Chicago Tribune accuses Illinois congressional candidate of plagiarism

The Chicago Tribune on Wednesday accused a Republican congressional candidate of plagiarizing a newspaper article in an email soliciting campaign donations.

The article, which appeared online Friday and in the newspaper’s Monday print edition, discusses Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D) support for vote-by-mail options and logistical complications of the process.

The Tribune said the following passage from the article appears verbatim in an email from House GOP candidate Jeanne Ives, with the exception of “VBM” added in front of “advocates”: “Even advocates acknowledge the need to allow people — among them those who don’t trust the post office — to show up at a polling place to cast their vote. There are also the added costs of printing, mailing, securing and counting mail-in ballots, as well as allowing for drop-off boxes for those who don’t believe their vote will be delivered in time.”

Kathleen Murphy, Ives’s communication director, said she was responsible for the email text, telling the Tribune: “The line (that) was included is my fault, not Jeanne’s. I am the director of communication for the campaign, the content of an email is my responsibility.”

“That should have been cited — absolutely,” Murphy added, according to the Tribune. “Information gets pulled from different sources, and it was an oversight. We will review emails more carefully going forward.”

Ives is challenging Rep. Sean Casten (D) for Illinois’s 6th Congressional District in the Chicago suburbs. The Cook Political Report lists the race as “likely Democratic.”

The campaign email alleged that the push for increased vote-by-mail was an attempt by Democrats to advance a “radical agenda,” saying, “While I understand the concerns about the impact of COVID-19, we can’t lose who we are as a country in the process. All Americans deserve to know that the results of our elections are legitimate and we cannot compromise the integrity of our elections.”

President Trump has also frequently spoken out against voting by mail, claiming without supporting evidence that it is used to commit voter fraud. Trump voted by mail in this year’s Florida GOP primary.

Ives, a former member of the Illinois House, unsuccessfully challenged then-Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) in the state’s 2018 Republican primary.