It is official: JB Pritzker announces run for a third term leading Illinois

If Pritzker decide to run for president, an announcement would likely come at some point in 2027 during what would be the first year of his third term if he’s reelected.

by Ben Szalinski
Capitol News Illinois

SPRINGFIELD - Gov. JB Pritzker began his third campaign for governor on last week, but much of the buzz around his 2026 campaign announcement focused on 2028.

Pritzker made four stops around the state to launch his campaign, fielding questions about any future interest in the presidency and what is driving him to run for what would be a historic third term. In his final stop in Springfield on Thursday evening, he was toasting personally branded “JBeers” – his own craft beer product he unveiled at last year’s Democratic National Convention – with a group of about 100 people at a small event venue just outside the Capitol and talking about his motivations.

News from around Illinois “Every day I’m going to wake up going forward thinking about what I am going to do that’s going to help the people of Illinois,” Pritzker told reporters in Springfield when asked how many years of a third term he would serve. “So that’s the reason I’m running for reelection, it’s why I announced today, it’s what I’m going to do every day going forward no matter what decision I make.”

The 60-year-old Democrat’s national profile has grown significantly over the last year. He was a finalist to be former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate last July, and weeks later, introduced himself to the country on the stage of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In the months since President Donald Trump took office, Pritzker has emerged as one of his most vocal critics.

Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Jade Aubrey
Gov. JB Pritzker takes a picture with Mike Lopez, mayor of nearby Jerome, after announcing his reelection campaign in Springfield on Thursday, June 26.

At news conferences throughout the state, Pritzker did not directly commit to serving a full four-year term if he is reelected and sidestepped questions about his rumored White House ambitions.

But while staying tight-lipped about what he thinks about his prospects in the 2028 presidential election, he said any decision he makes about his future would be Illinois-centric.

Speculation shows Pritzker ‘capable and competent’
In the meantime, Pritzker said he believed his inclusion in the national conversation is good for Illinois.

“When I ran for governor in the first place in 2017 and 2018, never, never could I have imagined that anybody would talk about me as the potential vice-presidential nominee or as a candidate for president of the United States,” Pritzker said.

While Republicans have frequently criticized the governor for his tendencies to criticize Trump rather than work with him to Illinois’ benefit, the governor spun his rising national profile as a positive.

“Having the state of Illinois’ leaders viewed as capable and competent and potentially able to run the entire country and being talked about in that way, allows us, I think, to get more for the people of Illinois because there’s an understanding that, you know, maybe in Illinois we’re doing the right things,” he said. “Maybe in Illinois we have leaders that can competently execute on what states really need.”

Pritzker said his experience last summer being vetted for the vice presidency has not played any role in the decisions he has made about his political career.

Should Pritzker decide to run for president, an announcement would likely come at some point in 2027 during what would be the first year of his third term if he’s reelected.

Pritzker’s goal: ‘Protect’ Illinois and his legacy
Pritzker said at his announcement Thursday that his goal in 2026 is to preserve his legacy and “protect” the story of Illinois that’s been written under his leadership. Pritzker didn’t outline a bold vision for his third term but rather pledged to build off what he has already accomplished.

He said his third term would focus on grappling with artificial intelligence, addressing the rising cost of living, continued spending on infrastructure and growing the state’s economy.

Pritzker reflected on his decision to seek reelection despite growing challenges facing the state.

“I don’t shy away from a fight, and we’re going to have to protect the people of Illinois,” Pritzker told reporters in Springfield. “And I feel like we’re in a moment when backing away from public service when things are hard doesn’t feel right. So that’s one of the reasons I chose to run for reelection.”

Pritzker was asked whether he would have run had Trump not been elected last year.

“I think I would, but I have to say that in this moment, it feels like walking away is the wrong thing to do given who is in the White House and given how this administration is attacking people all across this country,” Pritzker said.

The governor must also choose a new running mate as Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has decided to run for U.S. Senate. Pritzker said he will choose one by the end of July so his campaign can start circulating nominating petitions in early August. Pritzker said in Chicago that he is looking for someone with enough experience to take over as governor if required.

Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, may be an early front-runner for the job. Pritzker specifically referred to Gordon-Booth as qualified at a stop in East Peoria on Thursday when asked about potential running mates, WGLT reported. The assistant House majority leader has been in the General Assembly since 2009.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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Bailey blasts Pritzker, Johnson amid Trump’s threat to send troops to Chicago

Darren Bailey blasts Pritzker and Johnson after Trump threatens troops in Chicago, tying law-and-order to his bid against Rep. Mike Bost.


Chicago lake front at night

Photo: Willian Justen de Vasconcellos/PEXELS

Residents enjoy a peaceful evening on lake front in Chicago. Despite violence has dropped over the past five years, President Trump has threatened to send military troops to the Illinois city to help police the city. Neither the city or the state have requested Federal assistance to help with law enforcement efforts.
LOUISVILLE - Former state senator Darren Bailey blasted Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson this week after President Donald Trump threatened to send U.S. troops to Chicago to address crime. Bailey, who lost his 2022 gubernatorial race to Pritzker and is now challenging fellow Republican Rep. Mike Bost in Illinois’ 12th District, accused Democratic leaders of ignoring public safety for political gain.

“If Brandon Johnson and JB Pritzker try to block the National Guard from coming into Chicago, they should be thrown in jail. They are siding with criminals and putting politics ahead of the safety of families,” Bailey said in a statement. “Families are burying their children, businesses are shuttering, and entire neighborhoods live in fear. For Pritzker and Johnson to say there’s no emergency is disgraceful.”

Bailey has made law-and-order themes central to his campaigns, portraying Chicago as symbolic of failed Democratic leadership at both state and city levels. His comments come as Trump revived talk of federal intervention in Chicago, despite declining crime rates.

2017 Womens' March on Chicago
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Thousands of protestors walk the streets of Chicago during the 2017 Womens March on Chicago. The demonstration brought more than 250,000 together people together on the first day of Trump's first term. Governor Pritzker and community leaders told the media troops are not wanted or needed on the streets of Chicago.

Speaking in the Oval Office after signing executive orders aimed at curbing cashless bail, Trump suggested the Pentagon was ready to act. “We can go anywhere on less than 24 hours’ notice,” Trump said. “They need help. We may wait. We may or may not, we may just go in and do it, which is probably what we should do.”

Later, Trump acknowledged he had not received a request from Illinois leaders. “I didn’t get a request from the governor,” he said. “Illinois is affected maybe more than anybody else. And I think until I get that request from that guy, I’m not going to do anything about it.”

Gov. Pritzker, joined by business and community leaders, dismissed Trump’s statements as political theater. He pointed to crime data showing marked improvements in Chicago this year. “There is no emergency in Chicago that calls for armed military intervention,” Pritzker said. “This is about Donald Trump searching for any justification to deploy the military in a blue city, in a blue state, to try to intimidate his political rivals.”

