Illinois gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin, right, and Lt. Gov. candidate Avery Bourne | Twitter/Richard Irvin & Avery Bourne For Illinois
Illinois gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin, right, and Lt. Gov. candidate Avery Bourne | Twitter/Richard Irvin & Avery Bourne For Illinois
Richard Irvin touts that crime rates decreased by more than one-third during his first year as the Aurora mayor.
“In my first year in office, Aurora homicides went down by 40%," he tweeted. "While crime is exploding under anti-police politicians, I have suppressed crime in Aurora. Send me to Springfield and I’ll do the same thing across all Illinois.”
Homicides in the city have been lessened by two cases a year after he won the mayoral seat in 2017.
“Irvin claimed that he reduced the number of homicides by 40% during his first year as Aurora mayor," the Better Government Association said in a report. "There is only an element of truth in this claim: Homicides in Aurora dropped from six to four during Irvin’s first year as mayor. Experts say using percentages to describe the small fluctuations in the city’s homicide stats is misleading, and there is no proven connection to Irvin’s policies.”
Conservatives have chastised Irvin for bucking science in favor of political pressure on masks. Irvin and running mate Avery Bourne have been called “Madigan’s favorite Republicans" for backing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Covid mandates.
Republican gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) has criticized Irvin’s candidacy given his history of voting as a democrat. Irvin will face Bailey, businessman Gary Rabine, former state senate member Paul Schimpf. and tech entrepreneur Jesse Sullivan for the Republican nomination.
Irvin’s campaign is being backed by billionaire Ken Griffin. He is getting material support from Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin.
“As murders, carjackings and mayhem surged across Illinois, J.B. Pritzker’s answer was signing a bill that lets violent criminals walk the streets without consequence while crippling the ability of our police to do their jobs and keep our communities safe,” Durkin said in a statement. “Richard Irvin was a prosecutor who knows what it takes to make Illinois safe. As mayor, Richard hired more cops and stood proudly with law enforcement when Illinois Democrats repeatedly turned their backs. That’s the kind of leadership we need today in Illinois.”
The Illinois gubernatorial primary is June 28.
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