Bailey says Illinois GOP should give him a 2nd chance to take on Gov. Pritzker

Support comes from Mosby Building Arts, providing exterior solutions for homes with faded, cracked, or outdated siting. Details at callmosby.com. From St. Louis Public Radio. This is politically speaking. Darren Bailey may be one of the most well-known Republicans in Illinois politics, and he's banking on that name ID to propel him in the Republican primary in March to get another shot at Governor J.B. Pritzker. After one term in the State House and State Senate, he lost to J.B. Pritzker by 12 percentage points in 2022. He also unsuccessfully primaried Congressman Mike Bost in 2024. On this episode of Politically speaking, I asked Bailey how he rebuilds trust with Southern Illinois Republicans who were turned off. by his challenge of Bost and why GOP voters should give him another shot at J.B. Pritzker over other Republican newcomers. Let's hit the music. This is the politically speaking podcast. An in-depth examination of Missouri and Illinois politics. The instant we got to Illinois, we joined the Green Party, this was 2000. So I've tried to push for those that I think are honest and really care about the future of the city. You know, this wasn't a path that I thought I would choose in 2012 when I was able to win the closest Republican victory in the nation. If it's something that will help Southern Illinois, I'll work with them on it. If there's something he's doing wrong, then you've got to fight him on it. I believe very strongly the Second Amendment. I believe less government is better, and I believe local control is better. I choose to fight for working families and for union members. Welcome to Politically Speaking. I'm St. Louis Public Radio's Metro East reporter Will Bauer. And joining us is one of the four candidates vying for the Republican nomination in Illinois's governor's race. Will, it's good to be with you here today. Darren Bailey. I'm running for governor of Illinois. Maybe just before we jump into all the issues and the campaign, I wanted to give you an opportunity to tell voters about your background. And I know you were the nominee, obviously, in 2022, but tell us a little bit about yourself. Sure. So I, my family. I grew up, live farm just exactly about an hour and a half straight east of here on Route 50 and over around Zine, Illinois. Louisville is my hometown. We farm row crop farmers, corn, wheat, soybeans, served 17 years on the North Clay School Board. The last 12 of those was board president. Been married to my high school sweetheart, Cindy. We'll celebrate our 40th anniversary this year. We have four children, 13 grandchildren, one on the way. And we're just passionate about life. And we went on after I served the time on the school board, then we went on to create a non-for-profit organization that tutored children after school. And that turned into Full Armor Christian Academy. So we've been working that for about 10 years now.

And then eventually I got fed up with high taxes in Illinois government. And I griped enough on Facebook that I was encouraged to run. So I ran for state representative. I was elected and served my first term in 2019. And then I eventually moved up into the state Senate. And during all the COVID years and just the craziness of those times that I was elevated to the Republican nominee in 2022. Silly question. Zinia. Am I pronouncing it correctly? X-N-I-A, Zinia. And it's two syllables, not three. That's pretty good, I guess. We had a debate, I think, when you were running against Bost, how to pronounce it. And I don't remember what the conclusion was. But now that I've heard a native say it. It depends on how hard, yeah. Maybe it depends on how hard you say that yeah at the end. Zia. Okay. Now, you're right, two syllables. Okay, and another fun question. I've been asking some of the U.S. Senate candidates, because they're all from the Chicago land, if there are Cubs or White Sox fans. And... Given your geography, you could potentially be in Cardinals territory. Well, I am deep in Cardinals territory. However, I've kind of committed myself to all things, Illinois. If I'm going to govern this state, I've got to appreciate the entire state. So, you know, it's odd because I've never been to a Cubs game. I've been to a lot of Cardinals games over the years. So I expect that to change soon. You were mentioning just a little bit earlier why you were running for... governor but tell us more about why what motivated you to run a second time well and and anyone who would have talked to me six months ago i would have understood because i was very clear i'm done we're just going to wait and and see if another door opens like i said we just we want to serve the people my wife and i were just we're servants we're servants in our church we're servants you know just in our community and especially with our family so Literally one weekend, I was just, I woke up at 2.30 on a Sunday morning, and I just, we were in farming season, so I was tired. I get up early in the morning, but not that early. And Cindy came in at 5 a.m., but before we were going to start getting ready for church and just asked what I was thinking. And I just told her, I said, Cindy, I can't get this. thought, I think we need to run, I think we need to throw our hats in the ring again because, you know, other candidates had announced. And, you know, when I showed up into Springfield. I saw people who stood and told their constituents what they were going to stand for and what they were going to fight for. And too many times they show up and in the heat of governing, they get pulled and twisted to the whims, wherever the power, wherever the money shows up. They get concerned about re-election. So I just, we began to realize that we have a passion for Illinois. We have a passion for our future.

