By Blake Haas

BLOOMINGTON – When it comes to running for governor, a local lawmaker said, “never say never.”

Speaking with WJBC’s Scott Miller, State Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) said although he would like to see someone else run for governor, he’s frustrated with what he sees in the state.

“There is so much to unpack in running for governor. Do I want to run for governor? No. I want someone else to lead our state. Look, I recognize the challenges that face our state, and they’re significant, they’ve been there for years. We need a governor who’s first priority is fixing our state. Making it a place where we have balanced budgets, we live within our means, we grow our economy, we attract businesses here that can put our people to work. We provide high-quality schooling. These are the priorities of me.”

Barickman added that Illinois has an out-migration problem, along with several others.

“Gov. Pritzker took a victory lap on the hundreds of pieces of legislation that he signed into law last year, before COVID. Admittedly, he did that. He embraced primarily the majority democratic party and legislators, and they advanced hundred of pieces of legislation. I voted for some of them, I’m not sitting here saying they are all bad. But, if you look at what’s happened and you weigh all of those hundred of bills against the challenges that face our state. What you would say is we haven’t moved the needle at all on the big issues facing our state.”

LISTEN: State Sen. Jason Barickman spoke with WJBC’s Scott Miller about running for governor. 

Barickman said the state’s pension problem continues to cripple the ability to fund state services.

“My former mentor told me, he said ‘never say never,’ and that’s a legitimate response to that question.”

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].