Pritzker defeated Bailey, earning a second term with 55% of the popular vote. The Pritzker is one of serveral contenders for the next presidential election.

City statistics show gun violence dropped 25% in the first half of 2025 compared with last year, and 41% below the average reported between 2020 and 2024. Homicides also fell below 2019 levels, before the nationwide surge that followed the COVID-19 pandemic.

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    Budget plan pushes nine new taxes on Illinois tax payers worth nearly $1 billion

    by Adam Schuster, Senior Director of Budget and
    Tax Research
     Illinois Policy


    In the annual governor’s budget address on Feb. 17, Gov. J.B. Pritzker presented a $41.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2022 that holds spending flat for education as well as most state operating spending.

    Pritzker was tasked with closing a $4.8 billion deficit reported in November 2020, which would have grown to $5.5 billion including a $690 million payment towards recent borrowing from the Federal Reserve.

    Pritzker’s budget relies heavily on nine different tax increases, mostly targeted at businesses, to raise $932 million in revenue. In his speech and in documents from the governor’s budget office the tax increases are branded as "closing corporate tax loopholes." However, none of the exemptions or credits Pritzker is proposing to limit or eliminate can be fairly described as "loopholes." Several do not apply exclusively to corporations.

    For example, one Pritzker proposal would reduce the value of a tax credit scholarship program that helps disadvantaged students afford private school education through donations from both corporations and individuals. Another of the proposals does not pertain to any type of credit or deduction, but rather reimposes the states’ arcane “corporate franchise tax,” which is scheduled to phase out through 2024 under current law. And another is a new tax on gasolines that is expected to hurt Illinois farmers and add 20 cents per gallon of diesel.

    The state budget law requires the governor to propose a budget that is balanced using only revenues in law at the time the budget is proposed. That requirement was ignored in Pritzker’s first and second budget proposals, and these nine new taxes mean it is in his third budget as well.

    We urge the governor to stop championing policies that will put Illinoisans on the unemployment lines
    Even with these tax increases, Pritzker’s budget proposal is not truly balanced. It includes no reforms to pensions or other structural overspending that would address the state’s long-term deficit. Instead, the budget makes liberal use of budget gimmicks such as changing the timing of payments – moving some debt service back to fiscal year 2021 while pushing other payments farther into the future – and sweeping $565 million from other state accounts. Instead of going to the road fund and capital projects, Pritzker would redirect sales tax revenue from gasoline sales and cigarette tax receipts to the general fund.

    Changing the timing of payments allows Pritzker to avoid counting nearly $1 billion in costs toward this year’s budget – $276 million in interfund debt service that was delayed and the $690 million federal reserve borrowing that was moved forward. However, changing the timing of payments does not improve the state’s overall financial condition. It’s an accounting shell game to make the budget appear balanced on paper.

    The rest of the deficit is covered by spending freezes worth $1.27 billion and significantly more optimistic revenue assumptions compared to those the governor’s office released in November 2020. Those spending changes are not actual cuts compared to prior-year spending, but rather canceling automatic spending growth that is assumed as part of the state’s baseline budgeting method.

    More optimistic revenue projections account for the largest reduction in the deficit, on paper, at $1.88 billion. The governor’s office also raised revenue projections by $2.3 billion for the current fiscal year 2021, which “closes” this year’s $3.9 billion deficit if December’s $2 billion in borrowing from the federal reserve is counted as revenue. Illinois has a history of counting debt as revenue and relying on optimistic revenue projections to cover deficits on paper, but this optimism is often wrong. That helps explain why politicians claim to pass a balanced budget each year, but the budget has not actually ended a year in the black since fiscal year 2001.

    While state and local revenue collections in Illinois and across the country have been beating estimates made early in the pandemic, the November revenue projections from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget were already $2.2 billion higher than projected in April 2020. It’s unclear that economic conditions since November have changed enough to justify another large upwards revision.

    All together, Pritzker’s budget proposal fails to offer the significant financial reforms needed to protect Illinois taxpayers, preserve services for the vulnerable in the long term and ensure the state has a strong recovery from COVID-19. Illinois’ personal income growth was the second worst in the nation following the Great Recession, in part because of tax hikes that hurt the recovery. Pritzker’s various proposed tax increases on businesses threaten to hold back Illinois’ ability to create good-paying jobs and grow wages for its residents as the state recovers from a pandemic-induced recession.

    Lawmakers are largely expected to receive $7.5 billion in unrestricted aid for the state budget from the federal government under the $350 billion state and local bailout proposed by President Biden’s administration. This lifeline provides Illinois with breathing room to make the long-term changes necessary to stabilize state finances, starting with pension reform. The General Assembly should also use that aid to cancel all nine of the pandemic tax increases from the governor’s budget proposal.

    Here are Pritzker’s nine tax increase proposals:

    Cap, delay credits for business operating losses by three years: $314 million

    When a company loses money in a given year, known as a net operating loss, federal and state tax laws generally allow at least some portion of that loss to be carried forward to future years as a proportional offset to future tax liability. In other words, if a business loses money in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic, but earns a profit in 2022, it can deduct the two years of losses from its earnings in 2022 and pay taxes only on the difference.

    For purposes of state taxes, Pritzker wants to limit losses carried forward to $100,000 for the next three years. Businesses would still be able to carry forward losses above that amount but couldn’t claim the deduction until three years from now.

    This change would reduce businesses’ cash on hand to make investments in equipment, new jobs or raises for employees. It would therefore hurt Illinois’ ability to recover economically from COVID-19. Because the full value of the credits is only delayed, it has the potential to create a significant revenue drop in the future when businesses try to collect on the full value of the credits.

    Delay expensing of business investments: $214 million

    Illinois automatically adopts certain changes in federal tax law as part of Illinois tax law through what’s called “rolling conformity,” meaning state law points back to the Internal Revenue Code and automatically updates certain provisions to match. Pritzker wants to decouple from federal provisions intended to promote pro-growth investments.

    Federal tax reform in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act included several changes intended to bolster business investments and promote economic growth. One of these changes was to allow full and immediate expensing, meaning companies can deduct the entire cost of an investment in the year it was made, rather than dragging out the expensing over the lifecycle of an asset.

    The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act applied this concept, also called 100% bonus depreciation, to investments with a useable lifetime of 20 years or less, such as machinery and equipment. Long-term investments in buildings must still be expensed over time. The changes for short-term investments are scheduled to phase out beginning in 2022 and expire in 2026. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation has argued for making these changes permanent, because delaying deductions for investments increases the cost to businesses and discourages investments that help grow the economy.

    "Stretching depreciation deductions for capital investment over time means a business can’t fully recover the cost of making the investment. This discourages businesses from making productive investments that would otherwise be worthwhile to pursue," the Tax Foundation stated.

