Darren Bailey’s Chicago ‘hellhole’ comment and the issue of crime become focus in debate among GOP candidates for governor
State Sen. Darren Bailey doubled down on his comments he considered Chicago a crime-ridden “hellhole” during a debate Thursday night of the Republican candidates for governor as he also sought to aggressively label rival Richard Irvin a “corrupt Democrat.”
But Irvin, mayor of suburban Aurora, sought to shut down criticism from Bailey as well as his other GOP rivals, saying they were upset because he was “hurting their political aspirations.”
Overall, though, it was the issue of crime that dominated the hourlong debate hosted by ABC-7 Chicago, Univision and the League of Women Voters of Illinois. It was the first, and likely last, televised broadcast forum featuring all six GOP candidates prior to the June 28 primary — though contender Jesse Sullivan of Petersburg took part remotely after testing positive for COVID-19.
The debate came against the backdrop of two mass
