Abortion, economy, crime among the top issues ahead of Illinois’ election

[September 08, 2022]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Economy. Crime. Abortion. These are some of the issues rising to the surface in the final two months before Illinois' November election.  

Voters can expect more political ads. The most recent ones in the race for Illinois governor seem to spell out the top issues before voters.

A TV ad from People Who Play By The Rules PAC depicts Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey as an outsider of each party’s political establishment.

“Like you, Bailey knows what hasn’t worked,” a narrator in the ad said.

“Decade after decade of mismanagement in Springfield,” Bailey said in the ad. “Back to back billionaire governors and where has that gotten us?”

“High taxes, high unemployment and high crime rates,” the narrator says. “How much worse does it have to get before we give a practical problem solver a try?”

A new digital ad from incumbent Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s campaign features Emily Lopez from Elgin sharing a personal abortion story while being critical of Bailey’s position.

“Darren Bailey puts his beliefs before my health and I fundamentally disagree with him on that,” Lopez said.

At the Illinois statehouse, Republicans are in the superminority in both chambers. They’re looking to gain seats.

Illinois Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, said he’s out talking with independent voters and they see inflation and crime as paramount.

“These are the things people are concerned about and are talking about, ‘do I want to raise my family in this environment,’” McConchie told The Center Square last month. “Those are the problems that we have to absolutely solve in order to not only keep people in the state but make us a net importer of people once again.”

Pritzker has been campaigning alongside various special interest groups like labor unions and, last month, Planned Parenthood.

“I think that I’m feeling across the state a real surge of momentum for candidates that are pro-choice that are going to stand up for women’s reproductive health,” Pritzker said.

The election is Nov. 8. Early voting begins Sep. 29.

Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning Newsfeed out of Springfield.