It's still four days until the RNC Chair election, but the week already has started strong with another lawsuit against Pritzker's weapons ban.

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Breaking: Attorney Tom DeVore, Darren Bailey, File Another Lawsuit After an Effingham County Judge Issues TRO, Pausing Pritzker's Assault Weapons Ban ([link removed])

On Monday, former Republican nominee for Attorney General Tom DeVore and former Illinois State Senator and Republican nominee for governor Darren Bailey filed a lawsuit in White County, challenging Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s assault weapons ban, after an Effingham County Judge issued a temporary restraining order ([link removed]) late Friday night while the lawsuit proceeds.

The lawsuit raises the same claims as the one filed last week in Effingham County and names Gov. JB Pritzker, State Senate President Don Harmon, D, Illinois House Speaker Christopher Welch, D, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul, D, as defendants.

The lawsuit names over 1,600 plaintiffs, including Bailey; 68 federal firearms dealers and 92 counties, and is based on alleged violations of the Illinois Constitution. One alleged violation is of the Equal Protection Clause, because the Assault Weapons Ban provides exemptions for certain groups – for instance, active and retired law enforcement are exempted from the ban, as well as active military and private security guards.

Retired military, however, much like the general population, are not exempted from the ban. DeVore argues that these exemptions create unconstitutional classes of citizens where legislators have decided who is subject to the ban and who is not.

A hearing is scheduled for this Wednesday at 9:00 am at the White County Courthouse.

A link to the Complaint can be accessed
here ([link removed]) .

Please continue to follow Illinois Review and
DeVore Law Offices ([link removed]) for more updates as they become available.

How Censuring Anti-Grassroots, RINO State Party Officials Can Help the RNC Start Winning Again ([link removed])

At the 2017 Republican National Committee winter meeting, where Ronna Romney-McDaniel would be elected as the RNC chairwoman, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said ([link removed]) ,

“We’ve got record levels of red all over the country.”

As
NBC News ([link removed]) reported, after the 2016 election of Donald J. Trump, as the 45th President of the United States, Republicans controlled “both the House and the Senate, as well as both chambers in 32 state legislatures. In 25 of those states, Republicans held both statehouse chambers and the governorship.”

By contrast, the Democrats held a “trifecta in only five” states.

But under the leadership of Ronna Romney-McDaniel, the niece of Never Trumper and Utah GOP Sen. Mitt Romney, the RNC has struggled to capitalize on the momentum that saw Republicans dominate at the local, state and federal levels prior to her election as chairwoman of the RNC.
[link removed]
President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican National Committee winter meeting at the Trump International Hotel on February 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

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During the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats flipped control of the US House of Representatives away from the Republicans – handing the Speakership back to Rep. Nancy Pelosi for the ** second ([link removed])
time.

The losses even prompted Romney-McDaniel to admit that the party would do a “
** deep data dive ([link removed])
” of the 2018 midterm election and get to the bottom of why Republicans suffered so many defeats across the country.

In 2020, Romney-McDaniel oversaw election efforts where Republicans witnessed
** widespread voter fraud ([link removed])
in key battleground states across the country; Democrats regained control of the US Senate where liberal Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer was elected ** Senate Majority Leader ([link removed])
; ** Speaker Pelosi ([link removed])
maintained her grip on power in the House; and an incoherent man with obvious health issues and numerous moments of ** confusion ([link removed])
was elected president – despite rarely leaving his ** basement ([link removed])
to campaign.

In 2022, after overseeing another disappointing midterm election cycle, Romney-McDaniel launched a new
** advisory council ([link removed])
that would review RNC political strategy to avoid more losses and be better prepared in 2024, saying in a ** statement ([link removed])
,

“As we assess the midterms and plan for 2024, we are gathering a diverse range of respected leaders in our movement to join together and help chart a winning course in the years to come.”

But overseeing a failed political strategy in 2018, 2020 and 2022 is just part of the problem for Romney-McDaniel, who can’t seem to buy a win despite
** massive ([link removed])
fundraising efforts.

The bigger issue for Romney-McDaniel, made worse under tenure, is the widespread influence of a small number of RINO (Republicans in Name Only) state party officials across the country who view grassroots conservative Republicans as “
** steerage ([link removed])
” – or third-class citizens.

