GOP governor hopeful comes to Quincy

In what is expected to be a crowded Republican field running for Illinois governor, suburban businessman Gary Rabine stopped Friday in Quincy.

Rabine met with Quincy and Adams County Republicans at Revelry Sports Bar in downtown Quincy. He announced in March he would seek the Republican nomination for governor in 2022. He is the third candidate to enter the field, along with Sen. Darren Bailey of Xenia and former Sen. Paul Schrimpf of Waterloo. Other Republicans are reportedly weighing their options.

The 57-year-old businessman is the owner and founder of Rabine Group, a national exterior services company specializing in commercial paving projects.

He touted his entrepreneurial experience, saying government should work like a business to create jobs and “let the private sector thrive.”

Rabine hopes to establish an Illinois recovery plan with the goal of creating “50,000 jobs or more” per year by 2024 to reverse what he says is an exodus of businesses and residents.

Although property taxes are set locally, Rabine said his goal was to cut property taxes by at least 50 percent by 2024 as part of his campaign platform.

Rabine has put $250,000 of his personal worth into his campaign. Incumbent Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker has put in $35 million of his multi-billion dollar fortune.