Democratic Candidates For Illinois Governor Hold Final Debate

CHICAGO — The three leading candidates in the March 20 Democratic gubernatorial primary met for a final televised debate Wednesday night on WTTW's Chicago Tonight. Moderated by Phil Ponce, the forum featured some familiar talking points as well as some fierce barbs heading into the final day of voting Tuesday.

The trio was unanimous about some things. Each of them voiced their support for "working families." None of them wants to raise the gas tax, close Chicago State University or abolish daylight savings time.

Of the three, only Pritzker said he would sell Chicago's James R. Thompson Center. Only Kennedy said he supported a Chicago casino. Only Biss called for Michael Madigan to step down as the leader of the Illinois Democratic Party, according to their answers to Ponce's yes-no questions.

Ponce repeatedly probed Pritzker about his network of companies and trusts on the day the Chicago Tribune published the an investigation into the billionaire's "secret offshore holdings." Pritzker said they were established long ago and solely benefit charity.

"I did not set up those companies, I did not set up those trusts, they're trying to reach back years and years, decades and decades and it's just not correct. It's not accurate," he said.

Pritzker said both of his opponents were desperate due to trailing him in the final days of the race, had been running negative campaigns all along and should answer for their records of failure. He disputed the depiction of his finances presented by Ponce and in the Tribune piece.

"You're calling that tax avoidance," Pritzker said of his trusts. "Charity is charity."

Ponce later asked whether the candidates supported Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, whose office has been found to operate a regressive tax system favoring wealthier and well-connected property owners at the expensive of poorer homeowners.

Pritzker took issue with the question before the other candidates had a chance to answer.

"I'm not revealing who I voted for or who I'm supporting in that race because I don't think we should be getting involved in Democratic primaries – we're running one ourselves," he said.

» Rauner, Pritzker Lead Illinois Primary Election Polls

"Oh my Gosh, if you can't take a position on whether Joe Berrios should be reelected...if you can't take the courage to take a position on that race you shouldn't be the governor of the state of Illinois," said Kennedy, who has focused on the property tax appeals system in the campaign. He called Pritzker a "property tax cheat."

Kennedy repeatedly claimed Pritzker was lying and accused him about misrepresenting his position in television advertisement. He said the billionaire front-runner was spending about $500,000 daily on “lies” about his opponents.

Biss was criticized for a 2012 pension reform bill that was later found unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court. Pritzker called it "pension theft."

"You're not who you say you are," Pritzker told Biss.

"I'm not going to sit here and be lectured about who's a progressive by the guy who's storing money offshore to avoid taxes and profiting off the Dakota Access Pipeline," Biss responded.

Kennedy said Biss was guilty of the "worst form of political pandering" by promising to raise revenue via a financial transaction tax. He said trading firms would easily conduct their business elsewhere and skirt the tax.

The three-way contest presented an opportunity for each of the candidates to respond to attacks from one of their opponents with an attack against the other.

Moderator Ponce asked if campaigns of the wealthy first-time candidates were "presumptuous," with neither Kennedy nor Pritzker ever having held elected office. Kennedy pointed to his time as chairman of the board of the University of Illinois, for which he was criticized by Pritzker. Pritzker pointed to his leadership role at private sector ventures.

Biss sought to link Pritzker and Kennedy, who he called "two guys that are experts in helping the wealthy evade taxes" to President Donald Trump and Gov. Bruce Rauner – elected executives who parlayed their wealthy backgrounds into elected office promising to reform a broken system.

"Throughout all of 2016, all Democrats were saying, 'Dude, Donald Trump should release his tax returns.' And now here we are in 2018, and two of the three leading candidates for governor won't do it. It's just not OK."

Video via WTTW

Earlier:
» Democrats Running For Illinois Governor Hold First Televised Debate
» Who have newspapers endorsed in Illinois primary races?
» What do you need to know before the March 20 Illinois primary?