Chicago City Wire

U.S. Army veteran Beverly Miles is hoping to teach Gov. J.B. Pritzker a lesson in opposing him for the 2022 Democratic nomination.

 “Considering that he made a really, really bad mistake the first time, with shutting everybody down, where a lot of people lost businesses and lost income but yet he continued to make money, I think it should go the other way around,” the Chicago resident told MDJOnline. “I think he should be shut down and not make any money and allow other people to continue their businesses.”

Miles, a registered nurse, is also taking the governor to task over what she sees as his faulty handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Miles said it all comes down to the billionaire lawmaker being hopelessly out of touch with the people he’s supposed to be representing.

“It should be the working people in office for the working people,” she told the Sun-Times. “We need people who represent us.”

In seeking to become the state’s first black female governor, Miles charges the Pritzker administration has essentially blocked black business owners out of the lucrative adult-use cannabis businesses.

She said she decided to run last summer when civil unrest across the city became an almost common occurrence.

“When I looked at my community, when you have homelessness, mental health and substance abuse issues, and the looting — what I saw was trauma,” she said.  “As a registered nurse, I understand what that means. As a disabled Army veteran, I live with PTSD. I know what that looks like. I know what that feels like …. In my community, people don’t have access to care.”

Miles, who previously ran for alderman and committeeperson in the 28th Ward, said her platform also includes supporting Medicare for all, reparations for descendants of slaves, and curbing gun violence.

“Servitude and advocacy is in my DNA. I served my country. Now, I want to serve the great state of Illinois,” Miles said during a campaign kickoff Thursday morning at Kells Park, announcing her Democratic primary bid against Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

While he has yet to officially announce his plans to seek reelection, Pritzker has already set aside upwards of $30 million for his prospective campaign.

“Why does anyone put $35 million into an election for a seat that only pays $200,000 a year? That doesn’t make sense to me,” Miles said.

Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey (Xenia), former state Sen. Paul Schimpf and businessmen Gary Rabine have all launched campaigns seeking the GOP nomination.