Prairie State Wire

Republican candidate for governor Paul Schimpf has a whole host of reasons for why he’s convinced Gov. J.B. Pritzker is the last man that should be leading the state in the fight against COVID-19.

“Gov. Pritzker has lost the moral authority to lead our state on the pandemic,” Schimpf told WHBF. “He’s set rules he didn’t follow himself. He asked us to stay home and continued to travel to his farm in Wisconsin. He asked us to avoid crowds but went out and stood shoulder to shoulder with people at political rallies. He hasn’t followed rules he set for us so he has lost the moral authority to lead on this.”

When it comes to the pandemic, Schimpf has long been a consistent and vocal critic of the governor, previously blasting him over his mask mandate targeting all public and private school students. The new restrictions also impact all state workers.

"JB Pritzker’s mandatory vaccination order for state workers is inconsistent with the civil liberties that I spent 24 years on active duty defending,” added Schimpf, who in addition to once serving as a state senator for the 58th District was the minority spokesperson for the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and chief American attorney advisor to Iraqi prosecutors in the trial of Saddam Hussein during his time as an active-duty Marine Corps officer.

“Furthermore, his P-12 education mask mandate usurps the authority of parents, school board members, and superintendents, further undermining confidence in the rule of law,” he said. “I vehemently disagree with Governor Pritzker’s action today."

Schimpf has taken his campaign message of responsible government on the road, recently appearing at the Elgin GOP picnic and crisscrossing the Will County area.

"I enjoyed meeting lots of new friends at the Elgin GOP Picnic” he posted on Facebook. These, however, are some old ones who supported me during my 2014 IL Atty. Gen campaign against Lisa Madigan. Thx to Elgin GOP for a great event.”

In a recent interview with Capital Fax he said, “What I mean by responsible government really is a government in Illinois that’s doing what it’s supposed to be doing.”

Schimpf said he thinks his leadership skills are one of the strengths he has that separate him from Pritzker.

"Illinois needs a governor who understands the day-to-day challenges that we all face, a governor who will live by the same rules that the rest of us follow and most importantly, a governor who will stand up to the entrenched special interest groups who have severely damaged our state," he said during a video news conference formally announcing his candidacy.