It seems like everyone else just sees a problem and they want the top-down approach. And that hasn't been working out very well for Illinois when people with no governing experience come and try to start out at the top. It's a much better approach to a bottom-up approach. Along the lines of unifying the party, I know there's a certain group of people here that were a little turned off when you ran against Mike Boston 2024. How do you go about maybe repairing your standing with some of those Southern Illinois voters who felt like Mike Bost had served them well and he didn't need a primary challenge? Well, I appreciate that question. I am one to believe that a primary is always good because I've never got a free pass in anything that I've been running in. I believe it makes you stronger. I believe that, you know, people need choice. So, you know, I wasn't satisfied with my boss voting record. And I made that very clear, and that's why I challenged him. And I can tell you now, the last two years since that primary, in my opinion, he's got a 100% voting record. And he has my, you know, unwavering support. So I think if people, you know, it's kind of like what we talked about earlier with the Cardinals and the Cubs, you know, when you're on board with the team and you like what's going on and your friends and you developed a relationship. it's hard to steer away from that. And I completely, you know, I appreciate that and respect that. I think term limits would help, you know, open the door for more people, more ideas to flow through and make for a better government. But no, at the end of the day, I think that a lot of, not all of it, but a lot of that's been rectified because people do see me as the governor candidate. That's where my passion's at. But like I said, I want to serve the people. people. So saw an opportunity to make things better. I took it. I believe we made things better for Southern Illinois. And at the end of the day, I think we'll accomplish the same thing and with a complete victory in the governor's race. And you'd said you'd made the determination that a Republican could win a statewide contest. Kind of walk me through your logic, because I know there's going to be a lot of people that say 2022 in terms of a midterm election. would have been a pretty good year for Republican to win, given that the Democrats had the power. And obviously, the roles are reversed. And in midterms, the party in power tends to struggle more often than not. So what's different about 26 than 22? It was the issues. So we came out of, we came out of COVID. We came out of the lockdowns. You know, I sued J.B. Pritzker, won that lawsuit to open up small business. I mean, you've got to realize grocery store owners, restaurant owners, people with perishable items. and any tanning salons, barbers, hairstylists. I mean, these people were just told to shut down and go home. And I, for some odd reason, by the grace of God, I was one of the only state representative offices that stayed open in the state of Illinois. So I'm receiving these calls. And during that time between, well, it was March 17th, it was the two weeks to flatten the curve. Then April first hit and the complete lockdowns went into effect. So I hired additional staff because I was getting on Facebook and doing daily actions, they were daily devotions, just giving people hope, but then giving my office number and say, hey, let me hear from you. People were calling from...

