Evanston GOP Chief Mimics Trump With East St. Louis Slur, Resigns

EVANSTON, IL — Chairman of the Illinois Lottery Control Board and local Republican Committeeman Blair Garber has resigned over his use of an explicit insult to describe East St. Louis. Garber called the downstate city "the s---thole of the universe" in a Jan. 17 reply to a tweet from country musician Charlie Daniels.

The Evanston Republican and Rauner appointee made the comment the midst of a discussion of the controversy over President Donald Trump's alleged profanity in discussions about immigrants from Haiti and African countries.

Garber was responding to a sarcastic apology from Daniels, aimed at Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who told reporters Trump had described the countries as "s---holes."

"Mr. Durbin I'm so sorry that your virgin ears were blistered by the absolutely horrible language president Trump used in front of you," Daniels tweeted.

"The president actually thought he was addressing a meeting of members of congress, not a kindergarten class hope you didn't wet your pants too," wrote Daniels, who a week earlier had warned Taco Bell that the "Illuminati is not a frivolous subject."

Garber noted where Durbin grew up.

"Charlie, Durbin's home town is (get this) east St. Louis Illinois! The s---hole of the universe! Just do a google search," he replied.

Garber set his Twitter account to private after the State Journal-Register and Capitol Fax reported on his tweet Tuesday.

The governor's office said there was "no place for this kind of language in our political discourse."

Garber apologized and resigned from the Illinois Lottery Control Board "effective immediately," according to a spokesperson.

Garber has not responded to a message seeking comment.

Garber is a member of the Republican State Central Committee, where he represents the 9th Congressional District. He has described himself as an acquaintance of Gov. Bruce Rauner and his Evanston Republican group last week endorsed the governor against his Republican primary opponent, Rep. Jeanne Ives.

"It’s high time we had some leaders with a backbone in Springfield," Garber said at the time.

Ives (R-Wheaton) was one of many state politicians to criticize his remark, describing it as "disgusting" and calling for Rauner to remove Garber from the Lottery Control Board he was appointed to in May 2016. "Those kinds of statements from a person in a position of service to the State of Illinois cannot be tolerated."

"There are a lot of families and a lot of communities struggling in Illinois because of terrible public policy choices made by ruling class politicians in both parties, including Gov. Rauner," Ives responded Wednesday. "The people suffering under the rule of craven, career politicians don’t deserve to be ridiculed, the craven, career politicians do," she said.

Bob Daiber, the only Democratic gubernatorial candidate from downstate Illinois, said the problem is not the use of vulgar language but the "racist view" that demeaning struggling black communities is acceptable.

“East St. Louis has suffered from disinvestment, both private-sector and public, and it shows. But insults issuing from the administration, especially from a political toady residing in affluent Evanston, are not constructive,” he said.

The Madison County regional school superintendent said the people of East St. Louis deserve and apology and the governor should "be careful who he appoints" to state positions.

Before Garber's resignation, State Sen. James Clayborne (D-Belleville) said that if Rauner leaves Garber in place it would be "obvious how the governor feels about places like East St. Louis." Clayborne's district includes East St. Louis.

"For someone who claims to love the entire state, Governor Rauner seems to surround himself with people who care little for communities besides their own," he said.

And Garber's resignation from his role on the lottery board may not be enough, even for some local Republicans. A campaign running in the primary in the neighboring 10th District called for his opponent to repudiate the tweet and rethink Garber's role in the party.

“This type of language has no place in our public discourse, and this is why so many Americans are sick of politics and politicians. Blair Garber’s resignation is appropriate. However, Blair’s allies like Jeremy Wynes must speak out against this language and reconsider Blair’s role as a 9th District committeeman," said Spencer Sullivan, spokesperson for Sapan Shah.

"Jeremy Wynes must rescind the endorsement of Blair Garber and refund any money that he donated and raised. Anything less shows that Wynes either agrees with this horrible language, or he's not as independent as he claims and is willing to put politics over doing the right thing,” Sullivan said.