On Tuesday, WGN-TV and Nexstar Media hosted three Republican candidates who hope to face off against Governor J. B. Pritzker in November. State Senator Darren Bailey, businessman Gary Rabine and venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan appeared live in the WGN studio. Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who is leading in the polls, declined to participate.
To start, the candidates addressed the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas that occurred just hours prior to the debate, and how they would approach gun legislation in Illinois.
“When you remove God from our society, these are the types of things that happen,” said Sullivan, who identified himself as a political outsider several times. “We also have to look at faith and fatherhood,” he added, stressing the importance of shifting focus to promoting strong father figures.
Bailey and Rabine agreed that people, not guns, are the root cause of gun violence.
While Bailey said that mass shooters “have mental issues that have nothing to do with guns,” research shows that gun violence and mental illness are not linked.
Mental health issues join a myriad of other crises in Chicago, according to Bailey, who described the city “a crime-ridden, corrupt, dysfunctional hell hole.”
“City leaders, they hate the police,” Bailey said. “Everyone that I’ve talked to in the city of Chicago is scared to death.”
Discussing safety concerns across the state, particularly in Chicago, provided an opportunity for each candidate to express his support for increased police funding and disdain for police reform movements. Sullivan used the discussion as a chance to take a jab at front-runner Irvin.
“‘Defund the police’ was the dumbest mantra I’ve ever heard in my life,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to make sure that those who stand for Black Lives Matter, like Richard Irvin did, get called out on that. He was someone who stood proudly and strongly for Black Lives Matter, [which is] trying to disintegrate the family unit in our state. I hold the exact opposite views.”
Zeroing in on the safety of women in Illinois and their access to abortion, all candidates affirmed their stances against abortion, but deviated in what exceptions to an abortion ban they would permit.
“I will be the most pro-life Governor in the history of the state of Illinois,” Sullivan said. The candidate said he would be open to allowing the terminations of pregnancies in the case of rape, incest and risk to the life of the mother.
For Rabine and Bailey, the only acceptable circumstance for legal abortion care would be when the life of the mother is at stake.
“We realize that here in Illinois, it’s going to be impossible to actually ban abortion, but that’s not the answer,” Bailey said. “Making [abortion] unnecessary is.”
Bailey added that partnering with churches and civic groups as well as uniting to “love like we’re supposed to” is how Illinois can make abortion unnecessary. He did not elaborate on how Illinoisians are “supposed to” love.
Each candidate also derided the teaching of critical race theory in Illinois schools.
“Parents, not politicians, should be raising their kids,” Rabine said. “We’re teaching in our schools that it’s OK to be a victim and they should think that way. That’s wrong.”
Sullivan concurred, saying that the Illinois Teachers Union is a radical wing of the Democratic party. Bailey also agreed with his opponents.
“Government needs to be pulled out of our schools,” Bailey said.
Following the conclusion of the debate, Rabine was the only candidate to attend a press conference with local media. Spokesperson Joe DeBose appeared on Bailey’s behalf to address Mayor Irvin’s absence.
“[Irvin] had an opportunity to be here on stage with us tonight, he ran and hid in his basement like he has the entire time … because he’s afraid,” DeBose said. “He’s trailing now and he knows it.”
Irvin recently came under fire for leaked text messages from 2018, in which he refers to Donald Trump as “an idiot” and “a bigoted racist.”
The latest polling, conducted May 6-8 by WGN-TV, The Hill and Emerson College, shows Irvin at 24.1%, Bailey at 19.8%, Rabine at 7.8% and Sullivan at 7.3%. Irvin’s texts leaked after the poll was conducted.
The Republican gubernatorial primary will take place on June 28. Residents of Illinois can register to vote online through June 12 at 11:59 p.m.
Thumbnail image courtesy of WGN-TV.