A Father's Unbearable Loss: Remembering Ethan Bailey, Son of Illinois Politician Darren Bailey

It’s a heartache no parent should ever know, a shadow that lingers, even years after the fact. And for Illinois State Senator Darren Bailey, that profound sorrow centers on his son, Ethan. You see, it’s been three years now since that devastating day in June 2021, when Ethan, just 26 years young, lost his life in a tragic helicopter crash in the wide, wild skies of Montana.

It’s a story that resurfaces, not because of new revelations, but because some wounds, well, they just never truly heal.

Ethan, by all accounts, was an exceptional young man—a fearless spirit, honestly, and a highly skilled pilot. He was serving, in a way, with the US Forest Service, flying an AS350 B3 helicopter for Bridger Aerospace, a company crucial to fire management efforts.

On that fateful day, near Melville in Sweet Grass County, he was conducting a reconnaissance flight, diligently mapping out a prescribed burn. It was routine, or at least, it should have been. But sometimes, even the most experienced hands, even the most carefully planned missions, encounter the unforeseen.

The details are stark, painful in their simplicity.

The National Transportation Safety Board, the NTSB, they launched an investigation, naturally, trying to piece together precisely what went wrong. What we know is that Ethan was the pilot-in-command. And tragically, he wasn't alone; two others were aboard—a Forest Service employee and another from Bridger Aerospace—both fortunately survived, albeit with injuries.

The exact circumstances leading to the crash, the moments of that final descent, they’re still, perhaps, etched into the memories of those who investigate such things, a stark reminder of the inherent risks.

For Darren Bailey, who at the time was vying for the governorship of Illinois, the personal became agonizingly public.

His political aspirations, suddenly, paled in comparison to an unbearable, deeply personal loss. And, as any parent can imagine, he turned to social media, to his community, to share his grief. His Facebook post from that time, it was raw, it was heartbreaking. He called Ethan a ‘light,’ a ‘fearless’ soul who lived every day to the fullest.

He spoke of a void, a hole in their family that simply could not be filled. And honestly, who could blame him for that sentiment?

Ethan Bailey, it seems, left an indelible mark on everyone he met. His life, though brief, was full of purpose, of passion. He was laid to rest, you could say, back home in Xenia, Illinois, leaving behind a legacy of courage and, yes, a profound sense of sorrow.

His memory, no doubt, continues to resonate not just with his immediate family, but with the broader community, a testament to a young life lived vibrantly, then tragically extinguished too soon. It’s a story that reminds us, quite powerfully, of the fragility of life and the strength it takes to carry on.