Rock Island Today

Gubernatorial candidate Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) is running a new radio ad that say he will "make it a mission to unite this state." He also said he will " focus will be on crafting policies that will lead to job growth and stop the mass exodus from our state." 

"Our campaign has been a simple one. We exposed the corruption, the influence peddling, and the many examples of JB Pritzker’s failed policies," Bailey said. "We also made a pledge to bring in a new era of Illinois government. And we will make good on those commitments. We are going to treat everyone with dignity and respect. We are going to listen to the people, and we are going to make Illinois government accountable, accessible, honest and transparent. The Governor’s mansion does not belong to any one person or one party. It belongs to the people. A Darren Bailey/Stephanie Trussell Administration would be committed to serving ALL the people of this great state."

The Republican state senator and the incumbent Democratic governor are virtually tied according to a recent Osage Research survey which polled 600 likely voters. Bailey was chosen by 42% of the respondents while 44% said they would reelect Pritzker.  With a +/-4% deviation, Bailey and Pritzker are in a statistical tie, Prairie State Wire reported.

Pritzker's blind trust's significant investment in state contractors has received significant criticism after coming to light. According to the Better Government Association (BGA) Pritzker "has not distanced himself from active involvement in the blind trust," according to a spokesman. The BGA asserted that Pritzker's ownership in 12 companies could unduly influence his policy decisions. Centene Corp. is one of the biggest recipients of Pritzker's insurance policies, in which he also has a financial stake thanks to the blind trust. Centene, which manages Medicaid, made the state almost $5 billion in profit in 2021. The governor was supposed to sell all of his shares in companies doing business with the state and transfer his remaining interests to a blind trust, but the BGA noted that the governor didn't follow through on this pledge. Neither the governor nor any employees in his administration have commented on the blind trust or its investments in Centene.

Attorney General candidate Thomas DeVore said that one scandal Pritzker has been dogged by over the campaign has been that involving his former campaign aide Jenny Thornley. She was an Illinois State Police (ISP) merit board employee charged with stealing money from the government. When her manager learned about it, she lodged a false accusation of sexual harassment against him, which was later exposed. She also made contact with the governor's wife in February 2020 to ask for assistance on the issue. Thornley later filed a fake workers' compensation claim due to the harassment while working with Pritzker's top staff, designating the governor's office as her employer rather than the ISP merit board. The claim, which was determined to be false, was processed and approved directly by Pritzker's General Counsel Ann Spillane. An independent investigation concluded that the claim was just a scheme to defraud the state. DeVore claims people in the highest levels of the Pritzker Administration were involved in the scheme.

Opponents claim Pritzker resorted to bully tactics to silence opponents. The publication of an opposition newspaper was disrupted momentarily after the Pritzker campaign put pressure on the Daily Herald, which owns the press that was printing the newspapers owned by LGIS. Opponents say Pritzker was also successful in shutting down a TV ad by radio personality Pat Proft’s People Who Play By The Rules PAC  which showed a video of a woman being robbed. Pritzker also sent a legal notice to NBC and WGN requesting they remove an ad from Pritzker’s primary opponent, Beverly Miles, in which she accused Pritzker of her politically-motivated firing. The legal notice said Miles had no evidence Pritzker was behind her firing.