DeSantis takes anti-woke show to Illinois

PEORIA, Ill. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday doubled down on his attacks against “woke” policies in big business, saying he will soon sign legislation to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion language “from all our public institutions.”

The 1,200 Republicans at the Peoria and Tazewell County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner at the Peoria Civic Center ate it up.

“We can never ever surrender to the woke mob,” DeSantis continued, using blustery conservative rhetoric to attack Democratic policies on public safety, border issues, trans issues and Covid pandemic rules. “We chose freedom over Fauci-ism and we are better off,” DeSantis said, prompting applause for one of dozens of such lines delivered throughout the 42-minute speech.

A large portion of his speech zeroed in on business policies: Along with attacking DEI language, he criticized the investment strategy that addresses environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), calling it an effort to “weaponize corporate power.” And he poked at Walt Disney Co., which opposed the so-called "Don’t Say Gay" law last year. “They don’t run the state of Florida. We run the state of Florida.”

DeSantis seemed to relish needling Illinois and its Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. The Florida governor jabbed Illinois for losing residents to the Sunshine State. He criticized Pritzker for allowing some members of his family to stay in their Florida home during the pandemic, and said former President Barack Obama, a former Illinois senator, was “too left” though not as left as Democrats are today.

DeSantis attacked President Joe Biden for causing “more damage in a short period of time than any president in our lifetime.”

And though he listed numerous pieces of legislation he’s signed in Florida, DeSantis didn’t mention the bill he just signed into law that would ban most abortions in the state after six weeks.

He also didn’t mention his likely run for president, though he hinted at one, saying, “I have only begun to fight.”

DeSantis’ stop in Illinois drew harsh criticism from Illinois Democrats, including Pritzker, who hours before the Florida governor’s speech issued a statement calling DeSantis “an authoritarian career politician who has no business being in public office. From passing a harsh abortion ban in the dead of night to erasing Black history from textbooks.”

And Democratic Party of Illinois chair Lisa Hernandez issued a statement saying DeSantis’ vision for the country “contradicts everything that we stand for in Illinois.”

Outside of the convention center where DeSantis spoke, a crowd of more than a hundred protesters gathered. Many were members of Peoria Proud, a group that rejects DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida. Others held signs calling out his views on abortion.

Most Republicans inside the convention center voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020’s general election, though many are open to seeing a new face at the top of the GOP ticket in 2024.

“I think people are ready for the drama to be done,” Illinois Republican state Sen. Sue Rezin told POLITICO. She was among some 30 elected officials and other Republicans at a private roundtable policy discussion with DeSantis held before Friday’s dinner. “People want leaders who can govern and who are not polarizing, and he has shown that,” Rezin said after the meeting.

Dan Brady, a Republican who served more than 20 years in the Illinois General Assembly, said voters are “eager” to hear from a candidate with “conservative values” and “good conduct and character.”

Neither of the Illinois Republicans wanted to attack Trump, and DeSantis didn't mention the former president's controversial appearance on CNN earlier in the week.

Friday's event took part in central Illinois, mostly Republican territory. It’s home to GOP Congressman Darin LaHood, who helped organize the event, though Peoria and Tazewell counties split on Trump in 2020.

LaHood drew his own applause line in introducing DeSantis, saying, “We need a winner.”

Peoria County voted for President Joe Biden 51.9 percent to Trump’s 45.6 percent. Tazewell County, meanwhile, voted for Trump 61.6 percent, compared to 35.9 percent for Biden.

DeSantis, who’s already made stops in the early primary states of Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina, isn’t likely looking at Illinois to get him over the delegate hump, presuming he jumps into the presidential race. The Land of Lincoln’s 2024 primary election is in late March, weeks after the early states.

But Illinois has Republican donors, which DeSantis is hoping to gather up along with those delegates.

Friday’s crowd for DeSantis’ speech was so large that organizers had to expand the room at the Civic Center.

Event organizers made note that last year’s headliner was former Vice President Mike Pence, and he “only” drew about 700 people to the annual dinner. Pence, like DeSantis, is expected to announce a run for president.

DeSantis is scheduled to be in Sioux City, Iowa, on Saturday for a Republican picnic.