Will County Gazette

Rep. Jim Durkin has called out Gov. J. B. Pritzker for trying to meddle in the GOP primary election.

Durkin spoke at a March 31 news conference about an ad that attacks Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin in his run for governor. He accuses Pritzker of trying to hide behind "political insider groups."

"Our men and women who put their lives on the line every single day for our safety and for us to deserve a governor who will have their backs," Durkin said. "Not a governor who prioritizes the criminal class over the working class. Today I call on Gov. Pritzker to stop this obvious effort to hijack the Republican primary election for governor. The governor is too afraid to even put his name on the ads. He needs to grow up and stop trying to buy his way out of the problems he has created these last four years."

ABC 7 Chicago reports that Pritzker has contributed more than $3 million to the Democratic Governors Association since 2017, with his most recent contribution being $250,000 at the end of 2021.

The attack ad against Irvin is part of a $700,000 ad campaign by the Democratic Governors Association, according to ABC 7 Chicago.

"You wouldn't think J.B. Pritzker wouldn't need help with advertising," ABC7 political analyst Laura Washington said. "He's got all the money in the world, but he has allies in the Democratic Party that want to see him stay in office. And so they're lending him a hand with these ads. And it gives J.B. Pritzker the ability to say, 'I had nothing to do with it,' and to be hands-off."