Run Jeanne, Run

Current IL state Rep Jeanne Ives (R-42) of Wheaton is considering challenging Governor Bruce Rauner in the March 20 Primary. Ives is leading the ultraconservative charge against Rauner who Ives claims is betraying her constituency. How? He signed the 'Motor Voter Bill' which makes it easier for ordinary folks to get registered and vote, precisely those Ives wants to stay home so the affluent and conservative can run the state. Representing Illinois' Xenophobic wing, Ives takes umbrage with Rauner's efforts to prevent undocumented immigrants from being detained based solely on their legal status. As a virulent denier of transgenders being first class citizens, Ives recoils at Rauner making it easier for transgenders to change the sex on their birth certificate. And don't dare mention transgender kids actually using the bathroom of their choice in school. But the Rauner move that ignited Ives' possible challenge was his signing SB 40 which provides reproductive health and freedom for poor women; something the affluent Ives and her base enjoy without a care in the world. Ives' mantra: 'Want reproductive health? Become wealthy.'

One downside for Ives of a possible Rauner run: she'd have to drop her re-election bid in House District 42. But for open minded, progressive folks in the 42nd, that's a opportunity to elect a representative willing to serve all the people. Run Jeanne, run.