Jeanne Ives, a former Illinois state representative, said Texas House Democrat Gene Wu’s appearance in Carol Stream with Gov. JB Pritzker during last year’s redistricting walkout was “not smart.” Ives’ made the comments on X in response to a post calling for Wu’s resignation.
“This guy showed up in Carol Stream alongside Gov. Pritzker when the TX Dems escaped to IL to protest redrawing maps,” said Jeanne M Ives. “Wu was the ringleader – not smart coming to one of the most gerrymandered states in America.”
The topic has drawn renewed attention as a clip from a Dec. 31, 2024 interview with Wu recirculates online, sparking what Yahoo News describes as “national backlash” after Wu said minority groups are now the majority and “have the ability to take over this country.”
“This guy showed up in Carol Stream alongside Gov. Pritzker when the TX Dems escaped to IL to protest redrawing maps. (…) Wu was the ringleader – not smart coming to one of the most gerrymandered states in America,” Ives said, according to her post on X.
According to NBC Chicago, Wu — who served as caucus chair — was among the group of Texas House Democrats who traveled to Illinois in August last year to deny Republicans a quorum and stall voting on congressional redistricting. He appeared alongside Pritzker at the DuPage County Democratic headquarters to oppose the effort. At that time, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Democrats who left the state should be tracked down, taken into custody and returned to Texas.
Ives is a Republican who served in the Illinois House (42nd District) from 2013 to 2019, with a background that includes graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and service as a U.S. Army officer. The Illinois General Assembly is the state’s legislative branch, consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives elected from 59 legislative districts and 118 representative districts, respectively.