And these same RINO party officials, like Romney-McDaniel are more concerned with maintaining their grip on power than winning actual races and supporting conservative Republican candidates. In many cases, these RINO party officials are working actively against the grassroots conservative base of the party.

In Arizona, former Republican conservative grassroots candidate for governor Kari Lake – another victim of widespread voter fraud, said recently during an
** interview ([link removed])
with Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk,

“When you’re in politics, you are working for the people. You’re not the boss; the people are the boss, and we need to get back to that. And right now, we’re watching this RINO class of our party try to go into all of these small legislative districts and claw back control. And I want the grassroots to know: Don’t give them a damn inch.”

In Illinois, after disappointing and humiliating midterm election losses this past November that saw Democrats once again control every statewide office; maintain a supermajority in the Illinois House and Senate; dominate Illinois Supreme Court races; and beat Republicans in winnable congressional races – Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy refuses to step down, despite overseeing a Republican party that deliberately sent
** mailers attacking ([link removed])
conservative grassroots candidates in the primary.

In 2002, Don Tracy ran in the Illinois primary for the 50th State Senate District as a
** Democrat ([link removed])
.

In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Tracy’s family-owned business, Dot Foods – where he is an owner, donated to Democratic presidential candidate
** Joe Biden ([link removed])
.

And new revelations uncovered by Illinois Review show that on September 4, 2020 – just months before his election as chairman of the Republican Party of Illinois, Tracy made a personal donation to
** Citizens for Judge Emily Sutton ([link removed])
– a Democrat running for Circuit Court Judge in the 9th Judicial Circuit.

Just prior to Tracy’s donation, Sutton received a boost from
** two influential Illinois Democrats ([link removed])
– US Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL and US Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-IL, who at the time, was chair of the ** Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ([link removed])
and a close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

And in the
** 2022 Illinois governor’s primary ([link removed])
, several Republican state party officials, including the ** general counsel ([link removed])
of the Illinois Republican Party John Fogarty and RNC national committeeman Richard Porter supported and endorsed RINO governor candidate Richard Irvin’s campaign, despite Irvin pulling ** Democratic Primary ballots ([link removed])
in 2014, 2016 and 2020.

Irvin also spent years
** praising Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker ([link removed])
– referring to him as a “great friend and a great leader.”

And in 2020, Irvin attended a Black Lives Matter rally, yelling, “
** I can’t breathe! ([link removed])
”

To this day, Porter defends Irvin’s Republican credentials, publicly referring to him as a “great Republican!” as witnessed by over 200 grassroot conservative Republicans during an Illinois Republican State Central Committee meeting in early December.

Fogarty served as an attorney representing the
** Irvin campaign ([link removed])
, in addition to being the staff attorney for the IL GOP, and Porter served as ** “ ([link removed])
** honorary” co-chairman ([link removed])
of the campaign, despite Tracy saying the IL GOP was “** strictly neutral ([link removed])
” during the governor’s primary.

In December, Tracy, Porter and Demetra DeMonte, the RNC Committeewoman for Illinois,
** endorsed ([link removed])
Romney-McDaniel for re-election as RNC chair.

Fox News ** reported ([link removed])
in November that Porter was circulating a support letter for Romney-McDaniel’s re-election bid amongst RNC committeemen.

Just recently, Illinois Review
** published ([link removed])
an article after numerous sources confirmed that Porter was quietly whipping votes among Illinois Republican State Central Committee members to amend the Bylaws to provide Porter and DeMonte with third terms as RNC national committeeman and committeewoman.

The Bylaws were
** amended ([link removed])
in 2015, as Porter and DeMonte began their first term, to limit national committeeman posts to two, four-year terms.

Porter denies that this story is true – telling anyone who will listen that the story is full of lies, yet he refuses to publicly acknowledge that he will not seek a third term, requiring an amendment to the Bylaws.

As chairwoman of the RNC, conservative grassroots Republican
** Harmeet Dhillon ([link removed])
will have significant influence over the party’s direction in 2024 and beyond – and if elected, she’ll certainly have her work cut out for her.

But ridding our party of RINO’s should be one of her top priorities – and censuring state party officials who hurt the conservative cause, rather than advance it, should be one of her first acts as RNC chairwoman.

