North Cook News

Brad Schneider represents the worst of establishment politics in America.

Tucker Carlson recognized this reality last year when he correctly described Schneider on-air as a “creepy little demagogue.”

During Schneider’s largely invisible legislative career, he has served as a dutiful supplicant of the corporatist, globalist interests that dominate Washington. He regularly besmirches the tens of millions of Americans who maintain real doubts about the accuracy of the 2020 presidential election. Schneider even called for a domestic secret police force to surveil his political opponents.

On that topic of elections, he himself faces a serious legal obstacle because of a fraud that he willfully perpetrated upon the people he is supposed to represent in the 10th Congressional District of Illinois. Specifically, Schneider filed, under oath, a Statement of Candidacy with the Illinois Board of Elections that listed his address as a home where he did not live. In fact, he has never lived in that Highland Park, IL home. Not for a day. Not when he submitted the scam application, and not now. Nonetheless he filed a sworn statement with his petitions using a vacant house that was not even permitted for occupancy at all.

This lie is consequential, and not merely a small offense. For example, Schneider claimed both that vacant home PLUS his actual residence for a home property tax “homestead” exemption which reduces the tax burden for an owner’s single residence in Illinois. Once Schneider was caught red-handed cheating on his taxes, he admitted the fabrication, issuing the following statement through his attorney to Lake County, IL tax officials: "Upon receiving notice from your office, Congressman Schneider and Ms. Dann [his wife] will immediately submit payment for the full amount of the benefit, along with any interest and/or penalty that you indicate is owed."

Thankfully, regular citizens challenged this brazen dishonesty from Schneider, submitting a legal objection to his appearance on the 2022 ballot. Voters in the 10th District compelled the Illinois State Board of Elections to review this Schneider deception. Their filing describes Schneider’s fraud: “it is undisputed that: 1) His sworn statement of candidacy falsely sets out his residential address; and 2) His nominating petition sheets incorrectly listed a residential address at which he has never lived.”

When Schneider appeared before that board for a hearing, he had the temerity to claim that he was unaware that the application was submitted under oath and further actually explained that he “believed” that he resided at the empty house. I guess he took a page from his fellow radicals who believe a person can ‘identify’ as anything they want, including male athletes pretending to be females.

Speaking of Schneider’s radicalism, and returning to his interactions with Tucker Carlson, consider that this same entitled politician who committed property tax and election fraud, he wants a domestic secret police to spy on political opponents. In response, Carlson deservedly mocked the radical Congressman: “so if you have questions about handing Brad Schneider, whoever he is, the keys to your country, voiding the Bill of Rights…then you’re for killing police officers?”

Schneider should not appear on the ballot for this June’s Illinois primary election. His paperwork, to which he swore an oath, was knowingly dishonest. But if he does sneak through the process, he may well still feel the wrath of voters, because he faces a formidable opponent for the general election.

Republican candidate Joe Severino is a family man and successful entrepreneur who brings an outsider’s perspective to politics. Joe also brings the mentality of his former days as a vaunted amateur boxer to the realm of politics. He is an unashamed fighter for the principles of America First.

Though many politicos assume that the 10th District is safely Democratic, shifting political allegiances nationwide may well place that seat within reach for the right kind of Republican, someone like Severino. First, consider the massive upset win in formerly-blue Virginia in 2021. In addition, deeply blue New Jersey nearly saw an underfunded Republican challenger score a massive upset for the Governor’s Mansion.

Moreover, the redrawn 10th District of Illinois now includes sizable populations that trend away from Democrats and have been ravaged by Biden’s inflation. Specifically, the Illinois 10th is now 25% Hispanic, and the latest Quinnipiac University poll shows Joe Biden crashing to only 26% approval rating among Hispanic citizens. Latinos and other working-class constituencies in the district will be very receptive to Severino’s vision of cultural conservatism combined with economic populism.

Tucker Carlson is right about Brad Schneider. The hard-working citizens of the north and northwest suburbs of Chicago deserve real representation in Congress, and they will get it with Joe Severino.

– Steve Cortes is a longtime cable news broadcaster and former advisor to President Trump.