Former Illinois State Representative and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeanne Ives endorsed Darren Bailey for Governor Thursday, calling Bailey "the only conservative reformer in the race" and crediting him with beating J.B. Pritzker's child school mask mandate.
"No one else challenged the Governor’s authority to make alone all the decisions that impacted schools, churches, and businesses in Illinois," Ives said. "Others could have stood with Bailey, but they didn’t. The only reason children are unmasked in school today is because Darren challenged the Governor’s illegal mask mandate.”
"Darren is the only conservative reformer in the race with a record to stand on," she said.
Ives, a U.S. Army veteran and mother of five from west suburban Wheaton, said she felt compelled to defend Bailey against rival candidates now pretending they opposed Pritzker all along.
She singled out State Representative Avery Bourne, a longtime Pritzker mask mandate supporter now running for lieutenant governor on a ticket with Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin.
When Bailey first challenged the Pritzker mask rules in the State Capitol, refusing to wear one, Bourne cursed at him and voted to force Bailey to cover his face or leave the floor.
"Avery Bourne, Richard Irvin’s running mate, hysterically yelled at Darren to “Just put on your f******* mask," Ives said. "Then, when the vote on whether or not Darren could remain maskless on the floor, Avery voted against Darren. Now, she is running with Irvin and they are both pretending that they stood up to the Governor on COVID rules when the opposite is true.”
Bailey originally recruited attorney Thomas Devore in 2020 to challenge Pritzker's COVID-19 mandates in court. Their lawsuits eventually led to Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grishow's issuance of a court order declaring Pritzker's mask mandate "null and void" last month.
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