Skillicorn: “I am not surprised that my opponent would agree to attend this forum. Her hatred for our President is self-evident.”
In an email last week to Carol Grom of the League of Women Voters (LWV) of the Elgin Area, State Representative Allen Skillicorn said the above quote about McHenry County Board Member Carolyn Schofield claiming she has “hatred” of President Trump that is “self-evident”.
The email exchange between Skillicorn and Grom was published yesterday here on McHenry County Blog. The full context of Skillicorn’s email can be viewed in the article from yesterday. The email exchange took place last Thursday, prior to the LWV’s decision to cancel the candidates’ forum scheduled for last night in Carpentersville.
Believing in equal time, McHenry County Blog is allowing Schofield, Skillicorn’s Republican primary opponent, to respond to this charge of hatred. In addition to seeking renomination, Skillicorn is on the ballot as an alternate delegate for President Trump in the 8th congressional district:
“I continue to be shocked by the lack of respect and civility he [Skillicorn] has when addressing his constituents. This type of behavior is exactly the reason I am running against him.
“The fact that he has burned so many bridges and continues to find ways to degrade people for no reason is exactly why he is unable to pass any legislation.
“His behavior is infuriating and one that does not deserve to represent the residents of the 66th District.
“He continues to spew lies and accusations that cannot be substantiated to deflect from his own misgivings such as his ethics violation investigation and ineffectiveness.
“I would challenge him to provide factual information to back up the outrageous comments he makes.
“In this day of recording capabilities and the internet, my decision to attend an event to educate voters was more important than a self serving desire to watch live TV.
“His rant about civics and students is a flare for the dramatic.
“He would have no idea what students are learning in civics class or what they are assigned for homework. I am the one who works in the school system and has children in high school and middle school.
“The one thing we can agree on is the stark contrast between us. I would truly appreciate the opportunity to display this, however I have showed up to multiple events we were both invited to, and he has yet to appear in the same room.”
Carolyn Schofield, 2/4/20 response to Allen Skillicorn
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If and when Skillicorn presents his evidence of Schofield’s hatred of President Trump, it will be published accordingly.
My blog history has shown I would never even consider making fun of Schofield and her Cult of Obama.
How Skillicorn can keep making up things is beyond me.
His statement of Carolyn’s hatred for our President is the last straw.
Skillicorn must be the one with the hatred to be able to come up with a statement like that.
Becsuse he cannot get anything done, he has to make up lies
If he were Pinocchio, his body would be in Illinois and his nose in California
He is the reason politicians get a bad image.
Enough!
Try sticking to honest facts and have a debate with Carolyn.
I will keep my comment simple, for Carol Daly to understand & Carolyn’s Cult of Obama.
Carolyn is “Indifferent,” Reminding everyone of Carlos Acosta and now Jack Franks.
Does Schofield smoke a pipe?
Another Rino like that’s a surprise…
I have no dog in this hunt.
I don’t like Skillicorn’s invective.
But I’m less than impressed with Schofield’s response.
Let’s parse it.
“the lack of respect and civility … is exactly the reason I am running against him.”
I agree that Skillicorn’s tone and word choice was impolite.
However, that’s not much of a reason for running for office!
If she disagrees strongly with this politics, and details her difference, I could decide if I agree more with his politics than with hers.
But vote for her because she finds him to be impolite?
“I would challenge him to provide factual information to back up the outrageous comments he makes.”
A fair charge.
Skillicorn made an unsupported accusation.
On the other hand, this was Schofield’s opportunity to deny that she hates Trump, and she failed to do so.
In court, silence does not signal assent, but in the court of public opinion, it’s pretty strong evidence.
“He would have no idea what students are learning in civics class … I am the one who works in the school system and has children in high school and middle school.”
I looked up the curricula for the high school districts in McHenry County, and none of them have civics course anymore.
They haven’t for years.
More’s the pity.
But if she knows that, she’s clearly trying to mislead the voters, and if she doesn’t know that, then her capabilities as a part-time substitute teacher are impugned.
