Metro East Sun

In a new radio ad, gubernatorial candidate Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) says Gov. J.B Pritzker's leadership has led to "crushing debt, skyrocketing property taxes, rising crime, and failing schools."

"Our campaign has been a simple one. We exposed the corruption, the influence peddling, and the many examples of JB Pritzker’s failed policies," Bailey said. "We also made a pledge to bring in a new era of Illinois government. And we will make good on those commitments. We are going to treat everyone with dignity and respect. We are going to listen to the people, and we are going to make Illinois government accountable, accessible, honest, and transparent. The Governor’s mansion does not belong to any one person or one party. It belongs to the people. A Darren Bailey/Stephanie Trussell Administration would be committed to serving ALL the people of this great state. Where JB Pritzker sought to divide us, we will make it our mission to unite this state. Our focus will be on crafting policies that will lead to job growth and stop the mass exodus from our state."

In one recent poll, Bailey and Pritzker are virtually tied. According to polling of 600 likely voters Osage Research conducted from Oct. 13–15, 42% of respondents said they would vote for Bailey while 44% said they would vote for Pritzker again. With a +/-4% deviation, Bailey and the incumbent Democrat are in a statistical tie, Prairie State Wire reported.

The Praire State Wire also reported about Pritzker's blind trust's significant investment in state contractors. The Better Government Association (BGA) noted that Pritzker "has not distanced himself from active involvement in the blind trust, according to a spokesman.” The BGA asserted that Pritzker's ownership in 12 companies could unduly influence his policy decisions. The governor was supposed to sell all of his shares in companies doing business with the state and transfer his remaining interests to a blind trust, but the BGA said that the governor didn't follow through on this pledge. Neither the governor nor any employees in his administration have commented on Pritzker's blind trust or its investments in Centene.

Opponents claim Pritzker resorted to bully tactics to silence opponents. The publication of an opposition newspaper was disrupted momentarily after the Pritzker campaign put pressure on the Daily Herald, which owns the press that was printing the newspapers owned by LGIS. Opponents say Pritzker was also successful in shutting down a TV ad by radio personality Pat Proft’s People Who Play By The Rules PAC  which showed a video of a woman being robbed. Pritzker also sent a legal notice to NBC and WGN requesting they remove an ad from Pritzker’s primary opponent, Beverly Miles, in which she accused Pritzker of her politically-motivated firing. The legal notice said Miles had no evidence Pritzker was behind her firing.