Illinois Republicans respond to DGA commercial

Posted on April 1, 2022
Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) and State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) spoke at a news conference Thursday. (Dave Dahl/WJBC)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – For those paying attention to political commercials on television, State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) has a message for you:

“We’re here today to discuss Gov. (JB) Pritzker’s meddling and blatant attempt to hijack the Republican primary by having his allies at the Democrat(ic) Governors Association run false ads on Richard Irvin.”

Irvin is the Aurora mayor and perceived by Rezin and House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) as the front-runner among five Republican candidates for governor. Without providing proof, the two accused Pritzker of bankrolling the commercials, which depict Irvin as a hypocrite for defending alleged violent criminals earlier in his career, then running for governor in 2022 as a “tough on crime” candidate.

Rezin and Durkin say polling results for a potential Irvin-Pritzker matchup in the general election scare Pritzker, whom they accuse of being soft on crime and anti-police.

A statement attributed to Christina Amestoy, DGA senior communications advisor:

“Republican elected officials need to be held accountable for their entire record, not just the pieces they choose to advertise. Irvin made a politically expedient choice to center his appeal around a dishonest retelling of history. This ad sets the record straight on Richard Irvin, an elected official who presents himself as something the facts say he is not — given the state of things in today’s Republican Party, no surprise they’d consider that ‘meddling.'”

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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