CHICAGO WITHDRAWS FROM BIDDING FOR 2026 WORLD CUP
In final gov debate, 3 major candidates haggle over Madigan, Berrios, taxes, integrity
Each painted the picture of himself he wanted voters to see:
The true “progressive.” The one with values. And the one who can defeat Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner come November.
During Wednesday night’s final televised debate before next week’s primary, billionaire entrepreneur J. B. Pritzker tried to look ahead to November while fending off his rivals’ attacks; state Sen. Daniel Biss touted his record in Springfield as proof of his progressive values; and businessman Chris Kennedy vowed to be an honest and untethered candidate.
There were no pleasantries or how- do- you- dos. The three major candidates — excluded were former Ceasefire Director Tio Hardiman, Madison County Schools Supt. Bob Daiber and Burr Ridge doctor Robert Marshall— took rapid fire shots at each other.
“It seems to me once again you don’t know who Dan Biss really is,” Pritzker said about the senator from Evanston criticizing state House Speaker Mike Madigan — but voting for him as speaker, accepting Madigan’s money, and helping to run a super PAC for him.
Biss called the attack “bananas,” reiterating that he will continue to work with Democrats if elected.
Biss blasted both Kennedy and Pritzker for tax breaks the two received.
“We should let these two guys keep arguing until 8 o’clock about who is scamming the tax system worse,” Biss said about halfway through the hour- long debate.
And Kennedy chimed in “Oh, my Gosh” after Pritzker said he wouldn’t take a position on Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios’ re- election race, while also comparing Pritzker to someone lying on a job interview. A defiant Kennedy also asked Pritzker to take down a TV ad that asserts that Kennedy supports taxing retirement income — a claim Kennedy has denied.
“I’ve hired a lot of people and I can tell you just one piece of advice to the voters of the state,” Kennedy said. “You should never hire someone who lies to you during a job interview. If they’ll lie to you to get the job, they’ll lie to you to keep the job. And you do not want a liar as the governor of the state of Illinois trying to keep that job.”
Pritzker was forced to defend himself against a Chicago Tribune report that claimed Pritzker and his brother control several offshore companies created between 2008 and 2011 — suggesting that Pritzker may be avoiding paying taxes.
“There’s nothing new in that story in the Chicago Tribune. I’ve said all along there were trusts created generations ago. I don’t receive any distributions from those trusts, and all the distributions go to charity,” Pritzker said.
Asked for an example of a formative life experience, Pritzker spoke of losing his mother at 17 and her struggles with alcoholism: “I watched her struggle with addiction. And I don’t want others to have to do that. And I want to live up to her values, the things that she set for us about fighting for social and economic justice, equality and inclusion.”
Kennedy spoke of the pain of losing his father, former U. S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
“I think about my father’s death, and I know that the bullet that kills the father wounds the child,” Kennedy said, adding his siblings have struggled with substance abuse and mental illness.
Biss spoke of a more lighthearted moment — meeting his wife Karen in 2005 at a Texas airport: “It changed my life completely.”