Prairie State Wire

Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate Mark Curran fears what could be next for small business owners across the state under the guidance of Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“Small business won’t survive much longer or even have the chance to if this governor gets his way,” Curran told the Prairie State Wire. “The way he’s handled this COVID-19 crisis has been all wrong for Illinois.”

Now running against Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Curran laments the governor’s latest actions set the path for more of the same level of heartache and struggle.

Citing rising infection rates, Pritzker recently moved to reenact COVID restrictions in at least 24 counties while warning the ban could soon spread to other parts of the state. The governor’s actions have quickly raised the anger of many small business owners still struggling to overcome the impact of the first shutdown he imposed just months earlier.

In Curran’s mind, there’s a method to all the madness now gripping the state.

“I think this is about trying to bankrupt this state in order to set things up for a federal bailout,” he said. “To get what he wants, I don’t think he cares anything about who gets hurt by his actions.”

Given the high stakes, Curran said he isn’t surprised to now see so many small business owners fighting back, including launching a Facebook page where owners planning to defy his order can go to strategize and vent their frustrations.

Having served as Lake County Sheriff from 2006 to 2018, Curran feels his combination of experience and discipline are just what the state needs to get back on track.

“I’m going to be there for the middle class and small businesses,” he added. “I’m not going to be someone just asking what’s in the best interest of my party, but rather the state and the country. So many politicians get to Washington and lose their connection with constituents. Durbin is the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate. His primary objective has become appeasing other Democrats as citizens and businesses get lost in the mix.”