Will County Gazette

State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), who is also running for governor, recently crisscrossed the state with a campaign message focused on a central theme.

“Our movement was represented by great volunteers in parades in both Cook and Will County,” Bailey posted on Twitter. “Thank you to everyone who showed up and represented our grassroots movement to fire Pritzker and restore Illinois."

In assessing his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bailey recently blasted Pritzker as the “mandate candidate,” adding he’s proven he’s unwilling to listen and lead.

“The ‘mandate candidate’ has proven he’s “unwilling  to engage the people and legislature to take targeted approaches, support local control, and find solutions that do not decimate our economy, hurt our children, or diminish freedoms,” he said.

Bailey has been among those to criticize the governor over his decision to reimpose a universal masking mandate on all public and private school students.

“We are a diverse state and one-size-fits-all approaches and tyrannical, unilateral mandates from a liberal governor do not work,” he said. “We must take a targeted approach where we engage local leaders, empower individuals and provide support for local entities to make the best decisions for their community and families.”

Pritzker’s mandate also extends to all teachers and other school staffers. Healthcare and higher education personnel are also included, with those not receiving the vaccine required to submit to once-a-week testing.

Pritzker has defended his actions by insisting the Delta variant "is increasingly causing concern for our hospital capacity in communities across Illinois."

Throughout his campaign, Bailey has insisted he has a clear vision for where he wants to take the state.

“We must restore common sense in Springfield,” he said in another post to Twitter. “As your next governor, I will fight to cut taxes, stand up for working families and put Illinois first.”

Bailey has long argued ethics reform has to be at the top of any list aimed at getting the state back on track. He points to the recent resignation of Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope as being indicative of how deep such problems now run across the state.

“The root of the problem leads directly to the governor and his Democratic cronies,” Bailey posted on Facebook soon after Pope tendered her resignation, which becomes official in December. “We have lost the public’s trust in our state to do business and until substantive ethics reforms are passed nothing will change.”