Jeanne Ives

Jeanne Ives
Ives in 2015
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 42nd district
In office January 9, 2013 – January 9, 2019
Preceded by	Sandra M. Pihos (Redistricted)
Succeeded by	Amy Grant
Personal details
Born	(1964-10-04) October 4, 1964 (age 60) Vermillion, South Dakota, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Paul Ives
Education	United States Military Academy (BS)
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1987–1993

Jeanne M. Ives (née Remmes, born October 4, 1964) is an American politician. A Republican, she is a former member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 42nd district. She was a candidate for governor of Illinois and U.S. representative for Illinois's 6th congressional district.^[1]

Ives served three terms in the Illinois House, from 2013 to 2018. She ran in the Republican primary in the 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election, narrowly losing to incumbent governor Bruce Rauner.^[2]

Ives was a candidate in the 2020 election for U.S. House in Illinois's 6th congressional district. On March 17, she won the Republican primary against surgeon Jay Kinzler, receiving over 70 percent of the vote.^[3] In the November 3 election, she received about 45 percent of the vote, losing to the incumbent, Democrat Sean Casten.^[4]

As of November 26, 2022, Jeanne Ives is a member of the Illinois Republican State Central Committee representing Republicans residing in Illinois's 3rd congressional district.^[5]

Early life and career

Ives is the third oldest of six children of William H. Remmes and Geraldine Remmes. She graduated from Vermillion High School in South Dakota in 1983. She attended the United States Military Academy and served as an officer in the United States Army. Later, Ives served on the Wheaton City Council.^[6]

Illinois House of Representatives

Ives at the Illinois State Capitol in 2014

Ives was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 2012.

Ives said on a 2017 radio show, "My best work is actually getting traction on killing legislation that is bad ... which is what my role is as a member of both first the super minority and then the minority." Five of Ives' 134 bills had become law as of 2017^[update], according to the Illinois General Assembly records.^[7]

Abortion

Ives has said she made her decision to challenge Governor Bruce Rauner in the 2018 Republican primary after Rauner signed HB-40 into law, which ensures that abortion remains legal in Illinois even though the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, while also enabling Medicaid and state-employee health insurance to pay for abortions, in September 2017.^[8]

Education

When she ran for governor, Ives advocated consolidating school districts in Illinois to save money. She pointed out that Florida (which has a population similar to Illinois) has 100 districts, while Illinois has 852 districts.^[9]

In 2015, it was disclosed that the College of DuPage, a community college and the second largest institution of higher learning in Illinois, had decided to pay its president, Robert Breuder, $763,000 to leave his position three years early.^[10] Ives sponsored legislation (HB 3593) that prohibited college boards from giving departing presidents more than one year's salary and benefits, as well as limiting standard contracts to four years and requiring public notice. House Democrats narrowed the scope of the bill to community colleges, and it was passed by the legislature.^[11] The following year, HB 3593 was replicated and applied to all Illinois institutions of higher education.

Immigration

Ives has called for Illinois' TRUST Act, signed into law in August 2017,^[12] to be repealed,^[13] saying it creates a "sanctuary state", something that Politifact Illinois said was false.^[14]

LGBT politics

Ives in 2015

In March 2013, Ives said in an interview that same-sex marriages are a "completely disordered relationship" and said LGBT people were trying to "weasel their way" into acceptability.^[15] Ives said that the concept of marriage as between one man and one woman "cannot be legislated away or redefined."^[16] When a law authorizing gay marriage passed the Illinois General Assembly, in November 2013, Ives said, "The fact is that this bill is the worst in the U.S. for protecting religious liberty."^[17]

In 2014, Ives joined the majority of her colleagues in the House in rejecting a ban on gay conversion therapy.^[18] Illinois banned gay conversion therapy for LGBT youths in 2015.^[19]

In March 2016, a Chicago man was arrested for a felony after making two threatening phone calls to Ives over her views on same-sex marriage.^[20][21] The man was found guilty in July 2016 of two counts of threatening a public official, a class 3 felony.^[22]

Ives opposed a 2017 bill that would make it easier for transgender people to change their birth certificates to reflect their gender identity.^[23] On a radio show, she called transgender rights "junk science."^[24]

Ives opposes adoption by gay couples in Illinois.^[25][26]

