Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin jumps into GOP Illinois primary for governor

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin jumped in the GOP Illinois primary for governor on Monday. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

The “Irvin slate,” led by the Aurora mayor, may get the backing of billionaire Ken Griffin.

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin jumped into the GOP Illinois primary for governor on Monday, becoming the fifth candidate to compete for the nomination to run against Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Irvin tapped Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, as his running mate for lieutenant governor. Bourne, who’s served in the Illinois House since February 2015, is an assistant Republican leader.

Irvin announced his candidacy around noon, when his website, irvinbourne.com, went live.

Key to Irvin’s strategy for prevailing in the June 28 GOP primary is for the Army veteran, former prosecutor, and suburban elected official to collect Republican votes in heavily populated northern Illinois: Chicago, suburban Cook County and the collar counties of Kane, Lake, DuPage, McHenry and Will.

In 2020, Joe Biden handily beat Donald Trump in every collar county except McHenry.

Though downstate Illinois is heavily Republican, Irvin’s campaign expects some 60% of the GOP primary vote to come from the Chicago area. The suburbs will be a central primary battleground.

Irvin intends to make crime an issue. He said on his website: “Crime has exploded under J.B. Pritzker’s watch. In 2021, Chicago experienced its deadliest year in 25 years, with more murders than any other city in America. Cook County exceeded 1,000 murders, and Illinois’ crime rate continues to surpass the national rate. People do not feel safe in Illinois. So what has J.B. Pritzker done?”

Irvin became Aurora’s first Black mayor when he won his initial term on April 4, 2017. Before becoming mayor, he served on the Aurora City Council.

After graduating from East Aurora High School, Irvin enlisted in the Army. He served in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. His undergraduate degree is from Robert Morris University and his law degree is from the Northern Illinois University School of Law.

Irvin, born March 29, 1970, worked as a prosecutor in Cook and Kane counties before starting a private practice in Aurora.

Irvin was recruited to run — and his campaign organized by — a network of GOP political operatives with ties to former GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner and ex-Sen. Mark Kirk.

The State Journal-Register/Distributed by the Associated Press

Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, shown during an Illinois House session in May, has been tapped by gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin as his running mate. Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP) ORG XMIT: ILSPR612

The rest of the “Irvin slate” consists of former Central District of Illinois U.S. Attorney John Milhiser for secretary of state; state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, for state treasurer; Deerfield attorney Steve Kim for attorney general; and McHenry County Auditor Shannon Teresi for comptroller.

Milhiser faces a primary, with his main competition coming from state Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington.

Republicans putting together the “Irvin slate” did not recruit a primary candidate to run for U.S. Senate, where Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth is seeking a second term.

Irvin is seen as immediately politically viable because his campaign may get a boost from billionaire Ken Griffin.

On Friday, Pritzker, also a billionaire, put $90 million of his own money into his re-election campaign, on top of $35 million he added last March. He spent $171.5 million of his own money on his 2018 campaign.

Leading the Irvin project is Kirk alum Mike Zolnierowicz, a former chief of staff for Rauner who worked on the successful 2020 campaign, fueled by Griffin’s millions, to defeat Pritzker’s bid for a graduated income tax.

With Irvin’s name in play since December, Pritzker’s team, the Democratic Party of Illinois and the Democratic Governor’s Association have been steadfastly linking him to Rauner and Griffin.

Mayors are elected in Aurora (as in Chicago) without party labels. Irvin pulled Democratic primary ballots in 2014, 2016 and 2020 — a matter that may not play well with the GOP base, who show up to vote in primaries. Irvin’s challenge will be to win support from conservatives who don’t like party-hopping when they have other options.

In Illinois, voters can ask for either party’s primary ballot, and do not have to register a party affiliation in advance.

Griffin has said he is “all in” to defeat Pritzker; he faced a problem in that none of the four men already in the primary — state Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia; former state Sen. Paul Schimpf, R-Waterloo; and business executives Gary Rabine of Bull Valley and Jesse Sullivan of Petersburg — were seen as capable of beating the governor.

While a very conservative candidate with an anti-abortion and anti-mask-mandate message may win the June primary, a nominee with that profile may have trouble getting crossover votes from swing and independent voters in the suburbs in a general election against Pritzker.

The DGA was ready for Irvin. On Monday, even before he announced, the group was circulating a video it had produced showing clips of Irvin with Pritzker. In them, Irvin praised the governor as a “great friend” who helped guide the state through the COVID-19 pandemic while “making Black and Brown communities a priority for health care equity.”

The DGA said in a release: “Now, Irvin is attempting a complete 180, entering the Illinois GOP primary with the backing of billionaire Ken Griffin in an attempt to reboot the catastrophic governorship of Bruce Rauner.”

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