North Cook News

Gary Rabine spoke at the Peoria and Woodford County Republican Party's Central Illinois GOP Governor Candidate Forum on April 25 and made his pitch as to what separates him from his opponents.

"I recently picked a fight with Biden about his unconstitutional vaccine mandate and we fought that all the way to the Supreme Court and on Jan. 14 we won," Rabine said at the forum. "This win was a critical knockout. Because of this, COVID-19 mandates across America came tumbling down. This gave vaccine freedom to over 80 million Americans."

Rabine also stressed Illinois' problems with violence and taxes.

"We have forgotten how to compete in Illinois. We’re the biggest losers when it comes to violence. We’re the biggest losers when it comes to the highest taxes and when it comes to the highest unfunded pension liabilities," Rabine said. "The result is the loss of freedom and more Illinoisans are losing jobs. I hate to lose. I’ll fight to make sure we’re number one in safety, tax fighting, job creation and bringing people back to Illinois.

The primary election is scheduled for June 28.

The State Journal-Register reported two Republicans were removed from the primary ballot. Keisha Smith’s name was removed because she didn’t list a lieutenant governor on her filling papers. Emily Johnson, and her running mate, Brett Mahlen, were removed over issues with their petition sheets.

Rabine has raised $1.1 million since Jan. 1, lawyer Schimpf has raised $79,000, attorney Max Solomon has raised $8,500, Army veteran Jesse Sullivan has raised $1.3 million and Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) has raised $1.3 million.

Rabine is a businessman who has built more than 30 businesses in the state.