From The Chairman
Thanks to everyone that attended and supported our 2023 Lincoln Day Gala, “Salute To Veterans,” on Feb 11th! It was a tremendous success! Thanks to your generosity during our 50/50 raffle, we were able to donate $700 to the Metro East Veterans Center. Please check out our website for pictures of the event at 2023 Lincoln Day Gala Photos.
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The 2023 IL Consolidated Election is scheduled for Tuesday, April 4th. This election is focused on non-partisan elected offices in school districts, cities, villages, city wards, park districts, library districts, water districts and the Regional Board of Education. Given the impact each of these elected offices have on our communities and families, it’s critical that we elect conservative members of the community to these offices to ensure our values are represented. If we ignore these elections, we’re opening our communities to far left ideologies and events such as Drag Queen Storytime at the Caseyville Public Library. Specifically, for County school board elections, we’ve investigated the primary voting record of each of the candidates and have included it below in the newsletter. Please use the information to make your decisions and VOTE!
Thanks for all of your support in turning St. Clair County red!
Cheryl Mathews
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2023 IL Consolidated Election – April 4th
Early voting at the County courthouse started on March 1st and will end on April 3rd. Vote By Mail (VBM) ballots can be requested online on the County Clerk Website through March 30th. Please make sure that you vote early, VBM, or vote on Election Day! If there’s any question in your ability to vote on Election Day, please take advantage of early voting or VBM!
You can find the set of offices up for election in St. Clair County on April 4th at the County Clerk’s Website. If you have any specific questions about the candidates running for these offices, please call our office at 618-416-7370 or send an email to chairman@scilgop.com. We have collected the publicly-available primary voting records of the candidates for County school boards and have posted them on our website for your information. Please share this data with your friends and neighbors.
We still need Election Judges for several precincts on April 4th. Please let us know if you’re interested! We have specific poling locations which are always difficult to fill with Republican judges:
Northwest Fire Station
Abraham Lincoln School
Fairview Recreation Complex
Jerome Early Childhood Center
Cahokia Volunteer Fire Department
Cahokia Nutrition Center
City of O’Fallon Library
Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative
For these tough-to-fill locations, in addition to the usual County payment to election judges ($170 for judges or $200 for judges who have completed the County’s current training), we will have a drawing for a $100 gift card for the Republican judges who work in those tough-to-fill locations on election day. The lucky winner will be drawn the day after the election. If you have any questions about the drawing, please call our office at 618-416-7370 or send an email to chairman@scilgop.com.
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Inaugural Chicken and Beer Dance on April 1st at the Catholic War Veterans
On Saturday, April 1st, please join us at the Catholic War Veterans on Route 159 in Freeburg for our inaugural Chicken and Beer Dance! Doors open at 5PM, and chicken will be served at 6PM – bring your own sides! Boulderdash will be playing from 7-11PM so we can dance the night away!
Tickets are $25/person and include two beer tickets. They can be purchased at the door, by calling our office at 618-418-7370, or on-line at Chicken and Beer Dance.
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American Values for Illinois Political Action Committee (AVIPAC) by Cary Mathews
One recurring issue for conservative candidates in Illinois is the lack of funding available for non-establishment candidates. Not wanting to see another election cycle like 2022 happen, where electable candidates lost because they didn’t have the resources to build name recognition from the start, I founded the American Values for Illinois PAC (AVIPAC).
This PAC is organized to support candidates running for office in Illinois who will advocate for and advance American values, starting in St. Clair County.
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Most attention and money in the state is focused around Chicago, regardless of party, and the candidates coming from north Illinois do not represent our values.
The obvious question is, “What are American Values?” We start with our founding documents. The Declaration of Independence lays out the “self-evident” truths which the continental congress agreed:
All men are created equal,
They have unalienable rights, and
Government derives its powers (authority) from the people.
To ratify the Constitution, which prescribes the form (republic) and structure (three co-equal branches), the people of the 13 colonies asked for clarifying limits on the powers of the new federal government, resulting in the Bill of Rights, which document additional values the founding generation wished to enshrine. Through our 247 years as a nation, these values have operated as our “north star,” which our prophets and visionaries have pointed to when we failed to put them into practice. They are also the beacon of hope which has invited peoples from around the world to make a better life for themselves.
When new states join the union, they submit themselves to the authority and values of the Constitution. As the 21st state to join the union, Illinois was no exception. However, our state has an unfortunate history of corruption and criminality which has elevated self-interested politicians rather than statesmen focused on the people of the state. Illinois could be a microcosm of America: a state offering opportunity for everyone: farmers, investors, entrepreneurs, and more. When we have office holders who embrace American Values, we can have an Illinois in which people want to live, not leave.