all over the state, including downtown Chicago, and they were concerned, they were scared, they were worried. So that was an issue. We came off of just a lot of moral issues in the General Assembly. So I carried that flag, I carried it hard, but only to realize that, you know, not everybody across the state, things like we do here in southern Illinois. one of the things we began to put together in all republic there was no republican i mean i was the lead republican on all this so so when you look i pretty well for the most part when you look at the data outperformed all other republicans in their districts so no one so to point to the top of the ticket uh that's there there's there's no ground in that and so now four years later we began to, we realized, okay, we've got to find, what are the arguments, what are the problems, concerns that 80% of Illinoisans have? And that was, it was terribly easy. It's affordability, property taxes, energy prices. I mean, the energy prices have spiked since just June. Property taxes have, you know, doubled, tripled, quadrupled in the Chicago area. People can't afford to leave. People live in Illinois. People are leaving Illinois, and they're leaving Illinois because they can't afford to live here. Safety. Chicago has a vacancy of over 1,600 police officers, and many of our counties and municipalities have vacancies because people have left the profession. It's, you know, J.B. Pritzker has asserted, you know, less honor to that and more. more liability to it. So people, you know, are leaving the state. They've retired early, found other professions. And we are a nation of law and order. We depend on the people to keep us safe. And, you know, cities like Peoria and Kankakee and Moline, Illinois, and all over the state, crime is rising. And just like what happened about two months ago in Chicago, people... across this state in high populated areas, realize that essentially someone could be walking down the road, throw a cup of gasoline on you, light you on fire, and they'll be out walking the streets next day. Something is very wrong with that. And then ultimately, education in Illinois, by our state's own standards, education, we're failing. So that's our future. Everything therein relies upon our present and protecting our people and what we're doing with our children. So that's our message. discovered that more than 80% of all Illinoisans have that in common. And J.B. Pritzker has, for the most part, single-handedly created that mass. So we're going to pin that on him. And we believe that Illinois will be ripe for a change this coming November. You're mentioning another part of your calculus was, could a downstate farmer win a statewide race? And I was talking with Ted Dobrowski earlier, and he made the case that his Cook County roots give him the best case for Republicans to win in November. And the reason being is that in a statewide election, right, of course, you need Cook County. And you need to perform better than 73 to 24, which is what the results were in 2022. So how are you addressing that potential vulnerability this round?

It's easy for me to stand here and say, you know, we're going to cut taxes. We're going to do this. We're going to do it. It's easy for me for Ted to say, you know, I'm from Cook County and I can win. He has no proof. There is absolutely nothing to back that up. And again. the simple fact of the turnout in 22. It was just midterms. It was a low turnout. We cannot afford that in Illinois again, so we're going to get the turnout. Probably the biggest piece of us running again was the choice of our lieutenant governor, so which in lies Aaron Delmar. He is the Cook County GOP chair. He's been involved in Chicago politics for the last 20 years. Palatine Township, of which he is the chairman of, is the only township in Cook County that is operating in the black and has a Republican majority. So, you know, our friends in Chicago, like Ted, want to govern the state without a whole lot of concern or understanding for downstate. So because the infrastructure issues that we have, the education problems that we have in rural Illinois, what better team to connect, you know, probably the strongest leader, you know, outside of Chicago and downstate Illinois, as I've proven being a state rep and a state senator with one of the most aggressive leaders. in Cook County with Aaron Del Marr. So I think we bring something together that you can actually look at, you can trust, you can see a record, and you can understand that, yeah, I think I can put my vote behind that. I do have some questions about issues, I promise. Last campaign question. I'm just imagining unless something crazy happens, if you were to win the governorship, you would be working with Democratic supermajorities in the state house. So from a philosophical standpoint, how would you work with them to get legislation passed? Well, so we obviously must. And again, I have a record. I've got a record of House. minority leader Greg Harris coming over to me and having a conversation because he couldn't get... enough Democrats or any Republicans on a pharmaceutical bill. And he had seen and heard his team had watched me talk about how I was concerned about health care and the pharmaceutical costs. So I went to our caucus and we mustered up enough votes to support his program because it was a good program lowering pharmaceutical costs. In the Senate, Senator Passi-Lenzias came over and had a conversation with me on the floor because she was trying to push a bill through it. You know, after COVID, you know, we couldn't find enough nerves.

