SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois governor has defended a television ad paid for by the Democratic Governors Association that attacks one of the Republican challengers for governor.
Democrat J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday that the ad attacking Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin for his experience as a defense attorney is “simply telling the truth.”
Pritzker has donated more than $2 million to the association since 2017.
Irvin has the backing of billionaire hedge-fund chief Ken Griffin and has made blaming Pritzker for increasing crime a focus of his campaign. The ad says “Irvin has been getting rich by putting violent criminals back on our streets.”
Campaign finance expert Kent Redfield says an outside group’s involvement in the opposition’s primary campaign is unusual.
