Kankakee Times

A campaign ad posted on incumbent state Rep. Katherine "Kate" Cloonen's (D-Kankakee) Facebook page alleging her GOP opponent, Lindsay Parkhurst, wants to eliminate the Social Security and Medicare programs has been deemed by Politifact to be an egregious lie.

  

The ad, posted on Sept. 21, has since been removed from Cloonen's Facebook page. Politifact rated the ad as "Pants on Fire."

Politifact, a fact-checking website, checks claims made by politicians, political activists, political parties, advocacy groups, bloggers, columnists and members of the media. It also fact-checks claims made in chain emails and on social media. Editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times run the site, while Politifact's state sites are run by other news organizations partnered with the Times.

After researching statements, Politifact rates claims on its Truth-O-Meter. The meter has six ratings, ranging from "True" to its lowest rating, "Pants on Fire," which indicates "the statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim."  

The 30-second spot posted on Cloonen's page, paid for by Friends of Kate Cloonen, featured an older man named "Art" from Kankakee. While Art spoke of the difficulties of living on a retirement income, text appeared on the screen, "148,000 Illinois seniors live in poverty."

"Without Social Security or Medicare, you're going to make us decide if we want medical care or food," Art said.

Art continued speaking as the text on the screen said, "Lindsay Parkhurst would cut Social Security and Medicare."

The sources and dates cited on the ad were NPR, March 29, 2011; the Illinois State Board of Elections and the Federal Election Commission, April 15, 2011; the Philadelphia Tribune, April 19, 2011; Bloomberg.com, Aug. 12, 2011; and the Chicago Tribune, March 14, 2014.

Cloonen's ad caught the attention of Politifact because the General Assembly cannot change a federal program. Politifact investigated the claims made in the ad and reported its findings this week.

The first issue noted in Cloonen's ad was that Social Security and Medicare are federal programs. A state legislator would not have the ability to eliminate these programs.

Upon researching the sources cited in the ad, Politifact found no mention of Parkhurst. At the time the articles were written, Parkhurst was a private citizen.

Parkhurst, the Republican challenger for the District 79 seat, is a lawyer known for her advocacy in the community. She spent nine years as a Kankakee County assistant public defender working on juvenile and abuse and neglect cases. While her candidate website doesn't specifically mention Social Security, she told Politifact that she represented Social Security disability clients in the course of her career. When questioned about her position on Social Security and Medicare, Parkhurst said the two programs are contracts that must be honored by the federal government.

  

The 2016 campaign for the House seat is Parkhurst's first run at public office. Parkhurst doesn't have a voting record for Cloonen to point to as evidence for her claim that Parkhurst wants to eliminate Social Security and Medicare.