There is Zero Competency in the Pritzker and Johnson Administrations
As Governor Pritzker continues to roll out his campaign for president early, the nation now sees the misdirection and massaging of facts (otherwise known as lies) about the state of Illinois. Fortunately, the truth is catching up to him.
There is no doubt that after conducting hundreds of interviews and press conferences with a mostly friendly press in Illinois and on leftist national programs, Pritzker believed he was well-prepared to appear on FOX News Brett Baier’s Special Report for a longer interview about what’s happening in the state, especially in Chicago. Brett Baier did the entire country a favor by presenting the “receipts,” as we now call the evidence or facts about important public policy concerns.
From our rankings on the economy and taxes to the crime stats in Chicago, Pritzker was asked to account for his administration’s policies.
Keep in mind that Pritzker is not new to the job. He has been in office nearly SEVEN years now and has had complete control over the legislative body and every Democrat politician in high office—the Cook County States Attorney, Chairman, all the constitutional officers, inspector generals, judges—all of them. There are no excuses for not solving the numerous everyday problems Illinoisans face and running efficient and effective agencies. He has failed.
Example one is the Harvey, IL financial distress ordinance I wrote about last week. And in terms of incompetence, Cook County residents still do not have property tax bills because of pure incompetence. Will this be their Christmas present? Pony up tens of thousands of dollars to pay for a bloated government right at the holiday time? The bills were due in August, and no one will say when they will be ready. The further the delay, the more likely governments dependent on tax receipts will take out expensive short-term loans. But I digress.
The Baier interview, which lasts about 15 minutes, is available to watch in full on YouTube at this LINK. Pritzker was initially asked to respond to President Trump’s statement calling Pritzker a weak leader and about Baier’s question regarding sanctuary laws protecting illegals. In his response, Pritzker said the following:
- That ICE agents are an invasion force.
- That ICE illegally detained citizens and put children in zip ties when they stormed an apartment building, in which a couple of illegals tied to gangs were apprehended.
- That people released from custody all get a fair hearing to determine if they are safe to release back to the community.
- That they comply with judicial warrants when presented to hand over illegals to ICE.
Trump’s departments involved in these operations are using their social media accounts to refute much of what Pritzker says.
Regarding Allegation Number 1: Pritzker is entirely unhinged in calling ICE not just an invasion force but also vilifying them as Nazis. In his latest directives against ICE, Pritzker announced the creation of an Illinois Accountability Commission that will document, for potential future prosecution, all activities of ICE agents. A FOX 32 report stated, “Pritzker said the commission’s findings would serve as an official record for future accountability efforts.”
Adding to this, Lori Lightfoot, seeking to stay relevant, announced she is creating an ICE database. Her aim is to “unmask” ICE agents by recording physical traits, clothing, and vehicles, but not names or identities. According to the article
Lightfoot said the organization will serve as a website and “central repository” for any alleged illegal actions taken by federal immigration officials during the execution of Operation Midway Blitz.
“We want to create a centralized archive of all the purported criminal actions of ICE and CBP agents,” Lightfoot said. “We want to create a portal where what’s happening real time can be centralized and put out for the public to view.”
What we know:
Lightfoot also said the group will “unmask” the federal agents who have so far remained anonymous because of what the Department of Homeland Security said has been a 1,000% increase in threats against them.
“They are on public property out in the open,” she said. “We have an absolute right under our constitution to document what’s happening.”
The response from Trump’s DOJ to both Pritzker’s ICE Accountability Commission and Lightfoot’s “The ICE Accountability Project” was that they will send Lightfoot a letter to preserve all documentation and correspondence about the Project because disclosing any identifying information about a federal agent that could harm them is against the law.
Pritzker is in the same boat as Lightfoot.
It really raises the question – one that Alderman Ray Lopez has been asking for a long time – wouldn’t it just be easier to turn over criminal illegals who are arrested and otherwise cooperate with ICE?
The opposite is happening, and the situation is becoming more dangerous. “A large group of pro-migrant rioters attacked a contingent of ICE officers on Thursday by boxing them in with a truck, firing heavy-duty fireworks at them, and throwing rocks, according to reports.” Read more HERE.
On Allegation Number 2 –This was vehemently denied, and there is zero corroborating evidence that any child was zip-tied. Children of illegals were taken into custody when their parents were detained. It is important to note that children are also taken into custody by the state when their citizen parents are arrested for crimes. Read HERE.
