McLean County Times

The saying “By their fruits you will know them” is a well-recognized Biblical saying originating from the gospel according to Matthew, “By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:16-20, NABRE).

This Biblical passage tells us that a person’s works reveal the true nature of their character. It’s often used to emphasize the importance of judging the performance of others based on their actions rather than their words. This saying should be a red flag for any conservative voter when it comes to the progressive Democrat party, but particularly here in Illinois. Look at the bad fruit the rotten Pritzker administration has produced:

Illinois has become a sanctuary state. The governor and his radical Left party have put out a red carpet for illegal immigrants if for no other purpose than to maintain political control of this once great state, which it now dominates through the state executive, judiciary, and legislative branches. This is done by using funds that come our way from the Federal government based on population, including both citizens and illegal aliens. Doing so comes at an additional price to the state in terms of social welfare, increased medical and school costs, housing, schooling, policing, and public safety.

Taxes are out of control. Only a few years ago, Illinois had no state income tax. Sales taxes alone funded the state’s operation. Then, state income tax was instituted at 3%, slowly increasing to a flat rate of 4.95%. Since tax year 2021, Illinois has had a graduated income tax under which everyone pays their “fair share,” with rates starting at 4.75% for income up to $10,000 and ballooning up to 7.99% for income above $750,000. Sales taxes have likewise climbed, with payers forking out an additional 9-11% for most purchases. Fees, including license plate fees, have increased, now at $151 per vehicle. At this point, Illinois real estate taxes are among the highest in the nation. They are so high that many fixed-income homeowners are losing their homes.

Our population is decreasing. The average number of children per couple in Illinois is now 1.64, well below the 2.1 replacement rate. Parents are aborting, sterilizing, and contracepting themselves out of existence because having and raising children is just too expensive. Top wage earners are leaving the state due to increased income taxes. Major corporations are also leaving the state and taking jobs with them. 

Our public education system is failing. Quality public schools that once taught math, science, history, social studies, and civics have become little more than socialist training camps. Critical race theory, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, revisionist 1619 Project history, and transgender issues have supplanted essential curriculum topics. The net result is that we are producing a generation of undereducated and confused students who are riddled with guilt, shame, fear, hate, and recrimination. Schools that formerly produced cohesiveness and a patriotic American character are creating a generation of guilt-ridden, polarized, divided, and America-hating students.

Illinois has become an abortion destination. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade, the legislature and governor of Illinois have done everything within their ability to make sure that abortion is free and unfettered in Illinois. While surrounding states have done their best to restrict or eliminate abortion, Illinois has done the complete opposite by becoming a magnet state for the murder of the helpless and innocent. Now, all Illinois taxpayers are being forced to pay for abortions through their tax dollars. Rather than denying that abortion is the taking of human life, some progressive Democrats are now on record admitting that abortion is killing but that they don’t care!

Public safety is on the wane. Democrats are well known to be soft on crime, coddling criminals through such accords as the so-called SAFE-T Act, which is anything but. The act undermines public safety by limiting the ability of local law enforcement to place and keep criminals in jail. Apprehended individuals who supposedly pose no threat to public safety are often back on the streets hours after their arrest, only to commit more crimes. In addition, Democrat district attorneys see defendants as victims. By refusing to prosecute whole categories of crime, district attorneys are, in effect, repealing criminal statutes - acting in the place of the legislature. Instead of being in prison, many criminals are now walking the streets, committing more crimes.

Our First Amendment rights are being threatened. The First Amendment ensures freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and the right to petition the government. In recent years, we have seen all these rights come under threat. Who can forget how Rep. Sharon Chung sponsored a bill to exempt the Town of Normal from a voter petition to place new elected officials on the ballot who would be answerable to the citizens and not the mayor or town council? Who can forget how Governor Pritzker shut down churches, temples, synagogues, and mosques in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling them non-essential services while nearly every other institution or business was deemed essential and remained open? What about mandates requiring pharmacies to carry abortion-inducing drugs and laws forcing pro-life centers to provide information about abortion as an alternative?

We are losing our Second Amendment rights. This only serves to make matters of public safety and freedom worse. While Democrats argue that gun owners don’t need so-called assault rifles to hunt, they try to cover up the real reason why the Founding Fathers insisted that citizens have the right to keep and bear arms – the purpose of which is to protect the people from an abusive, dangerous, and tyrannical government. Illinois has criminalized law-abiding gun owners who do nothing more than refuse to register arms and large magazines they keep for self-defense.

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These are eight detailed examples of the rotten fruit of the Democratic Party’s dominance in Illinois. And that’s not all! Among other consequences is the erosion of our political system due to corruption, akin to the decay of neglected fruit. Political corruption has eroded the very foundations of our government, resulting in inefficiency, injustice, and a loss of faith in public institutions. This corruption has entailed the mismanagement of state and federal resources, mirroring the wastefulness of letting fruit spoil.

Such corrupt practices lead to squandering public funds and resources, fostering economic stagnation and societal decline. In certain contexts, “rotting fruit” symbolizes the gains obtained through corruption, like bribes or kickbacks. Just as fruit left to rot signifies tainted gains that eventually sour, corrupt officials may amass wealth through unethical means. We’ve seen this over and over again in Illinois. Who can forget that four of the past ten Illinois governors who have gone to prison for corruption: Otto Kerner (1961-1968), convicted in 1973; Daniel Walker (1973-1977), pleaded guilty in 1987; George Ryan (1999-2003): convicted in 2006; and Rod Blagojevich (2003-2009): convicted in 2011 – three out of four Democrat!

Come on, people! What more must we know when deciding which political party to support this November? We must not support the Democrats! Again, as the Bible states, “By their fruits you will know them.” What more do we need to know to turn out the progressive Democrat party that opposes traditional values at every step? Also, how can people remain at home during elections or otherwise fail to vote? Any people who vote to keep Democrats in office or fail to vote to remove them from office are themselves corrupt and responsible for the negative consequences.

Again, you will know them by their fruits. I have smelled the fruits of the Democrat party, and it’s clear to me that they are rotten. That can only mean one thing. It’s time to take out the trash. We can clean up this once great state by returning to office the party of Lincoln - Republicans. McLean County Republicans stand behind all Republican candidates – from county to national level – who will appear on our ballots during the November elections. A complete list of candidates can be found on the MCGOP 2024 Republican Candidates website.