(CHICAGO) The mailers are customized to local areas. If you live in the city, you may have received the "Chicago City Wire." Suburbanites might get the "Will County Gazette" or "DuPage Policy Journal."
The mailers look like newspapers and have fooled many, at least initially, into believing they are legitimate papers. There is a current discussion on Reddit regarding the ads. Many commenters admitted to being fooled, at least initially, by the mailer.
What is in the mailers?
Some of the headlines as reported by Axios Chicago, include:
'Lightfoot's 'Summer of Joy' one of murder, mayhem,"
"The coming end of cash bail in Illinois: What it means for you and your family."
According to Axios, the main focus of the ads is the Safe-T Act. The act is going into effect in January and will end cash bail in Illinois.
Who is behind the mailers?
According to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the ads are funded by a "racist, political consultant" who is currently living in Florida.
Pritzker stated in a press conference last week regarding the mailers, "It's a scare tactic. It's meant to have people concern(ed) for their safety. The truth of the matter is that what he’s purveying here is complete hogwash." Pritzker continued, "It's disgusting. It's a terrible thing to do."
Who is behind the "Chicago City Wire" and suburban versions of the paper?
Dan Proft is a former Illinois candidate for governor and current conservative talk show host living in Naples, Florida. He is also behind the People Who Play By the Rules political action committee (PAC.)
In 2018, Proft was involved in creating an Illinois political ad that was so controversial the state Republican party at the time denounced it. The ad ridiculed Chicago Public School teachers in unions, women seeking abortion, and transgender people.
Proft was behind fake newspapers distributed in the Chicago suburbs in 2016. The papers were found to violate the Campaign Disclosure Act by the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Dan Proft's rebuttal to Pritzker
On Twitter, Proft posted, "JBelly infuses race into every, single policy debate. He never deal on the merits, particularly on public safety. He signed the state's death warrant with his no cash bail law. Challenge to JB: name one specific item in the newspaper you excoriate that is untrue or inaccurate."
Darren Bailey supports the faux newspapers
Pritzker stated that Proft sent the mailers "on behalf of Darren Bailey, and that says as much as you need to know about Darren Bailey."
The Chicago Tribune reported Bailey expressed his support for the ads on Proft's talk show last week saying, "these newspapers that are circulating the state that are full of facts and truth and Gov. Pritzker has the gall to call it a lie, to keep the people uninformed."
According to Pritzker, the mailers are, "clearly all about the idea that, again, what he’s printing, that Black people are threatening your way of life."
The bottom line
The mailers are political propaganda made to look like a legitimate news source. Residents need to know the mailings are politically biased and not an objective source of news vetted by journalists, no matter how real they look.
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