SE Illinois News

Veteran state Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) wants residents across Illinois to demand more from Springfield lawmakers.

“You look around you and life is moving forward in other states while we’re left with the governor’s failed and disastrous policies,” Bailey told the SE Illinois News. “The combination of his bad policies and (former) House Speaker Mike Madigan allowing him to govern without the legislature being involved has left us in a hole that we’ll be feeling the effects for a while to come.”

According to the latest Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) data, the state has already lost jobs two out of the last three months starting in September. This statewide decline comes when much of the rest of the country shows signs of stabilizing after having seven straight months of job growth.

The leisure and hospitality industry has been the hardest hit, losing more than 27,000 jobs in the month of November. The governor’s ban on indoor dining as a way to slow the spread of COVID-19 has caused the greatest impact.

“We’re losing more businesses every day,” Bailey said. “Why would any business want to stay or come here with all the dysfunction?”

Bailey worries things may get worse before they get better as the pandemic lingers and Gov. J.B. Pritzker shows no signs of relenting anytime soon.

“There’s nothing our government does to make life easier for any of our small business owners,” Bailey said. “Right now, we’re seeing the impact of all the bad policies he’s made related to COVID. I hold the governor totally responsible for the state’s economic condition. He came in with all these progressive ideas that have given a whole new meaning to the word failure.”