Politics

Pritzker, Bailey Square Off in Contentious Discussion Over Taxes, Trump and Bears

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and his Republican challenger Darren Bailey faced off Tuesday in a sometimes heated debate, as the two gubernatorial candidates battled over numerous policy positions ranging from taxes and education to President Donald Trump and the future of the Chicago Bears.

The two-term Democratic incumbent and former downstate Republican legislator came together Tuesday for their first and only meeting during this election cycle in a forum hosted by WTTW News.

The discussion grew contentious between the pair at times, as the candidates spoke over one another and accused each other of lying in their statements.

Bailey slammed Pritzker for not getting more done for Illinois residents with a Democratic supermajority in the state legislature, while Pritzker repeatedly tied Bailey back to Trump.

“It’s time for Gov. Pritzker to own the failures and the problems of Illinois,” Bailey said Tuesday when asked about the potential loss of billions of dollars in funding for Illinois hospitals, adding that he planned to count how many times his opponent would mention Trump by name during Tuesday’s forum.

“Now what Darren Bailey is not saying to you is how he has pushed back,” Pritzker responded. “He has not. He thinks it’s OK. He’s sat silently while Donald Trump has taken these things away from people in the state of Illinois.”

The two squared off previously in the 2022 election cycle, when Pritzker cruised to victory and a second term, defeating his downstate opponent by nearly 13 points.

This time around, Bailey has sought to pull more support from northern Illinois. He has dialed back his anti-Chicago rhetoric — he previously called the city a “hellhole,” but has since apologized — and moved into a Near South Side apartment earlier this year after earning roughly 15% of votes in the city during his previous campaign.

The lifelong farmer was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 2018 and then to the state Senate in 2020; he served until 2023. Bailey won the Republican primary in March in a landslide, setting the stage for a rematch with Pritzker in November.

While Bailey, 60, fully embraced his 2022 endorsement from Trump — saying he intended to “roll the red carpet out for him” — he has been less vocal about the president’s backing this year.

Bailey has focused more on localized issues of safety, affordability and education, and has promised not to restrict abortion access in Illinois. On Tuesday, he called for a repeal of the criminal justice reform law known as the SAFE-T Act, saying too many violent offenders have been released following the state's elimination of cash bail.

“This is the problem, this isn’t working," Bailey said. "Something has to change.”

Bailey on Tuesday called for a forensic audit of the state’s budget — in the model of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency — in order to eliminate spending for undocumented residents that comes “at the expense of our veterans and our senior citizens.”

He called Pritzker’s “wasteful spending” throughout his two terms both “enormous” and “pathetic.”

Pritzker, 61, is seeking to become just the third governor in Illinois history to serve three terms, and the first Democrat ever to do so.

Seen as a possible presidential candidate in 2028, the billionaire businessman and philanthropist in his latest campaign has repeatedly targeted Trump and sought to connect Bailey back to the president’s agenda. Pritzker in August said the president’s second term is “the government that Darren Bailey rooted for.”

Pritzker has scored multiple legislative victories during his latest term, implementing the state’s assault weapon ban in 2023, upping the statewide minimum wage to $15 and guaranteeing paid leave for Illinois workers.

Responding to Bailey’s comments on the SAFE-T Act, Pritzker said his opponent wants to go back to a criminal justice system where “the most violent criminals can buy their way out of jail.”

“Darren Bailey has no alternatives,” Pritzker said, “he has no answer for public safety except he thinks more guns on the streets is the answer.”

Pritzker has sought to secure Illinois’ status as a safe haven for abortion rights and has helped the state earn 12 credit rating upgrades since he was first elected.

Bailey lashed out against Pritzker’s possible White House run, saying he isn’t running for president, but rather, “I’m running for what I can do as governor here in the state of Illinois.”

“I’m flattered you think I could get elected president of the United States,” Pritzker replied, “but I’m running for reelection as governor for the state of Illinois.”

A week after meeting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell amid the Chicago Bears’ potential move east into Indiana, Pritzker on Tuesday said he believes state legislators are going to be able to “get something done to keep the Bears in the state of Illinois.”

He said a team valued at $9 billion doesn’t need the state to build it a stadium, and that if a deal is struck to keep the Bears in the state, it won’t be happening “at the expense of the taxpayers.”

But Bailey said Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has already “assured” him the team’s move into Hammond is a done deal.

“I’m just glad I’m not going to be known as the governor that lost the Bears,” Bailey said.

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