    Pritzker’s proposed change would immediately revert to the prior system of stretching out the deduction for Illinois taxes, discouraging the very investments that will help Illinois recover from the COVID-19 economic downturn.

    Double-tax profits U.S. companies earn abroad: $107 million

    Another aspect of federal tax reform in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was to move from a “worldwide” towards a “territorial” corporate tax system, in part to encourage companies to repatriate money held overseas. One of the most important aspects of this reform was to end double taxation on profits U.S. companies earned overseas by allowing a 100% deduction for foreign dividends paid to the parent company. Those profits would have already faced taxation in the country where the income was earned.

    Pritzker proposes eliminating the credit for foreign dividends, which could discourage those profits from being repatriated and brought to Illinois if the profits would receive more favorable tax treatment overseas.

    New sales tax on biodiesel gasoline: $107 million

    Under current law, fuel with a biodiesel content greater than 10% or ethanol content of at least 70% is exempt from Illinois sales taxes. The exemption is scheduled to expire in 2024, but Pritzker would eliminate the credit immediately.

    Illinois Fuel and Retail Association CEO Josh Sharp responded: “This change would add approximately 20 cents to a gallon of diesel fuel and is especially egregious considering that Illinois is one of only six states that already imposes a sales tax on motor fuels. Ending this incentive would also be incredibly damaging to our vital agriculture community in Illinois and hurt my small business members at a time when it’s so easy for customers to drive across state lines to fill up their vehicles.”

    Limit retailers’ reimbursement for collecting state sales tax: $73 million

    Retail stores in Illinois collect and remit sales tax on behalf of the state, which has an administrative cost. To reimburse retailers for this service to the state, current law allows retailers to keep 1.75% of the sales taxes they collect as compensation. Pritzker wants to limit retailers’ reimbursement to $1,000 per month.

    The Illinois Retail Merchants Association said the current 1.75% amount already “only partially reimburses” store owners for their cost. The statement continued, “Shifting more of the cost of administration and collection onto retailers does nothing to support struggling businesses and indicates the governor fails to fully appreciate all that retail contributes to our state, which prior to the pandemic employed one-fifth of all workers in Illinois and served as the second largest revenue generator for state government and the largest revenue generator for local governments.”

    Limit manufacturing equipment sales tax exemption: $56 million

    The purchase of manufacturing machinery and equipment is generally exempt from Illinois sales taxes. In 2019, this exemption was expanded to include “tangible personal property” used in the manufacturing process, such as fuels, coolants and oil consumed in the manufacturing process. Pritzker is proposing to reverse that recent change.

    According to the Sales Tax Institute, the expansion brought Illinois’ manufacturing credits more in line with nearby states.

    Illinois’ manufacturing industry has consistently lagged other Midwest states since the Great Recession. Even before COVID-19, Illinois lost 13,100 manufacturing jobs in 2019 – the largest percentage loss of any job sector.

    Steve Rauschenberger, president of the Technology and Manufacturing Association, singled out the elimination of this expanded exemption in his reaction to Pritzker’s budget proposal. "We urge the governor to stop championing policies that will put Illinoisans on the unemployment lines and force our job creators and innovators to leave our state to survive," Rauschenberger said.

    Cancel phase-out of costly corporate franchise tax: $30 million

    Only 16 states still have "capital stock taxes" which tax businesses on their net worth regardless of whether the business is profitable, according to the Tax Foundation. "These taxes impair economic growth in the best of times, but during an economic contraction they are particularly harmful to businesses struggling to remain viable," the Tax Foundation said.

    Illinois confusingly refers to its capital stock tax as the “corporate franchise tax,” even though it has nothing to do with franchise businesses. Complying with the tax law is complicated and comes with high compliance costs that are particularly difficult for smaller businesses to manage. The cost of complying with the tax is more than many businesses owe to the state.

    The tax was scheduled to phase out over four years before being fully eliminated in 2024 under a law passed in 2019.

    Though Pritzker touted the elimination of this tax as an accomplishment of his first year, he is now proposing to reverse the change.

    Eliminate credit for creating construction jobs: $16 million

    The Blue Collar Jobs Act passed in 2019 created new tax credits to incentivize the creation of construction jobs. Eligible businesses would be able to take a credit worth 50% of the new payroll taxes withheld as the result of a construction job created. That credit rose to 75% if the job was created in an economically distressed area.

    Reduce tax scholarship credit for disadvantaged students: $14 million

    State lawmakers passed the Invest in Kids Act in 2017 as part of an overhaul of the education funding formula. The program is the state’s first-ever school choice program, and among the largest in the nation. It gives disadvantaged students a chance to go to private schools by giving scholarship donors a 75% tax credit for their donation towards state taxes, incentivizing those donations.

    Only students within 300% of the federal poverty line are eligible for the scholarships, and the neediest students are prioritized first.

    Pritzker wants to reduce the value of the credit to 40%, which would inevitably mean fewer scholarships available for low-income students.

    Empower Illinois, a non-profit that helps match students with scholarships and the appropriate school, responded: "During this challenging time, kids need more quality education options, not fewer. And while Illinois’ financial challenges are significant, the State should not balance its budget on the backs of children from low-income and working-class communities or the schools that serve them so well."

    Adam Schuster is the Senior Director of Budget and Tax Research at the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization that promotes responsible government and free market principles. This story was originally published on February 24, 2021.
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    Pritzker, Durbin push back against Trump threat to deploy troops in Chicago

    Chicago officials warn against federal troop deployment, highlight crime trends, and promise legal challenges to Trump's plan.

    Gov. JB Pritzker criticizes the Trump administration

    Photo: CNI/Andrew Adams

    With Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson standing behind him, Gov. JB Pritzker criticizes the Trump administration’s threat to deploy military forces in Chicago alongside dozens of activists, Democratic politicians and religious leaders in downtown Chicago on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025.
    by Ben Szalinski
    Capitol News Illinois

    CHICAGO - In front of gleaming skyscrapers along the Chicago River, Illinois’ Democratic leaders showed a united front Monday against President Donald Trump’s threats to deploy the military into Chicago’s streets to fight crime with one message: “Mr. President, do not come to Chicago.”

    “You are neither wanted here nor needed here,” Gov. JB Pritzker said at a news conference. “Your remarks about this effort over the last several weeks have betrayed a continuing slip in your mental faculties and are not fit for the auspicious office that you occupy.”

    The Washington Post reported Saturday that the Pentagon has been considering for weeks deploying the military to Chicago. The report came a day after Trump suggested Chicago will be the next city he sends the military to after he activated the National Guard and other federal law enforcement personnel in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

    Thousands of troops could be deployed in Chicago as soon as September, though two officials who spoke to the Post anonymously said the deployment is considered less likely for now.

    State leaders said they have not asked for help.

