McHenry Times

Steven Reick, candidate for House District 63, has raised questions about the legitimacy of fellow Republican Jeffery Lichte’s candidacy. 

Reick and Lichte will face off in the Republican primaries in March, with the winner going up against incumbent Jack Franks, currently serving his ninth term.

In a post on his blog, Reick briefly addressed the campaign fraud accusations against him before delving into what he believes to be an attempt to control the upcoming election's nomination procedure.

“The bigger story -- and one which has received no mention in any of our county’s newspapers -- is the attempt by Jack Franks to commandeer the nominating process by placing a long-time supporter on the Republican primary ballot,” Reick said.

In 2014, Reick ran against Franks and lost. When Reick considered running again in 2016, he knew he would not win without support from the Republican Party. In fact, Reick gave up on his effort to run back in November, when someone in the know told him that if he ran, he would be doing so without support from the Illinois GOP.

Ten days later, Reick reconsidered his decision after receiving word that Lichte would be running for the 63rd District.

“On the same day, I received a call from the Illinois House Republican Organization asking if I’d reconsider my decision to withdraw from the race,” Reick said. “I agreed; and on Nov. 30, the last day for filing, my petitions were submitted to the State Board of Elections.”

But Reick has cried foul at the legitimacy of Lichte’s candidacy and has accused his opponent of only running to squash any real competition for Franks.

“It turns out that Mr. Lichte is a long-time supporter of Jack Franks: he and his wife regularly submit letters to the editor of the Northwest Herald, praising Franks for this or that wonderful thing he’s done for the district,” he said. “Mr. Lichte has consistently voted in Democratic primaries and has placed Jack Franks’ signs in his front yard. His candidacy cannot be chalked up to a political epiphany.”

In his post, Reick questioned why the story of “a fake Republican” has not garnered attention in the media, save a few posts on the McHenry County Blog. Nonetheless, Reick posed several questions he believes need to be answered before voters head to the polls. 

“Whose idea was it to put up a fake Republican -- Franks or his puppet-master, Mike Madigan?” he said. “How many people did Franks have to go to before he settled on Lichte, and who were they? We know what Franks stands to gain. What’s Lichte getting out of this?”

The Northwest Herald posted Lichte’s answer to why voters should consider him the best candidate for the seat.

“I will represent the 63rd District with honor and integrity,” he said. “I will be an independent voice that will not be bought and paid for by outside interests. I will not be beholden to anyone and will only serve two terms, and will not accept health care or pension benefits.”

But Reick isn’t buying it and insists Franks is behind Lichte’s bid and that there is more to the story.

“Jack Franks can’t be doing this because he’s afraid of a guy he pounded by 16 percent in 2014,” Reick said. “No, there’s a backstory here, and it’s a shame no one seems to be willing to take the time to find out what it is.”