The race for the position of Illinois governor is over, but many people do not know what the Republican and Democratic candidates believe.  There was only one debate prior to voting. The polls opened on November 6, and by 7:45 P.M., Bruce Rauner had conceded the win to JB Pritzker.

Bruce Rauner, the Republican candidate and incumbent governor, based his campaign on reforming Illinois education.  He claims to have increased K-12 education by 1.2 million dollars, since his time in office, and brought early childhood education to historic levels.  Also, while in office, he has claimed to have signed over two-dozen bipartisan criminal justice reform bills. According to his website, he believes that political insiders control Illinois taxes, and that is why he is proud to have vetoed Mike Madigan’s 32 percent income tax.

Unlike his opponent, Democratic candidate JB Pritzker seems to have spent an arm and a leg on advertising.  Senior Cole Clark said, “Advertising is a powerful tool, but you can over advertise. In the case of JB, I feel he’s pushed his agenda to the point of pushing people away.” When first visiting his website, you are greeted with Pritzker’s “vision to get Illinois back on track,” which is followed by three tabs: healthcare, early childhood education, and resisting Trump.  Pritzker plans to propose a low-cost health insurance option similar to the Affordable Care Act titled Illinois Cares. He believes that increasing funding in education from birth to five years would strengthen families and communities. According to his website, Pritzker plans to resist Trump because, “Donald Trump’s legislative agenda threatens to wreak havoc on the lives of Illinois families.”

Now that Pritzker has won the election, it will be interesting to see if he follows through with his campaign promises.