    “When I have some slob like Pritzker criticizing us before we even go there — I made the statement that next should be Chicago because Chicago is a killing field right now and they don’t acknowledge it and they say ‘we don’t need them, freedom, freedom, freedom, he’s a dictator. He’s a dictator.’ A lot of people are saying maybe we’d like a dictator,” Trump said Monday. “I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense and a smart person.”

    The state’s leaders said they have not been contacted by the Trump administration asking whether the state wants policing help, and state leaders said they have not asked for help.

    “If this were happening in any other country, we would have no trouble calling it what it is — a dangerous power grab,” Pritzker said.

    The state's top Democrats said Trump is targeting Illinois for political reasons.

    “This is an act of political theater by Donald Trump, and sadly, we have to take it extremely seriously,” said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. “My friends, don't walk away and say this is just another political issue. This is how democracies die.”

    Anticipating Chicagoans will take to the streets to protest if the military arrives, Pritzker encouraged protestors to be peaceful.

    “Remember that the members of the military and the National Guard who will be asked to walk these streets are, for the most part, here unwillingly, and remember that they can be court martialed, and their lives ruined if they resist deployment,” Pritzker said.

    Legal Questions

    Trump’s move faces significant legal questions, and Illinois leaders promised to file lawsuits to block the mobilization of the military.

    Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul
    Photo: CNI/Andrew Adams

    Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who has led more than three dozen lawsuits against President Donald Trump’s administration, criticizes the president’s threats to deploy military forces in Chicago on Aug. 25, 2025.
    The president and Congress have more powers over Washington, D.C., because of its status as a federal district and not a state, but it’s unclear what legal authority the president is considering applying to send troops to Chicago.

    The National Guard is under the control of the governor, though the president has the power to federalize it to quell a rebellion or “unable with the regular forces” to enforce laws. The president can also invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy troops to serve as law enforcement.

    This is exactly the type of overreach that our country's founders warned against...

    Those criteria haven’t been met, Attorney General Kwame Raoul said.

    Trump’s decision earlier this year to deploy the California National Guard to Los Angeles was challenged and has so far been upheld by a federal appeals court. California argued in that case that the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the military from acting as a domestic police force. The National Guard was sent to L.A. following protests over Trump’s immigration policies.

    “This is exactly the type of overreach that our country's founders warned against and it's the reason that they established a federal system with a separation of powers built on checks and balances,” Pritzker said. “What President Trump is doing is unprecedented and unwarranted. It is illegal, it is unconstitutional, it is unamerican.”

    Raoul noted his office has long had effective crime-fighting partnerships with federal agencies.

    “I'm not and have never been opposed to collaborative help from well-trained federal law enforcement agents. Were the president serious about addressing crime or criminal threats in Chicago, he would dedicate more resources to collaborative work that we already engage in with these federal agencies,” Raoul said.

    Chicago Crime Trends

    Overall crime in Chicago has declined by 13% this year, according to data from the Chicago Police Department. Nearly every category of crime has decreased this year, including murders — down 31%. Chicago has seen 256 murders through Aug. 17 this year, compared to 370 over the same timeframe in 2024. Shooting incidents broadly are down 36%.

    Crime in Chicago has trended downward since 2023 and is down 15% overall since then. Incidents of crime are still 40% higher at this point of 2025 than in 2021, though murder is down 50% since 2021 and shooting incidents are down 57%. Felony theft, misdemeanor theft and motor vehicle theft are all up significantly since 2021.

    The city’s data portal shows crime has generally been trending down throughout the 21st century from nearly half a million crimes in 2001 to about that level in 2024. The number of annual crimes in the city has been relatively flat for about 10 years, however.

    Nationally, Chicago ranked 92nd in violent crime per 100,000 people in 2024 among the nation’s 200 largest cities, according to FBI data. Memphis ranked first and Milwaukee and St. Louis were eighth and ninth, respectively, while Rockford ranked 19th. Chicago had the 22nd highest murder rate and was eighth in robbery.

    “I know (Trump) doesn't read, I know he doesn't listen to very many people, but I know he watches television, and so perhaps if somebody from FOX News or from Newsmax is here, they'll cover the fact that Chicago is in much better shape as a result of the work that we are doing to prevent crime,” Pritzker said.

    Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson acknowledged the city must do more to reduce violence and said the Trump administration should release $800 million in violence prevention funding it has withheld this year and provide more funding for housing.

    Also on Monday, Trump signed an executive order seeking to block federal funding to states and cities with cashless bail policies. Illinois eliminated cash bail in 2023 and Trump claimed jurisdictions with it have higher levels of crime. Early research of the first year without cash bail in Illinois did not show an increase in crime.


    Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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    If first you don't succeed ... Darren Bailey plans second run for Illinois governor in 2026

    by Ben Szalinski
    Capitol News Illinois
    Bailey, who lost to JB Pritzker in 2022, re-enters the governor’s race with new campaign strategy.

    SPRINGFIELD - Darren Bailey plans to run for governor for a second time in 2026, Capitol News Illinois confirmed with sources close to the campaign.

    The former state senator and farmer from Clay County would become the highest-profile Republican to enter the race, having lost the 2022 campaign against Gov. JB Pritzker and a close primary race in 2024 against U.S. Rep. Mike Bost for a downstate congressional seat.

    Darren Bailey speaks at press conference during his first campaign
    Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Jerry Norwicki

    State Sen. Darren Bailey appears at a news conference alongside law enforcement officers during his 2022 campaign for governor. Bailey plans a second run for Illinois governor in 2026 with Aaron Del Mar as his running mate.

    A formal announcement is expected next week. News of the planned announcement was first reported by NBC Chicago on Monday afternoon.

    Bailey rose to statewide notoriety in 2020 as a state lawmaker who opposed mask mandates and other COVID-19 emergency actions early in the pandemic. He capitalized on his opposition to Pritzker-imposed restrictions and ran for governor in 2022.

    Bailey plans to enlist Cook County Republican Party Chair Aaron Del Mar as his running mate

    Bailey easily won the Republican primary that year with 57 percent of the vote. His campaign was indirectly helped by Pritzker, who ran TV ads during the primary calling Bailey “too conservative” for Illinois, which helped boost his credentials with Republican voters.

    But Pritzker handily won a second term with 55 percent of the vote, defeating Bailey by 13 points in a race the Associated Press called just moments after polls closed. Pritzker spent millions on his campaign as Bailey struggled to compete despite receiving financial help from Lake Forest billionaire Dick Uihlein.

    Bailey then tried to unseat Bost in 2024 in the 12th Congressional District but came up about 2,700 votes short. While he received President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the governor’s race, Trump endorsed Bost over Bailey in 2024.

    New running mate

    Bailey plans to enlist Cook County Republican Party Chair Aaron Del Mar as his running mate, a source said.

