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* If you didn’t watch last night’s debate, the Tribune has a really good roundup of start to finish. Excerpt…
But Pritzker, asked if he would vow to not raise taxes if elected to a second term, would not take the [no new taxes] pledge. He did say he would not make another attempt to seek passage of a graduated-rate income tax system that voters rejected two years ago, and he said continued balanced state budgets could lead to permanent tax cuts. […]
Bailey faced controversy over a 2017 video in which he contended the 6 million deaths of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust of World War II paled in comparison with lives lost to abortion. Bailey has said he hasn’t needed to apologize and that unnamed Jewish leaders “have told me that I’m right.” In the debate, Bailey stood by his Holocaust comparison and said “the facts are true when you compare the numbers.” But he refused to name the Jewish leader, saying, “I’m not going to put anybody on record.”
Bailey, who has called for the repeal of the state criminal justice reform legislative package called the SAFE-T Act and criticized its provisions for cashless bail, acknowledged he could support unspecified “bail reform for nonviolent criminals.” But he continued to contend the cashless bail provisions taking effect Jan. 1 were akin to “attaching revolving doors to every jail in the state of Illinois. And, friends, we’re going to have the exact same problem across the state that Chicago is experiencing.”
Pritzker said Bailey’s comments were in line with Republicans who “have put out a lot of disinformation, a whole list of things that they say are non-detainable offenses. There’s no such thing.” He said the goal of the criminal justice reform package was “to keep murderers, rapists, domestic abusers, violent criminals in jail.”
Still Pritzker acknowledged that changes to the law should be made but he repeatedly did not offer any specifics, saying, “I think there are clarifications that can be made in the law to make sure that everyone understands what this law does.”
Video…
GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey said Jewish leaders "told me that I'm right" that abortion is as bad as the Holocaust.
Moderator: "Could you name the Jewish leaders who agree with you?"
Bailey: "No."#ILGovDebate pic.twitter.com/dcgHnkRDaZ
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) October 7, 2022
* Also from the story…
“Illinois has the most permissive abortion laws in the nation. Nothing’s going to change when I’m governor. I couldn’t change them,” Bailey said. “JB Pritzker stays up at night trying to dream up new abortion laws.”
* Some keen observations about the debate format and the moderators from Dave McKinney at WBEZ…
But in showcasing two gubernatorial contenders with polar opposite views on Illinois’ direction, the fast and, at times, scattershot pacing by the debate’s hosts left viewers without answers about where the candidates stood on some of those key issues. […]
When asked if he would commit to not raise taxes, Pritzker avoided directly answering, later saying a continued balanced budget could make “tax cuts permanent.” But Bailey wasn’t asked the same question, and escaped the issue altogether. […]
Neither candidate seemed to offer up much of a prescription when asked about the three things that could be done to curb corruption in Springfield.
The governor didn’t offer anything specific, and Bailey suggested stripping accused lawmakers of their state benefits when they are indicted — ignoring that Illinois law requires criminal convictions before pension benefits can be taken away.
* Fox 32…
Debate moderators cited a voter opinion survey that found about half of Illinoisans believe crime will increase after January 1, when the SAFE-T Act imposes new requirements on prosecutors and police who want to detain a violent offender.
Bailey calls for repealing it. Gov. Pritzker says he wants changes but wouldn’t get specific.
“The criminal justice system that Darren Bailey and Republicans are standing up for is one that allows murders and rapists and domestic abusers to buy their way out of jail. And that’s unsafe,” Pritzker said.
Moderator: “Gov. Pritzker, are you willing to answer the question? One specific change you would make?”
“Again, I think there are clarifications that can be made in the law to make sure that everyone understands,” Pritzker responded.
I told subscribers last month about a very interesting crosstab in that WGN poll which has gone unreported elsewhere: “77 percent of Trump voters say the law will increase crime, compared to just 26.5 percent of Joe Biden voters who say it will drive up crime.” Crosstabs also showed that the poll’s Trump/Biden 2020 split was extremely close to the actual result. Biden, you will recall, won by 17 points. So, most of the people who believe the SAFE-T Act will increase crime aren’t gonna be Pritzker voters.
* AP…
According to Bailey, Pritzker’s handling of crime, property taxes and education is “crushing” the state, “all because J.B. Pritzker is hellbent on becoming the most radical leftist governor in America. … This man is dangerous.”
