Kankakee Times

Tom Spellman, owner of The Hoppy Pig Restaurant in Bradley, is drumming up support for Tom DeVore's candidacy for Attorney General among restaurant owners and small business owners across the state.

"There was one man who stood with us to challenge the governor’s authority to shut us down, lay off our staff members, and destroy our businesses: Tom DeVore," Spellman wrote in a letter to other business owners. "I am writing to you today because we have been in the same boat. We found ourselves in a battle that we could have never prepared for in 2020 when Gov. Pritzker shut down restaurants and other small businesses across the state."

DeVore, according to Spellman, was one of the lawyers that would counsel them and understand their rights as business owners.

"With his help, we were able to stand up to the threats and took back some of the power JB Pritzker had seized. I knew when the Health Department, liquor inspector and even the state police showed up threatening to close Hoppy Pig, Tom had our back," Spellman wrote. "Without him, we would not have survived and many businesses like mine would not have had the courage to open up against JB and his illegal mandates. Now Tom needs our help."

Spellman's letter then focused on current Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

“In the past four years, Raoul hasn’t been able to find a single case of public corruption in Illinois or Chicago," Spellman wrote. "His tenure is starting to resemble that of his predecessor Lisa Madigan, who spent 16 years in office (2003- 2019) and couldn’t find a single instance of public corruption anywhere. We need the RINO's out! Raoul won’t stand up to Pritzker or the House Speaker or any other powerful insiders. And he’s never going to stand up for small business owners fighting for their lives against his political allies and donors."

Spellman sees the race for Attorney General above partisan politics.

"If we don’t get Tom in office they will keep going after us because they feel no one will stop them. It does not matter what your political party is, it is better for all of us to have an Attorney General that won’t allow legislators to break the law and destroy our businesses," Spellman wrote. "Tom stood with us. Now he is running to stand up for everyone in Illinois. He will bring balance back to the state government and be a check on power. I am asking you to join me today in donating to Tom’s campaign in any amount. We need this man, as Attorney General."

DeVore kept busy during the Pandemic representing restaurateurs who felt they should be able to remain open despite Pritzker’s orders, according to The Center Square. DeVore, then a little-known attorney from Greenville, spoke out in favor of Poopy’s Pub and Grub, his client. “If they want to take on an order of closure on behalf of one of my clients, come on,” DeVore said. “The court process is in the paperwork. I encourage that so that we can get in front of a court.” DeVore would then successfully represent parents in overturning mandatory masking in schools. 

Pritzker received harsh criticism for his COVID protocols that lead to the closure of several small enterprises that never recovered. 2,400 small businesses declared early in the pandemic that they would not be reopening because Pritzker's policies forced them to go out of business, in some cases for more than a year and a half. 

“I walk into Menards and there are 500 people buying tools or whatnot and they are saying that is OK?” Spiro Roumpas, the operator of Ki’s Steak and Seafood Restaurant, told Dupage Policy Journal at the time, noting the disparity between how big businesses were being treated in comparison to small businesses during the pandemic. “Government is crippling us. J.B. sits on a throne and dictates. Let people decide what they want to do.” 

The lockdowns have left enduring economic problems, particularly in Chicago. Only a fraction of its pre-COVID level of economic recovery has occurred, according to researchers who tracked activities using data from 18 million American smartphone users.

Only 43% of business activity returned in Chicago's downtown, making it the fifth poorest location for the post-COVID rebound. Detroit, San Francisco, Cleveland, and Portland were the only cities to fare worse.