    Del Mar ran for lieutenant governor in 2022 alongside Gary Rabine, receiving 6.5 percent of the vote.

    He was elected to lead the Cook County Republican Party earlier this year, marking the second time he has held that role after previously leading the party in the early 2010s. He is also a member of the Illinois GOP’s State Central Committee and serves as Palatine Township’s highway commissioner.

    Outside of politics, Del Mar has led a career in business and as an entrepreneur.

    Bailey ran in 2022 with Stephanie Trussell, a conservative radio host from the suburbs.

    Bailey’s message

    It is unclear how Bailey plans to overcome his 2022 loss and what message he will take to voters in 2026.

    He focused much of his 2022 campaign on crime and public safety, criticizing the SAFE-T Act and bashing Chicago as a “hellhole.”

    The message failed to gain traction with voters, however, as Democrats focused heavily on abortion rights in the months after Roe v. Wade was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

    Facebook has been Bailey’s primary communication platform to voters, and in recent weeks, he has focused many of his posts on Pritzker and ways he believes the governor has failed Illinois. Like other Republicans, Bailey has criticized Pritzker’s growing national profile.

    “In 2026, we have the chance to stop him,” Bailey wrote in a post Monday. “But it will take ALL of us. Every Illinoisan who knows we deserve better. Together, we can end JB’s presidential ambitions before they even begin and finally turn Illinois around.”

    Darren Bailey at the 2023 Illinois State Fair
    Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Jerry Norwicki

    Former state senator and unsuccessful candidate for governor and later Congress Darren Bailey is pictured at the 2023 Illinois State Fair during his unsuccessful congressional campaign.

    Bailey would become at least the fourth candidate to enter the Republican primary for governor, which has been slowly taking shape this fall.

    DuPage County Sheriff Jim Mendrick, Lake Forest resident Joe Severino, and conservative media writer Ted Dabrowski have also formed committees to run for governor.

    Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner released a statement Sunday saying he was also considering running.

    Pritzker is running for a rare third term as governor amid speculation he will also run for president in 2028.

    Candidates must turn their petitions in to the State Board of Elections by the end of October.


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    Letter to the Editor | Pritzker back grandstanding for media attention

    Dear Editor,

    Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is back grandstanding for the news media, complaining about the immigration crisis trickling up to Illinois.

    In October, Pritzker sent an open letter to President Biden begging for federal tax resources to deal with the so-called “asylum seekers” being bussed to Illinois. Not once in his appeal did Pritzker ask the administration to shut down the border or reinstate the successful “Remain in Mexico” policy of the Trump Administration.

    This month, Pritzker paid the Austin American-Statesman newspaper to publish another open letter, this one addressed to Texas Governor Greg Abbot. Referencing the freezing temperatures of a typical Illinois winter, Pritzker pleads for mercy, pointing out that many lives are vulnerable to the cold weather.

    Ironically, not one word was written to Biden about the critical need to secure the border. Wouldn’t it be nice to see an open letter in the USA Today in which Pritzker could appeal to the Biden Administration for serious enforcement?

    And while Pritzker laments the lives at stake because of the season’s “dangerous winter storm and subzero temperatures,” there is not one mention of the tens of thousands of American lives being destroyed by fentanyl and other deadly drugs flowing into our cities.

    If Gov. Pritzker were serious about this crisis, he’d speak out about the dangers of open borders and the failure of the executive branch to uphold federal immigration laws to protect the citizens of this great nation.


    David E. Smith, Executive Director
    Illinois Family Institute


    Published on

    Pritzker signs executive order to prepare tariff game plans' to protect the state

    Illinois governor signs executive order that requires state agencies to draft plans to mitigate effects of the Trump Administration's tariffs last week.

    by Ben Szalinski
    Capitol News Illinois

    SPRINGFIELD - Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order Monday requiring Illinois agencies to draft recommendations to respond to tariffs being implemented by President Donald Trump.

    The order requires seven state agencies to “consider the specific impacts that the U.S. tariffs have had on Illinois and provide draft recommendations of measures to mitigate the impact of these tariffs” within the next 100 days, which would be Oct. 22. Pritzker said in a statement that tariffs amount to a tax increase on consumers and contribute to economic uncertainty.

    “This Executive Order ensures we have a clear-eyed view of the impact the Trump Slump will cause from higher prices at the grocery store to uncertainty in our farms and factories,” Pritzker said. “We’re working with other states to stand up for working people and protect our economies when we can.”

    The order cites large tariffs Trump has unilaterally implemented on most countries, including some of Illinois’ largest trading partners, saying the tariffs have raised prices for consumers and businesses and led to supply chain disruptions. The order says tariffs as well as retaliatory tariffs countries have imposed on the United States are hurting “vital sectors of the Illinois economy.”

    After previously pushing off implementation of some tariffs until Aug. 1 to allow time for negotiations, Trump announced last week many countries will see tariffs take effect. His latest policy includes 35% tariffs on Canada, 30% on Mexico and the European Union, and between 25% and 40% on many Asian countries. The president previously imposed 145% tariffs on goods from China in the spring, but many of his latest rates are lower than they would have been earlier this year.

    Illinois imports more goods from Canada than any other country.

    Image courtesy Capitol News Illinois

    Screenshot of executive order filing with Illinois Secretary of State by Gov. JB Pritzker, who issued his third executive order this year last week. The EO requires certain state agencies to draft plans to respond to federal tariffs.

    Order’s requirements

    Under Pritzker’s executive order, state agencies must examine the impact of tariffs on certain sectors of the economy or the agency’s operations.

    The departments of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Employment Security will evaluate challenges reported by businesses, employment trends since tariffs have been implemented, and industries most affected by tariffs.

    Pritzker’s executive order was part of actions taken by seven Democratic governors.

    The Department of Human Services will evaluate trends in food donations and supply chain challenges for food assistance programs, as well as the purchasing power of food banks and their ability to meet demand.

    The Department of Transportation and the Capitol Development Board will assess the impact of tariffs on construction costs, and the ability to purchase construction materials and complete projects within their timelines.

    The Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security will evaluate any impacts to stockpiles and the ability to obtain supplies, including staying prepared for emergencies within budget constraints.

    Pritzker’s executive order was part of actions taken by seven Democratic governors to understand the impact of tariffs on their states.


    Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.


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    ViewPoint | Lying isn't leadership

    Op-Ed by Darren Bailey


    Gov. J.B. Pritzker's lie about taking politics out of reapportionment and pushing "fair and independent maps" wouldn't be so shocking if he hadn't said it so often and with such conviction and sincerity.

    All through his 2018 campaign for governor, Pritzker said he supported an amendment to the state Constitution to take congressional map-drawing out of the hands of state legislators and into those of an independent commission.

    He went so far as to say he'd veto legislative maps, "in any way drafted or created by legislators, political party leaders and/or their staffs or allies." Instead, he said, he would hand it over to an independent panel.

