Chicago City Wire

Old Town's George Kemper, who is running for Illinois House in the 12th District, is fighting to stay on the ballot.

The Republican nominee is running to unseat Democratic Rep. Margaret Croke.

“After submitting all the paperwork in accordance with local and state laws, I was greeted with an additional step that left me dumbfounded," Kemper said. "My opposition filed an objection to keep my name off the ballot. While I expected this to happen, as I was warned ahead of time, I was unaware of how wasteful of an ordeal it is. It required lawyers on both sides, multiple meetings over multiple weeks, and multiple government employees to handle just one case. If one was not fortunate enough – like I was – to have the lawyer fees covered, they would not be able to run. If one was not fortunate enough – like I was – to have individuals aid them in the hearing process, they would not be able to run. I also wondered how many taxpayer dollars are wasted every election cycle due to this process."

His efforts to remain on the ballot made him "realize the sad reality of what 'public service' has become, an exclusive club only for those who have time and resources." 

"The term 'voter suppression has become a hot topic and I believe that this qualifies under that umbrella," Kemper added. "While it does not directly suppress individuals from showing up at the ballot box, it does restrict their options on the ballot. If current representatives are so confident in their abilities, why do they feel the need to place so much effort on oppressing any form of opposition? Throughout this process, one quote stood out the most to me. That being, 'I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to my death your right to say it.' As someone who can say that they have lived this value of diversity of thought, I found it deeply disturbing that many of the current elected officials prove that they do not. Instead, it seems that they favor their position of power over the rights of the people.”

A life-long resident of Chicago, Kemper said in a Ballotpedia questionnaire that "public service should be just that." If he successfully unseats Croke, he said he would want to return power to those that he represents by "upholding the Constitution, demanding accountability, and ignoring any temptation of personal gain." Apart from government accountability and eliminating wasteful spending, he said he is passionate about freedom, particularly self-defense, and parental choice. He told Ballotpedia that he is a fan of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet “Common Sense” because it talks about natural rights and what must be done when those rights are infringed upon. Kemper, an army veteran, pledged to "represent all people, not one party."

He has recently called on Croke to condemn what he sees as an anti-Catholic cartoon posted on Facebook by state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago). The cartoon, a response to the Dobbs Decision, depicts a pope pointing a pistol at the back of the head of a pregnant statue of Liberty. Kemper decried it as “offensive and disturbing."

According to his campaign website, he was also an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. In 2017, he enlisted in the Army and attended basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. In 2019, Kemper and his unit were deployed to Syria in Operation Inherent Resolve. After deployment, he moved back to Chicago in 2020. He went back to school under the G.I. Bill with the hopes of being a history teacher. According to hs campaign website, "after the events of 2020," he said the county needed strong leadership and that he felt called to be a public servant. 

Kemper also supports a greater mental health infrastructure and repealing the SAFE-T Act. 

He attended Loyola Academy for high school and later applied there to be a baseball coach but Kemper said the school made, then withdrew an offer.

"I got out of the Army back in May of last year," Kemper told America's Newsroom in 2021."In October, I reached out to the school and in November they offered me a job to coach there. But come January they reached out and said that certain posts and political opinions I voiced didn’t reflect well on the school so they pulled the offer and since then I was really disappointed about it." 

Three dozen Republican candidates are running in Cook County this year, the highest number “in more than a generation,” Cook County GOP Chairman Sean Morrison said in a news release. “Cook County voters are demanding a choice at the ballot box. They will now have a clear choice in November.”

According to the  Chicago Tribune, Morrison said, “Cook County Democrats’ failing record on inflation, taxes, crime and corruption will be put on full display for voters. That is why Democrats will work as hard as possible to challenge and remove these Republican candidates from the November ballot. They do not want to discuss, debate or defend their horrendous record on all of those important kitchen table issues impacting families across Cook County.“