By Blake Haas

BLOOMINGTON – One Central Illinois lawmaker is mulling around the idea of running for Governor of Illinois; however, a decision could come later this summer.

Speaking with WJBC’s Scott Miller, State Senator Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) said he wants to decide with his family.

“You know, I keep getting this question, and you know here is where my head is. I’m going to make my decision about my political future this summer; I’m going to do it with my family. I talk about my family a lot, their obviously very important and the most important you know, part of this decision starts with them.

“But along the leg, we’re on the tail end of the legislative process. There are numerous issues before us that need to be resolved really over the next two weeks – the budget, maybe an ethics proposal, gosh, how about you know Illinois addressing the massive public corruption that exists by changing the laws and making, you know, enforcing some stricter ethics provisions.”

Currently, candidates who have announced intentions on running for Governor include Illinois State Sen. Darrin Bailey (R-Xenia), former State Sen. Paul Schimpf, and Illinois businessman Gary Rabine. Gov. Pritzker has yet to announce his intentions for a second term.

LISTEN: State Sen. Jason Barickman spoke with WJBC’s Scott Miller. 

Does State Senator Jason Barickman answer the question "Are you going to run for Governor?" https://t.co/GvU8AT1Whs

— WJBC AM-1230 (@WJBC) May 19, 2021

“The decision making in politics is complex, I suppose, but, you know, the ultimate decision is you know, looking (and) analyzing JB Pritzker’s Governorship. I think he’s very vulnerable. I think Governor Pritzker has never been tested by voters, right. I mean, actually, he has been tested by voters; he’s run for office and lost historically. Now he ran against (former Gov.) Bruce Rauner, I think you know, many Republicans I know weren’t supporting Bruce Rauner in that election.

And then, once Pritzker became Governor, every other word out of his mouth was President Trump. Well, in the 2022 election cycle, those things go away. Pritzker is not going to run against Bruce Rauner; he’s not going to have Donald Trump to beat upon. Instead, Democrats are going to overreach in Washington. The midterm election, which oftentimes the party not in control in Washington, does better in those midterm elections. And on his own record, I think Gov. Pritzker has demonstrated a lack of ability to lead and solve the state’s problems,” added Barickman.

Barickman, who has expressed displeasure with Gov. Pritzker’s COVID-19 mitigations, said another failure of Gov. Pritzker’s is how he managed the veteran’s nursing home in La Salle, where 36 residents died from COVID-19.

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].