Pritzker, elected in 2018 amid the aftermath of a budget stalemate that left the state billions of dollars in debt, boasted before an audience at Illinois State University in Normal of the way he paid down debt and balanced the budget for four years. Bailey claimed that Pritzker did so with federal relief money for the COVID-19 pandemic and by not paying the full amount to fund employee pension systems.
Bailey contended he would cut taxes with a “reprioritization of spending” and zero-based budgeting. Pritzker said his management of the budget has proved successful and with billions of debt paid down, his continued leadership could mean lower taxes in the future.
Pritzker said he would not repeat his 2020 attempt to change the constitutionally required flat income tax to force wealthier residents to pay more, contending that his management of finances has produced budget surpluses the last two years.
Bailey said Pritzker shorted the pension systems by billions of dollars a year, which is true on an actuarial basis, but not on a statutory one. Bailey did not say how he would provide that extra dough.
* WGN…
Bailey’s plan to make tuition more affordable at state schools included reducing administrative “bloat,” referencing University of Illinois’ President Timothy Killeen, who Bailey claims makes over a million dollars per year. […]
He did not provide specifics for reducing the so-called bloat.
“Our children are leaving the state, they’re not able to attend here, our tuition is entirely too high, and guess what, news flash, under the last four years of JB Pritzker, it’s gotten worse,” Bailey said, stressing Republicans should be the ones to ”deal with these issues.”
When asked how he can make state colleges more affordable, Pritzker said he made higher education more affordable by raising investments.
“In fact, I’ve increased MAP grants, those are our state scholarships, by 50%. That’s $200 million. That means that anyone who is eligible that applies for a MAP grant gets one. That’s never happened in the history of our state. As a result, we have the highest freshmen enrollment across the state in six years, and here at ISU, it’s the highest in 35 years,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker made that ISU comment after Bailey praised ISU in contrast to the U of I.
* Hannah Meisel…
But Bailey has not been shy about his position on abortion as a much more conservative Republican than the brand of GOP politicians who’ve traditionally enjoyed political success in Illinois. Thursday night’s debate featured clips of both candidates played in surround sound for the approximately 1,200 audience members in ISU’s Braden Auditorium. One of those clips featured then-legislative candidate Bailey in a 2017 Facebook live video unearthed this summer, in which the Republican compared abortion to the Holocaust.
Bailey has previously accused Democrats and the media of exaggerating his statement that “the attempted extermination of the Jews of WWII doesn’t even compare on a shadow of the life that has been lost with abortion since its legalization.” But he also defended his statement in August, claiming that Jewish leaders told him he was right. Asked on Thursday to identify those leaders, Bailey refused. […]
A majority of Illinoisans — and Americans — favor banning assault-style weapons, as Congress did for a 10-year period between 1994 and 2004. Pritzker re-upped his call for that ban on Thursday night, but when asked why Democrats didn’t take up the issue this summer, the governor punted responsibility to the legislature. Bailey, too, demurred to the General Assembly on that question, pivoting instead to talking about mental health, and at one point blaming the influx of migrants at the nation’s southern border. […]
Bailey, on the other hand, claimed he could save the state billions of dollars by implementing “zero-based budgeting,” wherein continuing appropriations are nixed and each line item in Illinois’ now $40-billion budget would have to be justified. But the Republican declined to elaborate on what he thought he’d turn up in wasteful spending.
* ABC 7…
The most dramatic moment of the debate came when Bailey went after Pritzker over the speculation he may run for president. Bailey pledged not to run for another office if he’s elected governor.
“I want to ask you if you’re interested that same pledge to only run, that you won’t run for another office,” Bailey sad. “Matter of fact I have the pledge right here if you’re interested in signing.”
“I intend to serve four years more as governor if reelected, and I intend to support the president, he’s running for reelection,” said Pritzker.
* Pantagraph…
Both candidates were asked about Amendment One, also known as the “Workers Rights Amendment,” which would enshrine the right to organize and collectively bargain into the state constitution.
Pritzker has been firmly in favor of it while Bailey signaled opposition, noting that an amendment is not needed when workers already have many of the same rights currently.
“My message is this: Unions, stay in your lane and everything will be fine,” Bailey said. “Leave mom-and-pop and private business alone.”
The line earned groans from the audience and perhaps represents a thorny subject for Bailey as unions have broad support across the state, even among many downstate residents likely to vote for him.
