Dupage Policy Journal

Former state senator and Woodbridge-based attorney Ron Sandack is accusing the backers of GOP gubernatorial candidate Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin of trying to turn him into a different person for the race. 

"(Ken) Griffin wanted to make/mold a winning candidate out of whole cloth," Sandack said on Twitter. "He didn't care that Irvin wasn't a Republican, he thought (wrongly) he was without a record worth criticizing ... he was again wrong." 

Hedge fund billionaire Griffin has backed Irvin to prevent Gov. J.B. Pritzker from being seated again. Griffin, who has been a vocal opponent of the governor, has threatened to move his company Citadel, which employs 1,100 people, out of the state.

Irvin declined the opportunity to debate other Republican candidates in an open forum, Will County Gazette reported. He chose to skip the Central Illinois Republican Governor Candidate Forum to the chagrin of conservatives.  

"I don't like when governor candidates dodge large well-attended debates which are really forums where questions are asked by a moderator and they can reply," Will County Board member and Homer Township Supervisor Steve Balich said. "The only debate that usually happens is when a candidate says something about another candidate and the other candidate can respond. It is essentially giving the voters a chance to compare what each said. This is extremely important!" 

State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) led the GOP field in early polling. He called Irvin a "career Democrat" over what he describes as Irvin's largely Democratic voting history, SE Illinois News reported.