The cost of living is a central issue in Illinois’ Nov. 3 governor’s race, with Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and Republican challenger Darren Bailey offering different plans to address housing costs, utility bills and taxes.
Pritzker is seeking a third term alongside Christian Mitchell, a former state representative and deputy governor in Pritzker’s administration. Incumbent Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is running for the U.S. Senator seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Dick Durbin.
Bailey, a former state senator and southern Illinois farmer who lost to Pritzker in 2022, is running alongside Aaron Del Mar, a former council member in Palatine, a northwest suburb of Chicago. He also has experience serving on state boards.
Independent candidate Colin Corbett is also running for governor, alongside lieutenant governor candidate Carolyn Schofield.
The Daily Egyptian interviewed Mitchell, Bailey and Del Mar. The DE requested an interview with Pritzker, but campaign representative Leah Hurwitz said his schedule was packed through Election Day and an interview was unlikely. She offered to answer questions by email or provide campaign surrogates.
Bailey told the Daily Egyptian that his unsuccessful 2022 campaign taught him he needed to reach beyond the views of the southeast Illinois district he represented.
“Illinois is a big and diverse state,” Bailey said. “I don’t think I understood that quick enough.”
Pritzker has framed his reelection campaign partly around opposing the Trump administration. Speaking to supporters after the March primary, he described the stakes in national terms.
“This is the fight of our lives,” Pritzker said. “Everything we care about is under siege from Washington.”
Running mate Mitchell described the Democratic ticket’s priorities to the DE as increasing wages, reducing costs and responding to federal policies the campaign argues are hurting Illinois residents.
“I would say the biggest (priorities) are making sure that we raise your wages, that we lower your costs, and that we reverse some of the damage that’s been done in Washington,” Mitchell said.
Competing affordability plans
Bailey has proposed six months of relief from the state gas tax and a 1% property-tax cap. In January, Bailey proposed an “Illinois DOGE” commission led by Del Mar to review and identify waste, according to Capitol News Illinois. The proposal echoed the federal Department of Government Efficiency associated with Elon Musk, though Bailey and Del Mar said their approach would not involve mass layoffs of state employees.
Bailey stated that residents’ financial pressures have worsened during Pritzker’s two terms as governor. Pritzker first took office in January 2019.
“I don’t think I have yet to talk to anyone who will look me in the eyes and tell me that overall life is better today than it was eight years ago,” Bailey said.
Del Mar also identified affordability as Bailey’s campaign’s leading issue, pointing to property taxes, utility bills, tolls and government fees.
“The total cost comprehensively of Illinois is just too expensive,” Del Mar said.
Pritzker has defended increased state spending as an investment in Illinois’ future. When signing the fiscal 2025 budget in June 2024, he said, “We are on a trajectory of sustainable long-term growth, and this balanced budget boosts us further in the right direction.”
Mitchell questioned how Bailey’s property-tax proposal would affect funding for schools and local governments. He said comparisons with Indiana’s property-tax limits leave out the local income taxes collected by counties there.
“They’re not telling you the full picture,” Mitchell said. “They’re also not telling you how they would fund our schools or other things like that.”
Mitchell pointed to the elimination of the state grocery tax and tax relief for families with children as examples of the administration’s approach to affordability.
Illinois eliminated its 1% state grocery tax on Jan.1, 2026, though local governments can impose their own grocery taxes. The state also introduced a child tax credit beginning with the 2024 tax year for eligible taxpayers with at least one qualifying child younger than 12.
Housing remains an unfinished part of the administration’s agenda, Mitchell said. He said Pritzker supported a proposal to increase housing construction, but it did not pass the General Assembly.
“That’s one area where we can and must do more,” Mitchell said.
He said the administration would revisit the proposal and work with local officials on reducing barriers to construction and allowing more housing density.
“Sometimes you get it done the first time, sometimes you don’t,” Mitchell said. “This is an example of where we did not. We’re going to go after that again.”
Public safety and the SAFE-T Act
The campaigns are also divided over the SAFE-T Act and Illinois’ elimination of cash bail.
Illinois eliminated cash bail on Sept. 18, 2023. Defendants no longer have to pay money to be released before trial. Prosecutors can request detention for qualifying offenses, and judges decide whether the legal requirements for detention are met, including whether release conditions can address a threat to public safety or a risk of willfully fleeing prosecution.
Bailey argues the law has made communities less safe and placed an unfair burden on law enforcement. He said police officers, prosecutors and others working in the criminal justice system should have had a larger role in developing the legislation.
Mitchell defended the move away from cash bail, arguing the former system allowed defendants with money to secure their release while poorer defendants could remain jailed before trial.
“We were not holding people in jail awaiting trial based on their risk to the public,” Mitchell said. “We were holding them based on their ability to pay.”
He said detention decisions should depend on public safety rather than a defendant’s financial resources.
Mitchell also pointed to investments in the Illinois State Police, technology and equipment, alongside community-based violence prevention programs. He said officials remain open to changes that would improve the law.
“No law is ever perfect,” Mitchell said. “If there’s something we can do that is going to make the people of Illinois safer, we’re absolutely open to doing that.”