And this would allow our community colleges to extend some time and basically pump out more nurses ready to go and the exact same issue. She had seen my Facebook lives and how I was, you know, talking about education and I had a passion for that. So I was able to work. We were able to get that bill passed. I also love when I'm up north where people have Democrat state rep and state senators. I just challenge them. I said, call your state rep. Get to know who your state rep is. Get to know them and understand in your state senator. And if they served from 2019 to 2022 when I served, just ask them about me. Ask them, what do you think of Darren Bailey? And, you know, I know they're going to say, well, we. don't agree with any of his policies, maybe have nothing in common, but they all will say he was respectful. When we debated, when we talked, because they told me that all the time. So I think I have something. earned there some credits to use. And with the shock wave that's going to take place when we are elected next November, you know, no one in Illinois is going to be able to not deny why. It's going to, you know, it's going to send shockwaves across the nation. It will, in my opinion, force those officials to the table. My door will be open. There will be chairs around that table, and we must. We will have to get to work on fixing affordability, safety, and education. And that's going to take some time. And I think that when we accomplish that, we're going to understand each other a lot better to then start fixing the other issues that exist around this state. I want to knock down all political barriers. This divide that J.B. Pritzker has created is destroying our state. and it's going to destroy our nation if we allow it. You know, we as Americans have more in common than that which separates us, and it's really time we start focusing on that. So that will be my priority. Talk to me more about affordability. How would you as governor make everyday life more affordable for Illinoisans? So we've, when I started running, and I started running in a primary in 2017 because Illinois had a, we hadn't had a budget for three or four years. The current budget in 2017 was a $32 billion budget. They passed a 32% tax increase, made it a $34 billion budget, and then eventually, today it sets at a $56 billion budget. No one has any idea where their money's coming from or going.

every time there's been a problem for the last seven years of jb's uh governing the answer has always been more money we see absolutely no results if it's mental health if it's whatever it is if it's education just toss another 20 million here and there so that that compounds without any results so I announced a Doge program here a few weeks ago. Now, at Doge, everybody knows what it means. It definitely looks a lot different than the federal Doge. We're not going to be firing anybody or, you know, I will be replacing. The governor has the ability to, you know, replace and place department heads. So we'll be taking advantage of that. But we're going to find and weed out waste, fraud and corruption. So. You know, last year, Illinois spent 2.5 billion on people, you know, in the state illegally, giving them free health care, free food, and free housing. I sure talked to a lot of seniors and a lot of veterans that are needing a lot of help. So 2.5 billion, I mean, that's about 5% of the budget. So there's an issue there. Within 24 hours of, so we have a blueprint for Illinois.com. You can go to that. You can actually see our plan, but at the very bottom, there's an actual tracker that you can search yourself. That was released three weeks ago within 24 hours. Someone yet to meet this person. Someone discovered that over $180 million of the last three years were funneled back as grants and repairs to Hilton's very or the Hyatt Hotel. I mean, J.B. Pritzker's not J.B. Pritzker's own holdings. So we've got that. We're seeing that. We know that we know there's a lot to be in. People want to know they want. the budget to be transparent and they want government to be accountable with that. In 2021, I and some state representatives tried to draft a resolution to ask for a forensic audit on the budget. We were swiftly called by Frank Montino, the attorney, the auditor general, telling us that we can't, that can't be done. It's going to take about 10 years and it could cost in excess of $10 million. something's wrong with that. So we want to get to work, open the budget up. And when we do that, I think we will have, first of all, what we need to begin to tamper down on property taxes. We can, you know, pull off mandates of our schools. I got my driver's license in 1982. Since 1982, there have been over 700 mandates placed on our schools by... state government. Half of those are unfunded. So if we start looking at education, giving the control back to the local communities, the local school boards, let them

