Will County Gazette

Illinois' 11th Congressional District candidate Catalina Lauf is calling for the district’s constituents to reject leftist authoritarianism. 

“Our founders made it perfectly clear the Rights of the People were given by God, not man, and could not be taken away by a government,” Lauf said in an email. “Today, we are witnessing the erosion of our rights by the radical Left.” 

Lauf provided several examples of how "free speech is being censored," and encouraged Illinoisans to "remain tough against these attacks on their rights."

"Gun laws are getting stricter," she said. "Jobs were lost over vaccine mandates. Our individual liberties are under attack! Nancy Pelosi and her far-Left allies, AOC and the squad, have used every opportunity to push their radical agenda through Congress. But if America First conservatives take back Congress this year, we can stop their madness!”

So-called “Big Tech” has been criticized for targeting the statements of conservative candidates for censorship on their platforms. 

“Big Tech in America has gone woke, and America sees it," U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said in an op-ed in The Hill. "From selective censorship of conservative viewpoints to policies that prop up the far-Left’s agenda, these corporations have become the newest arm of the Democrat Party. With online platforms becoming increasingly central to the daily lives of many Americans, Silicon Valley companies have gained massive power to shape our politics, culture and our elections.” 

Daines noted Gmail was seven times more likely to send emails from conservative candidates to spam filters. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign texts were also blocked by AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in the summer of 2020 as he was running for re-election. Stripe also notably canceled campaign contributions to candidates they opposed and GoFundMe canceled donations to the Canadian Freedom Truckers.

President Joe Biden in the fall of 2021 attempted to force large businesses to mandate vaccines for workers. Many employers took the bait themselves prior to the mandate, enforcing their own rules under Democratic Party pressure and dumping employees who did not comply, The Guardian reported. While the U.S. Senate in a largely partisan vote opted to block the move, the damage to the Democrat legacy under Biden due to such overreach has been notable.

“It is not the place of the federal government to tell private business owners how to protect their employees from COVID-19 and operate their businesses,” West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said, according to The Guardian. Manchin was only one of two Democrats to join Republicans in blocking the effort.

Lauf served as an advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce under Trump. She will face a crowded field including Mark Carroll, Jerry Evans, Susan Hathaway-Altman, Andrea Heeg, Juan Ramos and Tanner Miller.

She has voiced optimism that Republicans will win the district. The race was targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee as a possible flip, the Will County Gazette reported.

The new 11th Congressional District includes the cities of Aurora, Naperville, Woodridge, Darien, Bolingbrook, Burr Ridge, New Lenox and Joilet. It includes parts of DuPage, Will and Cook counties.