East Central Reporter

Gubernatorial Republican candidate Darren Bailey has been active in efforts to garner votes for the upcoming November general election.

"Good morning friends Illinois State senator, your next governor and your next first lady, my wonderful wife Cindy," Bailey said on Facebook. "We're here at the Illinois State fair in Springfield, from downtown Chicago, from all the happenings in the city, to back to the farm today. That's what's so great about Illinois - within a few hours we have access to everything that's why this state is so great. It's Tuesday August 16th and we're here to celebrate agriculture getting ready to go to the ag breakfast behind us and we've got a full day of events here - actually for the next three days in Springfield and then we'll we'll be back up into the Chicago area and the surrounding areas this weekend."

The GOP gubernatorial candidate pushed falsehoods saying masks aren’t effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19. WTTW reported Bailey wants to fight against requiring masks in public spaces such as theaters, stores and schools.

Gubernatorial Republican candidate Darren Bailey has been active in efforts to garner votes for the upcoming November general election. | Bailey's website

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommend folks wear masks to help prevent the virus from spreading to older people, those with compromised immune systems, and pregnant and recently pregnant people.

This month, Bailey has been busy with campaigning and celebrations of a variety of organizations, including the Illinois Corn Growers Association. He celebrated the ICGA's 50th anniversary in a social media post recently.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported the state has approximately 3 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

“Chicago continues to have rates that are under both the national rate and the rate in Illinois,” Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner, said to NBC Chicago. “Southern Illinois is surging a little more right now... and then down in Louisiana is where we’re seeing a significant outbreak right at the moment.”

He has also responded to attacks from his challenger in the November election.

A recent Governor J.B. Pritzker advertisement slammed Bailey for getting PPP funding for his farm business

"Friends, I wanted to take a moment to address out-of-touch billionaire JB's latest attack," Bailey told Chicago's Morning Answer. "Get this – Pritzker has the gall to run a TV ad attacking me for running a business and doing whatever it takes to keep people employed during tough times.

“Pritzker, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth," Bailey said. "You inherited billions of dollars from your family, you have millions stashed away on islands that 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. You've literally never worked a day in your life, and you're criticizing me for how I run my farm? How dare you? You're the trust fund kid on the school playground, pushing all the regular kids around and making fun of their bagged lunches. You're the guy who ignores the speed limit on your custom-made, one-of-a-kind boat, while the rest of us worry about the price of gas.”

Bailey got under fire after telling Parkland residents “to move on” after the city faced a mass shooting event during a Fourth of July Parade.

“My intent was to pray for the victims and those affected by today’s tragedy and for the shooter to be caught and prosecuted without further loss," Bailey said in a statement seen by Insider. “I apologize if in any way we diminished the pain being felt across our state.”