Dupage Policy Journal

For three decades, West Point graduate and Army veteran Jeanne Ives has called DuPage County home.

Ives (R-Wheaton) has represented her community in the Illinois General Assembly, serving three terms as a state representative from the 42nd District. This year she is challenging liberal U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-Downers Grove) in the Sixth Congressional District.

Ives says she wonders who really stands for the people of the area and their values, her or Casten. The issue was brought into clearer focus, says Ives, when Casten was silent after Democratic nominee for the DuPage County Board District 4 seat Hadiya Afzal (D-Gen Ellyn) posted a tweet on July 26 that struck many as appalling and disturbing.

U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-Downers Grove) | File photo

Afzal tweeted a video of a police officer in Portland, Oregon, being hit in the face with a projectile thrown from a crowd of violent protestors.

“I’ve been watching this on repeat for 15 minutes and laughing every single time,” Afzal posted.

The reaction was immediate. People on all sides of the political arena denounced it, and Democrats called for Afzal to leave the race. She quickly did.

“As a young activist, I made the decision to run for office in DuPage County Board District 4 to bring progressive policy changes for the community I grew up in and care deeply for,” Afzal wrote. “Early Sunday morning, I posted a personal tweet regarding the protests in Portland, Oregon. My post was in poor taste and doesn't reflect the values I was raised with and hold dear. I do not support or condone violence in any form. I appreciate and support the role that law enforcement plays in keeping our communities safe.”

Casten, however, remained silent, and Ives says that spoke volumes.

“Reasonable people can disagree on policy and politicians, but there can be no disagreement over the disgusting nature of those remarks,” Ives said in a statement provided to the DuPage Policy Journal. “This is a nice, neighborly community, with safe streets and good schools. I spent almost two years on Wheaton City Council and six years in the state legislature standing up for the families and businesses in DuPage County — against both parties — to keep DuPage a safe, thriving and peaceful community.

“Once again, Congressman Sean Casten — who represents most of DuPage County — is AWOL when members of his party should be held accountable,” she continued. “He said nothing about Afzal’s disgusting comments.”

Ives said Casten has lacked the moral fiber to take stands against other unethical, immoral behavior as well.

“He has refused to call for the resignation of [Illinois House] Speaker [Mike] Madigan (D-Chicago) in light of a federal investigation into bribery charges," she said. "When Joe Biden’s role in the illegal unmasking of Gen. Michael Flynn was revealed, Casten said nothing. When allegations of sexual assault were levied against his endorsed candidate for president, Casten said nothing. When a Democratic state representative staged a mock assassination of the president at a fundraiser, Casten said nothing.” 

Liberal influence

Ives says that it is important to remember that Casten and Afzal are both members of the new Democratic Party that swept into DuPage in 2018 with the help of what she calls a far-left organization, Indivisible DuPage.

“Like Afzal, Casten has his own record of intemperate comments," Ives said. "Like Afzal, Sean Casten uses hate to misdirect people’s attention away from his assaults on our freedoms and free-enterprise system. Unlike Afzal, Casten has received no scrutiny from the media nor has he faced any accountability from his peers.

When asked to identify a leader he looks to for guidance, Sean Casten allegedly named author Dan Savage, whom Ives views as “a virulent, profane bigot who has called evangelical Christians ‘pieces of [expletive]’ and said of Republicans, ‘I wish they were all [expletive] dead.’”

Casten also has allegedly compared President Trump to Osama bin Laden, and compared those who disagree with him to traitors or Nazi sympathizers, according to Ives.

Casten, in an online talk with supporters on environmental and racial justice issues, said, “The first places to fall are the places white, wealthy people move away from.”

Ives said it’s very important to listen to what he says — and what he doesn’t.

“It is clear that Sean Casten, Hadiya Afzal and the Indivisible DuPage movement that supports their campaigns are not interested in making America better,” she said. “They are only interested in making it bitter. And the liberal Chicago and suburban press have given Casten and Afzal a pass by not reporting on their hateful, divisive comments.

“Sean Casten, Indivisible DuPage and Hadiya Afzal represent the extremism of DuPage County’s Democratic Party. But do they represent our community? Is this hate and animosity really the new DuPage County? We will find out in November.”

Ives represented the 42nd District in the Illinois House from 2013-2019. In 2018 she ran against Gov. Bruce Rauner in the GOP gubernatorial primary.

This year she's turned her attention toward Congress, winning a landslide victory in the March 17 GOP primary over Dr. Jay Kinzler.

Illinois’ Sixth District had been consistently Republican until Casten’s 2018 victory. It was the first time a Democratic candidate had won since 1970. The district consists of sections of Cook, DuPage, Kane, McHenry and Lake counties.