
(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — It’s not quite like former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne moving into Cabrini-Green — but Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey has moved into the John Hancock Center, one of Chicago’s most iconic buildings, to “immerse” himself “in the culture” of a city he’s repeatedly dubbed a “hellhole.”
Bailey, a downstate farmer and state senator, confirmed he’s living in Chicago at an impromptu news conference in the West Loop on Tuesday afternoon, at an intersection where two tourists were mugged on Monday.
“We are,” Bailey said when asked if he’s living in Chicago. His campaign later confirmed to the Sun-Times he is renting in the Hancock.
“I want to immerse myself in the culture,” Bailey said of living in a city he’s repeatedly criticized. “You can’t deny there’s problems here. And if we keep denying there’s problems, the problems are going to get worse.
“All this whole entire journey, I have immersed myself in the culture of Illinois that I knew nothing about because I know that I must do that, if we’re going to lead this state and make it a great state and a great city that it deserves to be.”
Bailey, who frequently invokes prayer into Facebook fireside chats and founded a downstate Christian school, told reporters, “Chicago is living The Purge, when criminals ravage at will and the cops stand down.”
The southern Illinois Republican pinned the crime on Gov. J.B. Pritzker “and his cohorts,” including Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
Bailey has repeatedly called Chicago a “hellhole,” and did so again on Tuesday.
In 2019, he co-sponsored a House resolution to try to separate Chicago from the rest of the state. But those remarks are earning him high marks in many red parts of the state who feel Chicago isn’t representing them.
The Pritzker campaign lost little time criticizing Bailey, likening him to someone who engages in “cosplay,” or dressing up as a character.
"Despite regularly disparaging the City of Chicago as a hellhole, Bailey seems to have no problem enjoying his high-rise digs on the Magnificent Mile. He is grossly out of touch with Illinois families and no amount of Chicago cosplay can change just how extreme he is,” the campaign said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2022. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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