State Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) might be counting on her pull with conservatives rather than a pile of cash if she makes a run at ousting Gov. Bruce Rauner in the GOP primary.
Despite reports that Ives currently has only $8,488 available in campaign cash versus Rauner’s $65.5 million, the smart money might be on her in terms of who is now most in tune with the Republican base.
Ives hasn’t officially declared for the race, but she plans to collect signatures in anticipation of such a run. She recently told reporters that her actions are about restoring “common sense” to the cash-strapped state, which nonetheless recently enacted a record-setting $36.1 million spending plan that carried a 32 percent permanent state income tax hike.
Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton)
A possible Ives’ run comes at arguably the most tenuous time for the Rauner administration.
In addition to dealing with the financial issues plaguing the state, Rauner is still being battered over his decision to enact a law guaranteeing taxpayer-funding abortions.
HB40 allows Medicaid recipients and state workers to get state-funded abortions at any point and for any reason.
The fact that Rauner signed the bill into law after vowing as a candidate in 2014 that he would have “no social agenda” has many conservatives feeling betrayed. For his part, Rauner has said he has wavered in his support for female reproductive rights.
Whether or not Ives actually decides to run, she has already said she will not support Rauner's re-election bid.
“There is little trust between most Illinoisans and their government at many levels and for good reasons,” Ives told the Prairie State Wire. “Top political leaders have lied to the people about who they are and what they are going to do, and they continue to make promises we cannot keep.”
When all is said and done, Ives contends Rauner didn’t turn out to be whom he professed to be.
"He's failed the integrity test,” the West Point grad and mother of five told the Chicago Tribune. “No one in the Legislature believes a word he says."
Should she officially become a candidate, Ives will enter the race knowing she will have the support of a wide swath of conservative voters, and that base only figures to multiply given Rauner’s ever-eroding position among the faction.
Thus far, Sen. Sam McCann (R-Jacksonville) and William Kelly are the only Republicans to publicly express interest in taking on Rauner, with McCann’s early campaign being dogged by reports that he fabricated at least part of his military history.
Irking Republicans all the more is McCann’s history of siding with House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) on various key issues, including backing the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union on a recent vote.
Kelly has run three times for public office, twice against Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka in primaries and in 2015 against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
If and when Ives decides to make her run official, former Rock Island Rep. Rick Mouthland is slated to run as her running mate, with Chicago GOP Chairman Chris Cleveland serving as chairman of her campaign.
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