By State Senator-Elect Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) -
The Illinois Republican Party is at a crossroads. The selection of our next party chairman will help determine our future.
As I see it we can continue with the status quo of irrelevance in Illinois, or we can strike a new path focused on being the party of working people of all types. For too long we’ve been too focused on the elites and the well-off, but the last four-years showed the Republican Party is the party of hard-working Americans.
The waiters, retail workers, and small business owners - forgotten by Governor Pritzker - deserve better. The Republican Party must use its principles to stand up for all hard-working citizens of our state. No one should be forgotten!
Our principles are our legacy, enshrined in our Constitution by the Founding Fathers, and protected and defended by millions of patriots, both military and civilian, throughout our history. Advocating and reapplying these principles can restore and revitalize Illinois.
We have a blueprint for economic success. Prior to the coronavirus, our nation was on a growth path of historical proportions, fueled by putting working families first. This growth came by reducing the tax burden on workers, cutting the red tape preventing job creation, and prioritizing trade deals that helped keep our jobs here.
For the first time in our lifetimes, we saw real wage growth for the working class instead of the rich elite.
We saw job creation, record employment for minorities and rising household income, leading to individuals taking control of their own lives, rather than government dependency.
The policies and principles fueling this American renaissance could be replicated here in Illinois. The Republican Party can and should lead the way because after years of the Illinois Democrat Party pushing its tax and spend policies, more regulation and growing the size of government, our citizens and their children are now faced with a public debt burden that has never been higher.
The Nobel Prize-winning economist, Dr. Milton Friedman said, “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” Is anyone asking for proof that the tax and spend and government growth policies and ideas work?
Illinois consistently lags in economic growth and job creation behind most of the country, we are continually plagued by political corruption, and respect for Life may be at its lowest point ever in our history.
Looking forward, the Illinois Republican Party must redouble its efforts to reach out to Illinoisans fed-up with years of corruption and disrespect due to one-party domination. Our priority should be putting Illinois workers and families first. We can accomplish this by applying policies that put money in the pockets of our workers and not the powerful, policies that empower Americans to live a better life for themselves and limits the power of government to make things worse.
At the same time, we need to reverse past policies that act as a deterrent to business expansion and job creation.
Illinois’ hope, recovery and restoration lies with true government reform and a return to government Abraham Lincoln so eloquently described as, “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
The next Illinois Republican Party chairman must have vision guided by tradition.
Darren Bailey, now a state representative, will be sworn in as Illinois 55th Legislative District's state senator next week.
