Governor’s Day brought Democratic party leaders and supporters to the State Fair on Wednesday to rally as campaigns gear up for the last sprint to the November election.
“We’re already kicking off phone banking, but I think the fair really officially kicks off the campaign season. It’s just a great time for Democrats all over the state to come down to Springfield,” said U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield.
Her district entails parts of Springfield and farming communities in central and southern Illinois who tend to lean Republican. She said her constituents share their concerns with her about the increase in the cost of utilities and groceries.
“If you go to the grocery store, prices are up, and that’s in large part due to tariffs, which really translate into a middle-class tax increase,” Budzinski said.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias drew a crowd of reporters asking him questions about his entry into the Chicago mayoral race, even as he seeks a second term in his current position.
In contrast, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul stood outside the flow of traffic near the stage, where he would soon join Gov. JB Pritzker and other party leaders for speeches and hurrahs.
The state’s top prosecutor has been quite busy since the inception of President Donald Trump’s second term “not only because of litigation against the federal government, but because of the ways that the federal government is stepping away from other responsibilities, such as consumer protection, environmental protection, antitrust, across the board,” Raoul told an Illinois Times reporter.
Regarding the environment, he said there’s a larger reliance on the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and his office to “step up where the federal government is stepping away from environmental protection and doesn’t believe in science and the danger of fossil fuels and so forth.”
His office has also fended off the Trump Administration’s challenge to the Illinois Trust Act. Signed into law by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2017, the Illinois Trust Act prohibits local and state law enforcement from cooperating with immigration enforcement activities, unless provided with a judicial warrant.
“We’ve defended the Illinois Trust Act twice, all the way up to the 7th Circuit,” Raoul said. “So, we have a 100% batting average there.”
He said when local jurisdictions don’t follow the law, his office works with law enforcement to help them be in compliance.
“We inquire about it, we work with them,” he said. “We went down and did a training with the Adams County’s Sheriff [Office].”
Even as the attorney general’s office works to expands, it received $10 million dollars less in the current state budget, compared to last year’s budget he said.
Despite this, Raoul maintained a hopeful tone. “We continue to talk to the legislature,” he said. “So, we remain optimistic as to what might happen in the veto session.”
As Pritzker addressed the crowd, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, stood on the sidelines.
“I’m always happy not to speak,” he told IT. “There’s enough statewide officers to fill all the airtime.”
Harmon said he was supportive of a proposal led by state Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, to expand the Bank of Springfield Center and build a hotel as part of an effort to promote redevelopment of downtown Springfield.
“We’re very committed to helping Senator Turner advance what she needs to advance the needs of Springfield,” he said.
The Senate passed House Bill 4496 with a 38 to 19 vote, but it failed in the House after being lumped in with the controversial bill to fund a new stadium for the Chicago Bears.
Speculation continues on whether the Bears’ owners will relocate to Hammond, Indiana, or whether the state will commit funding for the construction of a new stadium. The Bears’ current home, Soldier Field, has an outstanding debt of $567 million due to renovations completed in 2003, according to several reports.
“It is not lost on me that the Bears are opening up the season in a lovely stadium on the lakeshore, paid for by taxpayers and still not paid off,” Harmon said.
Harmon said bonds for the Chicago stadium are being paid for by the hotel-motel tax. “But, it’s certainly a wrinkle when the Bears are seeking a new home when the home the state helped them build 20 some years ago isn’t yet paid off,” he said.
