Chicago City Wire

People Play By the Rules PAC President and Chicago’s Morning Answer Host Dan Proft called out Gov. J.B. Pritzker for criticizing farmers. 

Proft defended farmers and state Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) for receiving what he said is due to them.

"J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire trust fund child who was born on third and thinks he hit a triple, has some gall to criticize a family farmer like Darren Bailey and every other Illinois business that received PPP funding during the lockdown as compensation for what amounted to a 5th Amendment taking and as the means to maintain the gainful employment of their workers,” Proft told Prairie State Wire. "Pritzker said Bailey 'got away with' PPP funding. Got away with? The only one trying to get away with anything is Gov. Pritzker from the economic, social, emotional, and academic consequences of his heavy-handed lockdowns. J.B. also criticized Bailey for receiving legitimate farm subsidies. The average farmer in IL feeds 166 people. But Pritzker calls them takers. They are makers and givers.” 

Proft said farmers like Bailey deserve to protect their hard-earned money and have the right to pursue what they need in order for their businesses to survive, in compliance with the law.

"Darren Bailey played by the rules as a farmer and a business owner locked down by imperious politicians like Gov. Pritzker. Where he disagreed, he sought relief in a court of law as is the right of every American," Proft added. "Gov. Pritzker's hypocrisy and disdain for average, working families is exceeded only by his arrogant, self-conferred one-man rule of Illinois for the last 2.5 years. That rule comes to an end on November 8th."

Pritzker had criticized Bailey for taking PPP loans for his family farm. Bailey pushed back. 

“J.B. Pritzker, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth," Bailey said in a two-and-a-half-minute video released on social media. "You inherited billions of dollars from your family. You have millions stashed away on islands most folks have never heard of, let alone visited. You’ve never woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat worrying about keeping a job or managing payroll.” 

According to his campaign website, Bailey is "a third-generation farmer who owns and operates his own family farm today. He knows that agriculture is the backbone of Illinois’ economy and understands firsthand the issues facing the industry."  

"In the Illinois State Senate, Darren serves as the lead Republican on the Agriculture Committee, shaping policies that help support one of America’s oldest and most valuable occupations,” his website reads.

Bailey also said that "There’s nothing that’s wrong with Illinois that can’t be fixed by some conservative common sense." He pledges to "fight for the working people, not the political elites."