Politicians Serve 2 Terms in Illinois: 1 in Office, 1 in Prison—Smoke-Filled Room—Episode 110

Happy (nearly) first day of summer—it’s going to be a hot couple of days and we’re matching the intensity by bringing the heat on episode 110 of Smoke-Filled Room.

Joining Collin Corbett to discuss a jam-packed agenda are State Senator Don DeWitte and campaign manager for Brandun Schweizer and Regan Deering Chelsie Leffelman, along with Cor’s political experts Michael Butler and Chris Jackowiak.

We start off with a conversation around the escalating violence within politics after what happened in Minnesota. It’s a scary reality for public officials, just like Don who shared his thoughts on the matter. With JB Pritzker and Democrats continuing their violent rhetoric, it’s no wonder this problem continues to get worse.

Mike Madigan was just sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, becoming yet another Illinois politician to be headed behind bars, yet Illinois Democrats still failed to enact ethics reform last session. Why? Well, Don Harmon, Chris Welch, and many other Democrat leaders seem to be enjoying benefiting from an intentionally broken system.

We then cover 3 big topics: immigration, the budget, and transit. After JB lied in DC, saying Illinois is cooperating with ICE, Brandon Johnson is telling people to resist ICE. More wasteful spending continues to be found in the budget Pritzker just signed into law. Don shares great insight on how money that should be going to support our own citizens, like the developmentally disabled and veterans, was instead spent on illegals. And then we discuss where the transit bill goes from here now that session is over.

We cover the GOP lawsuit against SB238. We’ve seen Democrats file lawsuits against the Trump administration, and now the Senate and House Republicans are starting to deploy the same tactic against Democrats to stop bills that hurt Illinoisans. If Republicans message it correctly, this is a winning strategy.

Later, the group shares their thoughts on the US Senate race and Richard Porter’s seemingly inevitable announcement, another Democrat getting into the race in HD52 to challenge Marty McLaughlin, and data showing Republicans have become the party of the working class.

We close with 6 topics in the news that you should be talking about right now, our OGs and clowns of the week, and some closing thoughts.

00:00: Introductions
02:22: Political Violence Grows Even Worse While Democrats Continue Violent Rhetoric
11:19: Madigan Sentenced to Prison While Springfield Democrats Continue to Reject Ethics Reform
27:00: Brandon Johnson Says to Resist Immigration Enforcement As Chicago Council Squabbles
38:25: Pritzker Signs Budget with More Wasteful Spending and Tax Hikes
44:54: Where Does Transit Reform Go from Here?
51:55: Republicans Taking Fight to the Courts Over Democrats Bending the Rules to Hide Unpopular Legislation
57:49: Richard Porter Inches Closer to US Senate Run While Raja Claims Big Lead
01:13:01: Third Democrat Enters Primary Race to Challenge Marty McLaughlin in HD52
01:18:10: Republicans Now Officially the Party of the Working Class
01:30:44: Company Pritzker Wooed in Japan Leaving Illinois for Wisconsin
01:31:47: Nearly 2,100 Illinois Workers to Be Laid Off in the Coming Weeks 
01:33:35: Elimination of Grocery Tax Leading to Sales Tax Hike in Some Municipalities
01:36:49: Chicago Public Schools Refuse to Address Nearly Empty Schools 
01:39:07: A Dozen Vulnerable Democrats Receive Perfect Scores from Far-Left Progressive Group 
01:40:25: National Blue-Collar Wage Growth Highest in Nearly 60 Years 
01:41:22: OG & Clown of the Week
01:48:07: Closing Thoughts