American Values for Illinois is focused on finding and supporting people who will honor American values in our state and make Illinois a place we can be proud of once more. In the last election there was 51% registered voter turn out in St. Clair County. In the state-wide races, the votes were split nearly 50-50. If ONE TENTH (~4400) of the conservative & liberty-supporting voters in November’s election donated the cost of one fast-food meal ($10) per month over the next year, American Values for Illinois would have resources to contribute election-changing amounts to every county and county board candidate. Additionally, AVIPAC could support candidates with social media and other forms of voter outreach. This would truly be a grass-roots effort, unencumbered by the Chicago establishment. If this is a vision you wish to support, start donating today at https://avipac.com. If you have any questions about AVIPAC, please send me an email at cary@avipac.com.
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Hold Our Democrat Legislators Accountable by Jennifer Korte
I recently ran for office against incumbent Katie Stuart in Illinois House of Representative District 112 and lost the election. After losing, I decided to attend all of Katie’s meetings.
I attended my first “Coffee with Katie” in January 2023 and then attended her zoom “Primetime with Katie” in February.
I’m asking all of you to hold our Democrat legislators accountable to ensure they use common sense and are transparent as they craft legislation. Without this accountability, their legislation will be driven by progressive Democrats in Chicago.
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What to do:
1. Sign up for your representatives and senators newsletters for their updates from their official website.
2. Follow them on social media.
3. Go to all of their coffees, online zooms. Also attend library board meetings, county board meetings and any other local forum. Ask questions.
4. Follow legislation our reps are sponsoring and supporting. Do your research. Use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to gather information. If you see a bill that will cost taxpayers a lot of money, send FOIA’s to the agency. I can help you with this. Send me an email.
5. Stay respectful and polite.
6. If they start to get irritated with you, in a respectful and calm tone, tell them there is no need for them to get rude. You are simply asking questions and holding them accountable.
7. Post and share what you learned from the coffees on facebook, IL Rising Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter. Keep the emotion out of the summary. You want to show that you can be objective. On Twitter, tag the rep you are talking about.
8. Feel free to do Op-Eds or letters to the editor in the local papers.
9. Email all of your supporters a summary of the coffees.
Why this is important:
We need to publicly document all of the meetings to help future candidates and to spread the information. Gone are the days when our legislators were easily able to pass legislation without pushback.
While we may not be able to change the minds of our Democrat Politicians, it is time to bring awareness to what they are doing. They have gotten too embolden and too comfortable during their reign. This strategy should help slow or stop some of the radical legislation. I especially like to shed light on the radical legislation that even the democrats in our community would balk at.
We also need to attend Republican Senator Erica Conway-Harriss’s and Republican State Rep. Kevin Schmidt’s events. To support them, help them and to hold them accountable.
I realize many of you have been in this fight longer than I have and you may start to lose the motivation to fight what is going on. The Democrats are used to us licking our wounds and going back in our shells. We cannot do this. Republicans cannot sit back and shake our heads at what the democrats are doing. We need to take some responsibility and action. We need to show up and let our voices be heard. We need to be respectful, calm, and kind… but annoyingly present in a way they have never seen before.
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Illinois Supreme Court Sets Hearing Date For SAFE-T Act Appeal
The Illinois Supreme Court has set the date of March 14 to begin hearing oral arguments on whether the no-cash bail provision of the SAFE-T Act is constitutional. In late December, a judge in Kankakee County ruled in favor of more than 60 State’s Attorneys as it declared the controversial provision violated the Illinois Constitution.
The no-cash bail system was set to go into effect on Jan. 1; however, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Dec. 31 to halt the implementation of the no-cash bail system following the lower court’s ruling. The Supreme Court’s ruling was issued to make sure different systems weren’t being used in different counties while the court case moved forward. In its order, the Illinois Supreme Court said the ruling was to “maintain consistent pretrial procedures throughout Illinois” as 65 counties were included in the lawsuit while the other 37 counties were still planning on implementing the no-cash bail system.
While Illinois courts are still deciding the fate of the no-cash bail system, other portions of the SAFE-T Act are already being implemented, including requiring body cameras on law enforcement, more police training, and new guidelines for the decertification of police officers.
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Chicago Voters Fire Lightfoot
Lori Lightfoot lost her bid for a second term as Chicago mayor, as former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson advanced to a runoff on April 4.
Lightfoot became the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose a reelection bid.
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New York mayor Eric Adams called Lightfoot’s defeat a warning to the country as voters have made it abundantly clear that they want to feel safe in their own communities. The former city cop said Sunday he believes public safety is a “prerequisite to prosperity” for the Big Apple, Chicago and other major cities across the US.
The April 4th runoff will be a contest between the moderate Vallas, who is supported by the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), and the progressive Johnson, who is supported by the Chicago Teacher’s Union (CTU) and has called for defunding the police.
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