In short, her response lacked substance.
I’ll make one last comment.
“He would have no idea what students are learning in civics class or what they are assigned for homework.”
As one who knows first hand the deep emotional pain that comes with the difficulty in having children, and who was only successful because of heroic and truly miraculous medical intervention, I find Schofield’s backhanded comment on the Skillicorns’ lack of children to be deeply offensive.
If she knows why they don’t have children, then the comment is loathsome.
If the doesn’t know why, then the comment is at best deeply thoughtless.
Schofield is as narcissistic as she is odious.
She’s a RINO and a termite queen.
That’s a strange hybrid,
Agree with everything you wrote, Steve, but when I went to school they didn’t call it “civics,” although we had to take a class on the Illinois and U.S. Constitution.
This was required in 8th AND 12th grade.
We also had to take U.S. History.
I just checked an ISBE document from 2016 which lists similar requirements.
MsTrumpion, between Skillicorn & Schofield, one must give it to Skillicorn as far as narcissism goes.
Hands down.
Look no further than how he’s handled the ethics complaint about June 1.
Whether or not he’s been diagnosed w/ NPD, Skillicorn shows too many symptoms of being a narc.
Is it accurate to describe Jim Malone as the most neurotypical candidate in the race?
I haven’t met him but know the other three and they are crazy nut jobs.
Schofield’s response reads like a self-characterization.
Her competition is weak by comparison in the contest for volatile and false accusations against their opponents.
Correcting, they still have a civics requirement, but it is no longer met with a dedicated civics class, and the classes that meet the requirement have little to do with civics.
Mr. Wilson, I don’t get Schofield going after Skillicorn for not having kids, just emphasizing she’s worked in the schools, both as a substitute teacher & as a volunteer.
Yes, I’ve seen Skillicorn do his photo ops at Westfield School with the kids. Had he done more significant work with kids without the camera taking pics, then Schofield’s criticism would be questionable.
Now Skillicorn has gone after people for their life choices or lack of life experiences.
For example, during his flirtation with 14th district he took swipes at Lauren Underwood for never having to pay property taxes or other challenges of home ownership.
Anytime he refers to Underwood of living in her parents’ basement is a similar swipe.
John, she didn’t just emphasize her work in the schools, she said Skillicorn would “have no idea” what was going in the schools.
She might as well have said, “You don’t even have kids. How would YOU know what’s going on in the schools!”
John, are you really saying that choosing to live in your parents’ basement is the same as not being able to have children?
I remember someone saying something like that to my wife when we were going through our problems.
“What do you care about the schools, you don’t even have children!”
Talk about a gut punch.
We left very quickly and my wife sobbed the whole way home.
I have spoken to both of them.
Yes Skillicorn can be a pain.
But Schofield is a moog, a RINO-Moog.
Mr. Wilson, stop trying to put words in my or anyone’s mouth to try to pick a fight.
I feel I’m a reasonable person, and as a reasonable person I respectfully disagreed with your observation, and even your additional comment, I still disagree with them.
I pointed out Skillicorn has brought up life choices similar to what you think Schofield has done.
I’m not going to get off on a tangent of trying to determine which one is worse, and you’re the one bringing people’s wives into it.
Skillicorn is not going to hide behind his wife’s skirts, and voters will react negatively if he or his supporters try to make something out of nothing.
Skillicorn simply needs to tell the truth, he needs to point out why he said to the LWV what he did, which in turn he released as an article which was posted about Schofield hating the President of the United States.
Schofield has nothing to defend.
Skillicorn is the one who continues to be on defense because he cannot give a proper accounting of himself for several events, be it June 1st, January 23 and now February 4th, which eventually was cancelled.
As I pointed out earlier commenting to someone else, Skillicorn clearly displays narcissistic behavior, and not Schofield.
Deflection is one way a narcissist uses to prevent them telling the truth when confronted with it, and that is what he does constantly.
Hopefully his supporters won’t do the same.
