Sandack unhappy with ‘mystery opponent’ in 81st House race
One would think having a rarely seen or heard from opponent in a state legislative race could only help your chances.
But state Sen. Ron Sandack said his opponent’s “stealth tactics” only keep him looking over his shoulder in their March 20 Republican primary race for the newly created 81st House District.
Debbie Boyle, a Downers Grove resident and registered nurse, is challenging Sandack but has chosen to avoid most media exposure and attend only a limited number of speaking engagements.
The winner of their campaign advances to the November general election. No Democrat has filed to run in the district.
Boyle did not respond to several Daily Herald interview requests over the past several weeks, including for this story, and did not attend a Friday afternoon endorsement interview with Sandack and members of the newspaper’s editorial board.
Her election website has been stagnant since a Feb. 3 response to Gov. Pat Quinn’s State of the State address.
“This was a perfect opportunity for her to sit down and say why she thinks I’ve voted something the wrong way and how she would do it differently. It’s also an opportunity for me to listen and not have her read anything and prove she’s even cognizant of what the issues of this district are,” Sandack said during the endorsement interview. “I’m a little offended that someone seeking a serious position is unwilling to sit down and talk and defend her positions, promote her ideas and demonstrate a maturation and a level of seriousness this type of job requires. I don’t even know what her ideology is.”
Boyle left a voice mail with the Daily Herald late Friday evening, in which she blamed a hectic work schedule and confusion among her campaign workers for her failure to respond.
But Sandack said he believes there’s a method to Boyle’s campaign approach. He said Boyle is portraying herself as a political outsider while receiving the political backing of Republican consultant Dan Proft and his Illinois Liberty PAC, whose purpose is “to support candidates for public office who embrace public policy rooted in the principles of liberty and free enterprise,” according to its filing with the state.
“I think the Illinois Liberty PAC has money to run this stealth candidacy. I think this is one of a couple of candidates that they’d rather not expose to real scrutiny or unguarded moments,” Sandack said. “The Liberty PAC individuals are the folks behind the curtain with a couple of candidates.
“I just worry that duties of loyalty to people with money and the ability to send out mailers but not actually produce a candidate for folks to see and compare against, is dangerous politics.”
Proft announced the organization’s support of Boyle in December when it donated $5,000 to her campaign. But he denies any further involvement in her campaign.
“I’m not running her campaign or anyone else’s. That’s not what I or Liberty do,” Proft said Monday. “We have assembled a group of investors who got together to do certain things to support candidates we believe, if elected, would support the Liberty policy agenda. These local races will be won and lost in the communities these individuals are seeking to represent, not in Chicago.”
On her website Boyle pledges to decline the General Assembly’s health benefits and pension; supports the death penalty for “the most heinous criminals;” and calls for the abolition of legislative scholarships to state universities.
“That’s great. I’m doing all of those things,” Sandack said. “It’s an actions versus aspirations campaign.”
The newly drawn 81st House District includes parts of Lisle, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Downers Grove, Woodridge, and Darien.