Dupage Policy Journal

Heidi Holan, Republican candidate for the District 46 state House seat, is the target of a last-minute campaign tactic attempting to convince Democratic voters in Illinois that Holan is connected to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and to convince Republican voters in Illinois that Holan is connected to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Which flyer the voters received in their mailboxes from the Alliance of Illinois Taxpayers NFP seemed to depend on the voter's party registration.

Holan, who has been endorsed by the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald, is facing state Rep. Deborah O'Keefe Conroy (D-Villa Park).

In response to her endorsement from the Chicago Tribune, Holan said, “Everyone realizes the change we need in Springfield, and I am proud to stand against status-quo politics on behalf of the residents of District 46.”

With the election less than 24 hours away, it appears a last-minute effort is in full swing to keep Holan from winning the election. Conroy won the election in 2012 and 2014, but the 2014 race against Holan was a tight one.

This is not the first time the Alliance of Illinois Taxpayers NFP has been the subject of questionable campaign mailers. In April 2015, the Daily Herald ran a story about a mailer sent out by the alliance regarding Schaumburg trustee candidate Jim Moynihan. The mailer alleged he had a budget plan to cut over $7 million from police and fire departments, despite Moynihan denying he ever advocated the cuts.

DNAinfo said a flier today by the alliance is trying to tie state Rep. Michael McAuliffe (R-Chicago), Chicago's only Republican state representative, to Trump, pasting his picture alongside Trump's.

On the webpage illinoissunshine.org, the alliance is said to be supporting candidates for local, county and state elected offices. The alliance's tactics have been derided as misleading because the candidates have not made the claims the alliance is alleging.

Holan has issued a statement on her webpage, voteholan.com, warning voters that false information is being sent in the mail. She cautions that a mailer, claiming to be from her campaign, said she is supporting Clinton, which is false. Holan said on the website that she is not the only Republican candidate in Illinois to be the target of deceptive mailers.

“It would appear that the status-quo machine in Illinois is desperate. Let's show them tomorrow,” Holan said at voteholan.com.

The 2016 election's message to the people seems to be "voter, beware." Policy experts have suggested voters independently educate themselves about the candidates rather than trusting mailers, especially the week of the election, so that they are better able to cast their vote based on facts, not falsehoods being spread about candidates.