Rock Island Today

Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton), a potential Illinois gubernatorial candidate, will visit Rock Island County and the Quad Cities area today to speak with the press and residents, according to a news release.

Ives, who represents the 42nd district that includes Carol Stream, Lisle, Warrenville, Wheaton, Winfield, West Chicago and Naperville, will meet with the local media during the afternoon and then with residents at 7 p.m. for the Restore Our Constitution Candidate Forum at the Rock Island GOP headquarters.

“We’re traveling the state to let people know that they have a real option in the governor’s race," Ives told Rock Island Today. "They feel betrayed by both Gov. (Bruce) Rauner and the longtime political ruling class in Springfield. Places like Rock Island and like Decatur have become the forgotten places in Illinois by the Chicago Democrats who have run this state into the ground. This campaign is committed to helping every Illinoisan and their family succeed.”

Ives is collecting petitions to be on the ballot as a Republican challenger in the 2018 gubernatorial race against Rauner, who was first elected in 2014. Rauner, Ives contends, has done a poor job as a Republican leader including signing controversial legislation that would allow use tax dollars to fund abortions. 

“He has basically discredited himself as a Republican,” Ives said in an interview with Chicago Tonight’s WTTW. “He’s signed into law very extreme measures. The man who said he had no social agenda ended up having only a social agenda.” 

She recently received the endorsement of the Wheatland Township Republican Organization (WTRO), which believed that her conservative ideologies matches their values.

“We have consistently witnessed Jeanne Ives standing up for the interests of families and business,” WTRO President Stephen Collins said in a press release. “Additionally, she has kept the promise that she made to her constituents, to be a ‘lobbyist for the taxpayer.’  We appreciate her integrity and commitment. We are confident that she has the policy insight and political will to take on Illinois’ deeply entrenched political establishment. 

"The Wheatland Township Republican Organization looks forward to working with Jeanne Ives as she makes her historic run for governor.”