Four Republicans are running for their party’s nomination to challenge Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
Among them is Ted Dabrowski, a policy researcher with a background in international banking.
Dabrowski’s parents immigrated to Chicago from Poland and Ecuador. He previously served as vice president of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute and president of Wirepoints, a website that explores the state’s economy and government from a conservative perspective.
Republicans running statewide in Illinois face an uphill battle. No GOP candidate has won statewide since former governor Bruce Rauner in 2014.
Illinois Public Media’s The 21st Show is interviewing candidates running in this year’s March primary election. This week, Brian Mackey sat down with Dabrowski to discuss his bid for governor.
He thinks his background and focus on cutting taxes and spending will earn him trust from voters across the state.
“If you watch how I operate, how I talk, how I negotiate, how I persuade, I try to do it with the best character,” Dabrowski said. “Because I think in the end, in Illinois to win over the other side, we need to be reasonable, we need to be logical, we need to be persuasive.”
Interview Highlights
On cutting Illinois’ taxes to attract investment
“Everybody knows we’re a fiscal mess in the country, and they say, ‘why would I put my plant in in Central Illinois when when people are leaving the state, and when the finances are a mess and the taxes only go up?’ So we need to change that whole environment … Decatur, Peoria, Danville, you all have great bones and can attract big companies, but it’s not going to happen until we change these crazy taxes, until we change the crazy culture and get back to just fiscal discipline so that we can be proud of who we are, and companies can say, ‘Illinois is now well run. We want to be there.'”
On flipping the state from Democratic control
“Illinois is run by Democrats. It’s the supermajority [General Assembly], [Governor JB] Pritzker, the Supreme Court. We are in the worst shape we have ever been in Illinois. And so that’s our opportunity to offer something different … if you want change, if you want something different, then you’ve got to vote Republican. And I’m, of course, making the pitch that I’m the best one to lead that effort. We just got to get back to good old Midwestern values. We’re Midwest state, and we’ve lost our way with with this super majority, and Governor Pritzker.”
On pressuring Democrats to implement fiscal and educational reform
“They are the ones that have to deliver the change. I will be the agent of change as governor, but they have to deliver it. If you want kids reading, they have to deliver it. And if they don’t deliver then you the public need to kick them out if that’s what you want.”
On what makes him different from other candidates
“The Polish side of me, the Slavic side of me, the Hispanic side of me. I think differently from the other candidates. You know, I think about the broad coalition, this is Illinois. I don’t think in purely partisan terms. I think in terms of, my gosh, opportunity, right? People need physical security, and that’s gone now, right? … People are feeling like their property taxes are chasing them out of their home. These gas taxes are crazy. So we got to bring back those things. And so I’m all about opportunity. I remember as a young immigrant family, we right. You learn how to compete and to make do, but you got to have opportunity. And so I want to bring that back for everybody.”