Southern Illinois News

Third-generation farmer and gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey spotlighted the roles of the working class during a speech. 

Bailey’s remarks came at the Republican BBQ and Rally at the DuQuoin State Fair.

"Agriculture is the backbone of Illinois – and it's the backbone of America," Bailey said. "I’m proud to be a farmer and the fair reminds me why. Thanks to all of you – 4H’ers, the FFA’ers included – for doing your best and bringing your best to showcase why we have chosen the lives we have: With our hands and our sweat, we nurture life, strengthen our families and feed the world. Being a farmer means waking up before the sun rises and often working until after dark. Look at your hands. They’re probably like mine: nicked and hard and a little swollen from physical labor. Being a farmer means there are many nights when sleep is hard because you’re worried about your crops, or your payments or whether it’s going to rain. It's exhaustion in every bone in your body. But you know that your family and your workers depend on you. Your state depends on you. So, you keep putting one foot in front of the other. You and I are hands-on people. We fix problems all day long. Now we’ve got to turn our attention to fixing our state."

Illinoisans pay the second-highest gas tax in the country and Bailey blames it on the governor's tax hike. The state, according to the Republican senator, is in its current unfavorable position due to Gov. J.B. Pritzker's failed measures: "radical energy policies threatening homes and hospitals;" "locked down and destroyed small businesses;" "shut down our schools while our families and students struggled and fell behind." The governor, Bailey said, also had "turned a blind eye as crime has terrorized Chicago. He supports the no-cash bail that has turned that city over to drug gangs and teenage carjackers. JB loves no-cash bail so much he is about to let it loose across the state, which will free marauding hordes of violent criminals across the state on Jan 1. In JB Pritzker’s Illinois, parents no longer feel safe letting their kids play in the park or walk home from school."  Due to all of these, a change in leadership is needed, Bailey said.

"Our home is in trouble thanks to cozy, fat cat leaders like Joe Biden and JB Pritzker," Bailey stated.  "You can’t clear a field of weeds if you don’t pull them out by the roots. And the only way to fix Illinois is to fire JB Pritzker. JB and his soft, billionaire hands have failed to turn our state around and stop the mass exodus of people leaving our state. I would say he doesn’t care, but maybe he just doesn’t know: He's never woken up in the middle of the night worrying about keeping a job or managing a payroll. He’s never had to choose between filling up his car with gas or putting food on the table. Surrounded by security guards in the ritzy Gold Coast, he has never had to worry if his family is safe. But whatever the reason for his outrageous policies – friends, we've had enough. Enough of JB Pritzker’s out-of-control crime. Enough of JB Pritzker’s forever gas tax hikes. Enough of the hypocrites like JB Pritzker who avoid paying their own taxes while increasing ours. Enough of the lockdowns that bankrupted small businesses and left our children behind." 

Bailey explained that his campaign "is about hope for every working family and small business across the state." He intends to speak for all of those who are struggling, including him, "with soaring utility rates and sky-high rent while JB Pritzker flits off in his private jet to one of his various homes on islands most of us have never heard of." The governor's bubble, according to Bailey, "is filled with people like him: rich people with soft hands and veils over their eyes, out of touch with the pain all around them. JB is out of touch with the pain he is causing those of us who work for a living. But OUR campaign is for the parents, taxpayers, law enforcement, and everyday citizens who have been ignored for the last four years." 

"I may be a little rough around the edges, but I will work for YOU because I’m just like you. And friends, I can promise you this, no one will work harder for YOU. Our campaign isn't about the fat cats and the billionaires; it's about the people forced to do everything they can just to get by. It's about you and every forgotten community in Illinois. It's about the police officers working the graveyard shift to keep our communities safe while we sleep. It's about the teachers staying after class to help their students achieve their goals. It's about the construction workers building the skyscrapers where billionaires like JB Pritzker sit in the bubbles of their fancy offices and look down on the rest of us." 

Bailey expressed that he can't wait for the day when "those of us who work for a living will return hope, growth, and happiness to Illinois." Once Pritzker is unseated, "Together we can, and we will get Illinois back on track," he promised.

"As your next Governor, I will speak the truth, call out problems, and work with anyone—Republican or Democrat—willing to roll up their sleeves and fix them. The days of the political elites selling out working-class people are over. On day one, we will get to work repealing JB Pritzker’s disastrous policies, like SAFE-T and no cash bail. We will restore common sense to Springfield and law and order to Illinois. We will restore local control to education and ensure parents have a voice. Friends, we will empower parents over bureaucrats and put the "P" back in PTA. We will work to pass real, long-term tax reform so working families and small businesses aren't forced to move out of state just to make ends meet. All over Illinois, there are working-class people who are struggling because they have been abandoned by JB Pritzker and the other political elites. Working class people who put in the hours and sweat to provide for their families and keep Illinois running. Working class people made our state, and our nation, great."

State Central Committeewoman from the new 12th Congressional District and Hardin County GOP Chairwoman Rhonda Belford provided background on the DuQuoin State Fair. “The DuQuoin State Fair, better known as the Downstate State Fair, is one of the most anticipated events in Southern Illinois," Belford said in the Illinois GOP’s weekly memo. "Now celebrating its 100th year, it promises to be bigger and better than ever. It's often known as an evening fair since many area schools are back in session.”

Pritzker, a trust-fund billionaire who is heir to the Hyatt chain of hotels, was criticized by Chicago’s Morning Answer host Dan Proft recently for criticizing Bailey’s for taking PPP loans for his third-generation farm during Covid. "J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire trust fund child who was born on third and thinks he hit a triple, has some gall to criticize a family farmer like Darren Bailey and every other Illinois business that received PPP funding during the lockdown as compensation for what amounted to a 5th Amendment taking and as the means to maintain the gainful employment of their workers,” Proft said, Chicago City Wire reported.

Bailey's campaign website notes his background in agriculture. “Darren is a third-generation farmer who owns and operates his own family farm today.  He knows that agriculture is the backbone of Illinois’ economy and understands firsthand the issues facing the industry.  In the Illinois State Senate, Darren serves as the lead Republican on the Agriculture Committee, shaping policies that help support one of America’s oldest and most valuable occupations,” the website reads.