SE Illinois News

Darren Bailey sees Illinois lawmakers' neglect in installing a permanent inspector general in Springfield as an indictment of the entire system.

“I think it sends the message that Illinois government doesn’t know how to manage,” Bailey told the SE Illinois News. “We need people in Springfield who are there to serve and do the job they were sent there to do.”

In 2017, when news broke that the inspector general post had gone unfilled for well over 24 months, during which time at least 27 complaints of sexual harassment had gone unresolved in Springfield, lawmakers moved to install Julie Porter in the post on an interim basis. With Porter’s contract now slated to expire in late June, a permanent inspector general has yet to be lined up, despite more than 300 women signing a #MeToo letter detailing a culture of sexual harassment in the state Capitol around the same time that the complaints were first made public.

“We are in desperate need of new leadership,” Bailey, the Xenia Republican running against Democrat Cynthia Given of Olney in the 109th House District, said. “To keep installing (House Speaker) Mike Madigan in power is just crazy. You can directly correlate most of Illinois’ problems with his rise. This is a marriage that’s not working between Mike Madigan and people of Illinois.”

Bailey said if elected he is determined to do whatever it takes to have his voice heard and to deliver the message of his constituents.

“We’ve got to keep pushing,” he said. “If I need to be a thorn in someone’s side to get them to do the right thing, I will. We’ve got to keep pushing if we’re ever going to restore Illinois to its rightful place.”

The 109th House District includes parts or all of Jasper, Effingham, Clay, Richland, Lawrence, Wabash, Wayne, Edwards and White counties.