McLean County Times

Former member of Illinois House of Representatives Jeanne Ives (44th District, 2013-2018) gave a super-charged talk to about 60 members of McLean County Republicans in Bloomington on August 22nd. Her focus was on the activities of the Democrat party in Illinois and what Republicans can do to turn the state red. She rallied the troops to take the next crucial steps in the process.

Ives pointed out how radical Illinois Democrats have become and how this state has become “crazy,” even about other liberal-progressive states such as New York and California. She described the Democrat modus operandi by stating, “This is the place where bad ideas become law, where the legislature takes away your rights and forces you to go to court to take them back.”

She pointed out that only by informing the voters about what’s happening can Republicans expect to make a change. “We win by informing people about what’s going on. Democrats never tell the whole story. For instance, they tell you that they support schools but will not tell you that they also support multi-gender bathrooms,” she noted. “The better informed the public, the better we will do in future elections.” She went on to say, “Politics matters! We are here because we care about our community and our nation… We have to win elections. We have an important mission.”

Former member of Illinois House of Representatives Jeanne Ives | Provided Photo

Ms. Ives then pointed out specific cases where Democrats in Illinois have worked to usurp the rights of the people. She pointed out SB 1909 – the Deceptive Practices Act that operates against pro-life pregnancy centers. “This bill is not needed and is not even constitutional.” She spoke about the Doxing Act (HB 2954) recently passed into law. This “incredibly aggressive bill” is designed to mute freedom of speech. “No other state has such a law.” Ives also pointed out the BIPA (Biometric Information Privacy Act) and noted that it, too, needs to be changed. She pointed out that the SAFE-T Act, with its no-cash bail, is another radical piece of legislation that no other state has. Ultimately, Ives said she must conclude that “Illinois is not a moderate state.” She pointed out that Rep. Lance Yednock, a Democrat (76th District, Ottawa), is “leaving the Illinois legislature because he sees the Democrat Party as being too radicle.”

During a Q&A session, Jeanne pointed out that the only way Republicans will make a difference in Illinois is by the hard work of precinct committee persons, block captains, and interested others. “We must call, email, knock, and text” to let conservative and persuadable voters know what’s going on and get out the vote. “We must make it easy to vote. We must turn out the voters. We must encourage citizens to sign up for permanent vote-by-mail and promote early voting. We must ask for their vote.” At the same time, she pointed out that we must build personal networks and get our conservative friends to vote and for them to encourage their conservative friends to vote.

Ives was featured as a special speaker event for new and potential dues-paying members of the MCGOP.