Just days before the Tuesday primary that will decide who goes on the ballot for governor, three Democratic candidates sparred during an open forum that featured some tense exchanges.
The March 14 debate between J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy and Daniel Biss saw the other two candidates repeatedly attack Pritzker, according to a release from the Illinois GOP.
A key issue in the debate was whether there had been any impropriety on the part of Hyatt Hotel heir Pritzker, who was accused of alleged unethical conduct in a Chicago Tribune report last week concerning whether he uses “offshore shell companies to avoid taxes on a for-profit business venture (he) owns in Illinois,” the GOP release states.
Private business owner J.B. Pritzker, running for Democrat's pick to challenge incumbent Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner
According to the Tribune, Biss and Kennedy called Pritzker a “liar” and a “fraud” over the companies, which Pritzker claims send money to charities.
"Remember, those trusts are focused on charitable donations so any distributions that are made go entirely to charity," he said, as quoted in a report on ABC’s Chicago TV affiliate.
However, TV station WTTW reported: “Pritzker insisted during Wednesday’s forum that he had no control over those accounts, but dodged a question about their ownership and claimed they pose no conflicts of interest.”
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