Lake County Gazette

Election Day remains roughly two months away and Republican state Senate candidate Thomas McCullagh is tired of the way Gov. J.B. Pritzker does business in Springfield.

“Once again, the governor is working outside the bounds of his authority by reenforcing his restrictions on certain parts of the state,” McCullagh told the Lake County Gazette. “With him everything is about politics.”

Running against state Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood) in the 49th District, McCullagh points to Pritzker recently moving to slap stricter restrictions on some parts of the state but not others when COVID-19 conditions in both places are essentially the same.

Earlier this month, restrictions banning indoor service at bars at restaurants in Will and Kankakee counties took effect due to the rising number of coronavirus cases across the areas. In addition, those establishments are now also required to close by 11 p.m. and cap capacity at 25%.

Around the same time, a similar outbreak struck the Metro East area, but the governor refrained from levying stricter rules.

“It’s a double standard,” McCullagh said. “He needs the Metro East to vote for his progressive tax, while he wants to suppress voters in these other counties.”

McCullagh fumes at the thought of the governor being so cavalier about the situation when it is so critical for most others.

“He’s playing politics at a time when everyone needs to be fair and supportive of each other,” he said. “This could be a final nail in the coffin for so many of our businesses.”

Through it all, McCullagh fumes Bertino-Tarrant has largely remained silent and continues to take financial support from embattled House Speaker Mike Madigan.

“She stands to be a rubber stamp for Democrats and their progressive tax agenda,” he said. “She’s not supporting the survival of local businesses, just whatever the party line happens to be.”