Please note that I have updated this column to clarify that I am not fully leaving Wirepoints.
By: Mark Glennon*
We expect Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski will soon officially announce his run for governor of Illinois.
Nonprofit organizations like Wirepoints are subject to restrictions on political activity. To ensure we have no risk of noncompliance with those restrictions, Ted is resigning his position as president and already stopped publishing columns here. Our research director, John Klingner, is also leaving to join Ted’s campaign.
Because I want to write without restriction about Ted’s race and other races in the coming election, I, too, will begin writing on other platforms such as Substack and as a guest columnist for other publications. Wirepoints’ news aggregation service will continue and will be free to link to those articles, just as we link now to many third party authors and publications, so I anticipate that they will appear here as such. I will continue to contribute time to Wirepoints on other matters, but no longer as Executive Editor. I may occasionally contribute Wirepoints Original columns but only on matters of general interest.
That means Wirepoints, for the time being, will be limited mostly to just the aggregation service for third party articles. This is an interim arrangement. We expect to launch an expansion and other major changes with significant, new resources in the very near future.
In the meantime, we hope you continue to support Wirepoints financially and otherwise. We curate the best news and opinion stories from all sources and all political perspectives better and more fairly than anyplace in Illinois, which has made it extremely popular. Anybody can subscribe to our daily email with those links at no charge. You can sign up for it by clicking here. We update our home page regularly, seven days a week. We are exceptionally conscientious about that fairness and balance in the stories we collect, which has made it a daily must-read for many of you, but your financial support is needed.
Apologies that we have been unable to answer all your emails lately. Please direct questions or communications about candidates to them, not here.
Huge thanks to Ted and John for the extraordinary contribution they have made to Wirepoints and the endless hours they have put in. God speed.
*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
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.
There is a real opportunity here. Not only is public opinion on the side of Ted’s brand of common sense, but there is a great team of locally successful campaign advisors, content creators, policy counsel, et cetera ready to go: Dan Proft, Florian Sohnke, and of course WP’s own Mark Glennon to name but three. JB and the Dems don’t stand a chance. Where was this when I lived in Illinois?
Go Ted!
Proft is very smart but has also never won anything and Sohnke’s still hiding behind his not-all-that-clever pen name. Mark is the only one of that brain trust I would have any confidence in.
Mark – Curious why you aren’t a part of Ted’s campaign, even if just in some policy/advisory capacity. Or maybe your involvement will come later when he fills out his gubernatorial staff once elected?
I do just that as a volunteer.
Ted, being Governor in Illinois does nothing for your moral character, as history has shown.
Leaving Soon: It’s time 4u to leave now, commenting. “Throwing stones” is misbehavior. Perhaps be simply satisfied that you, your family, and friends, are “perfect” on the scale of virtue.
While many of the commentors like to compare Ted to Pritzker, the real battle for Ted will be against his republican competition in the primary. Let’s see who the republicans choose to be their candidate next fall. Another Trumper who has limited appeal to swing voters or a more sensible candidate that republicans used to run, and who would occasionally win the governorship.
Completely accurate. Whenever I’ve heard or read Ted, he seems to be balanced in his positions and comes across very level headed. I don’t agree with him on every issue but that’s ok. While I appreciate that type of candidate, they typically struggle in primaries where the base just wants bloody red meat to feast on and doesn’t have the mental capacity to appreciate the nuances of each issue or policy. I hope I’m wrong and wish Ted luck.
Your Dime: You erred in your very first sentence, because and obviously, the real battle will be the Repub vs the Dem. You pretend some moderate Repub will have a better chance, but that’s probably not true. And you deride us “Trumpers” by even calling us that. We wanted a 180 degree change last November to avoid more national catastrophic actions by Harris, and even the swing states flipped, implying correctly that more democrat power would be continued destruction to our citizens.
StvOh: You’ve erred in your first sentence. I didn’t comment on the real battle, I commented on Ted’s first battle, which is winning the republican nomination. I’m slightly amused by the fact that you identify as a “Trumper” but feel disrespected when referred to as a “Trumper”. As to the swing states flipping, while they voted for trump, 5 of those states held senate elections and 4 of them elected a democrat and the 5th state that voted for a republican senator did so by .2%. So 4 of the swing states decided to keep democrats in the senate when… Read more »
For this upcoming race, you can run as an opposition to the cruel, incompetent individual Pritzker is. Stand up for the voters who are fed up with the gerrymandering not representing voting districts and Dems unopposed on almost every ballot. Motivate the 45% (conservatively) of DJT supporters to get to the polls. After all the negative press Pritzker has gotten on crime, sanctuary city status, gerrymandering, RE tax cheating, COVID escapes to Florida and seemingly supporting the moronic mayor of Chicago by being in every press conference with him, there should be an opportunity to get him out of office.… Read more »
He is wasting his time and money. No chance the public sector will allow someone who is fiscally responsible get elected. The public sector has gamed the system for themselves.
