Illinois gubernatorial candidates submit petitions for primary election

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — Candidates in Illinois’ gubernatorial race submitted petitions today to officially nominate themselves for the primary election.

Among the candidates, Aaron Del Mar filed petitions on behalf of the Bailey campaign, as Darren Bailey is currently dealing with a family tragedy.

“Right now we’re concentrating on offering comfort for the Bailey family, making sure that the celebration of life really honors the Baileys,” said Aaron Del Mar.

Del Mar mentioned that President Trump spoke with Bailey over the weekend, encouraging him to “fight on.”

Bailey will consider whether to continue his campaign for governor over the coming weeks.

On the Democratic side, Governor JB Pritzker officially filed to run for a third term.

Pritzker highlighted Illinois’ economic growth, stating, “In Illinois, I might add, we have significantly outpaced the average GDP in the last quarter.”

Pritzker has served as Illinois’ governor since 2019 and has been rumored to be considering a run for president in 2028.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WTVO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WTVO staff before being published.