* Newsweek…
The debate moderator asked Bailey: “Aside from saving the life of the mother, would you ban all abortions including in cases of rape and incest?”
“Illinois has the most permissive abortion laws in the nation. Nothing’s going to change when I’m governor. I couldn’t change them if I could,” Bailey replied.
“J.B. Pritzker stays up at night trying to dream up new abortion laws,” Bailey said, and that comment elicited what appeared to be gasps from some in the crowd.
Video…
Pritzker: "Over and over again you've heard Darren Bailey lie just for the last 10 minutes of this debate, and I have to say he's following in the footsteps of the person he begged for an endorsement from, and that's Donald Trump." pic.twitter.com/Su3qS61vfp
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 7, 2022
* CBS 2…
North Central College political expert Stephen Caliendo expected before ethe debate that the spatting would continue in this debate.
“It’s a partisan atmosphere. It’s an ideologically divisive atmosphere in our country right now. But remember, getting out the vote is the most important thing,” Caliendo said. “It’s not necessarily convincing people to vote for one or the other, but can you can get energized to make sure to go to the ballot?”
* NBC 5…
The influx of migrants into the Chicago area from Texas as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial Operation Lone Star was also a subject of discussion during the debate, with Bailey suggesting that Pritzker house the migrants in Hyatt hotels, alluding to the Pritzker family’s ownership of the worldwide hotel chain.
While incumbents traditionally have an upper hand in debates, Bailey’s preparation as the underdog in the race set the stage for a combative debate that made the candidates’ disagreements heading into the election strikingly transparent.
* Crain’s…
When asked about keeping businesses in Illinois, Bailey leveraged the departure of companies like Caterpillar and Tyson to hammer Pritzker on taxes and attacked the governor’s inability to retain HQs despite having four years with a legislative supermajority: “We shouldn’t be having this conversation.” Bailey was also able to slip in another attack on Chicago crime, name-checking McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski’s recent comments about Chicago crime to underscore his point.
Yes, these are the sort of pivots you expect politicians to make during these debates but Bailey, regardless of his views or policy, performed in a way that betrayed his lack of experience on a big political stage. Perhaps the bar was pretty low to begin with, but he cleared it.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:17 am
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“This man is dangerous.”, Bailey projected.
Comment by Dotnonymous Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:20 am
“Zero based budgeting” has always been a joke. No one has ever taken it seriously, nor should they. That’s not how budgets and legislatures work.
But as a slogan it seems to say that the candidate will somehow magically lower your taxes, so vote for that guy….
Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:26 am
Can we get unbiased moderators for these debates? The moderators were clearly catering to JB.
JB has some work if he’s trying to run for President. Average performance at best for JB…
Comment by Unbelievable Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:36 am
Favorite talking points for those who either have no idea or intention of serious budgeting:
Zero Based Budgeting
Forensic Audit
Waste and Fraud
Comment by Give Me A Break Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:38 am
===Crosstabs also showed that the poll’s Trump/Biden 2020 split was extremely close to the actual result. Biden, you will recall, won by 17 points. So, most of the people who believe the SAFE-T Act will increase crime aren’t gonna be Pritzker voters.===
First Irvin couldn’t make crime his engine to win (he was third), and looking at that very sharp and smart read of the polling… last night the question I had, for both was this;
What voting bloc looks at this debate and says, “Bailey (or Pritzker) turned me on our issue”
Not a flip-flop, a candidate articulated a policy issue and honed it to gin up *new* voters to them, so my point?
Being able to win the policy discussion to your own policy is called winning a debate.
There was none of that to this issue specifically.
So, is it a wash if the polling and votes come November still align as they did in the WGN poll?
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:39 am
How abut they debate twice and WWE style wrestling for the third installment? Flying from the top rope and hitting with tables are all fair game. Razor blades are prohibited, though.
It’d be more compelling…
Comment by Debate modernization Act Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:40 am
===Can we get unbiased moderators for these debates? The moderators were clearly catering to JB.===
Example?
And let’s be clear;
If one doesn’t like an answer, like Bailey’s abortion answer that hears like a man already saying as governor he’d be inept…
Candidates *answers* or unpreparedness is on them, that doesn’t mean any bias exists.
So, any example will do. Thanks.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:41 am
Sounds like the debate vindicated my belief that debates don’t matter, and definitely vindicated my choice to not watch. I hope everyone involved enjoyed their evening of presidential playacting.