    This is not some new, untried experiment. Neighboring Missouri has instituted an independent map-drawing commission, and so have Michigan, Colorado, and Utah.

    With Pritzker facing reelection next year, though, it appears he's willing to allow his Democratic allies in the legislature one last go at picking their voters by drawing Republicans into concentrated and ludicrously configured districts.

    "We need a governor who keeps his promises."

    Lying isn't leadership. And J.B. Pritzker has broken his word more often than he spends his money to buy elections.

    Last week, Pritzker said he "trusted" the Democrats in the House and Senate to send him a fair map.

    "I look to the Legislature for their proposal," Pritzker said. "I'll be looking to it for its fairness."

    The governor might want to invest in a microscope because he's going to have to look hard.

    This is Illinois, a state where corruption and cynicism compete with one another as the political class builds its power base and their special-interest handlers line their pockets.

    Let me be clear. I'm a conservative Republican. But I also know that there are some things bigger than politics – things like honesty, transparency, and fair play.

    I'm committed to seeing an end to the inside-dealing that has dominated our redistricting process. Voters should pick their elected officials, not the other way around. That's why, as governor, I'll use the bully pulpit to reform the system by which we draw our districts.

    Illinoisans deserve better than the current, worn-out system.

    We were asked, by this very governor, to expect better. And it was all a lie.

    Pritzker will argue that a constitutional amendment is absolutely necessary to take politics out of partisan hands and into those of a bi-partisan, or even non-partisan, commission. He should read his state's Constitution.

    While the law assigns the power to redistrict to the legislature, it does not prohibit them from assigning the work of map-drawing to a less-partisan body. The legislature's job is to enact the maps.

    And remember the governor's pledge to veto any partisan plan?

    The Constitution provides for a commission, appointed by the legislature, to handle the task. And if that commission deadlocks, there's even language providing for the Supreme Court to pick a ninth member – by lottery if need be – to break deadlocks.

    Let's not forget that after each of the past four censuses, the legislature proved itself unable to come up with a plan for new districts. As ever, it ended up in the courts because hardline partisans showed themselves incapable of governing legislatively.

    We need a commission. And we need a governor who keeps his promises.

    That doesn't sound like much, and it's far from perfect. Still, it's considerably better than the unpalatable task before us now that J.B. Pritzker has broken his word and made this process about partisan politics instead of how we can best provide Illinoisans the representation they deserve.

    Darren Bailey, currently the Representative from the 109th District, is a Republican candidate for the 2022 Illinois gubernatorial election.

    Published on

    Northern Illinois restaurant gets TRO to remain open despite Governor's orders

    by Joe Tabor, Senior Policy Analyst
     Illinois Policy


    FoxFire restaurant can stay open while the challenge to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s exercise of emergency powers works its way through the courts, a Kane County judge has ruled.

    On Oct. 26, Judge Kevin Busch granted the Geneva, Illinois, steakhouse’s request for a temporary restraining order against Pritzker’s Executive Order 2020-61, specifically as it relates to FoxFire’s ability to conduct indoor dining. The judge barred the governor, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Kane County Health Department from enforcing the order.

    The order applies only to FoxFire and allows the restaurant to operate with indoor seating until the next hearing, or until the state appeals the ruling. FoxFire’s petition for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction argued that all of Pritzker’s COVID-19 subsequent disaster proclamations after the initial March 9 proclamation were invalid. That first proclamation expired on April 7.

    Pritzker’s authority to issue executive orders limiting the operation of restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic comes from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act. The Act limits the exercise of emergency powers to 30 days after the governor has issued a disaster proclamation, but Pritzker has continuously issued new proclamations to extend the timespan of his emergency powers to almost 250 days so far. The Act itself is silent as to whether Pritzker can extend his emergency powers indefinitely, and the governor’s actions have met numerous legal challenges as well as criticism.

    The General Assembly could resolve these questions with legislation, but has so far declined, leaving Illinois to be governed by a series of executive orders when it comes to the state’s COVID-19 response. As it stands, these challenges will work their way through the court system.

    The governor is expected to appeal the ruling in favor of the Geneva restaurant, but for now, FoxFire is the only restaurant in its region legally open to indoor dining.

    Restrictions were reimposed Oct. 28 on the Metro East region and will be imposed Oct. 30 in Chicago, leading to a public debate between Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot over the need to again close bars and restaurants to indoor operations.

    Half of the counties in Illinois are at a warning level for COVID-19 positivity, with the statewide 7-day average at 6.7% on Oct. 28. Of the 11 regions designated for COVID-19 restrictions, six have a positive test rate of at least 8%.

    As many as 21,700 Illinois restaurants and food establishments could permanently be shuttered as a result of the pandemic and repeated closure orders.

    The Illinois Restaurant Association is also looking at legal remedies, President and CEO Sam Toia told Crain’s Chicago Business. He said many in the industry feel they are being unfairly singled out, and that the restrictions used at the pandemic’s start are no longer helpful or effective.

    "The science surrounding COVID-19 has evolved," Toia said. "So must the metrics for mitigation."

    Originally published by Illinois Policy on October 28, 2020. Published by permission.

    Published on

    State Representative takes issue with the Governor prison releases

    One State Representative believes the Governor’s pattern of decisions surrounding the state’s prison system is a threat to public safety in Illinois. State Representative Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), who has recently made headlines by way of two lawsuits in Clay County aimed at the state's top leader, isn't happy with a couple of decision made Governor JB Pritzker about the state's prison population.

    "The latest decision by the Governor to release one of the inmates involved in the murder of Illinois State Trooper Layton Davis is appalling," said Bailey (R-Xenia) in a statement delivered to the media. "I was with the Davis family on August 10 when they publicly pleaded with Gov. Pritzker not to release convicted killers James E. Taylor and Aaron Hyche.

    Taylor and Hyche were in a vehicle when Davis, who was with Illinois State police for 19 years and assigned to District 12, performed a routine traffic stop for speeding on Interstate-57 near Effingham. An arrest warrant for Taylor had been issued in Cook County after he failed to appear for sentencing on convictions for attempt murder and attempt armed robbery.

    Upon learning of the outstanding warrant, Davis attempted to take both men into custody. During his pat-down with the two passengers, the WWII veteran discovered at firearm tucked into Hyche's waistband. A struggle ensued resulting in Davis' death after he was wounded three times.

    The pair were later captured, tried and sentenced to life.

    Earlier this month, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board paroled Taylor with eight members in favor and five against. Eight is the minimum number of votes needed for parole. Due to firing the fatal shots, the board rejected Hyche's request with 11 members voting against him and two in favor.

