Prairie State Wire

Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville), a candidate for Illinois governor, pledged not to follow New York's governor in allowing driver's licenses to indicate "X" as gender.

"States like New York are entering into the realm of the absurd by allowing people to put an X as their gender on their driver’s license," Bailey said. "While violent crime is skyrocketing in New York City, Gov. Kathy Hochul is focused on making driver’s licenses more 'inclusive.' Not only is Gov. Hochul’s policy absurd – it also sets a terrible precedent." 

He said that a driver's license, for most people, is an important proof of identity which should bear the correct information.

"It is important to have accurate information on state-issued IDs," Bailey said. "If your biology can be ambiguous on an official government-issued identification card – what else can be similarly as ambiguous? Should people just put circles on the weight section? No one likes to put their weight on their driver’s license anyway. Or maybe people can put a picture of Snoopy’s doghouse on the address portion of the driver’s license. Where does this absurdity end? As Governor, Illinois residents can be assured I will never engage in nonsense like this. I will focus on keeping our communities safe, balancing our state budget, and allowing working families to keep more of their hard-earned money."

The Department of State similarly began allowing passport holders to select ‘X’ as their gender as well on passport applications. The “intersex” destination is for “unspecified or another gender identity.”

Bailey has campaigned on 'defending innocent lives.' He "believes in the sanctity of life, and as a state legislator, voted against the extreme overhaul and expansion of abortion access in Illinois.  Darren opposes state and taxpayer funding of abortions," according to his campaign website. 

The senator from Xenia grew up on his family's farm, which he and his sons currently own and operate. 

Jesse Sullivan, McHenry County businessman Gary Rabine, Max Solomon, and former state senator Paul Schimpf all trail Bailey in the polls. Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin appears to be his only significant opponent in the race. The primary election will be held on June 28.