Del Mar hopes to change Illinois with Rabine

Republican primary candidate for Illinois Lt. Gov., Aaron Del Mar talks about himself and other candidates in an interview Friday at The Telegraph. Del Mar is running on a ticket with Gary Rabine, one of several Republican candidates seeking to defeat Gov. J.B. Pritzker in November. John Badman | The Telegraph

by Dylan Suttles, The Telegraph

ALTON — Aaron Del Mar, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, visited Madison County Friday to discuss his campaign.

Del Mar is running with Republican gubernatorial candidate Gary Rabine, a McHenry County businessman from Bull Valley.

The crowded field includes seven other Republican candidates seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Del Mar believes he and Rabine are the only ones who can beat Pritzker.

"Gary is a very successful businessman," Del Mar said. "If you compare and contrast true credentials — not about personalities, not about being nice — I think the clear pick is Gary Rabine."

For Del Mar, this is not his first time in politics. In 2009, he was elected as the youngest and first minority councilman for Palatine. He is a the Palatine Township Highway Commissioner and a trustee for the Palatine Township Rural Fire Protection District. In 2018, he was appointed to a three-year term on the Illinois International Port Authority.

Del Mar said he believes every person who wants access to the COVID-19 vaccine should have it for free. He said Pritzker has "failed Illinois" on the way he's handled the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In the beginning he was telling us we could only go to Walmart and we can't go to local businesses," Del Mar said. "He stood with big business instead of standing with local mom-and-pop stores."

He noted that this week Priztker announced the state will lift its mask mandate, with some exceptions such as schools and daycares, on Feb. 28.

"What is so magical about Feb. 28?" Del Mar asked. "Did COVID magically go away?

"I think its an arbitrary number," he said. "Pritzker does not trust the normal citizens of Illinois to make their own health decisions and the best decisions for their children."

If elected, Del Mar said one of his first tasks will be creating a public safety and crime prevention task force.

"He (Pritzker) has failed to protect us," Del Mar said. "On Day 1, we are going to work with county sheriffs, work with police forces, and we are going to back our blue."

Del Mar Rabine's campaign message across the board will stress integrity. And he acknowledged that Rabine is not a "seasoned politician."

"He's (Rabine) not polished," Del Mar said. "But he is authentic, and he's a good man. And he's doing it for the right reasons."