State's top Democrats gather for Governor's Day at fair
SPRINGFIELD - Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday told the state's largest annual gathering of Illinois Democrats that "Republicans demagogue, Democrats deliver" as U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin warned that the latest indictment against former President Donald Trump should not be viewed as "just another political wrinkle."
Trump has created a "party of fear and hate," and a Republican Party that is "dividing America, dividing our states, dividing our counties and our school boards," Durbin told the party faithful.
The state's top Democrats gathered in Springfield for Governor's Day - although the day's events packed a little less punch in a nonelection year.
Illinois is seen nationally as a blue haven in a sea of red Midwestern states, as state legislators have enacted progressive policies with the help of Democratic supermajorities and Pritzker's pen. The Democratic governor vowed that Illinois will remain a firewall against red states - "a fortress for all around reproductive rights."
"Together, we built a blue wave - a tsunami that has swept away the red wall of Uihleins and Griffins and Rauners and Trumps," Pritzker said to cheers at the Illinois Democratic County Chairs' Association Brunch.
• This report was produced in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. To read the full story, visit chicago.suntimes.com.