Appears you’re giving up. So stop commenting.
No he is wasting taxpayers money that they are contributing to him. He has claimed to point out the irresponsible spending of Illinois government and yet the financials of this non profit mirror that exact same pattern. Do we really need someone who has allowed his non profit to go downhill just like the state? This state has been damaged enough by rich businessmen for the past 12 years so he needs to show exactly how he intends to avoid this. Add to that the Rhinos he is associating with and some red flags are starting to wave.
WP, if a Republican wins the election for governor of Illinois, what can he or she do differently to avoid what Rauner experienced; that is, being ineffective due to being stonewalled by the Dems at every turn?
Rauner was hamstrung by the fact that the temporary state income tax hike to 5% expired right when he took office the Dems never got around to resizing the state budget to accommodate for it. That resulted in Quinn overspending during his final six months in office and left Rauner with a huge budget hole to fill Day One. That then led to the budget stalemate the next two years. Had the temporary tax hike never expired or had a much slower ramp down (like a quarter point per year), Rauner’s term would’ve looked much different. There would still be… Read more »
He also let his socialist wife take over his tenure, and all the baggage that comes with it.
Question for the candidate: What is governor Ted’s stance on the Texas National Guard being brought in to Illinois?
A reminder that questions for Ted about his campaign have to be directed to him, not on this site, after he formally announces. You can be sure he will be asked often about that.
Everything I have read and heard about Ted is he is a smart man. That said, just why in the hell would he run for Governor of Illinois? It is like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.
Right? Why would someone run to try and implement policies that they think could better the state when one could just complain online instead. Plus if he fixes things guys like you will have less to complain about. Somebody in his inner circle needs to explain this to him. What’s he even thinking?
You should help him out if he wins, your ideas are always so good for the average taxpayer. You tell it like it is, but like it is SUCKS.
This site is a treasure. Being a data sink for other articles might serve in the short term but will it be resurrected in its current state (platform, business model) as Wirepoints 2.0 after the election?
Yes, and long before the election. Thanks.
Will Ted’s campaign be able to effectively challenge the misleading information in Pritzker’s upcoming, expensive ads? Others have crashed and burned spectacularly while trying.
Who would try to do that? Hmm, let me think.
He’s got a shot if he can raise the dough. He’ll need $50 million or more. And keep it simple. Time to turn this state in a different direction. Are you happy with the way Dems are treating you, your kids, and your neighborhoods? Talk about classrooms and courtrooms, not bathrooms and locker rooms. Hammer away on the multi-billion dollar pension disaster without getting into the accounting weeds. The numbers will scare people but the details put them to sleep. Hey Chicagoans– do you know that your household spent money for free food, hotels and travel for illegals, when the… Read more »
Tired of feeling helpless and overwhelmed by depressing headlines? Vote for conservative Republicans like Ted who offer solutions, support law enforcement, plant trees and flowers, pick up litter on your daily walk, donate blood…..any little thing you can do…it will make a difference in how you feel. Then do something really radical and pray for our country and its leaders. (It is OK to ask that a certain governor or mayor be replaced with someone more competent.) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against… Read more »
Ted needs to get on the Megyn Kelly show. Megyn was a Chicago lawyer and her show has a huge following.
If he hasn’t already, maybe Ted could connect with Pastor Corey Brooks. Pastor Brooks really seems to care about Chicago.
I would also like to see meetings with crime victim advocates in Chicago and rallies organized with homeowners who are sick of high property taxes and the Chicago public school system.
Bring out the yard signs (you should make a donation in order to get one) and let the conservatives stand up and be heard!
Ted is the most qualified Republican to run for governor in my lifetime. He can do this!
looking forward to voting against this racist scum
Damn and just when I was getting used to be an Illinois immigrant. I hope this is not a Don Quixote exercise but sign me up as a nonvoting premier supporter. I might even consider a change of residence.
Please let me know what I can do to help you charlatans, fraudsters, and nay sayers.
