Darren Bailey says he is no longer sure who is leading Illinois.
“Everybody is now asking who Gov. Bruce Rauner is and what he stands for after this,” Bailey told the East Central Reporter after Rauner signed off on HB40, which forces state insurance and Medicaid to cover abortions for any reason and at any point in pregnancy. “There has been terrible deceit on the part of the governor.”
Bailey recently announced his 2018 run against state Rep. Dave Reis (R-Willow Hill) in the 109th District.
Darren Bailey
As shocking as Rauner's decision was to Bailey, he said he has known for a long time he wasn't convinced Rauner was the right person to lead the Republican Party in Illinois.
“I never voted for Gov. Rauner because of his wife being so adamantly pro-choice,” he said. “There was something about his position that was always unconvincing for me, and when I’m unsure about where a candidate stands on important issues, morality normally trumps everything. I will absolutely not be supporting his re-election campaign because of this.”
Before now, Illinois law stipulated that Medicaid recipients were eligible for abortions only in cases of rape, incest, and when the health and life of the mother was at risk.
“There are a lot of upset voters out there right now over what he did,” Bailey said. “It’s one thing to approve of abortion, but something completely different to force taxpayers to have to pay for them.”
Given Illinois’ shaky financial state, Bailey wonders where the money will come from to foot the bill for such costly legislation.
“I’ve seen information indicating this bill could open the door to taxpayers having to spend as much as $21 million more for up to 12,000 additional abortions a year,” Bailey said. “Where does that money come from? Seeing things like that makes clear why we are in such a crisis mode as a state.”
Bailey joins Reps. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) and Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) in publicly assailing Rauner over his decision, with Ives going so far as to insist she will no longer support Rauner's re-election effort.
Rauner’s signature made him the country’s first governor to sign off on taxpayer funding of abortions.
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