Will County Gazette

The Democratic National Convention last week has drawn criticism from opposing viewpoints across the state with Homer Township Supervisor and Will County Board member Steve Balich leading the charge in Will County. 

Balich, who runs the Will County Freedom Caucus, highlighted what he perceives as a disconnect between the Democratic Party’s narrative and the realities faced by many Americans.

“I look at what the Democrats are spewing out of the mouth of the convention, and it's the opposite of reality,” Balich told the Will County Gazette. 

“They’re pretending like they're poor people when everyone's taxes are going out of the sky, and the cost of living is outrageous, and crime is outrageous, and illegals are outrageous—and we can go on and on.” 

In fact, at one point during the DNC, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker trumpeted his wealth, noting his billionaire status, the bulk of which he received from an inheritance. 

A 2023 Wallethub study noted Pritzker has presided over the most tax heavy state in the nation. 

The group found Illinois households face the highest state and local tax burden in the U.S., with an average of $10,463 annually, which represents over 15% of their income. This tax rate has increased by 22% since 2017, continuing Illinois' trend of having the highest tax rate in the nation. Additionally, Illinois ranks second in both gas and property taxes, exacerbating the financial strain on residents. 

Balich, known for being outspoken about his conservative views, expressed frustration over what he sees as a failure of Democratic leadership both on the state and national level. 

“What have they done since they've been in charge and in Illinois?” he asked. “Look how many years they've controlled everything and it just keeps getting worse and worse and worse and more people leave.”

The convention, held at the United Center in Chicago, saw significant unrest, documented by independent journalist Andy Ngo and other media sources. 

The protests included clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement, with some instances of violence and controversial incidents making headlines, including a widely shared video of a man in a bra and keffiyeh—a traditional middle eastern headdress—confronting police officers, and another where Antifa members were seen roughing up a man who attempted to retrieve a American flag before it was set aflame.

“I thought there was going to be actual riots like 1968 but, evidently not, which is a good thing, because we don't need that crap,” Balich said. 

He added that with no cash bail under the Safe-T Act the cause to lock up overt criminals was dubious. 

“What are we supposed to do, not obey the Safe-T Act now? Because they're not allowed to touch these people. How are they holding the peace unless they're breaking the Safe-T Act?” he said. 

On the international front, Balich criticized President Joe Biden’s acknowledgement of the pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas protests outside the convention, suggesting it reflected a broader partisan bias, while also noting that pro-Israel supporters were denied a permit to protest prior to the DNC. 

“Obviously the Democrats don't like the Israelis,” Balich said. “At least in Illinois, the Democrats didn't give a pro-Israel group protest permit, and they gave it to the other side. It just seems to me like this is against the constitution.”

Prior to the convention, pro-Israel activists alleged unfair treatment after the city of Chicago granted a protest permit to a pro-Palestinian group but denied one to the Israeli-American Council (IAC). The IAC, which sought to hold a demonstration to express solidarity with Israel, was offered an alternative route that they declined, leading to the rejection of their permit. IAC organizers criticized the city for not accommodating their request and expect the same protection as other minority groups.  

Balich also expressed frustration with what he views as a double standard in media, including politicized reactions depending on the event.  

“The way I believe about January 6th, it's the first insurrection in the history of the United States that ever happened without a weapon,” Balich said. 

He criticized the federal response to the Jan. 6 riot, arguing that it was exaggerated and politically motivated. 

Critics, including Balich have drawn comparisons to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, where a small police force was overwhelmed by activists, a situation described by former U.S. Capitol Police Lieutenant Tarik Johnson as a "set-up and…an enormous size cover-up."

“None of the people that were arrested for insurrection were carrying a weapon,” Balich said. “The only person that was killed, despite what the Democrats are saying, was Ashli Babbitt. She was the only one that was killed by a cop, and she didn't have a gun. If a policeman killed somebody else at a different time, that policeman would be in jail.” 

He also noted the disparity with which politicians like Democrat candidate for vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz stood by while over 1,000 buildings were damaged, largely in Minneappolis and St. Paul, during the 2020 George Floyd riots. 

"There's no comparison to all this stuff," Balich said. "The riots from BLM and all of them, they could burn everything down, that was okay and so then they pulled this January 6th." 

Balich added that video released from inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 shows police clearly escorting so-called "QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley around the capitol during the riot. 

“There's video of (police) escorting people all over the place and the guy with the Viking hat on. Sure. There show him walking through the halls with the police,” he said. “This was a big set up and just think the federal government is now part of a weaponization for the Democratic Party. I saw a clip of one of the guys talking that if Trump wins, 'he's going to weaponize the DOJ and the FBI, the CIA.'” 

Chansley was released from prison early just after the videos, which had been suppressed, were made public. 

Balich pointed out the hypocritical stance of Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow who warned fellow Democrats at the DNC that “Donald Trump would be able to weaponize the Department of Justice to go after his political opponents; he could even turn the FBI into his own personal police force."

Balich noted the Biden Administration, in an unprecedented move, has already been responsible for pursuing several questionable criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.  

“What the hell do they think has happened right now!?” he said. “Biden already did it. So to me, it's like, okay, they're telling us what they did. And I get really frustrated—when you think about it, they're on TV saying all these people died–I forgot the number that it's total was about 11 people when the guy got done talking. And one person died, it was an innocent girl climbing through a window.” 

Balich said viewers need to contrast the treatment with which the Republican National Convention, happening in the immediate aftermath of an assassination attempt on Trump, unfolded versus the DNC. 

“If you compare the Republican convention to the Democratic convention,” he said, “the Republican convention was about God and unifying the United States bringing it back to its old splendor. The Democrat one is all about saying things that are not true and talking about how they're the best, and they're going to get their way.”