educate their children as they see fit. If we quit dangling carrots out like state government does, if they need a $10 million, well, for instance, a $30 million swimming pool, state government will say, well, we'll give you $15, but you've got to raise the other 15. And sometimes these are needed. Many times they're not, we need to start living within our means so we can begin to tamper down property taxes, energy prices. These are two items that... J.B. Pritzker and the General Assembly could be working on and dealing with right now as we speak and begin to implement some policy to give people relief, but they're refusing to. So addressing the issue, educating the people, and actually. doing things within the budget and what we have available, the reprioritizing our spending. And there are some programs that we will be rolling out in the near future as to exactly how we can have an impact on property taxes and helping schools realize, hey, let's not raise the levy up the maximum, you know, every year. You won't have to because we're not going to pull these, we're not going to put these unfunded mandates on you as it's happening today. In terms of property taxes, which fund local forms or local units of government, how do you go about reducing them while also supplementing them to keep local governments funded. All right. Well, I mean, obviously that's within the power and the ability of the local government itself. So educating people. I love just informing people. Go to a school board meeting. Don't go there to calls trouble. Go to there to learn. Go to your county. Go to a county. Go to two a year if nothing else. Go to your county meeting. Go to a township meeting. Listen and understand that, you know, community colleges, the fire department. what's taking place because I think that when we do that I think there's a lot of ideas out there within people that can that can save us lots of money too so but I really believe that there is a that we're going to be implementing a program hopefully may have to turn into a bill I'm not for sure but within what I believe the amount of money I mean the $2.5 billion dollars feeding, housing, giving free insurance to people who are here illegally. The health benefits for immigrant adults and senior programs. Yes, illegals, yes. You take that alone if we can begin to kind of solidify our own law and our foundation of how people should be here illegally and help them maybe to be here legally and put them to work and help them to be, you know, productive citizens. Then you start, again, with affordability, with safety, with education. I think when we start addressing that, I think we're going to start attracting business back to Illinois. You know, the corporate tax in Illinois is twice what it is in Indiana and Iowa. So, you know, you have to ask yourself why someone wants to do...

business here. So if you start addressing some of that, if you make it more affordable for people to live here and they feel safe and they can educate their children and get a wonderful education, they're going to come back here. And that is also going to start to turn the wheels to this economic engine to be able to start taking care of our schools properly. And the goal is that our schools shouldn't have to be raising these levees at the maximum every year. But much of that need has been placed on them or forced by state government. You mentioned corporate taxes. I also wanted to talk about income taxes. So J.B. Pritzker has said he'd like to, not this year, but at some point, readdress raising income taxes on the wealthiest. How would you handle income taxes as governor? Well, I've argued and fought for, you know, just this flat. tax that I believe is fair to everyone because if you want, J.B. Pritzker, the man is bent, in my opinion, on creating a socialist state in Illinois. He's going to run for president in 28, and he wants to point to Illinois because I believe, as a constitutional republic in this great nation, government's role is to protect people and basically stay out of their lives other than that. J.B. Pritzker believes that government should provide. for people. So he wants to create this, this, you know, dependent civilization. And we've seen how that goes in history and other nations. And it doesn't go very well. That's not who we as a nation are. So that's another reason that I, you know, that I hold intent. on stopping this nonsense because, sure, tax the wealthy and you know what's going to happen? They're going to leave. They're the ones who are creating jobs. They're the ones. This is a land of opportunity where you reap. And many times the wealthy, they give back in forms of foundations. I mean, as I'm driving through the theater district here, you know, getting here, you know, that's how a lot of this was created. So no, I don't know. You know, I've challenged him many times, even during the COVID crisis. I said, hey, if you're so bent on using other people's stuff, why don't you put some of these people up in your own hotel at your own expense, you know? And he didn't appreciate that very well. So I'm just one of those people that if you're going to talk to talk, you better be walking the walk. And I don't see that out of him. 61% of voters in the 2024 election supported a 3% income tax surcharge over... On incomes over a million dollars. Sorry, I'll get words out. And it was an advisory referendum, so it didn't amount to any change in Illinois's tax code. But does that not signal that the public is at least on board with some change to taxing Illinois's wealthiest residents? Well, I think it's a matter of education because we need to really understand the ramifications of a tax like that. You know, Chicago saw Ken Griffin. pull out, you know, after the primary in 22. And that has had a huge impact. Buildings are vacant.

