Galesburg Reporter

Republican candidate for governor Gary Rabine has had enough of what he sees as Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s widening abuse of Illinois voters in the name of gaining control over the COVID-19 crisis.

“Stop bullying Illinois children into getting an experimental vaccine,” Rabine recently posted on Facebook and Twitter. “I’m calling on JB Pritzker to immediately issue an executive order banning K-12 school districts, private schools and colleges in Illinois from mandating and requiring students to get a COVID vaccine.”

Rabine’s pushback comes as Knox College in Galesburg became among the latest in a growing number of state colleges moving to require that all students be vaccinated before the start of the upcoming fall semester. The Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Community College Board also recently advised that students be mandated to receive COVID shots.

Unvaccinated students will be required to wear face coverings and submit to on-campus testing that includes multiple checks each week.

Part of Rabine’s pushback centers on the fact that of the three COVID vaccinations currently available only the Pfizer shot is approved by the FDA for emergency use in children ages 12-18. Rabine said it’s just more of the reckless disregard the governor has displayed throughout much of his term in office.

“I’m running because I can see my family, my friends’ families and so many others that just want to get out of here,” he recently told IllinoisChannelTV. “It bothers me so bad. I’ve been in business for 40 years, the last 20 building businesses as a leader, understanding what great leadership looks like and it’s not what we see in our governor and our mayor of Chicago. I’m confident we need a leadership mindset that understands how to build leaders and doesn’t rule like royalty.”