Pritzker Launches Ad Accusing Irvin and Griffin of Billions in Pay-to-Play
Aurora Mayor and GOP candidate for Governor Richard Irvin speaks in Springfield in March. (Photo: State Journal-Register)
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Governor JB Pritzker’s campaign is out with a new ad today alleging some pretty heavy pay-to-play between billionaire Ken Griffin and Aurora Mayor and GOP candidate for Governor Richard Irvin. If the ad doesn’t pop up below, it’s here.
Here’s the background:
You’d never guess that wealth and power in America converge here, at the intersection of Diehl and Eola roads, off Interstate 88, west of Chicago.
But not everything is as it seems in Aurora, Illinois.
On one side is hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin, a rising power in Republican money circles. On the other is Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat and billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune.
Griffin, founder of Citadel, is the richest person in the state, and one of the richest anywhere in the country, with a net worth of about $30 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He’s poured tens of millions of dollars into this year’s congressional races and has vowed to go “all in” to see that Pritzker is voted out, too.
While the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is headquartered more than 30 miles away, virtually all the trading happens between computers here in a data center on Diehl Road. Dish antennas attached to towers are crucial to making this work and enabling firms to keep pace with rivals. That’s because the antennas beam buy and sell orders to other financial markets in Chicago, the U.S. East Coast and elsewhere around the globe.
Griffin has said Irvin only came to his attention a few months ago, but the mayor has been a presence in Citadel’s world for some time. Irvin, 52, has served as a sort-of gatekeeper for high-speed traders -- firms that author Michael Lewis dubbed “flash boys” -- seeking to access the CME data center.
As Bloomberg Businessweek reported in 2019, he helped a local company, Scientel Solutions, win permission to erect a communications tower despite initial objections from the city council -- and allegations from the data center’s operator that the structure would interfere with efforts to grant fair access to the exchange.
In a statement, a Citadel Securities spokesman said: “Conspiracy theories aside, Ken’s support for Richard Irvin is solely based on the belief that Mayor Irvin is the best candidate to tackle the severe problems facing Illinois.”
“Richard Irvin has repeatedly urged the public to examine his record, which is exactly what this ad does. The more we learn about him, the worse it gets,” said Pritzker campaign spokesperson Natalie Edelstein.”
The Illinoize asked the Pritzker campaign to cite the source of their $6 billion in profit claim in the ad.
More from the Tribune:
Griffin, who has feuded politically with the first-term Democratic governor, has given Irvin $45 million in his bid to win the GOP nomination for governor and the right to face Pritzker on June 28.
In an invective-filled statement Thursday, Griffin said the TV attacks show Pritzker fears facing Irvin in the fall.
“I don’t care about the governor’s pathetic attacks against me. I started one of the most important businesses in the world at the age of 21 right here in Chicago. And unlike J.B. Pritzker, I’ve endured real challenges and made real sacrifices in writing the success story of Citadel,” Griffin said.
“J.B. Pritzker was gifted a life of tremendous wealth. It’s disappointing that a man born with a silver spoon has accomplished so little, especially as governor. Pritzker’s policies have driven the largest crime wave in the history of Illinois,” Griffin said. “Richard is the exact opposite of J.B. and has already done more for the people of Illinois than silver spooned billionaire J.B. Pritzker ever will.”
Griffin is the state’s wealthiest individual with a net worth of $25.8 billion, according to Forbes. Pritzker, an entrepreneur and an heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, is worth $3.6 billion, according to Forbes.
The Irvin campaign hasn’t responded.