Elmhurst Lawmaker Blasted For Illinois Trip

ELMHURST, IL – A state lawmaker from Elmhurst is taking heat for her news release on a two-week trip across Illinois, which she said she took to learn more about the state.

Last Thursday, Rep. Jenn Ladisch Douglass, a Democrat, issued a news release through her government office about what she called her family's tour to see two dozen sites across Illinois. She said legislators' decisions affect every corner of the state. She encouraged others to visit the state's "countless treasures."

But the state Republican Party and a Springfield-based political blogger slammed her trip. The GOP took her to task for issuing a news release through her taxpayer-funded office. No one is suggesting she spent public money on the trip itself.

Douglass' 45th District is considered an election battleground. She narrowly defeated Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, an Elmhurst Republican, in November.

In a news release, Tony Esposito, executive director of the Illinois House Republican Organization, said Douglass' trip was a "vacation promoted at government expense," referring to the lawmaker's release.

"Usually when elected officials misuse public funds, they try to hide it," Esposito said in the release. "Not Jennifer Ladisch Douglass – she chose to send out a government press release about her two-week family vacation. Included on her list of stops were The Rootbeer Stand, Peachbarn Winery & Cafe, and Popeye Statues."

Political blogger Rich Miller, whom state politicians and lobbyists closely follow, listed some of the same places. (He said he included the full news release from Douglass for subscribers.)

Neither mentioned Douglass' less vacation-like stops, including the Rivian car plant in Normal, the ComEd switching station in Joliet, the State Farm Research and Development Center in Bloomington, a union training center in Wilmington, the Joliet Iron Works Historic Site and the Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Waterloo.

She also said she visited a number of state-funded parks and monuments.

In his release, Esposito transitioned from Douglass' government-funded news release to "yet another public corruption case" in federal court.

"It doesn’t take a tour around the state to know that voters in Illinois are fed up with politicians who use their official positions for personal gain," he said.

For his part, Miller said Douglass wasn't working hard enough to raise political donations and meet constituents, given last year's close election. He noted she raised less than $2,300 in the latest quarter.

"You'd think a person in that situation would be hard at work all summer knocking on doors, attending in-district events and making it known that she was active and available," he said. "Imagine, instead, that the legislator had sent out a release touting 24 constituent meetings in two weeks. That would be a legislator who was paying close attention to the fundamentals."

In an email in response to a Patch inquiry, Esposito pointed to Miller's blog post, but did not answer Patch's questions about whether there is value in city and suburban lawmakers visiting downstate to learn more about Illinois.

In a response to Patch, Miller said that, of course, other legislators take vacations.

"They don’t issue government press releases when they do, however. That’s what made it newsworthy to me," he said.

In an email to Patch, Douglass said the House Republican Organization's release is "just another example of the tired political games people in my community are sick of."

She said that during her first session, she heard from Republican colleagues about how legislative decisions affect towns across Illinois.

"That’s why – in addition to knocking on doors in my district, talking to neighbors at community meetings, and planning events for my constituents – I chose to visit economic development centers, historic sites that contribute to Illinois’ tourism economy, agricultural sites, and critical infrastructure projects in my colleagues’ districts," Douglass said. "I did not spend taxpayer dollars, but I did have productive conversations with stakeholders that will inform my work going forward."