Republican candidate for governor Richard Irvin on Thursday blamed sweeping criminal justice reforms signed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker for playing a role in the deaths of eight law enforcement officers in Illinois over the past year, even though many of the law’s provisions have yet to go into effect.
“Let me tell you how many police officers have been killed since that bill has been signed: eight. Eight police officers have been killed in the line of duty since that bill has been signed,” Irvin said, noting the last was the late December murder of Bradley police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic by an assailant using her own gun. “Of course, signing that bill affects crime in this state.”
The accusation from Irvin, the mayor of Aurora, came during a brief 12-minute interview with the Tribune as he conducted a second day of media question-and-answer sessions more than two weeks after he formally launched his bid for the June 28 GOP primary nomination.
A Pritzker spokeswoman said Irvin’s attempt to blame the governor for actions under “a bill that hasn’t even gone into effect demonstrates a frightening lack of understanding for someone seeking the state’s highest office.”
Irvin, backed by many in the state’s GOP establishment despite questions about his Republican credentials, did not directly answer if he believed Donald Trump’s false contention that the 2020 presidential election was stolen or if he voted for Trump.
He dismissed questions about Trump as efforts by Democrats to try to turn attention from his leadership abilities, though each of the four other GOP contenders for the nomination have been asked similar questions upon their entry into the race. Allegiance to Trump is key for many Republican voters, particularly in downstate, rural areas.
Irvin, a former local state’s attorney and defense attorney before becoming Aurora’s first Black mayor in 2017, stuck to a Republican playbook looking to paint Pritzker and Democrats as soft on crime amid violent outbreaks of gun violence, smash-and-grab retail thefts and carjackings in Illinois, something also occurring at the national level.
The crime theme has been pushed by billionaire businessman Ken Griffin, who is widely expected to back Irvin and whose funding ability is seen as critical to the Republican candidate’s success.
Asked how much influence Griffin would have in a prospective Irvin administration, the mayor said accusations by his GOP rivals that he would be a puppet of the hedge fund billionaire “offends me.”
“I am nobody’s pushover,” said Irvin, an Army veteran. “I am my own man. Always have. Always will be.”
Irvin called crime in Illinois “out of control” and said it didn’t matter that many provisions of the sweeping criminal justice reform package signed by Pritzker last year, including an end to cash bail, have yet to take effect.
“It’s not even about (the law) going into effect. It’s about the fact that the criminals know what’s coming. They know that when they get arrested, they’re not going to have to post bond. That empowers criminals to want to commit more crime,” Irvin said.
A national database on deceased law enforcement members, the Officer Down Memorial Page, shows eight Illinois officers killed from gunfire, assault or vehicular assault in 2021. A ninth died in an automobile crash.
In addition to questioning Irvin’s knowledge of the criminal justice changes, Pritzker’s campaign said the Republican candidate’s law-and-order credentials should include a review of his time as a criminal defense attorney
“If Richard Irvin was serious about solving crime then he would be honest about the 15 years he spent downplaying the trauma of survivors and keeping violent abusers out of jail and free from accountability,” the campaign said in a statement.
The campaign also noted that Pritzker’s budget proposed on Wednesday would more than triple state violence prevention funding and makes the single largest investment in state history to expand Illinois State Police cadet classes.
An Irvin campaign commercial that focuses on the law-and-order issue says he called the National Guard into Aurora to quell a May 31, 2020, protest over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police that turned violent.
Only governors have the ability to authorize the use of the National Guard. Asked specifically if he was the one who called in the Guard, Irvin said he watched as his emergency management director requested guard assistance.
Irvin has found his Republican credentials under fire from rivals for the nomination, most notably over his pulling a Democratic primary ballot in 2014, 2016 and 2020.
He explained that in a heavily Democratic area, he cast a vote for down-ballot Democrats who, “even though they are not Republicans, are following the same conservative views and values to move Aurora forward.”
“It’s worked because I’ve done more economic development in my city in four years than the city has seen in 40 years,” Irvin said.
Irvin sought to distance himself from Trump. Asked if he agreed with Trump that the 2020 election had been stolen, Irvin replied, “Listen, Joe Biden is president,” before contending the controversial former Republican president was someone Pritzker “wants us to be talking about” because “he doesn’t want to talk about his failed record.”
Asked how he would appeal to conservative Trump supporters, Irvin maintained that voters aren’t concerned about the former president, but about issues important to the state.
“I’ll be looking for support from anyone that believes in what’s important to our residents in Illinois,” he said.
While Irvin repeatedly bashed Pritzker’s leadership, last March he publicly lauded the first-term governor at a pandemic vaccination event in Aurora, calling him “a great friend, a great leader who has guided our state with professionalism and compassion throughout this entire pandemic.”
Now, Irvin said he is generally opposed to coronavirus mandates and favors local control. He said he has been vaccinated and received a booster for the coronavirus.
As for his remarks supportive of Pritzker less than a year ago, Irvin said, “My mother taught me great manners” and “I was just being polite.”
So did Irvin say something he didn’t really mean?
“I’m saying, listen, when the governor of Illinois comes to town and you rely on the governor for so many resources in your city, the second largest city in the state, it’s probably good to be polite,” Irvin said.