    "While only Taylor has been released at this time, I wonder how long before Hyche will be set free?" Bailey said. He added: "Davis lost his life that day protecting the people of Illinois, and his wife and three children were left without a husband and father. Taylor and Hyche were given sentences commensurate with their heinous act. They should complete those sentences in full. The Davis family isn’t getting a reprieve from their life-long pain and loss."

    Bailey, who has sued Pritzker and his administration in his home district over the Governor's use of Executive Orders during the pandemic the five months, also takes issue with the Governor for other decisions involving prison inmates.

    Bailey stated in his release that "Pritzker has okayed the release of more than 4,000 inmates since March 1", citing a report from WAND-TV as well as the Alton Telegraph.

    However, according to Restore Justice, only 1,222 prisoners were released due concerns over the rising level of COVID-19 infections in the Illinois prisons. As of June 1, IDOC has released 5,637 individuals with majority of them serving the entire sentence.

    While an Appellate Court recently ruling that Pritzker indeed has the ultimate power to set policy regarding inmate transfers, another point of contention from Bailey is the lack of cooperation and consideration for the safety of local communities. He said level has been "unacceptable".

    He also takes to task a Pritzker directive ordering sheriffs not to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when illegal immigrants completed their felony prison sentences and were being released. Criticized by the Illinois Sheriffs Association, the organization made it clear the Governor's policies are making their communities less safe.

    "Sadly, the Illinois Sheriffs Association has had their hands full, not just trying to protect the people whose safety is their primary responsibility, but also because they’ve had to battle the Governor on policies that harm public safety," said Bailey. "Pritzker is also being sued by the Sheriffs Association because of the state’s failure to take custody of inmates, currently in local jails, but who received state prison sentences."

    Published on

    Pritzker says state has reached a "critical juncture"

    On Tuesday, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker ordered state agencies to identify areas of their 2020 budgets that can be cut by 5% as well as 10% cuts that can be made in their spending plans for the next fiscal year should Congress fail to provide additional COVID-19 relief funds.

    "Any cut to the Illinois state budget is a win for taxpayers," said Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United of America (TUA). "However, a broad cut to the state budget is not enough."

    Tobin says the state of Illinois’s financial woes are due to the vast amount it spends on lavish, overpromised retired government employee pensions.

    "This is why Pritzker is really cutting the budget, he wants to divert pay from current Illinois government employees to retired Illinois government employees," Tobin said in a release this morning. "Every year former Illinois government employees eat up even more of the state’s budget.

    In fact, the primary motivation for a $5 billion state income tax hike that passed a few years ago was to transfer wealth from taxpayers to the black hole that is the Illinois pension funds."

    Pritzker calls the current state's budget woes a "nightmare scenario".

    We've reached a critical juncture for our own state finances in this COVID induced financial crisis," he said during his press conference in Chicago.

    In June, Pritzker signed off on $43 billion dollar budget that began July 1 relied heavily on federal aid and borrowing to fill revenue shortfalls due to the COVID-19-induced economic slowdown.

    A memo from Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes and budget director Alexis Sturm to agency directors stated the state's current budget "is only affordable in its current form with federal support to bridge the pandemic-related shortfalls and that now appears not to be forthcoming."

    Illinois stands to lose out on $6.5 billion in revenue this year and next year. Agency heads were given until Oct. 2 to outline their reductions for the current year.  This includes taking necessary measures from hiring freezes to renegotiating on any planned spending commitments.

    Tobin points out that governor's Illinois progressive income tax is purely a move to raise taxes.

    "Pritzker’s income tax increase amendment, better described as an income theft amendment, is not what Illinois needs," he wrote. "Illinois taxpayers should vote no on November 3rd to the proposed amendment change, and demand Pritzker to cut spending further."

    Published on

    Pritzker seeks more regulatory authority over homeowners insurance business

    The Consumer Federation of America describes Illinois’ current regulatory environment as “toothless” and ranks the state second in the nation for having the fastest-rising insurance premiums in the country.

    Photo: CNI file photo

    State Farm homeowner premiums will rise by roughly 27% in Illinois, prompting calls for greater regulation by residents around the state.
    by Peter Hancock
    Capitol News Illinois
    SPRINGFIELD - Gov. JB Pritzker is asking state lawmakers for more authority to regulate the homeowners insurance market in Illinois.

    His comments came after the Bloomington-based State Farm Fire and Casualty Company notified the Illinois Department of Insurance that it was raising premiums for residential property casualty insurance in Illinois by an average 27.2%.

    In a statement July 10, Pritzker called on lawmakers to pass legislation in the upcoming fall veto session, “that prevents insurance companies from taking advantage of consumers through severe and unnecessary rate hikes like those proposed by State Farm.” The veto session is scheduled to begin Oct. 14.

    “Over the past six years, our state economy has flourished based on transparent markets and fair competition,” Pritzker said. “State Farm’s actions are antithetical to the core principles that the Illinois business community is built on.”

    The increase will raise the average cost of a State Farm homeowners’ policy in Illinois to about $2,175 a year, up from $1,700 before the increase, according to State Farm.

    The higher rates took effect July 15 for new policies and will go into effect Aug. 15 for renewals of existing policies.

    Current regulations

    Although Pritzker was not specific about what kind of increased regulatory authority he wants lawmakers to consider, some consumer advocates have called for giving the state Department of Insurance broad authority to review, modify or even reject proposed rate hikes.

    Under current state law, companies are required to file their rates with the Department of Insurance, and the agency can review consumer complaints to determine whether the rates being charged are consistent with those filings.

    The department also has the authority to conduct examinations to determine whether a company is paying out claims in a timely manner. It can also conduct examinations into a company’s financial condition and solvency.

    But currently, according to the agency, Illinois is the only state in the country that does not prohibit rates from being “inadequate, excessive or unfairly discriminatory,” which means it has no authority to reject a rate filing on those grounds. Douglas Heller, director of insurance for the Washington-based Consumer Federation of America, described Illinois’ law as “among the most toothless in the nation.”

    “Almost every state in the country has a law that says for auto, home and most other lines of insurance as well, rates cannot be excessive,” he said in an interview. “Now, it doesn't mean that the regulators around the country do a great job or even have the tools to enforce that very strictly … but Illinois doesn't even have the language that prohibits excessive rates for homeowners insurance companies.”

    In April, CFA issued a report that said from 2021 to 2024, Illinois ranked second in the nation for having the greatest increases in homeowners insurance premiums. Average premiums in Illinois rose 50% over that period, more than any other state except Utah, where rates went up 59%.

    “At a minimum, Illinois should empower the Department of Insurance to reject or modify excessive rate hikes, which would represent a basic consumer protection that residents in almost every other state enjoy,” Abe Scarr, director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, said in a statement in response to the report.

    Even with those increases, though, the report indicated that rates in Illinois were relatively modest compared to some other states, particularly those that experience more frequent natural disasters. Florida, Louisiana and Oklahoma ranked highest in average premiums.

