Pritzker, Bailey, Tracy address agricultural issues
[August 11, 2026]
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Republican challenger
Darren Bailey are hoping to win votes from farmers across Illinois.
Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson moderated the Illinois
Agricultural Legislative Roundtable in Shirley, Illinois on Monday.
GOP gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey said he has been a Farm Bureau
member since 1982.
“We can preserve the family farm by, at a bare minimum, matching the
federal rates with the inheritance tax, and I pray that goes away
because I’m leaving under the same fate that you are,” Bailey said.
Bailey also called for a cap on property taxes.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said state lawmakers should pass the Family Farm
Preservation Act to raise the estate tax credit from $4 million to $6
million.
House Bill 2677 was introduced in March 2025 but has failed to advance
in the General Assembly.
The governor touted his record on agriculture and said he held a meeting
with the Illinois Soybean Association last week.
“I signed an agreement with the Indonesian government that is likely to
result in hundreds of millions of dollars more in soybean sales from
Illinois farmers,” Pritzker said.
Independent gubernatorial candidate Collin Corbett said he was
intentionally left out.
"Excluding the independent candidate from this major policy forum denies
Illinois farmers, rural communities, and voters a real choice," Corbett
said in a statement.
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A red barn with a stone foundation stands next to a brick silo
covered in ivy. Photo: Grace David / The Center Square
Illinois Republican U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy addressed the
roundtable on Monday morning.
Tracy said the federal government has spent years operating under
extensions of a farm bill written for a different ag economy and
without an inflation adjustment.
“I will support a farm bill that protects crop insurance, provides a
meaningful farm safety net and gives farmers more certainty when
making decisions about planting, equipment financing and the future
of their operations,” Tracy said.
Tracy said he supports permanent, year-round access to E15 gasoline
nationwide.
“E15 access means another market for Illinois corn, more
American-made energy and more choices for consumers,” Tracy said.
The Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana
Stratton, did not participate in the event.
Independent candidate Whitfield Harrington Jr. is also on the ballot
for retiring Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat Nov. 3.
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