Comment by vern Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:42 am
==Bailey leveraged the departure of companies like Caterpillar and Tyson==
Quick note here on Tyson, not that facts matter in debate, in context, or anywhere anymore:
Their Chicago offices aren’t the only ones getting relocated to Arkansas. Tyson is also pulling up stakes in that notorious liberal heckhole of… South Dakota.
I don’t know, maybe that move doesn’t have anything to do with crime or party or CRT in schools. But I’m not a serious business person.
Comment by Roadrager Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:42 am
Thank you for posting this, Rich. I was out and couldnt watch and it doesnt look like I missed much.
Comment by Jerry Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:44 am
==Can we get unbiased moderators for these debates? The moderators were clearly catering to JB.==
Were they? They played a clip of JB saying we need to ban assault weapons and then pressed him hard about why he hasn’t got that done with a Dem supermajority.
Meanwhile, no mention of Bailey’s “let’s move on and celebrate” comment on the same day.
Comment by lollinois Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:46 am
Bailey seems to have reverted to the Bruce Rauner, “I’m not in charge” stage of his campaign at least when it comes to abortion. Not sure how that’s going to work for him. What exactly will his legislative priorities be if he’s already conceding that he can’t change things? And yet he persists on using the same talking points as if he hopes that somehow, someway people will come around. He reminds me of a boxer getting pummeled where his corner man is saying you’ve got to show me something. But Bailey has given all he’s got.
Comment by Pundent Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 11:58 am
During the debate, Candidate Bailey acted like the petulant child that he is. Continually interrupting, Bailey has zero executive skills and limited self control.
Blathering on FB is Bailey’s strength. Debating not so much. To speak over another person’s words indicates a lack of preparation for the debate process.
Comment by Rudy’s teeth Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:01 pm
Nothing about bailey thumb fighting himself
Comment by Rabid Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:05 pm
During the individual question section:
JB didn’t answer if he shares any responsibility on all the murders that have occurred in Chicago. He just repeated talking points. No follow up from the moderators to answer the question.
On Bailey’s individual question - the moderators followed up when he didn’t answer the question (naming the Jewish leaders question).
Comment by Unbelievable Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:20 pm
===Bailey thumb fighting himself===
Live TV can be rough. I did a live shot with WTTW years ago and I watched it later and I was twiddling my thumbs the entire time without ever realizing what I was doing. Needless to say, I never did that again.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:25 pm
I saw on Twitter something “funny” (pathetic, really)–Bailey tried acting like his Holocaust comments were a long time ago but it was 5 years ago when he was 51! Not a great defense.
Comment by Torco Sign Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:26 pm
===(naming the Jewish leaders question)===
You can’t name the people supporting you?
Again, that’s a softball question, if prepared, Bailey should be able to rattle off names.
Pritzker “evading” local crime as an issue in a city, if you’re voting against a governor on local crime, you’ve made up your mind. It’s not like of he said he’d take responsibility… you’d vote for him.
Good tries, if failing was your goal.
Try again.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:27 pm
I hate to say it but they both looked bad. Neither one seemed to give concrete answers or examples. Bailey did better than I thought he would, mostly due to his campaigns severe platform pivot these past few weeks. But it’s hard to believe a man who has flip flopped on every single point since June 28th. Also someone needs to tell him to stop interrupting during debates. That’s a move right out of Trump’s playbook.
Comment by ChiGirl Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:30 pm
So the governor should take NO responsibility for the rampant crime in state’s primary economic engine as in Chicago? Ok then lol
Comment by Unbelievable Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:39 pm
===So===
Asked and answered.
It’s not like you are going to decide to vote for Pritzker if Pritzker, to YOUR satisfaction, answers the question.
Your response here is juvenile to your ask… biases.
Now you’re trolling.
Try again.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:42 pm
Bailey just wants the “coach” to put him in the game. The best he would ever be able to do is “warm the bench” if elected. So… he puts on the “mascot” uniform and plays twiddely winks with his thumbs waitin’ for his “walk on song” to play.
Comment by Anon221 Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:42 pm
Does Baily take responsibility for the meth labs downstate? Ok then lol
Comment by Jerry Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:44 pm
Crime is also FOURTH in recent polling to voters tabled issues.
