CARTERVILLE, Ill. — Former state Sen. Darren Bailey on Thursday acknowledged that when he ran unsuccessfully for governor against Democrat JB Pritzker nearly four years ago, he didn’t understand the issues affecting Chicago and its suburbs like he did in other parts of the state.

That experience has set the stage for what appears to be a unique campaign structure for the wealthy farmer from southeastern Illinois as he kicked off a relaunch of his bid for governor with a suburban Chicago running mate, Aaron Del Mar, who plans to focus on helping Bailey win over voters in the northern most populous areas of the state while the candidate at the top of the ticket will focus on everywhere else.

“The big issues are certainly different in Cook County and Chicago than they are in the rest of t

See Full Page