jobs, people, you know, high paying, a lot of money moved out of the city. You know, he was a large supporter of the Art Institute and many other non-for-profit organizations and that left. And now he's doing the same thing that he was doing in Florida. So, you know, if it comes that we need to talk about that, I hope to use the governor's platform to educate the people and give real stories about what is going to happen. We don't. J.B. Pritzker thinks that the solution to every one of our problems is more money and higher taxes. We simply need to rein in spending and spend it more efficiently. And I believe that as I've watched four budgets passed without... any real effect except more money spent. I do believe that Illinois has what it needs within what it has to grow our state and then if we make the changes we need to make to attract business and attract people back to Illinois so that they can begin to work and be happy and feed into the system. That's how this constitutional republic is designed to work. I mean, we're birthed out of tax rebellion over taxation. And it just, I see one road to that, and that's just the more exodus of Illinois. You mentioned energy a little bit earlier, and you had said previously, if I'm not mistaken, that you would repeal the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which was passed in 2021 to phase out fossil fuels for renewable energy. Why is that the move in your eyes? So I argued in the House and in the Senate, you know, do not. end or drive away reliable energy. In southern Illinois, we have an abundant amount of oil, we have an abundant amount of natural gas, we have an abundant amount of coal. Now here's the interesting thing. We mine our coal. The government has a huge carbon tax on it, but they go ahead and rail the coal out to Wyoming where they burn our coal. Then they mine their coal, which has a lower carbon content, and we rail that to Illinois, and that's what we're currently burning. I mean, when you really understand and see the metrics of what's going, it's ridiculous. So all that's costing money. We're paying more. I'm for an all or the above. energy but not you know when they were pushing a lot of these renewables there is no you know when the sun doesn't shine the wind doesn't blow something doesn't work we have um um um

these many nuclear reactors that we need to be looking into. And, you know, Illinois had had a moratorium on nuclear. They've kind of, they've lifted that to open the door because they're understanding and seeing that if we're going to grow, especially with the advent of AI and these data centers, they're taking a lot of energy. We were, on the day of my campaign launch, the first place we went was a small restaurant down in Carterville, and the owner brought out. So that was the end of September, I think. The owner brought out her September electric bill, and she brought out her June electric bill. The June electric bill, no difference. They were open, same hours. The June electric bill was $2,300. The September electric bill was $4,400. So that was on the Amaran, the Amaran network. A few months later, our friends up north on the ComEd Network face the same thing. And here in a few more months, our friends on Rural Electric are going to be seeing a pretty serious spike because this all has to do with contracts as they are written. So again, J.B. Pritzker, the General Assembly, could convene and address that and deal with that, but there's just no sign of that. So I think that we have to reconsider and think about slowing this down because we can't afford to pay. what's coming. Is it possible that you maybe agree with the Illinois Commerce Commission who's been fairly aggressively cutting back on Amaran or some of the other utility providers requests to increase rate the cost that would be Then sent to ratepayers for various utilities. That's a transparency process. Again, J.B. Pritzker, the General Assembly, they could be meeting right now to offer some form of relief to people on their energy prices. So no one understands how these rates are set. Again, I think the biggest change that I have been able to enact as a state representative and as a state senator is going on Facebook and educating people. People love to understand how the process works. Very few people know how the process works of rates sitting with our utilities. And I think it's high time that they learn. And I think it's time that we offer in more common sense from state government to, again, protect our people with decent rates. I wanted to also ask you about the latest. energy climate bill that they would have passed, which is the, I'm going to blank on the name, Climate and Reliable Grid Act. That's about half right. But anyway, the idea behind it was they were going to create these batteries that were going to store energy and they were going to pass a surcharge that would help pay for the batteries. But in the long run, the idea is it will save ratepayers money. What do you think of that piece of legislation? Again, there's absolutely no proof. We don't know, you know, look at the history. Well, I consider the history. You know, I was born in 1966, and I take a look at the evolution of batteries, you know, since then and how much more powerful batteries are today. And here we are just beginning with these batteries that we're counting on fueling our homes, our business. Illinois is too great of a state.

