Illinois governor GOP candidate decries Chicago crime, chaos

By JOHN O’CONNOR
AP Political Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Republican candidate for Illinois governor, Darren Bailey, is promising to restore the death penalty and repeal a criminal justice overhaul that will eliminate cash bail, following a Labor Day weekend that left 11 dead in Chicago. The state senator from Xenia met privately in Springfield on Tuesday with county sheriffs from around Illinois and emerged with criticism for Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the so-called SAFE-T Act approved last year. It will end bail for many nonviolent crimes starting Jan. 1. Critics call restrictive bail a “penalty on poverty.” He blamed violent crime in Chicago on Pritzker, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, saying they don’t do enough.