SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois State Fair is underway in Springfield.
Wednesday Democratic politicians gathered at the fairgrounds for a day of rallies and speeches.
Governor JB Prizker took center stage on “Governor’s Day” and sharply contrasted Democratic and Republican parties. He also sounded a note of triumph at the largest annual gathering of Illinois Democrats and bluntly explained why, in his view, Democrats dominate Illinois politics.
“Here’s the game, everyone. Republicans think that if they lie about something often enough, if they deny the truth long enough, maybe we will start to believe their lies,” he said. “The problem is this, here in Illinois, we have a low tolerance for bull****.”
He touted his party’s legislative accomplishments made possible through Democratic supermajorities in both the state house and senate; expanding access to abortion, banning semi-automatic weapons and ending “book bans.” Those, he says, are the issues voters care about, not the culture wars he says are the obsession of the Republican party.
“They say they want to solve real problems then they spend all of their time screaming conspiracy theories about the purge, about Disney, about green M&Ms and space lasers,” he said.
Also at the breakfast, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin said the indictments against former President Donald Trump would hang like an albatross around the neck of the GOP.
“The charges against Donald are the most serious charges ever made against a public official in America,” Durbin said.
Also Wednesday, a political picnic attracted hundreds of activists, union workers and elected officials. In attendance were Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.
Chicago alderman Michael Rodriguez made the trip from the city’s Southwest Side to Springfield to celebrate the state’s status as the progressive capitol of the Midwest.
“Illinois is an island of blue in a sea of red in the Midwest,” he said. “The fact is we’ve had so many accomplishments in the state of Illinois.”
Later, Pritzker is expected to attend the “sale of champions,” the auction of prize-winning livestock.
Thursday, it’s the Republicans who will have the full day at the fair to press their political message while mingling with the people.
