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CHICAGO (WLS) — The race to become the Republican nominee for Illinois governor is heating up, with four candidates vying for the position.
Last week, ABC7 featured conversations with Rick Heidner and Ted Dabrowski. This week, the spotlight turns to former state senator Darren Bailey and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, as they share their visions for Illinois.
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James Mendrick, who has called DuPage County home for over three decades, has been serving as the county’s sheriff since December 2018. In his interview with ABC7, he highlighted his long-standing career as a financial crimes investigator.
“To be frank, I’ve delved into the state budget, and I plan to apply my expertise in financial analysis to improve our budgeting and staffing,” Mendrick stated. “Illinois doesn’t have a revenue issue; it’s quite a wealthy state with ample income sources. However, our challenge lies in excessive spending. We need a comprehensive job task analysis to evaluate our practices in contracts and budgeting.”
Discussing immigration, Mendrick commented, “When we talk about safety and sanctuary, they sound positive, but let’s be clear. The controversy surrounding ICE raids, for instance, can be traced back to policies by JB Pritzker.”
Mendrick continued, “If we did not have a sanctuary state, the raids would be unnecessary.”
Bailey is a former state representative and former state senator from southern Illinois, where he and his family operate a farm.
Bailey was the Republican nominee for governor in 2022.
Bailey says his number one priority, if elected, “It’s finances, it’s affordability. Property taxes have skyrocketed. And for our friends in Cook County and Chicago, as high as they are downstate, they surpassed us by far. People can’t afford to pay their property taxes. They can’t afford to pay their utility bills. These are issues that the state government should come together and meet. They should have started it last year and began to work on these issues.”
Safety is another concern. Bailey cited the case of a woman being set on fire on a CTA train. And, he said, the state is failing when it comes to educating children.
Bailey also said he tried to address immigration in 2019.
“I was told by many Chicago-area legislators, the process of becoming a naturalized citizen is just too difficult. And as a matter of fact, one thing that kept coming up was a $300 fee for the application process. And I stood up, in session, and I said ‘Hey, I want less government, I want less spending, but if we have to do something, whatever we can do to help people become naturalized citizens, let’s do that.’ And that call went unanswered,” Bailey said.
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