I agree with Wilson. I too took it as an underhanded way of insulting Skillicorn’s family life.
This issue has come up in past election by trolls and I’d be surprised if Carolyn, who ran against Skillicorn before, was unaware of that when she issued the statement.
Bringing up someone not paying property taxes because they live with their family vs not having children are NOT at all equivalent.
I don’t like either of these attacks by the way, but they’re not the same.
Criticisms of Skillicorn’s ghost voting is definitely fair game.
He has not handled that situation well at all — and shouldn’t have done what he did to begin with!
John:
The more I look at your comments, the madder and more astounded I become.
Schofield didn’t merely emphasize she had experience in the schools, she said ““He would have no idea what students are learning in civics class or what they are assigned for homework.” There is no other way to interpret THAT phrase than, “he doesn’t have children”.
If there is any other explanation for THAT phrase, please give it. Otherwise, please admit my interpretation. And admit it is an argument ad hominem, as if the only way to know something about the schools is to have children or work in the schools.
Second, your comment about Skillicorn not working with kids immediately after a photo op is in as poor taste as Schofield’s comment. How do you know what he does for children when the cameras aren’t rolling? Because you saw him at one event? And how could that one event possibly mean he can’t know what goes on in schools?
You’ve shifted ground from her comment about what he could know about schools to whether he cares for children and drawn a conclusion on mighty slim evidence.
Do I not care for children because I don’t volunteer at the schools?
Does everyone who doesn’t volunteer at schools not care for children?
So, please explain how not spending time with kids after a photo op means he can’t know what’s going on in schools (Schofield’s claim) and how it proves he doesn’t care about children (your claim)?
And if you try to say that’s not what you meant, please explain exactly what your comment does mean and what evidence you have besides one photo op.
Third, in your comment about Underwood, you make two logical errors at one time.
Not only is your analogy grotesquely inapplicable, as if not being able to have children were, as you put it a “life choice”, the same as living with your parents, but you then say, in essence, “Skillicorn did something wrong, so it’s okay if others also do wrong”, known formally as the “tu quoque” fallacy: two wrongs make a right.
Again, if you think I’m wrong, please explain you the analogy is not wrong on a very significant point, and please explain how saying Skillicorn has taken swipes at people that you think are irrelevant makes it right for other people to take swipes at him that are irrelevant.
I’m appalled, John, at how poorly reasoned and evidenced your claims are, and I’m more appalled that you could be so uncomprehending of the deep emotional damage that comes with not being able to have children, to compare that to choosing to live with your parents.
“Life choices”?
My God, man, where are your feelings?
Where is your compassion?
And when I describe my own wife’s hurt at the terrible things people say in these situations to try to get you to understand, you refer to that as going off on a tangent when my entire point here is that Schofield’s comments were hurtful, both to Skillicorn and to his wife.
So, John, refute each point.
Don’t make general statements such as “stop trying to put words in my mouth”.
That doesn’t refute anything I’ve said.
Don’t say anything about “tangents” without refuting my arguments one by one.
That’s not what a “reasonable” person does.
Nor is going back to your complaints about Skillicorn being on the defensive or being narcissitic.
Talk about going off on tangents!
Let me simply grant both of those statements, and please explain how that could possibly refute my complaints about what Schofield said?
Let me repeat:
I have no dog in this hunt.
I have no strong feelings about Skillicorn one way or the other.
I don’t know the man.
I don’t think I’ve ever even met him.
But I prefer to see public policy issues settled on the basis of facts and logic, and that applies to both Skillicorn and Schofield.
Skillicorn may well have done things that are wrong.
But Schofield’s comments were off base and the one about his not having children was, as I said, venomous if she knows they can’t have children and stupid if she’s ignorant of the reason.
And your defense of not answering my charges and trying to turn the argument back to Skillicorn is not reasonable, it’s a red herring.
Mr. Lopez, obviously you don’t like Skillicorn.
But the alternative to him is so vile, it doesn’t do any good criticizing him when we’re in a life and death struggle in this damn state.