Illinois’ top two candidates for governor, incumbent Democrat JB Pritzker and GOP challenger Darren Bailey, met for their first gubernatorial debate on Monday night, slugging it out over abortion, gun control, crime, and the economy.
The pair went head-to-head in an event sponsored by the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors in an online debate for an election only six weeks away.
The candidates revealed very different visions of the future for Illinois.
One of the top issues of the campaign this year is Bailey’s opposition to the state’s new bail reform law, the SAFE-T Act, championed by the sitting governor. The law goes into effect on Jan. 1, but Bailey wants it repealed.
The law has been blasted by a long list of mayors and members of law enforcement in the state. And echoing the detractors of the law, Bailey blasted Pritzker saying, “I can’t figure out if our governor’s a fool or a liar. But he’s trying to dupe us and that’s exactly what’s taking place. He intends to let criminals out of jail.”
“So, if I were governor right now, and if I were sitting here and people across this state were as concerned as they are about their safety, I’d call a special session right now,” Bailey said of the controversial SAFE-T bail reform act. “It’s an election year, Governor Pritzker. You’ve got a perfect opportunity to have a little political ploy here. Call session back in and let’s talk and let’s come up with solutions.”
But Pritzker insisted that Bailey only wants to leave in place a system “where murderers and rapists and domestic abusers can buy their way out of jail,” a charge made by progressives who claim that only rich people can afford to pay their way out of jail by being able to afford traditional bail fees.
Pritzker also blasted Bailey on abortion, saying that Bailey wants to be “in the room” when Illinois women are having abortions or ” making decisions about her health.” Painting the Republican as trying to take away a woman’s right to make her own decisions, Pritzker added, “She should be making those decisions and not some politician.”
But Bailey pointed out that as governor he would have little power to change any of Illinois’ abortion laws. Noting that abortion is “well protected” in Illinois, Bailey went on saying, “Nothing’s changing. I couldn’t change them on my own if I wanted to. Governor Pritzker stays up at night trying to think of new rights.”
The two were also unsurprisingly on opposite poles on climate change and gun rights. Indeed, Pritzker called for a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines.
“There’s no reason that someone needs an assault weapon. It doesn’t have a sporting use. It doesn’t have a defense use,” Pritzker exclaimed.
But Bailey said that his plan for solving the state’s mounting crime issues includes a repeal of the state’s restrictive gun laws imposed on law-abiding citizens including its Firearm Owners Identification Act that requires gun owners to register with the state to be allowed to obtain a firearm.
“Illinois has the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. The problem is those laws aren’t being honored and they’re not being followed,” Bailey said.
On the budget, Bailey blasted Pritzker for the state’s wild spending sprees. He said he would put budget cuts in place — though he didn’t outline those cuts on stage — and said he would make a major change to the budgeting procedure.
“My administration will enact a zero-based budget where we will place knowledgeable, honorable, hardworking men and women as agency heads and they will begin to go to work with the zero-based budget and they will account for every dollar that’s going to be spent,” Bailey told the audience.
In the end, Pritzker’s tactic was to paint Bailey as a “Donald Trump extremist,” while Bailey focused on the ages-old question, “Are we better off today than we were four years ago?” Of course, Bailey’s answer is a “resounding no.”
Bailey didn’t note the point, but Illinois is one of the top five states for residents selling their homes and moving away to start life anew elsewhere. Indeed, Illinois is in second place behind New Jersey for “outward migration,” or residents giving up and moving out of the state.
According to a poll conducted last year, 60 percent of Illinoisans feel that the state is on the “wrong track,” ABC’s WICS reported.
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