Prairie State Wire

Illinois' snail-like recovery from the pandemic is unacceptable, according to State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia).

Bailey, who is also running in the gubernatorial race, said that Illinois needs fresh faces in charge who can uphold all that is best for the state and the people.

"Illinois is lagging behind the Midwest and most of the states in the country in economic recovery from the pandemic because (Gov.) J.B. Pritzker’s policies have failed us," Bailey said. "His lockdowns have decimated our economy and for what? Pritzker’s policies did little to stop the spread of the virus but did quite a bit to wreck our economy. The only way we can turn our state around is to elect new leaders who will put working families first. We cannot keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results. We have an abundance of natural resources in Illinois. We have one of the best workforces in the country and our state is centrally located in the middle of the country. There is no reason for us to be lagging behind in recovering from the pandemic. It is time for new leadership in Illinois."

According to a new survey, Illinois continues to face increased unemployment rates. Based on Wallethub's report, this issue is not "getting better any time soon," according to The Center Square. Illinois is just a few notches behind the state that has least recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. From best to worst, it ranked 42nd out of 50 states. Unemployment claims in Illinois have increased by 4.6% in the last month. Since January 2020, Illinois has had a 26.8% increase in unemployment.

Illinois was one of the last states to relax its masking regulations after a judge and appellate court declared the practice unconstitutional. Prior to the judge's ruling, Gov. J.B. Pritzker provided no timelines for when parents may expect their children to be unmasked, Dupage Policy Journal reported.

Illinois was also one of the worst-affected states economically, POLITICO’s State Pandemic Scorecard showed. Thousands of small businesses were unable to overcome the lockdown environment.