I’d also cite this, as Rich said so brilliantly (truly, this post is “all time” good for a context to a debate)
===Crosstabs also showed that the poll’s Trump/Biden 2020 split was extremely close to the actual result. Biden, you will recall, won by 17 points. So, most of the people who believe the SAFE-T Act will increase crime aren’t gonna be Pritzker voters.===
“So” crime, the Safe-T act…
I’d wonder aloud why Bailey can’t merely name names of folks.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:45 pm
“Perhaps the bar was pretty low to begin with, but he cleared it.”
Man alive this is some worthless analysis.
“He didn’t walk out there with his fly open, so he did more than we can reasonably expect of a republican nominee for governor.” Thanks Crain’s! Worth every penny.
Comment by Larry Bowa Jr. Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:48 pm
I’m not trolling. I just wished the moderators pushed him to answer the original question asked. I’m sure there are a lot of families on the south and west sides of the city who would have liked an answer.
I hope you have a great weekend!
Comment by Unbelievable Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:49 pm
Bailey is clearly in over his head (no one believes his centrist tack). I don’t really think this is a race.
Having said that, Pritzker needs to improve his debate skills considerably if he wants to run for president.
Comment by Chicagonk Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:52 pm
Why didn’t JB just say something favorable about the Bennett trailer bill when asked for specifics on SAFE-T Act changes? I thought he already did that in a press conference last week. The non-answer is a bad look. And Bennett’s bill cleans up the opponents’ most effective (and disingenuous) taking point — trespassing and detainable offenses.
Comment by TR Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:54 pm
=JB didn’t answer if he shares any responsibility =
Yes he did. He stated that as governor he is responsible.
If you understand “zero based budgeting” you know a couple of things…
1. Bailey does not understand it.
2. There is absolutely no guarantee costs will go down. In fact, they are likely to go up. It is about justifying expenditures not controlling.
Bailey is to cowardly to say he will cut spending on social services and try to cut pension spending because of the zero based budgeting.
Comment by JS Mill Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 12:56 pm
===I’m sure there are a lot of families on the south and west sides===
Speak for yourself. If the beef is yours, own it.
I’ll look to vote totals to the city and the wards and see what impact a choice of Bailey or Pritzker generates
Have a good weekend as well.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 1:00 pm
Came away unimpressed by both of them. JB supporter, obviously nothing from it that would change my vote but hope for a stronger showing next debate. Felt like he played it pretty safe with the answers due to having a big lead, which makes sense, but not inspiring.
Comment by Seats Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 1:13 pm
I will admit I did not watch the entire debate. With the time limits imposed at the beginning it seemed like it was going to be more of a beat the buzzer game show than a real debate, even by modern political debate standards. As I periodically would check back in Bailey seemed like he really wanted to emulate Trump’s lurking style, while I appreciate there have to time limits they seemed much too short, and the final musical question was just dumb.
Comment by West Side the Best Side Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 1:25 pm
I think we are compelled to conclude that the debate format has run its course in our republic. Perhaps Trump ruined it, I don’t know for sure. But the modern debate has moved from being nothing more than simultaneous press conferences to, at best, inane dorm room bull sessions. Let Illinois, which gave birth to the modern political debate, also lower it into its grave.
Comment by DougChicago Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 1:33 pm
Zero based budget was rauners first two years
Comment by Rabid Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 1:40 pm
==JB didn’t answer if he shares any responsibility on all the murders that have occurred in Chicago. ==
I don’t think that’s accurate. He said that the Governor is responsible for what happens in all of the state. It didn’t give Team Bailey the sound byte they wanted (in fact, it was a subtle dig at the fact that Bailey openly despises most of the state he’s trying to govern), but it was an answer.
Comment by Arsenal Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 2:29 pm
==Does Baily take responsibility for the meth labs downstate?==
Agree completely On this, Jerry. Almost on a daily basis we see in the area news about arrests for meth charges. I never have heard Darren address this issue. His interest seems to all be in pointing out how bad crime is in Chicago. It is bad there, but what about the epidemic of addiction that is ruining people’s lives practically in his backyard.
Comment by MoralMinority Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 2:31 pm
=Pritzker needs to improve his debate skills considerably if he wants to run for president.=
Agreed, he’s a safe incumbent but seemed uncomposed, rattled, didn’t speak in complete sentences, kept interrupting himself and his voice didn’t project well. Kept avoiding floor questions.
Comment by James Friday, Oct 7, 22 @ 2:50 pm