South Central Reporter

A proposal to recall Gov. J.B. Pritzker sounds good to veteran Republican candidate and activist Christopher Hicks.

State Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-Crystal Lake) launched the recall May 22. He has posted a recall affidavit on his website and it requires support from other legislators before signatures can be collected.

Hicks said it is worth the effort.

“It is wonderful to see a fighter like Rep. Skillicorn step up to the plate and take the initiative to hold Gov. Pritzker accountable,” he said. “I fully support Rep. Skillicorn and his efforts.”

Hicks, 33, a Sawyerville resident, is in his second term as an elected Republican precinct committeeman in Macoupin County. He ran for a seat on the Macoupin County board in 2018 but lost by nine votes after a recount. 

He also sought the Republican nomination for the 48th Senate District in 2018 but was disqualified after a petition challenge. 

Hicks ran in the 2016 GOP primary for the 95th House District, was a candidate for mayor of Sawyerville in 2017 and sought a position on the city board of trustees in 2015.

He also has worked in campaigns, serving as the Macoupin County volunteer coordinator for state Rep. Jeanne Ives when she ran for governor in 2018 and has worked on numerous Republican campaigns in positions ranging from canvasser and field organizer to field director. He currently serves as a field director for a political consulting firm.

Hicks said Illinois residents are unhappy with the governor’s performance and the recall effort proves that.

“It is wonderful to see voters passionate about sending a strong message to the governor and how they view his performance,” he said. “The ‘Pritzker Sucks’ yard signs really sum it all up.”

Skillicorn said he was persuaded to launch the recall effort after the continued problems with the Illinois Department of Employment Security website and call center.

“The governor has had ample time to fix this website,” Skillicorn said in a statement when he started the recall movement. “I called him out on it, and nothing has been addressed nor has there been a plan presented to fix the problems. Enough is enough. The incompetence cannot continue.”

He listed a timeline of what he termed Pritzker’s failures: March 21: Statewide stay at home order goes into effect; April 15: CBS 2 in Chicago reports the state was not getting help from the U.S. Department of Labor because the state never asked; April 24: Illinois enters into a no-bid contract with Deloitte Consulting LLC. The two contracts are valued at more than $22 million; May 15: A breach of secure information is discovered by Rep Terri Bryant who notified the governor; May 22: Still no answers. No credit monitoring. Victims of the breach had not been notified of the breach.

“The U.S. Department of Labor offered to help Illinois, but our governor refused the help,” Skillicorn said. “In typical Chicago Democrat fashion the governor decided the best way to fix the website was to hand out a lavish no-bid contract. Now secure data has been unleashed into the public domain. It is an epic failure.”

Daily calls to the state agency rose from an average of 6,500 from March 2-11 to almost 370,000 by April 28. The state increased the number of agents from 88 to a maximum of 122.

“I have constituents who tell me they have dialed in hundreds of times a day for weeks without getting through,” Skillicorn said. “Governor, it’s not the claims you’re processing, it’s the calls you’re missing.”

He said the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program is “another mess” that Pritzker is responsible for in his role as governor.

“Hybrid workers who may have had some W2 wages with the bulk of their earnings from contract work are denied PUA because they have had some regular earnings,” Skillicorn said. “The self-employed find themselves caught in appeals processes for weeks on end because of confusing guidelines poorly understood and implemented.”

He also denounced the governor for threatening to criminally charge people for opening businesses in defiance of closure orders. Skillicorn said that is “authority he does not have constitutionally.”

He also said 4,000 inmates have been freed from prison, including 64 with murder convictions.

“The rights of honest business owners are being taken away while our governor releases murders from prison,” Skillicorn said. The constitutional rights of the people have been usurped long enough. It is time to recall Gov. J.B. Pritzker.”

Hicks said Pritzker has failed to perform his job.

“The problems associated with the Illinois Department of Employment Security website are beyond incompetent,” he said. “To have issues range from a security breach, technical issues making filing difficult, and a lack of transparency is very troubling. The people of Illinois deserve better and should be confident that they can trust their governor to be a leader.”

Pritzker said he should not be blamed for the procedural problems. He said the IDES website is a decade old and was, obviously, unable to handle a massive flood of applicants. The sheer volume is unprecedented, the governor said.

He said although calls are being answered, the best idea still is to file online and be patient. That’s not the answer a lot of people want to hear after more than two months of system failures.

Recalling a governor is an elaborate process. Illinois created its recall law a decade ago in the wake of the resignation of scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Voters approved it in November 2010.

First, at least 10 state senators and 20 state representatives — with no more than half from each house from a single party — must sign a recall affidavit, which would then be filed with the State Board of Elections.

Once approved, signatures from registered voters must be collected within 150 days. The total is at least 15 percent of the votes cast for governor in the preceding general election, or about 637,000 signatures, and a minimum of 100 names must be gathered in at least 25 counties.

If the recall gets a majority of votes, the governor is immediately removed from office, the lieutenant governor assumes office and a special election is scheduled to select a new governor to complete the term of ousted state leader.

Recalling a governor is an infrequent event in the United States — and successful efforts are extremely rare. North Dakota Gov. Lynn Frazier was removed from office in 1921 and California’s Gray Davis was recalled in 2003.

While Hicks is in favor of a recall, he is a realist about its chances.

“It would be great to see Gov. Pritzker face a recall but it is very unlikely," he sad. "Unfortunately, the 2010 recall amendment is fake reform. The political ‘permission slip’ is the biggest hurdle as it requires 20 state reps and 10 state senators equally balanced from each party and chamber to sign before a recall petition can begin to be circulated. Democrats in the General Assembly will never sign.

“Another huge hurdle is the high signature requirement. Also only one recall opportunity allowed. Once the State Board of Elections certifies a recall petition, no other recall petition may be initiated against the governor during the remainder of his or her term, regardless of subsequent actions.”

It’s virtually impossible to accomplish, Hicks said, adding this this doesn’t mean it’s not the right idea.