West Central Reporter

Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey jump-started the county fair season in the state.

His campaign trail is currently working its way north. He has recently stopped at the Cass County Fair in Virginia, Illinois and at Tazwell County Republican Women’s meeting in Morton, Illinois. 

“We kicked off the county fair season in Illinois by stopping in to meet with people at the Fayette and Cass County fairs today,” Bailey said. 

Bailey headlined the candidates meeting with possible constituents at the Tazewell County Republican Women’s.

“It was great to be in Tazewell County last night,” he said. "We will bring unity to the Republican Party and we will defeat Pritzker in November and turn Illinois around."

The Cass County Fair is ongoing until Saturday. Nightly carnival rides are in the lower parking lot from 5-10 p.m. The fair features a number of agriculture exhibits. 

“Support your local county fair,” Bailey said on Facebook live. “The children are out here. I just met a young man, Mason, and he is showing us swine, and we’re going out, and the sheep shows are going on right now. Agriculture is a major driving economic force in the state of Illinois. Support it, support your county fair and especially the young people that work so hard for the projects that they do in these county fairs – it just builds the character, it builds the work ethic for the next generation.”

Bailey, a farmer himself, “learned at a young age what it means to work hard and earn an honest living.” 

He is leading the reformist conservative cause in Illinois. Because of his deep conservative roots, he campaigns for ‘“values of hard work, individual liberty and social responsibility,” understanding very well that “precious freedoms are threatened everyday by big government and powerful career politicians.” 

“Today, there is a political class that is ignoring our values and harming American families. Illinois needs a leader that is one of us,” the Bailey campaign website reads.