And Dhillon is well prepared for the task. As President Donald Trump’s
** lawyer ([link removed])
, she has taken on the RINOs — Former Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger — and the rest of the House January 6th Committee in its ongoing witch hunt of the 45th President.

Dhillon also waged war against California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s
** draconian lockdown orders ([link removed])
.

In actions like these and others, Dhillon has proven that she is the Lion that Republicans need right now.

It’s hard enough battling Democrats in any election – it’s even harder when conservative grassroots candidates have to go to battle with their RINO party leaders and the statewide GOP establishment.

It’s no wonder a
** majority of Republicans ([link removed])
support replacing Romney-McDaniel as RNC chairwoman – they’re tired of the RINO power grab and losing as well.
** ([link removed])
Roger Stone joined Illinois Review’s Mark Vargas and Scott Kaspar on AM 560 The Answer. In 1989, after a few martinis, Roger asked President Nixon, “Who killed Kennedy?” Roger describes President Nixon's response.

** Don Tracy Says IL GOP Will Re-Evaluate Neutrality in Primary After Blaming Bailey for Midterm Election Losses ([link removed])

Embattled IL GOP chairman Don Tracy joined ** Bishop on Air ([link removed])
on WMAY radio on Monday and blamed former Illinois State Senator and Republican nominee for governor Darren Bailey for midterm election losses, and said the IL GOP needs to re-evaluate their primary election neutrality policy moving forward.

“And a lot of these great candidates we had this past time put their heart and soul and their family treasure into these races only to be impacted by the top of the ticket, something they have no control over…So I think we almost have a fiduciary duty to look at our primary and determine whether neutrality is the best policy.”

Shocking and a slap in the face to the over
** 1.7 million ([link removed])
Illinoisans who voted for Bailey in the general election.

During the primary election, Bailey defeated the IL GOP’s preferred candidate, Richard Irvin by a shocking
** 43 points ([link removed])
.
Tracy also reiterated during the interview that the IL GOP remained ** neutral ([link removed])
during the governor primary, despite a pile of evidence that suggests otherwise.

It’s hard to claim neutrality, as Tracy did during today’s interview when nearly half of the
** Republican State Central Committee members ([link removed])
– the governing board of the IL GOP, including RNC national committeeman Richard Porter, endorsed Irvin for governor during the primary.

Porter even served as an honorary co-chair of Irvin’s campaign.

It’s hard to claim neutrality, as Tracy did during today’s interview when the general counsel of the IL GOP
** John Fogarty ([link removed])
– was also the general counsel to the Richard Irvin campaign – representing the interests of the IL GOP and team Irvin at the exact same time.

It’s hard to claim neutrality, as Tracy did during today’s interview when in July, he was recorded in an
** exclusive audio ([link removed])
with conservative leaders – admitting that the Irvin campaign used the IL GOP postage discount – a perk not afforded to the other gubernatorial campaigns.

And it’s hard to claim neutrality, as Tracy did during today’s interview, when during the Sangamon County Lincoln Day Dinner, Tracy forbade conservative gubernatorial candidates
** Gary Rabine ([link removed])
and Darren Bailey – both of whom attended the event despite Irvin being a no-show, from speaking to the crowd of at least 800 people, and further instructed TPUSA founder and CEO Charlie Kirk, who delivered the keynote.

Instead, Tracy permitted Lt. Gov. candidate
** Avery Bourne ([link removed])
to speak to the crowd and gush about Richard Irvin’s campaign.

For Tracy to admit publicly that the IL GOP should re-evaluate whether neutrality was the best policy is shocking. It should go without saying that the Illinois Republican Party remain neutral during the primary.

Let the people decide who will represent them – not a few out of touch political insiders within the IL GOP.

The last time the IL GOP tried to tell us which candidate to support during the primary, that campaign went down in flames.

Perhaps they will never learn from their lessons.

** ([link removed])

IL GOP chairman Don Tracy appearing on Bishop on Air on WMAY radio on Monday, January 23, 2023.

To learn more about Illinois Review, visit ** www.illinoisreview.com ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
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** Email (mailto:[email protected])
ILLINOIS REVIEW
Mark A. Vargas, Editor-in-Chief
Scott R. Kaspar, Publisher

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