Lake County Gazette

Bull Valley area businessman wants to see Gov. J.B. Pritzker do the job he was elected to and stop overstepping his bounds, especially when it comes to his handling of COVID-19.

“Stop bullying Illinois children into getting an experimental vaccine,” Rabine, who recently launched his campaign against Pritzker, posted on Facebook and Twitter. “I’m calling on JB Pritzker to immediately issue an executive order banning K-12 school districts, private schools and colleges in Illinois from mandating and requiring students to get a COVID vaccine.”

Rabine’s demand comes as Lake Forest College becomes one of the latest in a growing number of state universities enacting policy that requires all students be vaccinated before returning to campus for the upcoming fall semester. The Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Community College Board also recommend that students be mandated to receive COVID shots.

Unvaccinated students will be required to wear face coverings and submit to on-campus testing that includes multiple checks each week.

Rabine points out that of the three COVID vaccinations now available, only the Pfizer shot is approved by the FDA for emergency use in children ages 12-18.

Rabine says it’s just more of the same when it comes to what he sees as the governor’s pattern of putting his own agenda ahead of that of the people.

“I’m running because I can see my family, my friends’ families and so many others that just want to get out of here,” he recently told IllinoisChannelTV. “It bothers me so bad. I’ve been in business for 40 years, the last 20 building businesses as a leader, understanding what great leadership looks like and it’s not what we see in our governor and our mayor of Chicago. I’m confident we need a leadership mindset that understands how to build leaders and doesn’t rule like royalty.”

Rabine readily concedes that the job won’t come easily, though he quickly adds he’s convinced his experience makes him the person to get it done.

“In businesses and life you have strong differentia that make you, bring a different light to anything,” he said. “I understand how it works attracting jobs to our state and we do a lousy job of that. I understand how it works when it comes to taxing people out of state and we do a good job of that.