Kennedy, Biss question Pritzker's electability, citing Blagojevich ties

Democratic governor candidates Chris Kennedy and Daniel Biss on Tuesday night questioned rival J.B. Pritzker’s electability in a general election matchup against Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, citing Pritzker’s ties to imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

But Pritzker said the eventual Democratic winner in the March 20 primary won’t be immune from attacks by the wealthy governor. Pritzker also questioned whether recent comments Kennedy made crediting Rauner’s attacks on the state’s political culture meant the governor would rather face Kennedy in the fall.

The sparring came during a nearly 90-minute forum at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, hosted by the Daily Herald newspaper group and WSIL-TV in Harrisburg. The first major Downstate forum featured questions of regional interest and saw the candidates criticize the Democratic Party for not working hard enough in an area that overwhelmingly embraced Donald Trump for president in November 2016.

The latest debate followed the theme of previous candidate gatherings, with a firm target being placed on Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune who has coalesced much of the Democratic establishment behind his candidacy.

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