Chicago City Wire

State Sen. and gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) has selected former talk-radio host Stephanie Trussell to run as his lieutenant governor.

The announcement was made at a Dec. 13 campaign stop where Trussell voiced her excitement to be chosen as Bailey's running mate.

"I love our country and I love Illinois. It’s the heartland of America. But its political leaders and political class have failed us," Trussell said. "That’s why I’m so excited to join Darren Bailey’s campaign to restore Illinois. People say Illinois can’t be fixed but I’m here to tell you they are wrong. With a Bailey-Trussell ticket we will bring our great state back."

"Our work for the people of Illinois is just beginning," Trussell said. "While we love this great state, we know Springfield is broken. It’s so self evidently true that it’s almost not worth hearing the details. Over the last decade, hardworking people have fled Illinois in droves. The majority of those left looking for better jobs. Twenty percent of them left because they couldn’t find affordable housing. Sadly, many are leaving because they no longer feel safe. In the '70s we played outside even after dark while our parents sat on the porch. We felt safe. Today, murder and crime rates in Chicago are the highest they’ve been in two decades. Taxes, the cost of living and crime on the street, these are real problems that we all know J.B. Pritzker can’t, hasn’t, and won’t fix. We need real common sense policy solutions."

According to The Pantagraph, Trussell was a radio show host for WLS AM-890 for seven years before going on to doing fill-in work for WIND AM-560. Trussell grew up on Chicago's West Side and now lives in Lisle. 

Other candidates running in the Republican primary in June with the hope of facing off against Gov. J.B. Pritzker are businessmen Gary Rabine of Bull Valley, Jessie Sullivan of Petersburg and former state Sen. Paul Schimpf of Waterloo.