SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — State senator Darren Bailey(R-Louisville), the Republican nominee for Illinois Governor, apologized Thursday for telling his supporters to "move on and celebrate" while the Highland Park mass shooter was still at large and contemplating another violent rampage.
"I want to apologize again for my comments on Monday," Bailey said standing outside the Illinois Capitol, more than 200 miles south of the crime scene in Highland Park. "The thought that my initial response could have caused more pain is certainly something that will keep me up at night, and I'm sorry."
Once Bailey finished apologizing, he pivoted and pounced at Governor J.B. Pritzker, suggesting the governor shared in blame for the mass shooting that killed seven and injured more than 30 others.
"Governor Pritzker, this happened on your watch," Bailey said. Then, he suggested pandemic protocols may have played some role in isolating young men with mental health issues.
Bailey also claimed Illinois' red flag law, which he voted against in 2019, could have stopped the massacre.
"The Firearms Restraining (sic) Act would have prevented the tragedy on the Fourth, but you buried it," Bailey said.
He also called for unspecified amounts of mental health funding, though every one of his recorded votes in the Illinois House and Senate was against increased mental health funding.
In a press conference more than 200 miles away from the scene of the massacre, Bailey repeated calls to relax gun laws to eliminate the Firearm Owners ID card.
"The FOID card's not working and it needs to go," he said, claiming the "system is simply to pilfer money from people's pockets."
The FOID card application costs gun owners $10 and lasts for a decade. State police use that FOID card process to permanently withhold guns from convicted felons who committed violence.
Bailey's calls to do away with that law enforcement tool were not well received from a mother in Highland Park.
"What would be the purpose of banning that card?" Gisele Ramilo asked. "Don't we want to know who owns guns and why and what kind of guns they have? They have driver's licenses for cars. We have identification for insurance. For schools, you have identification. There's state licenses. I have a card as a scuba diver."
“Darren Bailey lacks the temperament and empathy necessary to lead our state,'' Pritzker campaign press secretary Eliza Glezer said. “Darren Bailey’s extremist agenda will not keep Illinoisans safe from America’s gun violence epidemic.”
At one point during his calls to combat crime, Bailey cited violence in "Edgefield Park," a community that does not exist in Illinois.
Bailey, the founder of a private Christian school, made another blunder during his apology speech. He claimed he was quoting biblical scripture from The Psalms, but the passage he cited is actually found in the New Testament's book of Colossians.
"As it says in Psalm 112, 'Clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,'" he said. "I need to be better at that. And I ask for your forgiveness."