Dupage Policy Journal

Aurora Mayor and GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin is facing unwanted attention after a police report indicates he fixed charges against his girlfriend after she hit a security guard at a cannabis dispensary. 

“You don’t know who my boyfriend is. He’s the mayor of Aurora,” Chicago’s Morning Answer co-host Dan Proft, tweeted from a report on the incident. “Her boyfriend called someone via Bluetooth within the vehicle and relayed to the person on the other end of the phone that the ‘charges would be taken care of.’” 

According to the Chicago Tribune, Laura Ayala-Clarke, Irvin’s then-girlfriend, was at Zen Leaf buying cannabis products on May 24, 2021, when she refused to leave the premises after being asked to do so. The Tribune reports Ayala-Clarke “kicked the security guard in the leg and struck her in the abdomen before the guard pepper sprayed Ayala-Clarke in the face, according to the report.” Irvin told the Tribune he arrived on the scene afterward where the police report indicates he was overheard saying “the charges will be taken care of.”

The newly released report has many questioning Irvin’s previous comments regarding his “tough on crime” stance.

Irvin was lampooned earlier this year for misreporting the numbers in his debunked claim that he had reduced Aurora’s homicide rate by 40%, according to the Dupage Policy Journal. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Better Government Association (BGA) said Irvin’s claim was “misleading.” 

"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," according to BGA. "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.”

The incident is just the latest case of Irvin’s girlfriends behaving badly, according to the Kane County Reporter. His so-called “baby momma” Kane County judicial candidate Brittany Michelle Pedersen, with whom Irvin has twins outside of his marriage, notably was accused of saying she “hates all Republicans” and taking food off of an event attendee’s plate.

The revelations have critics calling into question the support Irvin has drawn from local law enforcement across the state. The list of law enforcement endorsements for Irvin includes the below: 

• Chris Bayless, retired special agent (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives) 

• Tony Childress, former Livingston County sheriff 

• Tina Sherrow Bayless, retired special agent (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives) 

• Roy Bethge, chief of police (Village of Cherry Valley) 

• Jack Campbell, Sangamon County sheriff 

• Mike Carmody, Morgan County sheriff 

• John Carter, chief of police (City of Monticello) 

• Mark Doran, Ford County sheriff 

• Gus Gloede, retired police officer (Village of Lisle) 

• Terry Lemming, chief of police, retired chief of police (City of Lockport), retired command officer (Illinois State Police) 

• Vince Logan, law enforcement instructor, police officer 

• Michael Murphy, commissioner of Public Health and Safety (City of Hillsboro) 

• Mike Pila, retired police lieutenant (Village of Orland Park)

• Mike Ringhausen, Jersey County sheriff 

• David Russell, Fayette County sheriff 

• Patrick Sheehan, police officer 

• Pete Sopczak, Johnson County sheriff 

• Dwayne Wheeler, chief of police (City of Taylorville) 

• Jerald White, firefighter, Grundy County board member 

• Brian VanVickle, Ogle County sheriff, past president (Illinois County Sheriffs' Association)