SPRINGFIELD — Darren Bailey isn’t just trying to win over voter — he wants this year’s campaign to be an impressive experience for Chicago residents.
Speaking to Capitol News Illinois on Wednesday before taking the stage at the annual Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day in Springfield, the Republican nominee for governor said he’s moved into an apartment on Chicago’s near South Side that will serve as a sort of “headquarters” for his Chicago-area campaign operation.
It’s not an entirely unusual move for Bailey, a former state lawmaker and farmer from Clay County — about four hours south of the city. He lived in the building formerly known as the John Hancock Center on Michigan Avenue four years ago with a similar goal, though it didn’t pay off as he lost the race by 12 percentage points to Gov. JB Pritzker. He only received about 15% of the vote in the city.
Bailey hasn’t always been fond of Chicago. Four years ago, he called the city a “hellhole” – a statement he said he no longer believes. This year’s move is part of Bailey’s promise to focus more on getting to know voters in the city and suburbs.
Bailey said this doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about downstate voters who propelled him to the party’s nomination for a second time last month.
“I feel like our base knows and understands because I communicated that continually as we were visiting within the last several months telling them that, you know, you’re not going to see a lot of us after the primary,” Bailey said.
Read more: Bailey says campaign will focus on Chicago area after rough primary night in the suburbs
Bailey said he hopes a donor will help cover the apartment’s cost. State law generally prohibits using campaign funds for homes but allows some gray area for candidates and public officials to “defray” costs. It’s common for state legislators, for example, to use campaign funds to pay for a hotel or apartment in Springfield.
Apartment rent in the South Loop neighborhood starts around $2,000 per month, according to real estate group Downtown Apartment Collective.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s campaign said voters shouldn’t believe that Bailey’s changed his mind about the city.
“Darren Bailey has spent his entire career demonizing Chicago and the people who live here,” Pritzker spokesperson Alex Gough said in a statement. “He can change his address, but that doesn’t change the facts. Darren Bailey is the same extreme, unsuccessful, and totally unqualified candidate he’s always been. When Illinois voters reject Donald Trump’s lapdog for the third time this fall, hopefully he gets the message.”
Balancing a message
Bailey’s efforts to appeal to Chicago voters have included striking a softer tone. He’s also insisted that his message will be reflective of his own thoughts and not those of other Republicans. That includes President Donald Trump, who endorsed Bailey in 2022 and voiced confidence in Bailey’s candidacy again this year.
On Monday, Bailey called out the president’s social media message bashing Pope Leo XIV’s condemnation of the war in Iran. Bailey wrote in his own post that Trump should apologize. Supporters of Bailey and the president lit up the comment section criticizing him for daring to say Trump was wrong.
“I’ve always said that when I see something wrong, I’ll call it out, and I believe I always have, so I felt the necessity to say this is not right what happened here, and I believe an apology would go a long way in rectifying this,” Bailey said.
Bailey said he’s still open to receiving Trump’s endorsement this year but doesn’t feel it would influence his race. He said calling out the president’s comments on the pope also give him an opportunity to say, “I am my own individual; I’m here to represent you without any outside influence.”
“I believe that my base of supporters will understand that and respect that,” Bailey said.
Bailey is still quick to pull the trigger on blaming problems in Illinois on Pritzker. Asked about rising gas prices since Trump launched the war in Iran, Bailey argued high costs for gas, utilities, property taxes and other areas were a problem before the recent spike in gas prices.
“I believe there is an awakening and to pivot and throw all this stuff on President Trump – that’s JB Pritzker’s talking points,” Bailey said.
While he’s been focusing on addressing suburban voters, Wednesday’s focus while speaking to fellow gun owners was about shoring up support from his base.
“If you truly are concerned about your Second Amendment rights, get out and vote because there’s an apathy that exists here as well,” Bailey said.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.