Drug policy

In May 2016, Ives voted against the extending the sunset date of the program that legalized cannabis for medical purposes.^[27] In December 2017, she said that "the marijuana experiment in Colorado has failed. The kids are using marijuana and traffic accidents are up because of it. Illinois should not build an economy based on vice like they have in Colorado."^[28]

Minimum wage

In May 2017, Ives voted against legislation (Senate Bill 81) in May 2017 that would have raised the minimum wage in Illinois to $15 per hour by the year 2022.^[29][30][31]

2018 Illinois gubernatorial election

Main article: 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election

On October 28, 2017, Ives announced that she would challenge incumbent governor Bruce Rauner in the Republican primary to become Illinois Governor.^[32] Her running mate was former state representative Richard Morthland of Cordova, Illinois.^[33] Ives agreed with Rauner on traditional Republican issues like pension reform, term limits, and lower property taxes; her major policy differences with Rauner were on social issues.^[34]

In the Republican primary on March 20, 2018, Rauner defeated Ives, 51.5 percent to 48.5 percent.^[35] Rauner went on to lose to Democrat J.B. Pritzker in the general election by a sixteen-point margin.^[36]

2020 U.S. House campaign

Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois § District 6

In July 2019, Ives announced that she would run for the U.S. House in Illinois's 6th congressional district. Ives was opposed in the primary by Evelyn Sanguinetti, who dropped out of the race in October 2019, and surgeon Jay Kinzler.^{[37][38][39][40]} In March 2020, Ives won the Republican nomination, setting up a general election against Democratic incumbent Sean Casten.^[41]

In October 2020, the New York Times reported that Ives had paid $55,000 over the preceding three years to Locality Labs, a company running purported news sites, for articles that included verbatim copies of her news releases. Ives was listed by the company as one of its "story watchers", or clients. Ives said that the payments were to create her website and to monitor her Wikipedia page.^[42]

Ives lost the November 3 election. Casten received 213,777 votes (52.82 percent) and Ives received 183,891 votes (45.43 percent), with Libertarian Bill Redpath getting 7,079 votes (1.75 percent).^{[4][43][44][45]}

Illinois 6th Congressional District Republican Primary, 2020^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeanne Ives	29,144	70.80
	Republican	Gordon (Jay) Kinzler	12,017	29.19
	Republican	Richard Mayers	1	<0.01
Total votes			41,162	100.00

Illinois 6th Congressional District General Election, 2020^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sean Casten (incumbent)	213,777	52.82
	Republican	Jeanne Ives	183,891	45.43
	Libertarian	Bill Redpath	7,079	1.75
Total votes			404,747	100.00

