Copyright Chicago Tribune
The devolution of Illinois’ Republican Party continued Tuesday as a candidate for governor refused to denounce two political operatives tied to a right-wing fake newspaper website that published a story containing an internet link detailing salacious allegations against a rival, while a new candidate emerged with a controversial background as a gambling mogul. At a brief news conference, GOP governor candidate Ted Dabrowski refused to discuss the public disclosure of a years-old draft harassment complaint involving rival Darren Bailey and his 2022 campaign. The allegations, stemming from Bailey’s failed 2022 bid for governor, were never formally filed in court and have not been verified, but were linked to a politically motivated news article shared online. Dabrowski, former president of the conservative research and advocacy group Wirepoints, also would not answer questions about Jeanne Ives and right-wing radio talk show host Dan Proft, both of whom supported Bailey in 2022 but are now backing Dabrowski. Ives is an acolyte of Proft, and Proft has been a business partner of Brian Timpone, who oversees one of many so-called “pink-slime” publications — fake newspapers used as a political tool — that included a link to the unverified claims. Ives, who has lost previous bids for governor and Congress, also posted the article with the link on her Facebook page. “Ordinary Illinoisans, Chicagoans, Illinoisans, don’t care about political infighting between campaigns. And I’m not going to get into that,” Dabrowski said during the news conference, which lasted less than 10 minutes. The GOP race for governor in the March 17 primary and the right to take on billionaire second-term Democrat JB Pritzker began spiraling late last week when a Timpone-run publication posted the link to a 37-page confidential draft lawsuit within an online article about a political action committee called the Save Illinois PAC. That PAC, which spent over $39,500 to help launch Bailey’s second bid for the Republican nomination for governor, is run by Brett Corrigan, a former political worker for Bailey who made the allegations during Bailey’s first run for governor in 2022, when he was 17 years old. The Tribune is not detailing the allegations contained in the draft lawsuit because it was never filed in court and not verified, and the legal dispute apparently ended in a closed-door resolution between Corrigan and Bailey. The Chicago Tribune first reported on the dispute between Corrigan and the Bailey campaign days before the November 2022 general election. At the time of the 2022 campaign, Proft was supportive of Bailey and used his People Who Play By The Rules PAC to back the Republican former state lawmaker from downstate. Proft, of Naples, Florida, also has been the conduit of tens of millions of dollars in contributions to Illinois candidates from conservative megadonor Richard Uihlein of Lake Forest, who founded the Uline office supply distribution firm. Uihlein, in 2022, overwhelmingly funded the People Who Play By The Rules PAC, but this year has given $250,000 to Dabrowski’s campaign. In 2022, Proft sought to inject himself into the potential litigation between Corrigan and Bailey. By law, the PAC was not supposed to coordinate its spending activities with Bailey’s campaign but text messages show efforts by Proft to try to intercede in the legal matter, raising questions over whether Proft was closer to the campaign than previously acknowledged. After Corrigan retained Orland Park attorney Scott Kaspar to pursue a proposed confidential settlement agreement, Proft weighed in, apparently in an effort to quash the filing of a possible lawsuit that could become public ahead of the 2022 general election. Pritzker ended up defeating Bailey by about 13 percentage points. The Democratic Party of Illinois filed a complaint with the Illinois State Board of Elections the day after the Tribune story was published, alleging Proft and Bailey’s campaign illegally coordinated their efforts to oppose Pritzker’s reelection bid. But the board rejected the complaint last year, in part, because Illinois law does not specifically define what activities constitute “coordination” that would render the actions of an independent expenditure PAC and the candidate it supports illegal. “While Darren Bailey and (his lieutenant governor running mate) Aaron Del Mar are focused on defeating Democrats and fixing Illinois, it’s unfortunate that Jeanne Ives is once again reprising her role as the Democrats’ favorite ‘Republican,’” Bailey campaign spokesman Jose Durbin said in a statement. “Jeanne Ives is a sore loser who’s been bitter ever since she couldn’t even beat (former one-term GOP Gov.) Bruce Rauner in a Republican primary. She’s made a career out of attacking fellow conservatives instead of fighting Democrats. At this point, she’s nothing more than a political grifter looking for attention.” Besides sharing the faux-news article and link on her Facebook page, Ives also commented on it by writing, “The Bailey Clown Show and Grift.” Appearing at Dabrowski’s news conference Tuesday, she denied being the source of the draft complaint. “I have no idea who leaked it. Zero idea,” Ives said. “I was concerned about the ‘Save Illinois PAC.’ They raise monies for reasons that they never told the donors at all. And then they gave $40,000 to the Bailey campaign. I mean, that was the bigger concern for me.” Despite hosting a Bailey kickoff event earlier this year in Oak Brook, Corrigan has now left Bailey’s 2026 campaign, signing up as chair for a new contender, Rick Heidner of Barrington Hills, a real estate developer and founder of Gold Rush Gaming. Heidner filed campaign finance paperwork Tuesday to run for the GOP governor nomination with Homer Glen Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike as his running mate. He also disclosed that he had seeded his campaign with $1 million. In October 2019, a Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that for nearly two decades, Heidner owned numerous commercial properties via shell companies in several states with Rocco Suspenzi, the longtime chairman and part owner of Parkway Bank and Trust in Harwood Heights. In 2003, the Illinois Gaming Board and the FBI exposed Suspenzi and son Jeffrey for concealing their own ownership stake, as well as that of a reputed mob figure, in the infamous Emerald casino project. Suspenzi and his son invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination in 2005 when the Gaming Board sought to question them about their role in concealing the ownership stakes of reputed Outfit-linked investors Vito Salamone and Nick Boscarino. At the same time, Heidner had a similar real estate partnership with convicted bookmaker Dominic Buttitta. Together, they owned a building in Elgin that was leased to a bar licensed for video gambling that used Heidner’s Gold Rush machines. In 2012, Buttitta pleaded guilty to federal charges of running an illegal sportsbook from the South Elgin strip club he controlled. The revelations led in part to Pritzker’s decision to cancel the sale of the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center property, which Heidner had sought to purchase for a horse racing and casino facility. In April 2021, Heidner and state gaming regulators reached a settlement after the state withdrew allegations that he had offered an illegal $5 million inducement to purchase a rival video gambling chain. Heidner has been a frequent political donor, in February giving $25,000 to the conservative Republican group McHenry GOPAC and in 2022 he gave $25,000 to Richard Irvin, the former mayor of Aurora, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor that year. But Heidner has also contributed to Democratic candidates, including $25,000 to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and $5,000 to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in 2023, as well as $5,000 to Don Harmon, now the president of the Illinois Senate, in 2017. Corrigan confirmed that he’s supporting Heidner, stating that he and Heidner have been good friends for a long time. But Corrigan said he still considers Bailey a friend, though there are people who could take their previous falling out “to make a mess of politics.” “It seems like Republicans attack each other harder than the opposition does,” Corrigan said. Kaspar echoed that sentiment, saying the infighting is “a sad testament of the state of the Illinois Republican Party.” “It’s a very fractured party,” said Kaspar, the general counsel for the Illinois Review, a conservative website that published an article about the draft complaint saga this week.
