Will County Gazette

Homer Township Supervisor and Will County Board member Steve Balich has expressed strong support for messaging critical of Democrats and their policies that were displayed on billboards throughout the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago Aug 19-22.

The messaging on the billboards, such as "Welcome to America's murder capital" and "Welcome to the unemployment capital of the Midwest" were designed to challenge the narratives being promoted by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, according to Dan Proft, head of The People Who Play by the Rules PAC—the group responsible for placing the ads that were visible throughout the DNC and in the days after. 

But placing the ads did not come without challenges, with Proft revealing that billboard companies JCDecaux and Clear Channel Outdoors attempted to censor their messaging. 

“The ads and speeches sound like a graduation party where someone is asked what they’ll do next, and their answer is 'I have no clue.' It’s frustrating because (Democrats) are not offering any real solutions,” Balich told Will County Gazette.

Balich argued that significant financial backing for political messaging from Democratic leadership is difficult to combat. 

“Money is important, but sometimes the issues outweigh the financial influence,” he said. “The media’s bias and the Democrats’ control over major cities make it incredibly difficult for Republicans to compete.” 

Balich said he supports the messaging on issues like rising crime rates and unemployment, suggesting that these problems have not been effectively addressed under Illinois Democrat rule. 

“Crime is escalating, and the murder rate is high,” Balich said. “They haven’t fixed these problems in the last three and a half years, and now they’re making promises they haven’t kept.” 

In 2023, Chicago topped the U.S. in homicides for the twelfth year in a row with 617 murders, despite a 13% decrease from 2022, according to Wirepoints. Homicides in Chicago were 23% higher than pre-COVID 2019 levels, and overall major crimes increased by 16%.

The city's murder rate remains five times higher than New York City's and is only surpassed by Philadelphia among major cities. 

Balich also expressed concern over job losses, citing the recent layoffs at John Deere, which is moving its manufacturing operations to Mexico, and the expected closure of several grocery stores in the Mariano’s and Albertsons chain. 

“A lot of people I know are working part-time jobs or struggling to find full-time work,” Balich said. “With big companies shutting down, it’s clear there are serious job problems.” 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Illinois has the second highest unemployment rate in the nation at 5.2%.https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htmInstead of addressing real issues affecting voters, Balich likened the political discourse on display at the DNC to a high school graduation party where the graduating student has no clear plans for the future.

Highlighting frustrations with local governance and political dynamics, Balich expressed hope for change with the potential re-election of former president Donald Trump, yet remained uncertain about reversing job losses and economic challenges.

“I just hope if Trump wins, we can turn things around quickly, but it’s hard to see how we can bring companies back from Mexico,” he said. 

While criticizing the current state of political advertising and media influence, Balich compared the refusal of Proft’s ads to a bakery being forced to bake a cake with a design that is contrary to ownership's personal beliefs, drawing parallels to the situation with the political ads. 

“They fight about whether they should be denied the cake or not and the Supreme Court said, ‘you can deny them a cake if it's against your religion,’” he said. “So these billboards kind of would be the same thing if they think that the message on the billboard is contrary to what their beliefs are, then they should be able to say no" adding that, "If a business doesn’t want to support a particular message, they should have the right to say no. But if they choose to put up something controversial, they should expect backlash.”  

Case in point, in June Colorado's Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips was sued for discrimination after he declined requests to make cakes celebrating a gender transition and another depicting Satan smoking marijuana, citing his First Amendment rights.

Phillips’ case has drawn support from 23 states and various free-speech advocates who argue that no one should be compelled to express messages they oppose.

Still, Balich pointed out the hypocrisy in billboard companies who will take money from pro-Abortion activists but not Proft’s PAC. Pritzker himself ran pro-abortion billboards outside the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in mid July. 

Positioned near major highways and the convention venue, the billboards urged voters to reject Trump.

Last year the organization “Shout Your Abortion” installed several billboards along Interstate 55, featuring the provocative message “Shout Your Abortion” aimed at women living in southern states.

Since 2020, Illinois’ abortion rate has increased by 72% due to those traveling to the state for procedures.