* Republican gubernatorial candidate Ted Dabrowski has said that failed 2022 Republican nominee Darren Bailey can’t possibly play in the suburbs. We don’t usually highlight newspaper endorsements here, but the top suburban newspaper in this state just endorsed the downstater Bailey over the suburbanite Dabrowski…
Among the four men hoping to face Pritzker in November, we lean toward Bailey, a former state legislator who served both in the House and Senate, giving him crucial experience working with a Democratic General Assembly in Springfield. That means less of a learning curve, and more realistic expectations, should he win in November.
We also see a different, humbler side of Bailey, a Clay County farmer, in his second attempt at statewide office that suggests his decisive loss to Pritzker four years ago and personal tragedy may have given him a broader perspective. The man who once denounced Chicago as a “hellhole” says he now understands the “entirety of Illinois better.”
We hope that’s the case. We endorse Darren Bailey.
* Speaking of that “humbler” Bailey…
Tribune…
Bailey, in two campaigns for governor and during his tenure as a downstate Republican state lawmaker, has not been shy about criticizing Pritzker. He has mocked the billionaire business owner and heir to the Hyatt hotels fortune as having “soft hands” and having “never worked a day in his life.” Just days before the RNC posting, Bailey posted an image of Pritzker dressed like a king, standing in a bathroom, with the tagline “Flush Pritzker.”
But Bailey has not attacked Pritzker over his weight. That has largely been a role carried out by President Donald Trump, who endorsed Bailey’s 2022 run for governor and encouraged him to run again after a family tragedy in an October helicopter accident.
* Back to Ted, or, as he’s now known in Champaign County, “Tad”…
Illinois’ ruling Democratic party under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s leadership claims to be dedicated to election integrity with their “reforms,” but two developments show how their new election rules are undermining faith in elections and pulling us toward chaos.
In the first matter, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons printed and sent out defective ballots that wrongly identify Ted Dabrowski, Republican candidate for governor, as “Tad Dabrowski.” Clerk Ammons has acknowledged the error but refused to reprint the ballots. The Ted for Illinois campaign has now sued the Clerk demanding a correction. The complaint, filed Sunday, is here.
The wrong name is highly material because the Ted for Illinois campaign has made “Ted” an integral part of its messaging, signage and literature, at great expense. In any event, Ammons is ignoring the mandatory statutory obligation he has to correct wrong names, as described in the filed complaint.
- Proud Papa Bear - Tuesday, Feb 17, 26 @ 9:16 am:
You just can’t buy publicity like that, Tad.
- Someonehastosayit - Tuesday, Feb 17, 26 @ 9:22 am:
By posting that meme, Bailey gets to be on both sides. His followers will enjoy the joke while he gets to claim the high road.
- Pundent - Tuesday, Feb 17, 26 @ 9:28 am:
Darren Bailey couldn’t bring himself to work with Republicans in the General Assembly so I had to do a spit take when the DH cited his crucial experience in being able to work with the Democrats. But more than anything it’s a reflection of how far the ILGOP has fallen that this is the best option they have. Sorry Tad.
- Rudy’s teeth - Tuesday, Feb 17, 26 @ 9:48 am:
A “leopard can’t change his spots” certainly fits Darren Bailey. During another run for governor, Bailey is changing his campaign rhetoric. I think not.
We remember his bashing of Chicago as a hellhole and his actions after the Highland Park tragedy.
“Let’s move on.” Yes, let’s move on to another candidate as Darren Bailey’s time is up.
- Think Again - Tuesday, Feb 17, 26 @ 9:51 am:
=Ammons is ignoring the mandatory statutory obligation he has to correct wrong names, as described in the filed complaint=
Such pettiness on Ammons’ part is disappointing. One would hope that elected officials, irrespective of political affiliation, would at a minimum fulfill their core duties in good faith.
- Unionman - Tuesday, Feb 17, 26 @ 9:54 am:
Hey Tad was a good enough name for the Great Emancipator to name his son, he should accept the praise
- City Zen - Tuesday, Feb 17, 26 @ 10:03 am:
How many sets of eyes normally proofread a ballot? Not many in Champaign, apparently. An embarassing mistake for a clerk’s office.
- Stix Hix - Tuesday, Feb 17, 26 @ 10:04 am:
–By posting that meme, Bailey gets to be on both sides.–
I had the same reaction. Why re-post a thing you find to be in poor taste or just plain mean?
- Former Downstater - Tuesday, Feb 17, 26 @ 10:14 am:
I have zero respect for Tad personally or politically.
That said, he deserves the have his name correctly spelled on the ballot.
- Bob - Tuesday, Feb 17, 26 @ 10:14 am:
==I had the same reaction. Why re-post a thing you find to be in poor taste or just plain mean?==
If Pritzker criticized the DNC for something, you’d all praise him from the rooftops. Doesn’t Bailey deserve a little bit of credit for saying the right thing? He hasn’t always done that.
- low level - Tuesday, Feb 17, 26 @ 10:19 am:
== Doesn’t Bailey deserve a little bit of credit for saying the right thing?==
No. The Republicans cant engage in policy debates so they resort to juvenile insults.
- Steve T. - Tuesday, Feb 17, 26 @ 10:27 am:
Ted Dabrowski and his running mate, Carrie Mendoza, are currently being interviewed on Champaign’s WDWS Penny For Your Thoughts radio program. The podcast should be available this afternoon for anyone who would want to listen to it.