I can remember when Illinois had all the statewide offices and both houses of the legislature.
It will be a tough slog but you have the truth on your side. It would be good to get some other legitimate candidates on the statewide ticket.
Can I get a yard sign.
Not through here. Contact the campaigns after their formal announcements are made.
Is this smart–running for governor in a Democrat rigged state? You can’t even trust Republicans to support him. Does he have a billion$?
He’ll get my vote!
Best wishes to all y’all, though it will be a thankless task.
It’s ridiculous to abandon this place without a continuity plan! You’re trading down for Substack? LOL. Well, this does make sense because we’re starting to win and Proft / Uihlein are probably involved.
You really need to learn to read the articles. The continuity plan is in the works and my articles will still appear here.”We’re starting to win,” you say. True, but no thanks to you.
What you call a win most people would call a loser. You have tried to control the spending and spending is up, Debt is up, pension debt has skyrocketed. I do thank you for everything, but you are fighting an uphill battle.
I was not referring to that. I was referring to a shift in public mood.
I feel it too, Mr. Glennon.
The system has been gamed by the public sector, they vote a rate of nearly 100% turnout. The normal public turns out about –Axios reports voter turnout across Illinois was 59.6% of registered voters. So the voting box is being stuffed by Democrats. Has been like this for decades, so do not expect it to change in your lifetime.
Best wishes to Ted and John in the race. Looking forward to intelligent, fact based debate over state finances, and solutions. Much appreciation to Wirepoints for being such a great fact based source of research and news. Looking forward to reading Mark’s work. The state is better for all of the above.
Ted will have my vote for IL Governor!!
Please update us on the alternative places such as Substack when it’s set up. While I left IL a number of years ago due to the info I found about the true state of the state, courtesy of your data driven reporting, I still follow only because as Chicago goes so does the rest of the country. The numbers laid out in things like bond offerings are truly terrifying.
I do not live in Illinois anymore but I’ll be rooting for Ted.
Likewise!
Impressive commitment to Illinois, Ted! You’re a better man than I!
I hope Wirepoints can staff up with some similarly critical (but fair?) thinkers aspiring to the calm, analytical voice that Ted and Mark have brought to this site. I’ll look for guest articles by Mark, and lots of press from Ted as he shows the state there is an alternative.
Good luck Ted and crew, you all do amazing work!
Please let us know where we can seek out further information in regard to your campaign for Governor of Illinois. I believe that you will have many supporters that are eager and willing to support you in your quest for Governor of Illinois. Thank you for your courage and determination to “Make a Difference” in our state.
My best wishes and we can only hope that finally Illinois voters will demand the changes that the State desperately needs.
Good luck and thanks for all the hard work!
Go Ted. Win Ted Win…..hopefully, you get an army of fiscally conservative Republicans with the intestinal fortitude to do what is necessary to take the state in a 180.
Suggestion.
Maybe open up Wirepoints Research and Commentary page into guest writers, guest columnist, page.
I’d love that! Are you interested in starting a new site?
You are effectively free to do that now. Just publish what you want on a different platform and if we think it’s good it will be placed with the other opinion pieces, just like op-eds from lawmakers and other commenters. If we miss something you think should be published, just send it along to us. We get lots of those suggestions now.
Go get um Ted & John!!!
I’ll hope your campaigning is one of big tent inclusiveness for independents like me as you can bet the machines game plan will be to run against and define opponents as MAGA — because that’s all they got to run on in the self servicing disaster of Illinois they’ve created. I think Ted’s Spanish language skills could be HUGE.
Kudos to Wirepoints, if it were’nt for Wirepoints we probably would’nt know half of the corruption of our Illinois politicians bureaucrats
I already moved out of Illinois so I can’t vote for you Ted, but I wish you all the best.
You are probably still registered. Go ahead and vote
This is true. I learned after I moved that I had to contact my former county recorder and request that my registration be removed, even though IL definitely got notified by NC that I was newly registered in another state.
Just say you are a illegal immigrant and you can vote in Illinois. It’s in the Constitution.
Godspeed Ted Dabrowski.
Good luck to Ted. I’ll wait for the announcement. I guess we will find out if the Illinois voters actually want change when it comes to fiscal responsibility. Only the voters can decide.
Voters don’t want to pay for the government they desire so I doubt Illinois voters will be voting for fiscal responsibility.
Thumbs up! They will then complain about the horrible politicians in office. I guess they will get the government they deserve. Either way, it’s up to them.