In final debate, Darren Bailey calls Chicago ‘Pritzkerville,’ while governor says challenger a threat to democracy
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In their final debate of the campaign, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker accused Republican challenger Darren Bailey of being a “threat to democracy” over his support for former President Donald Trump. Bailey countered with a new name for Chicago, labeling it “Pritzkerville” in blaming the governor for its problems with crime, education and business retention.
The hourlong debate, held at WGN-Ch.9 ’s North Side studios and broadcast statewide, came with three weeks until Election Day and found both candidates trodding through well-worn themes, such as crime and abortion rights, as each blasted the other as an “extremist.”
Pritzker repeatedly sought to link Bailey to Trump, the former president who endorsed the Republican in the closing days of the June primary and helped the state senator from downstate Xenia overwhelmingly win the GOP nomination.
“Darren Bailey is a threat to democracy,” Pritzker said, repeating a theme that Democrats nationally have sought to exploit among voter issues in the 2022 midterm elections. “He’s surrounded himself with Jan. 6 insurrectionists, sought out the No. 1 Jan. 6th insurrectionist, Donald Trump’s endorsement,” Pritzker said as Bailey interrupted saying “Wow.”
“Frankly, it’s corrupt. You can’t surround yourself with those people, with election deniers, and then say you’re gonna uphold voting rights in the state of Illinois. He shouldn’t be let anywhere near the governor’s office,” the Democrat said.
Pritzker also sought to use Bailey’s backing of Trump to criticize the Republican’s conservative positions on social issues.
“Darren Bailey is a Trump extremist. He opposes abortion. He thinks it’s OK to force a 13-year-old rape victim to give birth. He wants to end the state’s minimum wage and throw Chicagoans out of Illinois,” Pritzker said. “Darren Bailey has surrounded himself with racist, misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic people and organizations, including chasing after the chief among them, Donald Trump.”
Bailey, who has previously labeled Chicago a “hellhole” and an “unruly child,” unveiled a new name for the city.
“I’m gonna call it Pritzkerville because every one of Gov. Pritzker’s extreme policies are destroying the city — out of control crime, devastated education, the fact that corporations are packing up and leaving every day,” Bailey said. “Now I think Pritzkerville fits quite well because Gov. Pritzker, it’s time for him to own it. Chicago is the nightmare called Pritzkerville and it’s still for two weeks from Halloween.”
Bailey had referred to the state’s largest city as “Pritzkerville” in a previous Facebook Live posting, likening it to “Pottersville,” the dystopian version of Bedford Falls in Frank Capra’s 1946 film, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Bailey contended the public was being “duped by its elected officials” including Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
Asked to grade the job performance of Lightfoot and Foxx, Pritzker declined and said as governor it was his job to “stand up” for municipalities across the state. Bailey said Lightfoot and Foxx deserved an “F.”
Bailey’s answer to the first question of the debate was over how he would win over urban residents. But rather than offer any answer to voters in the region, he delivered an ode to farmers.
“I’m a farmer from southern Illinois. Hard work is all I’ve ever known. And, I love to remind people what farmers do. Farmers fix things that are broken, farmers solve problems, and farmers grow things,” Bailey said.
Asked how he would deal with gang crime in Chicago, Bailey contended it was linked to illegal immigration from the Mexican border.
“I think first and foremost, we need to deal with our Southern border and we need to get that under control and stop the inflow of illegal activity because what that is bringing, it’s bringing gang violence. It’s bringing sex trafficking. It’s bringing drug trafficking,” Bailey said. “It’s a mess and we’ve got to deal with that. And then finally, we simply need to get rid of this sanctuary state status so law enforcement can do their job.”
Bailey repeatedly accused Pritzker of fomenting division with “woke” ideology in the classroom and “with racial ideas and ideologies” in an attempt to call the Democratic governor a hypocrite in working for people of color. He also said Pritzker had displayed “extremism” in pushing school curriculum that included teaching of racial, ethnic and LGBTQ history and new sex education learning.
“Gov. Pritzker tries to inject his radical gender ideology into our classrooms,” Bailey said.
But Pritzker pointed to the Full Armor Christian Academy school Bailey founded that uses curriculum connected to conservative South Carolina’s Bob Jones University. The university’s press has offered history books that taught that not all slaves were mistreated, that the women’s movement in society carried societal costs and that when the Bible and science are in conflict, the Bible is correct.
“Darren Bailey has proven that he would be dangerous for our kids, for parents, for communities if he were put in charge of public education,” Pritzker said.
Asked about comments to the Crain’s Chicago Business Editorial Board in which Bailey said he’d lower funding for public schools, the Republican said he would target “the administrative bloat that exists in our schools.”
“We need to slash administrative funding and get that money in the classrooms to teach our children to read and write because they’re failing,” he said.
But Pritzker said that Bailey “wants to defund public education, which is going to raise property taxes.”
The debate came as newly filed campaign finance reports show Pritzker, who is self financing his campaign, spent more than $38 million between the start of July and the end of September compared with $1.6 million spent by Bailey during the same time period.
In the third quarter, Bailey raised $2 million, half from billionaire conservative megadonor Richard Uihlein. Bailey spent $1.6 million, leaving $766,982 in cash on hand as of Sept. 30. While Bailey launched his first TV ad only a week ago, his campaign has been assisted by an allied political action committee, the People Who Play By The Rules PAC, headed by right-wing radio talk show host, Dan Proft of Naples, Florida.
The PAC is almost entirely funded by Uihlein, the billionaire founder of the Uline office supply firm. Uihlein gave the PAC $20 million in July and with a $13.9 million contribution on Oct. 5 has subsidized the committee with $42 million. The PAC aired $12.5 million worth of ads from July through September and has since spent another $5 million on campaign commercials aimed at helping Bailey.
Proft is also a major figure behind the production and distribution of political mailings filled with misstatements and innuendo designed to resemble newspapers.
Many of the ads have focused on safety and during the debate Bailey frequently attacked Pritzker’s signature on criminal justice reform legislation that includes cashless bail starting Jan. 1, warning it would unleash violent criminals from jails once the legislation goes into effect.
Pritzker said a Jan. 1 jail release date is “not what the SAFE-T Act says” and, for the first time, offered a specific change to the law to make sure that people charged with violent crimes are not released.
“Let’s amend it, not end it,” he said of the law.
Following the debate, Pritzker said he wasn’t offended by Bailey’s new name for Chicago.
“I am happy to rename Chicago ‘Pritzkerville’ as he has,” Pritzker said. “But the fact is, look, we have challenges, there’s no doubt. I’ve talked about those challenges and how I would address those. He hasn’t. He just calls Chicago names, wants to throw it out of the state. Again, no solutions from Darren Bailey.”
