the Democrat abortionist in her front yard. As your post says, being a good Democrat trumps religious beliefs.
Same here, a family member. Her reasoning: the Democrats want to help the poor, and no politician is ever a perfect fit for her beliefs. Her views are full-tilt Marxist in terms of the “rights” of the poor and POC. But she constantly swears that she is a moderate.
Worse obscene hypocrisy than the suburban ‘Karens’ with their BLM garden club signs and 8,000 lb SUV’s in gated communities. It is a cult.
It’s not easy for people to admit there’s evil in the world that seeks to do them harm.
The anti-humanists control IL and that won’t change.
To late : The cult is in charge of IL now and they have gerrymandered the districts and rigged the courts to keep it that way. And if Jim Edgar was a ‘moderate’, forget it altogether.
Hmm, somebody votes for all these progs. That’s the root of the problem.
How quickly we forget. When a moderate/conservative does manage to find high office in Illinois, nothing changes. Remember Rauner? When a corrupt liberal finally vacates a high office, nothing changes. Remember Madigan? I don’t care what a poll says about Illinois being moderate. If the moderates are so easily misled by the liberal media and woke propaganda, then they might as well be progressives themselves.
Just look at the lasting damage done by the ‘moderate’ Jim Edgar to IL, and then he has the hubris to be a ‘Pension Pig’ because he is ‘entitled’. IL has been on a path of self-destruction for sometime, things are just really compounding now and make it easier to see.
Madigan said that his only job was to defeat Rauner’s initiatives in every way possible. Rauner gave an interview saying that he faced resistance from the legislature and the supreme court; and that the Springfield/Chicago bureaucracy directly and intentionally undermined his policies at every chance they could. He said they were unionized so he couldn’t fire them or replace them. Rauner’s real screw up was the medicaid funding of abortions. But come 2018, that was the moderate position, and Rauner lost only 65,000 votes between 2014 to 2018, which is a really strong showing for any incumbent. JB lost about… Read more »
Pritzker is delusional, but he is also very committed to remake Illinois in his own screwed up image. His daddy’s money gives him a reasonable chance of doing so. I’m halfway out the door, maintaining a residence here for family reasons only, while a second residence awaits. I don’t know if it’s too late or not for a course correction in Illinois, but it isn’t looking good. I don’t think anyone who left made an unwise decision, and I believe the longer I hold onto a home here I’ll lose money. It is what it is.
Articles like this provide false hope for those who refuse to leave. Hope for a better future does exist, but it exists beyond the Illinois border. Do you really want to spend most of your life waiting for everyone else in Illinois to get a clue? Do you really want to spend most of your life trying to undo the damage already done? Polls can be interesting, but results are what matters, and WP has well documented the results of the Illinois decline. If Illinois residents really are centrists/moderates, then they are centrist/moderate fools. One last thing to consider. As… Read more »
Great article!