Publisher Voids Contract With 'Fake' Newspapers After Pritzker Letter

SCHAUMBURG, IL — For the last several weeks, millions of residents throughout Cook County and beyond have been receiving newspapers in their mailboxes that critics say are filled with right-wing propaganda, often critical of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other Democratic leaders in the state. On Thursday, Paddock Publications announced it has canceled commercial printing jobs with Local Government Information Services (LGIS), the company behind the mailers, following a letter from Pritzker's reelection campaign that called the newspapers "fake" and announced it was pulling out of an upcoming candidate forum.

Paddock Publications, based in Schaumburg, is the parent company of Daily Herald, a suburban news outlet. In a message to readers published Thursday, the Daily Herald said, "we want no part of the flame-throwing accusations taking place between Gov. J.B. Pritzker and LGIS." Pritzker's campaign sent Paddock's publisher and chief executive officer, Douglas K. Ray, a letter decrying the company's decision to lend its bulk mail permit to LGIS.

Mike Ollen, campaign manager for JB For Governor, said in the letter to Ray that the mailers are designed to "mislead readers into thinking they are legitimate journalism," but are instead "unlabeled ads" critical of political candidates.

The Daily Herald is the third-largest newspaper in Illinois, with a circulation of around 150,000. The decision to void the contract with LGIS came hours after Pritzker's campaign said it wouldn't be participating in an upcoming candidate forum with Darren Bailey, the Republican candidate for governor, hosted by the Daily Herald.

Shaw Local News Network first reported that Paddock Publications was printing the newspapers for LGIS earlier this week, according to Crain's Chicago Business. Crain's said Pritzker and Bailey had agreed to a Zoom meeting with Herald editors in a question-and-answer session. It is not known at this time whether Thursday's decision by Paddock to stop printing the LGIS newspapers will entice Pritzker to rejoin the planned forum.

The Daily Herald said no one from Pritzker's office had contacted the company prior to the release of the letter to Ray. The newspaper attempted to separate itself from Paddock's decision to print the LGIS mailers, saying it "does not endorse the content of any of the print jobs it does for vendors, including many newspapers. It neither embraces nor condemns them. It merely prints them. And the editorial department is kept separate from the printing operation."

"Many residents who’ve received these pink slime reports shared that they never subscribed to LGIS and had no interest in receiving them in the first place," Ollen said. "These fake newspapers represent an existential threat to quality, independent journalism."

LGIS, which runs the website Chicago City Wire, is headed by Republican political strategist Dan Proft. Proft responded to Pritzker's decision to withdraw from the Daily Herald's candidate forum through the People Who Play By The Rules PAC, for which he is president.