Durkin Endorses Pritzker, Riles Republicans
Then-House Republican Leader Jim Durkin listens to a hearing in 2022. Durkin endorsed Democratic gov. JB Pritzker for re-election Monday. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
Former House Republican Leader Jim Durkin dropped a bit of a political bomb Monday, publicly endorsing Governor JB Pritzker for re-election over Republican Darren Bailey.
“I served with Darren Bailey in Springfield, and I know what he is and isn’t capable of,” Durkin said in a video released by the Pritzker campaign. “Bailey stands for exclusion over inclusion, subtraction over addition. His politics don’t work for me or the Republican Party I know. He’s never accomplished anything for Illinois, and he’s not cut out for the job. Frankly, he cannot be trusted to lead our state.”
Durkin, who was House GOP Leader when Bailey was the nominee in 2022 and resigned shortly after losing seats in the election, did not break with Bailey four years ago. He resigned from the House in 2023 and broke from his party in 2026.
But Bailey and Durkin have a history together. The two have feuded since before Bailey even entered the House. Bailey challenged, and defeated, one of Durkin’s top allies in the 2018 primary, in a brutal, bruising primary.
Durkin and Bailey often quarreled inside House Republican caucuses, sources say, as Bailey represented a conservative block of members, known at the time as the “Eastern Bloc,” and has since rebranded as the Freedom Caucus.
When the House returned for a mask-mandatory session during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in May of 2020, Bailey was removed from the chamber after refusing to wear a face covering. Durkin repeatedly urged him to wear a mask.
Bailey left the chamber after he was elected to the Senate in 2020.
After voting early in Clay County Monday, Bailey attacked Durkin.
“Jim Durkin and JB Pritzker don’t give a damn about you and don’t give a damn about anyone in the state of Illinois,” Bailey said. “I’m really angry and frustrated about that.”
Bailey accused Durkin of hoping to land a job in Pritzker’s administration if he is elected President.
Republicans continued to pile on Durkin, including Illinois GOP Chair Bob Grogan.
“JB Pritzker’s two-terms as Illinois governor have been a complete and total failure as he raised our taxes over and over, championed illegal immigrants and passed the most bloated state budget in history,” Grogan said in a statement. “This is who opportunists in search of relevance like Jim Durkin have aligned themselves with and is further proof that the only way to save Illinois is by electing new, strong leadership like Darren Bailey.”
Durkin joined me on the radio Tuesday. You can hear it here.
The move could make business sense for Durkin as well. Durkin is a partner at Croke, Duarte, Fairchild, & Beres, which includes partners Patrick Croke, a member of the Democratic State Central Committee and husband of Rep. Margaret Croke (D-Chicago), the Democratic nominee for State Treasurer. Lisa Duarte is also a partner at the firm. She is a former First Assistant Deputy Governor in the Pritzker administration.
Durkin also lobbies for Duarte’s Point of Difference Strategies, which is comprised of numerous Democratic insiders and staffers.