to rely on that alone. I mean, the only thing I did like out of that act was the fact that they lifted the moratorium on nuclear. They need to extend and lift the moratorium on coal. I mean, down at Marissa, we've got the cleanest burning coal-fired energy plant in the world. And what people don't realize is California, or China. In China, they're literally building and erecting almost a power plant a week. They don't have any of the regulations or the concern for the environment that we do. We've got the technology here, and we need to realize that it's good technology, and we need to use this until we have reliable. I have no problem into bringing these batteries in and experimenting with this for a time until we understand it, until it works. on the rolling blackouts and brownouts that we could experience here in Illinois in the near future if we don't address these issues seriously. If we're going to attract business, I have no problem with the data centers, but they take to so much energy, we've got to know that what we have works. Transitioning to another... big part of your campaign, which is public safety. You've mentioned it. Many of the Republicans in the state of Illinois have been critical of the Safety Act, particularly the part of the legislation that eliminated cash bail. How do you feel about the elimination of cash bail? Well, I believe the entire Safety Act needs repealed. That is the only answer. There are no parts and pieces that need worked on. So the elimination of cash bail alone has been a major driver in increased property taxes because if someone breaks the law, they get brought into the courthouse, they have to post-bond, and that's not happening. But we still count on the same workings of our court system that has to be paid. so then the county, then, you know, property taxes are increased. Again, the, you know, since my family's tragedy in October, to, I used to look at every Monday morning I'd get on and I'd see how many shootings or deaths that there were in Chicago. And for the longest time, embarrassingly, those are just statistics, you know? Labor Day weekend. There were over 50 shootings. There were 14, 15 deaths. You know, we're being told that crime's coming down. It's not whenever you're not, you know, that's because of the Safety Act, that mechanism. You're not bringing people in and booking them like you used to. And not only that, but crime is rising in some of our larger cities to the south of Chicago. It just breaks my heart to see what is taking place with absolutely no repercussion. Somebody...

Those lighter fluid on a girl and a Chicago train lights are on fire and is back on the street the next day, something's wrong with that. That's not, that doesn't work. People don't feel safe. So, so yeah, and because of that, I mean, we are a nation of law and order. And when that bill alone, that act alone, you know. forced a lot of people who had their careers or were going to start careers to rethink and simply walk away from it. And just to be clear with that instance that you're mentioning the attack on public transit, the criminal who lit the woman on fire had a fairly lengthy track record. And the state's attorney in Cook County... did ask for him to be detained, but the judge said no, which is all part of the new process of the elimination of cash bail. And I know there's going to be some people that are out there that see that not as a condemnation of the broader legislation, but of the judge making a terrible decision. Could you see that critique? That's 72 times. And you know what he did the very next week? He went and tried to put City Hall in Chicago on fire. Then he got arrested and they put him in jail. So 72 times is how many times that man had recommitted and let go. That's nonsense. So in your mind, the solution is completely getting rid of it. There is no... potential negotiations or compromise we go back that we've got to start by getting rid of that we've got to let people understand that we are a state of law and order you need to be protected we need good men and women serving in law enforcement that's where we start and then see that's another problem with with springfield and with a lot of the legislators up north and in Chicago, there were many times that they would, this was one of them, and every instance was about problems in Cook County in Chicago. So, you know, behind closed doors when you're talking, it's like, you know what, if you truly believe that's right for your district, and sometimes this was like this on tax increases, and there were other issues back, we had several issues regarding hospitals. Well, it's a one-size-fits-all, so whatever bill. they want to produce, then it impacts the whole entire state. So many times I would argue that it's all, just if you think that's right for your people, I will trust you and I'll support that. But let's exempt. counties of less than a half million, less than 50,000, less than 20,000, you know, Clay County where I live at, 14,000 people in that county. So that's another problem is the understanding of the entire state. I think that's what I will bring to the state of Illinois as a downstate governor as an understanding of many of the diverse and unique problems that the people have in the Cook and the Collar counties don't apply whatsoever to the rest of the state.