On Allegation Number 3 – Pritzker believes that criminal illegals in our country, when detained by police, should be treated the same under the SAFE-T Act as citizens who are arrested and violate the law. This is ridiculous. In many cases, these criminal illegals have already been identified by ICE for removal (see below), or they should be handed over to ICE for determination on their ability to remain in the country, but HIS sanctuary laws prevent such.
Brett Baier put the pictograph above on the screen to make his point that criminal illegals are being released, catching Pritzker in a complete lie.
On Allegation Number 4 – that Pritzker is cooperating when ICE presents a judicial warrant, an X post by ICE refuted Pritzker:
The Baier interview also included this pictograph showing Chicago with the highest murder rate per 100,000 inhabitants among all big cities.
Pritzker’s comment was that Illinois violent crime has been cut in half and that he has invested in violent crime prevention and police. His investments in the former are a complete waste of money; recall the “peacekeeper” he stood next to, who was arrested days later for murder. And he has not invested in police, other than handing out expensive pension perks that taxpayers cannot afford.
The Baier interview was not only about illegals and crime. He also put this pictograph together about the state tax situation.
When asked about Illinois’s financial state, Pritzker blamed former Governor Bruce Rauner, said he has made things better, and said high property taxes are due to the schools. Basically, he couldn’t explain it. Illinois taxes are higher under Pritzker, and our economy is struggling to compete against neighboring states to attract new businesses. Any large business development is heavily subsidized by the state.
And on that note, even subsidized businesses are tightening their belts. Rivian, which received an $827 million subsidy package from Pritzker using your tax money, announced it is laying off 4.5% of its workforce. They said the layoffs are not in manufacturing but in administrative and marketing positions. At the same time, they refused to disclose how many people are employed at their Normal, Illinois, plant; many suspect it is much lower than in previous years. Rivian lost $1.7 billion in the first six months of 2025. They have never turned a profit. Read more HERE.
So what’s really going on here? Writing in American Leviathan, Ned Ryun gets it right. This resistance to federal enforcement of laws is only about keeping Democrats in power. The more Trump disrupts their narrative and shows the people that there is a better way, the more power Illinois Democrats lose. It scares them. If they don’t own the government’s levers, then all the taxpayer largesse goes away. (H/T Jim Stramaglia for posting this article.)
From the article:
This is power politics, pure and simple.
Let me explain: urban areas like Chicago are mini-states with single-party rule under Democrats; Chicago hasn’t had a Republican mayor in nearly a hundred years. The urban areas are then power bases for Democrats to have undue influence over the rest of a given state. Illinois is actually quite red were it not for Chicago and Cook County. Think about Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Were it not for those two cities, Pennsylvania would essentially be North Alabama, solid red every Presidential election.
What Democrats do with their unchecked power is then create a system that perpetuates their power: bureaucracies, NGOs, etc., that are not about solving the problems of, say, homelessness or poor education or illegal immigration (far from it on that last issue). No: it’s about using taxpayer dollars to empower themselves and never solve any problems.
It’s their business model that then leads to perpetual political power.
I find this statement to be entirely true based on my 15 years involved in local and state politics, in some cases, at the very center of the action.
Ryun concludes with this:
The Choice Ahead
In many ways this fight in Chicago is not really about Trump versus Pritzker, or Republicans versus Democrats. Fundamentally it is about power politics and rule of law and restoring Constitutional order. And whether America still has the will to enforce its own laws against Leviathan’s street armies.
If ICE can be beaten back by mobs, if federal agents must be shielded by troops just to do their jobs, then the rule of law itself is collapsing. And that collapse is not an accident—it is Leviathan’s design.
The Guard is being deployed because the Democrats, the ruling class, and the Administrative State have made political violence a weapon of policy. Until Americans confront that fact—and dismantle the machine that profits from it—every city will become Chicago.
Voters should be asking themselves if it’s time to change horses.
Isn’t nearly 100 years of complete Democrat control of Chicago enough? And isn’t 25 years of complete control of the state by Democrats enough?
(Rauner was wholly ineffective with a block on action by Madigan.)
IN OTHER NEWS
The Gotion deal is officially dead in Michigan. The citizens fought hard and have won. Governor Gretchen Witmer’s green energy scam goes down in defeat as Gotion ends its plans for a battery plant in Green Charter Township. Now, the state will attempt to recoup the $23.6 million they paid for the land on which the plant was supposed to be built.
Read this story in The Midwesterner for more information, or listen to this broadcast on Facebook.