Jesse Sullivan | Courtesy photo
Jesse Sullivan | Courtesy photo
Gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan is calling the recently wrapped legislative session “failed.”
“This legislative session completely failed to deliver the change Illinois deserves," Sullivan said in a press release. "It was a taxpayer-funded crisis communications campaign for J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Democrats. No matter the spin from Springfield, voters know the true cost of Illinois Democrat policies in their lives: higher taxes, more crime and rampant corruption. The truth is that Illinois taxes, gas prices, and the cost of living have skyrocketed under the Pritzker administration, even as they've sent spending through the roof."
Sullivan noted that "the governor has refused to bring law enforcement to the table to fix his disastrous anti-police bill.”
"Election-year gimmicks won’t save our state," he added. "The people of Illinois will make our voices heard this November.”
Sullivan, 37, is a native of Menard County. The tech entrepreneur is a first-time candidate for office. He promises to change the state's direction and priorities.
"I am proud to become the first and only candidate for governor to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, my promise to oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes in Illinois," Sullivan tweeted. "Our politicians are captured by special interests — which is why today I am proposing an Illinois Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). TABOR would require a vote of the people for any new [increase] in taxes or debt at the state & local level, limit tax revenue growth to population growth plus inflation, & refund any revenue over that limit directly to taxpayers."
He is part of a crowded group of contenders for the June 28 Republican primary, including state Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, former state senator Paul Schimpf, McHenry County businessman Gary Rabine, Max Solomon, and Emily Johnson.
Sullivan is a regular critic of Pritzker. He previously called out the governor for trying to subvert a lower court’s ruling overturning mask mandates in schools.
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