THE ILLINOIZE: Friday Update

December 17, 2021

Good morning. A quick update to our story yesterday about billionaire Ken Griffin’s plans to fund a GOP slate of candidates for statewide office:

Griffin Camp Pushes Back on Reports of a GOP Slate

A The Illinoize report Thursday that Illinois’ richest person, Ken Griffin, was planning to fund a slate of statewide GOP candidates in 2022 has led the billionaire to push back. The proposed slate would be led by Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin.

"We have real problems in Illinois with violence, corruption and profligate spending and I look forward to supporting candidates - be it Republican or Democrat - who will address these issues that plague our state,” Griffin said in a statement.

Griffin has said he would work to defeat Democratic incumbent JB Pritzker, who Griffin has had public spats with in recent months. Combined with his previous support for Republican candidates including former Governor Bruce Rauner, money spent against a Democrat Supreme Court Justice as well as Pritzker’s graduated income tax initiative in 2020, it’s unlikely Griffin would support a Democratic candidate.

A source familiar with Griffin’s thinking tells The Illinoize Griffin has not met any of the Republican candidates for Governor and he has not offered a dime to any potential candidate. Though, another source tells us Griffin is using top Republican insiders, like former Rauner Chief of Staff Mike Zolnierowicz, known in Republican circles as “Mike Z.” Zolnierowicz has not returned a message seeking comment.

(Disclosure: I worked under Mike Z on a campaign in 2012.)

Read more of our story here.

We’ve requested an interview with Griffin. A spokesman for Irvin did not respond to The Illinoize. Bourne also did not return a message.