Chicago City Wire

As the Democratic National Convention (DNC) gets underway at the United Center, the People Who Play by the Rules PAC has erected a series of billboards aimed squarely at countering the narratives promoted by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. 

The messages are part of a larger campaign critiquing the governor’s policies and positions on various issues, from migration and international conflicts to local unemployment and crime. 

Dan Proft, President of People Who Play by the Rules PAC, explained the context behind the bold ads to Chicago City Wire.  

“With Pritzker putting up his own billboards that are full of the beautiful lies that he likes to tell… Illinois Democrats balanced budgets, record job growth, I just thought even if you can't convince the locals of the truth and the city and state, maybe you can convince some of the outside world that Pritzker and Johnson are just a couple of propagandists by providing some counter messaging to what they're trying to sell,” Proft, who also hosts daily talk show The Morning Answer on the city’s WIND-AM 560, told Chicago City Wire. 

The ads will remain in place throughout the DNC Aug. 19 through 22 and in the days following. 

“We’ll have them through the DNC in a few days afterwards in the afterglow of the DNC,” he said. “Maybe if we tell the truth at least some people will stop pretending to believe their lies.”  

Proft did not mince words in a statement released with the ads. 

"Johnson and Pritzker lord over the worst-governed city in America and the worst-governed state in American history, respectively. Both have failed their first responsibility which is to provide for the safety of their constituents. Our hope is by telling the truth at least some will stop pretending to believe their lies," he added in the statement. 

The ads are strategically placed across the city with various billboard companies Lamar and OUTFRONT Media. 

Many of the billboards are digital and allow for rotating messages featuring statements such as "Welcome to America's murder capital," "Thank you, JB! For blocking the Brighton Park migrant shelter," and "Thank you, JB! For opposing a cease-fire in Gaza." 

Other billboards proclaim "Welcome to the unemployment capital of the Midwest" and "Thank you, JB! For standing with Israel."

“Between Lamar and OUTFRONT we've got roughly three dozen locations around the city,” Proft said.

However, Proft’s efforts to place the ads didn't come without significant hurdles. Proft criticized the billboard companies for rejecting certain designs and messaging. 

“All of them rejected at least one of the designs that was completely factual and was indisputably factual, but they just thought it was too pointed,” Proft said. 

Proft said when People Who Play By the Rules PAC approached Clear Channel Outdoors, the company attempted to change the PAC’s messaging. 

“Clear Channel wanted to basically give us our language, so we just said no. So we didn't do anything with Clear Channel,” he said. 

He also pointed to JCDecaux, a French company, as particularly problematic. 

“JCDecaux which is a French company, rejected all six of our designs out of hand. Lamar took four and Out Front took five of the six,” he said. 

“Stuff that's again, indisputably factual, which the other company, they just rejected all of them because basically these billboards are a media channel. And most of these companies are, to varying degrees, state-run media, just like the Chicago press corps, just like the sort of the print and television media in this town is the same thing.”  

JCDecaux is the world’s largest billboard company and has a reputation for censoring client advertisements. 

As the Olympics approached in Paris this summer the company removed posters promoting the book "Transmania," a critique of the trans movement, which was deemed “hate speech” by city officials. 

The decision came after a drag queen alerted the mayor's office, leading to the French advertising firm JCDecaux taking down the ads and apologizing for any offense caused.

The company also faced scrutiny and was accused of “promoting war” for disallowing a billboard in Washington, D.C. in 2022 featuring two soldiers hugging. 

Proft's assertion that private advertising companies in the U.S. function like "state-run media" reflects the considerable upheaval in the advertising and media industries over the past two decades. 

The influence of wealthy individuals like Pritzker, who has an estimated worth of $3.5 billion, not only control substantial portions of the Illinois state and Democratic Party advertising budgets but also oversees billions in private investments, has been noted on the international level, much less locally. 

The rejection of Proft’s billboard ad designs by JCDecaux and Clear Channel is similar to the cancellation of a series of newspapers published and delivered via mail to Illinoisans in the 2022 gubernatorial election.

In that instance Pritzker leaned on Paddock Publications to cancel a long-term print contract it had with LGIS, including editions of Chicago City Wire. 

Earlier this year Illinois opted to fund media companies directly after approving $25 million in tax credits over the next five years to go to local journalism efforts. 

See images of the billboard designs below.