Prairie State Wire

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin has thrown his support behind Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin in the governor’s race.

Durkin not only has provided blessing for Irvin’s run he has also lent his deputy chief of staff and spokeswoman for the his candidacy, announced on Jan. 17.

“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.”

In addition to Durkin, Irvin has garnered the support of over 60 ranking GOP members in the state.

Irvin, a former prosecutor, is poised to take a tough-on-crime candidacy amid historic waves of violent crime in the state’s urban areas, particularly Chicago and Cook County.

He announced his campaign on Martin Luther King Jr. day. Irvin would become the first black governor if he were to win.

Irvin will face off against a crowded GOP field including state Sen. Darren Bailey, businessman Gary Rabine, former state senate member Paul Schimpf and tech entrepreneur Jesse Sullivan for the Republican nomination.

Bailey called into question Irvin’s voting history upon his announcement noting that he had voted in Democrat primaries in 2014, 2016 and 2020.

However, Irvin’s voting record does not appear to be off-putting to Durkin.

Irvin is joined by State Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Pawnee) who is running as his lieutenant governor.

Bourne and Durkin notably collaborated on an ethics reform package aimed at ethic reform in the wake of the ComEd bribery scandal that sank the career of House Speaker Michael Madigan.

The Reimagine Illinois project — aimed at structural ethics reform — was pumped by Durkin, Bourne and others last year but has largely faded from memory as Springfield has been hesitant to enact any meaningful ethics reform.  

The gubernatorial primary will be held on June 28.