CHICAGO — An explosive ProPublica investigation reveals that an ad firm owned by a personal friend of DHS Secretary Noem has been secretly given a portion of $220 million in taxpayer-funded contracts, circumventing traditional oversight, in order to film Secretary Noem gallivanting around Mount Rushmore on horseback during the middle of a government shutdown.
The ProPublica investigation uncovered that Noem’s DHS used a non-existent “national emergency” to bypass the regular competitive bidding process and funnel potentially tens-of-millions in tax-funded ad campaign contracts to a firm owned by the husband of Noem’s spokesperson.
“This is brazen corruption, plain and simple,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “After months of deploying ICE agents to terrorize communities in Illinois, Kristi Noem emerges on horseback with a taxpayer funded vanity campaign designed to enrich her friends. If the Illinois GOP wants to talk about ethics and fiscal responsibility, they can start by calling this what it is: a self-serving giveaway to Republican operatives in her inner circle.”
Illinois GOP Refuse to Call Out Corruption
The Illinois GOP had endless outrage when they were pointing fingers over the Republican-led shutdown. But as Kristi Noem funnels taxpayer dollars to her friend for a self-promotional political ad campaign, suddenly, the Illinois GOP can’t find its voice? For a party that claims to hate waste, fraud, and abuse, they sure go quiet when the corruption comes from inside the house.
While nearly a quarter of households live paycheck to paycheck, The Trump administration has turned corruption into a governing strategy. Kristi Noem’s self-dealing is just the latest example.
Governor JB Pritzker remains committed to calling out these abuses and defending Illinois taxpayers from politicians who put themselves before the people they serve.
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CONTACT: press@jbpritzkercampaign.com