The race for the highest office in Illinois is set, after billionaire J.B. Pritzker easily defeated five other candidates in the bid for the Democratic nomination, and Gov. Bruce Rauner squeaked out a win on the Republican side. CBS 2’s Mike Puccinelli reports.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and J.B Pritzker will be the contenders for the Illinois race for governor.
The incumbent Republican candidate will be Gov. Bruce Rauner, age 61, who is a wealthy former private equity investor, that defeated conservative state Rep. Jeanne Ives with difficulty on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 for the GOP nomination.
The Democratic contender will be billionaire J.B. Pritzker, age 53, who is an investor and heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune that easily won the primary over Chris Kennedy, the son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy; and Daniel Biss, 40, a state senator who campaigned as the “middle-class candidate.”
The two primaries feature billionaires who have already spent tens of millions of dollars on the primary; senior correspondent Mike Tobin reports from Chicago.
The candidates together have spent more than $120 million, possibly the costliest gubernatorial campaign in U.S. history if they surpass the gubernatorial race in California in 2010. Pritzker already has spent more than $70 million for his campaign. Rauner, age 61, has spent about $50 million and has received millions more from wealthy friends in the business community. Rauner’s personal wealth is just short of $1 billion, but Pritzker — an investor and one of the heirs to the Hyatt hotel chain — is worth about $3.5 billion.
“We are in a critical time, a critical turning point in Illinois,” Rauner told supporters. “I am humbled by this victory. You have given me a chance to win the battle against corruption that plagues Illinois.”
— Gov. Bruce Rauner
Rauner, took advantage of a national GOP momentum four years ago to win in Illinois, which is dominated by Democrats.
Rep. Jeanne Ives raised just $4 million — less than any of the other prominent candidates — but gave Gov. Rauner a run for his money as conservatives are disappointed with Rauner’s less than stellar conservative history during his first term.
In the 2008 Presidential election, Pritzker served as national co-chairman of the Hillary Clinton for President campaign and as a delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention and the 2016 Democratic National Convention. He supported President Barack Obama in the 2008 general election and helped bring the Clinton and Obama campaigns in Illinois together.
Rauner ran harsh ads against Pritzker, presenting wiretap audio that surfaced with Pritzker talking with former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The ads included a 30-minute infomercial-style ad with the full FBI recordings, but the ads were tiresome, even to conservatives. Republicans and Libertarians were also appalled regarding Rauner’s ads against Ives, calling her “Mike Madigan’s favorite Republican and Illinois’ worst nightmare” with video clips obviously taken out of context. Rauner’s 2014 campaign promised to “shake up” Springfield with a pro-business, anti-union agenda including lower property taxes and term limits on officeholders. Rauner has been powerless against Madigan, income taxes and real estate taxes have increased, and Illinois has lacked a budget for two years. Billions of dollars of debt continue to rise.
Gubernatorial candidates Sen. Daniel Biss and businessman Chris Kennedy, teamed up against Pritzker for his silence on Michael Madigan’s failure to properly manage sexual harassment complaints by campaign workers against two of Madigan’s political aides. Madigan is the longest-serving state House speaker in modern U.S. history, and there is also strong consensus that is entrenched cronyism is toxic for Illinois.
With more audio clips, Rauner also exposed Pritzker when a different set of tapes from 2008 surfaced courtesy of the Chicago Tribune. The tapes revealed Pritzker describing Secretary of State Jesse White — a Pritzker backer — as the “least offensive” black officeholder who would provide cover “on the African-American thing” — regarding the Senate seat vacated by then-President-elect Barack Obama. Pritzker has apologized to Jesse White and his constituents, and Secretary of State White continues to back him.
Also, other Pritzker’s opponents have attacked his connections with overseas trusts in low-tax countries. Pritzker claims the trusts are focused on charitable giving and that he has no control over the trusts. In response, Biss has called him a “fraud” while Kennedy labeled him a “liar.”
Nothing positive to report on how any candidates might solve debt problems in Illinois.
facebook …
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/ArlingtonCardinal
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/ArlingtonHeightsCrime
Get updates from The Cardinal ALL NEWS FEEDS on Facebook. Just ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Page (become a fan of our page). The updates cover all posts and sub-category posts from The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com. You can also limit feeds to specific categories. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor
Meet some of the candidates for governor of Illinois attempting to unseat Bruce Rauner, a Republican and one of the most vulnerable incumbents facing election this year. They include a Kennedy and a Pritzker.