Midterm Elections can shake up Illinois: What you need to know before Nov. 8

As the Nov. 8 midterm election draws near, the race for governor in Illinois is heating up. Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker is up against Senator Darren Bailey, a republican from Louisville, Illinois. 

During the first of two gubernatorial debates, the candidates took very different positions on issues concerning Illinois. The subjects of the debates between the two include education, women’s rights, public safety, and taxes.

So, how does each candidate plan to address these issues? 

At Elmhurst University, the cost of higher education affects us all. Both candidates shared how they planned to make education more affordable. 

Bailey shared that his plan was to reduce administrative “bloat” in state schools, meaning less money to school officials. Pritzker shared that he has increased investments being made in higher education, as well as an increase in Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants.  

Following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe. V. Wade, the topic of abortion has been an important issue to many voters during this election period.  

Governor J.B. Pritzker stated that he believes the law we have allowing abortions before fetal viability should be kept in place. 

“I have spent my life fighting for women’s rights…and as long as I’m governor we’re going to protect them,” said Pritzker.

Bailey’s response to whether abortions would become banned in Illinois was “nothing’s going to change when I’m governor, I couldn’t change them if I could.” 

Bailey’s stance on abortion per his campaign website is that he is, “Proudly pro-life and will always stand up to protect the rights of the unborn.” 

The Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity Today Act – also referred to as the SAFE-T Act – was signed into law by Pritzker and is planned to take effect Jan. 1, 2023. The act has been met with criticism from Bailey as well as some Illinois residents. 

When given the chance to elaborate on changes that can be made to gain more approval for the act, Pritzker stated, “I think there are clarifications that can be made in the law to make sure that everyone understands what this law is about.” 

Bailey followed this by stating that he would repeal the SAFE-T Act but didn’t state further what he intended to replace it with.  

On the topic of gun control, Bailey is an advocate for the right to bear arms and believes the answers to gun control issues in Illinois are to repeal the SAFE-T act and educate those opposed to gun rights. Pritzker has stated he will ban assault style weapons in Illinois but has yet to do so. 

Fees and taxes in Illinois have seen an increase since 2018, and many are wondering what the candidates will do to halt this increase. 

Pritzker shared that if budgets continue to be balanced then tax cuts could become permanent. He plans to tax the wealthy more by closing corporate loopholes. Bailey’s response to increasing taxes was, “zero based budgeting and dealing with the property taxes.”  

When students at Elmhurst asked if they intended to vote, some shared that they didn’t feel informed enough to vote, while others did plan on voting.

“I am planning on voting in the midterm election,” said senior Isabella Herrera. “Personally, I always vote democrat.”