    In recent years, lawmakers have given the Department of Insurance broader authority to regulate premiums in the health insurance market.

    Last year, Pritzker signed legislation giving the agency authority to review and reject proposed rate increases in large-group health insurance plans. That law also prohibited companies from engaging in certain “utilization management” practices that steer patients toward cheaper therapies and medications to lower payouts.

    Also last year, Pritzker named a new director of the agency, former state Sen. Ann Gillespie, who had served on the Senate Insurance Committee.

    But the agency does not yet have that kind of regulatory authority over property casualty insurance policies for homeowners, renters and condominium owners, a fact that consumer advocates say puts Illinois out of step with the rest of the nation.

    Reasons for rate hikes

    In his statement, Pritzker accused State Farm of raising rates in Illinois to cover losses the company has suffered in other high-risk states like Florida.

    “These increases are predicated on catastrophe loss numbers that are entirely inconsistent with the Illinois Department of Insurance’s own analysis — indicating that State Farm is shifting out-of-state costs onto the homeowners of our state,” he said. “Hard-working Illinoisans should not be paying more to protect beach houses in Florida.”

    But State Farm strongly denied that suggestion, saying the increases were directly related to the cost of weather-related disasters in Illinois.

    “For example, last year in the state of Illinois alone, we paid out more than $638 million in hail damage claims,” State Farm spokeswoman Gina Morss-Fischer said in an interview. “That was just in Illinois, and it was second only to the state of Texas. And this is the kind of thing that we've started to see more frequently.

    “And of course, we're also seeing the increase in replacement costs, longer waits for replacement materials. And these are all things that contribute to the need to make this difficult business decision,” she said.


    Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
    Published on

    We have an obligation to our heroes

    Op-Ed by Darren Bailey


    More than two dozen Illinois veterans residing at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home have died from COVID-19. If this seems familiar, you are correct. We’ve been down this road before.

    "The obligation we have to these heroes and to their families is sacred and to have that obligation so thoroughly neglected is an unconscionable moral failing. This is incompetence. It is gross mismanagement. This is what happens when a governor refuses to take charge."

    This statement isn’t being made by me. It was made more than two years ago by J.B. Pritzker, who was commenting about then-Governor Bruce Rauner and the Legionnaire’s Disease outbreak at the Quincy Veterans’ Home.

    To date, 30 veterans have died due to the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home, with 89 percent of the residents infected. Apparently, state government hasn’t learned its lesson.

    We have a moral obligation to our veterans and Governor Pritzker is failing to live up to that obligation. As J. B. previously pointed out, the buck stops at the Governor’s office.

    Sentinel Op-Ed A recent report by the U.S. The Department of Veterans Affairs, cited by the online news site The Center Square, indicated the home’s problems included ventilation problems, ineffective hand sanitizer and a Halloween party staff reportedly attended. Where were Governor’s Pritzker’s mitigation rules?

    According to media reports, staff who showed positive virus test results were also allowed to work in the home’s COVID wing. It’s also been reported, it took 12 days before the Illinois Department of Public Health responded to the LaSalle Veterans’ Home outbreak. Another media report by the Associated Press indicated the outbreak first began in late October when one staff member and a resident tested positive for COVID.

    Given past experience with Legionnaire’s Disease, how quickly it spread at the Quincy Veterans Home, and the rapid increase in the number of positive COVID cases statewide, state government should have been on red alert.

    In fact, it was known by late May that half of the COVID deaths were in nursing homes. If these congregate living arrangements would have been a priority, the elderly vets at LaSalle Veterans’ Home could have been better protected.

    I join my legislative colleagues, Senators Sue Rezin whose district is home to the LaSalle Veterans’ Home and Paul Schimpf a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War, who are calling for additional legislative hearings to get to the bottom of this crisis that threatens the lives of our heroes. Lessons learned could help protect other Illinoisans at nursing homes around the state.

    Our veterans deserve better than the failed leadership Pritzker has showed. Real leadership is more than just lecturing people, it is about real results.

    "After fatally mismanaging the Quincy Veterans’ Home, @BruceRauner is letting persistent health issues jeopardize the wellbeing of our nation’s heroes. This is a shameful display of failed leadership." – J.B. Pritzker, March 30, 2018, Twitter

    Governor Pritzker is bold enough to hand out advice, following it is apparently a different challenge.

    Darren Bailey is an Illinois State Representative from the 109th District.

    Published on

    Pritzker signs ‘squatter bill’ into law, real estate and property owner organizations support the bill

    The goal of the bill is to make it easier for police to enforce criminal trespassing. State law does not explicitly give police the power to remove a person squatting in another person’s home without an eviction.

    Squatter's home

    Photo: Juan Giraudo/Unsplash

    Until new law that takes effect in January, removing squatters from a home meant homeowners would have to go through the eviction process in Cook County court, which can take months. New law makes it easier to kick squatters off an owner's property.
    by Ben Szalinski
    Capitol News Illinois
    SPRINGFIELD - A new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday will make it easier for police to remove squatters who are illegally staying at a residence.

    Squatters are people who enter and occupy a place for a long period of time with the intention of staying there, rather than a trespasser who enters without intentions to stay.

    Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1563, which clarifies that a court-ordered eviction is not required for police to remove squatters from a person’s home. The bill stipulates that police can enforce criminal trespassing charges against a squatter.

    “Squatters are a problem, and no one should have to get an eviction notice to remove squatters from their home,” bill sponsor Sen. Lakesia Collins, D-Chicago, said in a statement. “Law enforcement need to be able to do their job and return homes to their rightful owners.”

    The bill passed through the General Assembly nearly unanimously, with only Sen. Andrew Chesney, R-Freeport, voting against it. Law enforcement, real estate and property owner organizations supported the bill.

    Collins, who represents much of the West Side of Chicago, said the bill came from concerns her constituents expressed and said the goal was to make it easier for police to enforce criminal trespassing. State law does not explicitly give police the power to remove a person squatting in another person’s home without an eviction.

    A lawmaker’s encounter

    Pritzker signed the bill after Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, had a first-hand encounter with squatters this summer. ABC7 Chicago reported last week squatters moved in next door to Evans’ Avalon Park home on Chicago’s South Side. The owners of the house had put the home up for sale, but last week found strangers living inside without buying or renting the home.

    According to ABC7, Chicago Police told homeowners they couldn’t remove the squatters from the home and the homeowners would have to go through the eviction process in Cook County court, which can take months. Evans told ABC7 he would call Pritzker directly to ask him to sign the bill, which was sponsored in the House by Rep. Jawaharial Williams, D-Chicago.

    “My community is full of hardworking, mortgage- and rent-paying citizens who believe in working, not stealing and scheming,” Evans said in a Facebook post Monday. “We don’t support crooks who prey on hardworking people.”

    The law takes effect Jan. 1.


    Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.


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