References

1. "Jeanne Ives Sworn in to Represent 42nd House District". Wheaton, IL Patch. January 9, 2013.
2. Bosman, Julie; Martin, Jonathan (March 20, 2018). "Gov. Bruce Rauner and J.B. Pritzker to Face Off in Illinois". The New York Times.
3. "Illinois Primary Election Results: Sixth House District - The New York Times". The New York Times. Mar 17, 2020. Retrieved Mar 18, 2020.
4. Byrne, John (November 3, 2020). "Casten Declares Victory over Ives in West, Northwest Suburban Congressional Race". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
5. @IllinoisReview (November 26, 2022). "The State Central Committee is the governing board of the ILGOP. It's made up of 17 members from the 17 congressional districts" (Tweet). Retrieved November 28, 2022 – via Twitter.
6. Lurz, Nathan (November 10, 2014). "Wheaton City Council members happy for Sanguinetti's win". Suburban Life Media. Downers Grove, Illinois: Shaw Media. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
7. Maxwell, Mark (2017-12-05). "Rauner: "I am not in charge"". ILLINOISHOMEPAGE. Retrieved 2017-12-05.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
8. Moreno, Nereida (2018-01-14). "Ives challenges Rauner on abortion rights at Chicago March for Life". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
9. Pyke, Marni (2017-12-13). "Governor candidate Ives: 'Every school district should be a unit district'". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
10. "Illinois's College of DuPage courts controversy once again". Insidehighered.com. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
11. Clair, Jodi S. Cohen, Monique Garcia, Stacy St. "Illinois House passes severance cap for community college presidents". Chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
12. Service, LocalLabs News. "Law enforcement says TRUST Act does not make Illinois a sanctuary for criminals". Retrieved 2017-11-07.
13. "State Rep. Jeanne Ives Calls for Repeal of Sanctuary State Law". Chicago Tonight | WTTW. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
14. "Illinois schools as". @politifact. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
15. "Jeanne Ives, Illinois Republican: Gay Marriage A 'Completely Disordered Relationship' (UPDATED)". Huffington Post. 2013-03-14. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
16. Riopell, Mike. "Ives: Gay couples trying to". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
17. Long, Monique Garcia and Ray (November 5, 2013). "Lawmakers approve gay marriage in Illinois". chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
18. "Illinois House Shoots Down Ban On Gay Conversion Therapy". 2014-04-11. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
19. Bellware, Kim (2015-08-21). "Illinois Bans Gay Conversion Therapy For LGBT Youths". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
20. "Chicago Man Accused Of Threatening Lawmaker Over Comments On Gay Marriage". 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
21. "Chicago Man Charged With Threatening Lawmaker". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
22. Media, Suburban Life. "Former Chicago man sentenced to probation for threats against state Rep. Jeanne Ives". Mysuburbanlife.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-06. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
23. Niedelman, Jim (2017-11-26). "Ives calls Southern Poverty Law Center a 'hate group'". OurQuadCities. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
24. Garcia, Rick Pearson, Kim Geiger, Monique. "Rauner faces war on two fronts as Republican challenger Ives attacks". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
25. "Bernard Schoenburg: Ives says Rauner joined 'ruling class' he was to fight". The State Journal. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
26. "The Chicago Way w/John Kass (12/11/17): Sitting down with State Rep. Ives as she sets her sights on Gov. Rauner and the true story of St. Nicholas". WGN Radio - 720 AM. 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
27. "Measure Extending Medical Marijuana Program Passes IL House". Illinois Public Media. 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
28. "GOP legislator making primary challenge against Rauner". WFLD. December 4, 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
29. "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
30. "SB 6 - Establishes Budget for Fiscal Year 2017-2018 - Illinois Key Vote". Vote Smart.
31. "Illinois House Passes $15 Minimum Wage Bill". WRSP - Fox Illinois News. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
32. "Ives announces via email - Illinois Review". illinoisreview.typepad.com. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
33. Miller, Rich (October 28, 2017). "It's an Ives-Morthland ticket". Capitol Fax. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
34. Niedelman, Jim (2017-11-27). "Rep. Jeanne Ives goes after governor for not delivering on promises". OurQuadCities. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
35. Bosman, Julie; Martin, Jonathan (March 20, 2018). "Gov. Bruce Rauner and J.B. Pritzker to Face Off in Illinois". New York Times. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
36. "Dems sweep Illinois. Now they have to govern". Crain's Chicago Business. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
37. Pearson, Rick (July 18, 2019). "Former GOP Candidate for Governor Jeanne Ives Now Seeking Party Nod to Take On Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
38. Miller, Rich (October 11, 2019). "Sanguinetti Bows Out of Congressional Race". Capitol Fax. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
39. Robb, Tom (March 4, 2020). "Ives, Kinzler Square Off to Challenge Incumbent Casten in November". Journal & Topics. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
40. "12 Questions for the Candidates in Illinois' 6th Congressional District". WBEZ Chicago. March 9, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
41. O'Connell, Patrick M. (September 21, 2020). "Democratic Rep. Sean Casten and GOP Challenger Jeanne Ives Spar over Climate Change, Taxes and Social Issues in 6th Congressional District Forum". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
42. Alba, Davey; Nicas, Jack (October 18, 2020). "As Local News Dies, a Pay-for-Play Network Rises in Its Place". The New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
43. Bremer, Shelby (November 4, 2020). "Rep. Sean Casten Wins Race for Illinois' 6th District Race as Jeanne Ives Concedes". NBC Chicago. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
44. Lissau, Russell (November 4, 2020). "Casten Celebrates Victory over Ives in 6th Congressional Race". Daily Herald. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
45. "Official Canvass General Election November 3, 2020" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. December 4, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 6, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
46. "Election Results 2020 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
47. "Election Results 2020 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2021-02-24.

External links

• Official website
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Profile at OpenStates.org
• Profile at Ballotpedia
• The Governor You Don’t Know: The Other Side of Bruce Rauner, by Chris Cleveland. (Jameson Books, Inc.: Ottawa, Illinois). 2018. ISBN 978-0-89803-183-6.
• Video: "Gov. Bruce Rauner and Jeanne Ives face off during Chicago Tribune Editorial Board endorsement interview"
• Video: "Thank you, Bruce Rauner"