East Central Reporter

State Rep. Chris Miller (R-Charleston) has shown his support for a series of billboards critiquing Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson placed around the Democratic National Convention last week.

The billboards, designed to counter the narratives promoted by Pritzker and Johnson, will remain in place for now and feature messages such as "Welcome to America's murder capital" "Welcome to the unemployment capital of the Midwest" and "Thank you, JB! For blocking the Brighton Park migrant shelter."

“Chicago is being overwhelmed because our leaders refuse to cooperate with ICE,” Miller said. “Pritzker and Johnson would rather virtue signal than be responsible leaders. Their open border, soft on crime, anti-business policies have had real-world consequences of more violence in our streets, out-of-control immigration, and job and population loss. If we want to fix these problems, we must reverse these harmful policies.” 

The TRUST Act of 2017 transformed Illinois into a sanctuary state, shielding undocumented immigrants from federal immigration enforcement—a policy that has sparked significant controversy. 

Now with over 700,000 illegal aliens in the state, taxpayers are shelling out billions of dollars annually. 

Meanwhile, organized crime activity has spiked dramatically, oftentimes linked to foreign drug cartels in the state, such as human trafficking and drug dealing.

In addition, several businesses in recent years, including Citadel and Boeing, have left Chicago and Illinois, including the relocation of Morton Salt’s headquarters to Overland Park, Kansas. 

That company began in Chicago almost 180 years ago and has since become the largest salt producer in North America.

Chicago’s overall crime rate has also skyrocketed in recent years. 

The city's murder rate remains five times higher than New York City's and is only surpassed by Philadelphia among major cities. Homicides in Chicago were 23% higher than pre-COVID 2019 levels, and overall major crimes increased by 16%.

Additionally, Illinois has the second highest unemployment rate in the nation at 5.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Miller said that he attributes the state's challenges to poor leadership. 

“The challenges facing our state are the direct result of terrible leadership,” he said. “We don’t have to be leaders in violent crime. We don’t have to deal with measles outbreaks in our schools because of illegal immigration. We don’t have to be tied with California for the second worst jobless rate in the nation. The Democrats have caused these things to happen with their short-sighted policies. The nation needs to be reminded of what total Democratic Party control looks like.”

The billboards are part of a broader campaign spearheaded by Dan Proft and his political action committee, the People Who Play by the Rules PAC. 

Proft has expressed frustration over what he sees as censorship by major billboard companies, alleging that JCDecaux, the world’s largest outdoor advertising company, refused to place the ads altogether and Clear Channel Outdoors rejected their designs.

He argues that this reflects a larger issue of media influence and control. Pritzker has a personal net worth of $3.5 billion that he inherited from his parents, and controls lucrative campaign monies, plus the state’s advertising budget.

Pritzker has spent a total of $323 million on his two gubernatorial campaigns with even more of his personal wealth. In addition to self-financing, in the 2022 campaign Pritzker contributed $24 million to the Democratic Governors Association, which played a role in shaping the Republican primary to favor his eventual GOP opponent former state senator Darren Bailey. 

Meanwhile, Pritzker's net worth has risen by an estimated $400 million over his tenure as governor which has featured personal investments in 12 companies with a combined $20 billion in state contracts under his leadership.

However, when it comes to the role of money in politics, Miller addressed concerns about Pritzker’s substantial financial influence.

“I have no issues with JB Pritzker’s money,” Miller said. “His family earned it. If he wants to spend it on politics, then so be it,” Miller said. “The best way to counter Pritzker’s millions is for patriots to get out and vote in large numbers.” 

“Illinois is not a lost cause. We just need honest people to get involved and get engaged,” he said.

Campaign cash is big business for advertising companies like JCDecaux and Clear Channel Outdoors. 

In the 2020 election cycle–the most expensive on record–Democrats outspent their Republican counterparts nationwide $8.4 billion to $5.3 billion. 

Despite the influence of such spending, Miller emphasized the importance of freedom of speech and the role of financial contributions in political discourse.

“There is freedom of speech in this country,” he said. “Money being spent in politics is speech. The best way to overcome money being spent in politics is for everyday citizens to get informed and learn the truth.” 

“We also need patriotic citizens to step up and donate money to help counter the left’s narratives. Putting up billboards in Chicago is not cheap but it is an important way to help voters understand what is happening to their communities and why it is happening,” said Miller.