Schools and college affordability
Bailey has questioned whether state spending is producing adequate reading and mathematics results and called for greater accountability in schools.
For public universities, Bailey said his administration would examine spending, including administrative salaries, and appoint trustees who would prioritize affordability for Illinois residents.
“Illinois schools need to be focused on Illinois students,” Bailey said. “Therein also lies some serious accountability and transparency.”
Del Mar said Illinois residents should receive priority at taxpayer-supported state universities.
“Illinois universities are subsidized by taxpayer dollars, so I think that Illinois students should have first access to our universities before others,” Del Mar said.
Mitchell said the Pritzker administration has increased education funding and expanded financial assistance through programs such as the Monetary Award Program and AIM HIGH.
The Monetary Award Program provides need based grants to help eligible Illinois’ students pay tuition and mandatory fees at participating Illinois’ colleges. AIM HIGH helps eligible Illinois’ residents attend the state’s public four-year universities through financial awards, with requirements and award amounts varying by university.
Mitchell pointed to the state-funded renovation and expansion of SIU’s Communications Building as an example of the administration’s investment in higher education in southern Illinois.
Mitchell said the campaign wants students to have access to career training and college programs without taking on excessive debt.
“Focusing on college affordability and making sure that kids can get into the programs that are in demand and competitive is a huge focus of this administration,” Mitchell said.
For elementary and secondary schools, Mitchell said another Pritzker term would continue funding the state’s education formula, expanding early-childhood education and supporting intensive tutoring to address learning losses.
Energy bills and data centers
Rising electricity bills have become another dividing line in the race.
Bailey said Illinois should preserve coal and natural gas generation, pursue more nuclear power and reconsider subsidies for wind and solar energy. He has also proposed temporarily halting new data-center construction while the state reviews the facilities’ energy use.
“One of the first things I would do, I would bring a complete halt to the data center construction that’s taking place, and renegotiate the energy usage,” Bailey said.
Bailey did not identify specific projects he would halt or explain how his administration would implement the pause.
Mitchell said data centers can create union jobs and generate tax revenue, but those benefits should not come at the expense of residents’ electricity bills or local water supplies.
A study by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois’ Project for Middle Class Renewal projected that new data-center investments through 2035 could support about 121,000 jobs. Most would be temporary construction jobs or jobs elsewhere in the economy, with about 2,800 direct, permanent positions, Capitol News Illinois reported.
“They’ve got to bring their own energy because my power bill, your power bill, power bill of anybody watching this should not go up one iota based on a data center,” Mitchell said.
He said developers should use closed-loop water systems and be transparent with residents before reaching agreements with local governments.
“If they’re not going to do that, the bottom line is that the costs outweigh the benefits,” Mitchell said.
Abortion remains a point of distrust
Bailey, who has long identified as anti-abortion, said changing Illinois’ abortion laws would not be part of his administration’s legislative agenda. He said he instead wants to focus on affordability, public safety and education.
When asked whether abortion access would remain unchanged if he became governor, Bailey said, “It’s law as it is, and there’s nothing I can do about that.”
Del Mar gave a similar answer.
“I could have my own personal beliefs, and I can have a legislative agenda that works for the people of Illinois,” he said.
Mitchell said he does not believe Bailey’s pledge, arguing voters should consider Bailey’s previous statements opposing abortion.
“We’ve seen this movie before,” Mitchell said, comparing the promise with assurances about abortion precedents made before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
The campaigns’ promises to southern Illinois
Both tickets say southern Illinois would have a voice in their administrations.
Del Mar said the region needs higher-paying jobs, stronger schools and a more welcoming environment for businesses.
He said his experience in northern Illinois complements Bailey’s agricultural and southern Illinois background.
“You get the city and you get the farmland all combined in one campaign team,” Del Mar said.
If elected, Del Mar said he would take an active role in reviewing state grants, overseeing appointments and examining procurement to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used effectively.
He said the campaign’s priorities should appeal beyond the Republican base.
“Everybody in Illinois would like it to be cheaper to live here. They want it to be safer, and they want quality education for all of their children,” Del Mar said. “Focus on the issues, not the personalities.”
Mitchell pointed to investments in Interstate 57, SIU and other regional projects as evidence of the Pritzker administration’s commitment to southern Illinois. He also promised to remain accessible to local officials and residents.
“That means showing up. That means being present,” Mitchell said.
He said the ticket’s responsibility to residents would extend beyond the counties it wins.
“I don’t care what your voter registration says,” Mitchell said. “If you need help, JB and Christian are going to show up for you.”
Bailey and Del Mar argue Illinois needs a change in leadership to reduce costs and improve government accountability. Pritzker and Mitchell say continued investment in schools, infrastructure and financial assistance would build on the administration’s progress.
On Nov. 3, voters will decide whether to return Pritzker for a third term or elect Bailey to lead the state.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Staff Reporter Tay Acree can be reached at tacree@dailyegyptian.com and on Instagram @through.tays.lens_
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October 20, 2026 at 12:41PM
