Will County Gazette

Will County Board Member and Homer Township Supervisor Steve Balich said while Black voters experience the same problems in Illinois as everyone else the values espoused by Gov. J.B. Pritzker don’t align with that of the community. 

“I see Black people as being in the same place as all other races with increased inflation, meaning far less disposable income,” Balich told Will County Gazette. “Everyone regardless of race is very angry at escalating costs of living in Illinois. People with lower incomes suffer the most! Governor Pritzker doesn't seem to care. He is all talk and his actions don't seem to benefit any low-income person. Republicans would stop the unnecessary spending and end policies of control that hurt families across the income level. Just ask the question. What has improved under Democrat control? The answer is nothing. Is public safety getting worse and more so in areas of lower income? The answer is yes and it is spreading to every neighborhood. Voting Republican is the only answer!”

The Black community seems to continue sailing away from the Illinois Governor and the gap is becoming wider and more critical as around a third of the Democrat vote comes from the Black community. Pritzker left the state’s Black entrepreneurs out of lucrative state licenses for recreational marijuana facilities. The Democrats have been disrespecting the Black community for years by providing lousy public services and passing over local politicians and businessmen according to former ABC 7 political reporter Charles Thomas. Recently he was featured in an ad by the People Who Play By the Rules PAC which opposes Pritzker. Thomas criticized those who voted for Pritzker solely because he is a Democrat. “(Pritzker) out of whole cloth created a brand new industry, this cannabis industry, and he said there would be equity. Those are his words, equity. In other words, we were going to get 15 to 20 percent of all this business, which is a multibillion-dollar business, now. We got nothing,” Thomas said on The Brunch Brunch On 1390.

Conversations about Pritzker and his party's truthfulness to the Black community have been happening and the issue is one of many the Black politicians have brought up over the course of the campaign season. It was central to the campaign of primary opponent Beverly Miles who said despite the toll the War on Drugs took on the Black community, Pritzker gave recreational marijuana licenses in those communities to “rich white people,” leaving out the Black community from the sought after business licenses, creating anger in the community, according to Prairie State Wire.

Outside the Black community, people have also observed Pritzker's disregard for marginalized communities. “Governor Pritzker for four years, 'equity, equity, equity.' And he finally had his opportunity with the recreational marijuana dispensaries and he failed again. I'm out in the black community –you probably saw me on Facebook a few weeks ago since you saw everything else – when I was walking with the black community up and down the streets of Chicago and they were screaming foul because they can't get the licenses,” GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey said at the Oct. 18 debate. The comment came after WGN news anchor Tahman Bradley asked Pritzker why the black community had been left out of the process. “Let's talk about equity and recreational use cannabis. The state's program went online in 2020. The first predominantly Black-owned craft grow house recently opened in the state. But Governor, since 2020, more than 340 licenses have been given out and only one has been given to a minority owner. Governor. When will you make good on your promise to diversify the lucrative cannabis industry?” Bradley asked.

Pritzker, according to WTTW, was caught on tape by the FBI discussing with former Gov. Rod Blagojevich which black candidates were “least offensive” before discussing then Secretary of State Jesse White. The conversation was one of a series in which Pritzker schemed with Blagojevich on an appointment to public office. The two also joked about former president Barack Obama’s mixed-race background. "You can argue he's, you know, he's got a lot in common with Obama, he's black and white. Ha. How stupid is that?" Blagojevich said. Pritzker can be heard chuckling on the audio. "That's good," Pritzker said praising Blagojevich for the racial joke. "That's good.” He also is heard reassuring Blagojevich, “You don’t have to put an African-American in that spot” if he were to appoint Jesse White. Blagojevich was later sentenced to 14 years in prison and Pritzker leveraged his massive personal fortune to become governor.