And we can work with that and deal with that. And this may very well be the case with the Safety Act. The Trust Act was signed by former GOP governor, Bruce Ronner, and it made Illinois a sanctuary state, and that generally means that state and local law enforcement won't assist with federal officers in immigration enforcement unless the federal officers have a warrant. What do you think of that legislation? I think law enforcement should be working together. I also believe that... There's really not necessarily, as pertaining to the actions and the riots and what's taking place today, federal agents shouldn't be, and they don't need to be in Illinois. Because if the state and local, so if J.B. Pritzker and let's say Brandon Johnson were doing their jobs to protect the people and upholding the law of this land, you wouldn't need ICE and all these other agencies here. Transitioning to another topic, you've talked a lot about education. And one of the things I wanted to ask you about is school choice, which has become a pretty hot topic in the last couple of years. Illinois lawmakers let a private school tax credit program expire in 2023. Was that a mistake? Oh, gosh, it was tragic because it impacted, most of the children that impacted were in Chicago school systems. So they were students. lives that were being directed well because Chicago public schools were failing them. And yes, when that act failed to be renewed, I believe it's tragic for a lot of lives in the Chicago area. I believe in school choice. I believe in improving our public schools. I mean, by the state's own standards, go to Illinois State Board of Education, their website, and you start looking through it. By their own standards, their own testing, 70% of the children across our state when they graduate cannot read write and do math at grade level. So it's time to get back to the basics. You go to our colleges, you go to the U of I, and you're going to see a multitude of foreign students there instead of students from Illinois, let alone our nation, something's wrong there. We have, you know, this whole battery contingency that you're talking about. Right now that technology is coming from China. Why aren't we producing that? This old Goshen nonsense up north, why aren't we producing that here instead of relying on China, sending all of our stuff? because we don't have the people, you know, we're not able to produce it because our schools are failing our students. I truly believe that. So improved public education, get back to the basics, start teaching vocation again, get students back, you know, working in an automotive and HVAC and plumbing and electricity, start focusing more on that. We must have school choice. That competition makes everybody better. Parents need to be able to decide where they want to send their children for school.

And then ultimately, we give the community, get local control back to education. Thinking about this neck of the woods, this side of the state, I know you'd be elected to a statewide office if you win the governor's race, but I'm curious, what priorities would you have for the metro east or southwest Illinois? I want to put all Illinois to work. You know, we need to be attracting business. And instead of that business, you know, focused on staying north of I-80, that's the only way we're going to grow. You know, the reality of the coal mines and the oil fields, you know, those used to be booming. Even with, you know, even with robotic technology, a lot of that's, a lot of that's, you know, not going to require the manpower that we needed in the past. But still. I think in the future, people are, they desire that when they come down to rural, even my campaign the last several years just running for government and having exposure that I've had, we have an event at the evening on the farm at our house and people from Chicago come down and they're just amazed at how quiet and rural and there's no homes around you. So we've got some amazing opportunities to bring people down here, but, you know, our steel factories in Granite City and we need to refocus and keep those, keep that. going and keep business, you know, create an atmosphere to when our children get out of high school, they want to stay and they want to work because they can. If people are curious about where to find out more about you, where can they do that online? Yes. So my web page has always been the same, Bailey for Illinois.com. And as a matter of fact, my email just put Darren in front of that, Darren at Bailey for Illinois.com. Send me an email. And then I'm really, I love this new website we just rolled out. It's Blueprint for Illinois.com. So it gives the actual plan of attack on many of the issues that we're going to be working with and then scroll all the way to the bottom and do your own search and in your own community and your own interest to see where tax dollars are going. And you will be shocked. Darren, thank you for making the trip in to chat with us. Thank you for the opportunity. I appreciate it. Darren is the second of four Republicans running in the governor's race that we've spoken to. We're hoping to sit down with Rick Heidner and James Mendrick on future episodes. Politically speaking is a product of St. Louis, a listener-supported service of the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Until next time, so long.

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