Democrats Petition To Keep Only Downstate Gubernatorial Debate

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Democratic gubernatorial candidates have been collecting signatures to prevent the cancellation of the only televised downstate debate before the March primary after billionaire front runner J.B. Pritker said he would not attended a scheduled March 5 debate hosted by WCIA-TV.

State Sen. Daniel Biss's campaign announced it has collected 2,400 signatures to its "Save Our Downstate Debate" petition that it announced Feb. 7. Chris Kennedy's campaign has collected more than 1,000 signatures on a petition it announced later that same day.

"We all need to be vetted by the press and by the voters. J.B. shouldn’t be exempt from that, but if he chooses to hide behind his TV ads and sit out this debate, the debate should still happen," Kennedy's petition said.

The campaign of the only candidate hailing from downstate, Madison County Superintendent Bob Daiber, sent a letter to WCIA's news director calling on the station to go ahead with the debate.

"Think about this: Who is J.B. Pritzker? He has no experience in politics or government, just lots of money," wrote Daiber's communications director, Jim Anderson. "He is nothing but a creation of an advertising agency. He is viable in this race only because he has put $50 million of his own money into a paid, commercial campaign – just the way you sell tires or soda."

Pritzker has given nearly $50 million of his fortune to his campaign, records show. That money has allowed him to saturate the airwaves and pay for an unprecedented number of staff for a gubernatorial primary, according to Democrats who have campaigned in past elections. Recently, his campaign has been airing ads featuring party leaders endorsing him as candidate with the best chance of defeating Governor Bruce Rauner.

“Clearly, J.B. Pritzker is worried," Biss's communications director, Tom Elliott, said Wednesday. "And Illinois voters clearly want to see this debate continue with or without him."

Saying Democrats need support not only from Chicago, Kennedy told supporters it would be a "colossal mistake to cancel the debate."

Elliot said it "seems J.B. is afraid to answer the tough questions being raised about his campaign, which raises serious doubt about whether he’s actually prepared to face Bruce Rauner in the fall.”

The Evanston Democrat's campaign has looked portray to Biss as a middle-class alternative to his wealthier opponents. But according to public polling data, he has found little support outside of Chicago and its suburbs.

According to a Public Policy Poll conducted last month – before the release of an FBI tape featuring Pritzker discussing black politicians with jailed former Gov. Rod Blagojevich – Pritzker is the leading candidate among downstate voters, with close to 38 percent of the vote. Kennedy was his nearest challenger, with almost 16 percent, while another 38 percent remained undecided.

The March 5 debate has been scheduled to take place just over two weeks before the primary election and on the same day as expanded early voting.

Biss' campaign has pointed out that WCIA had published two stories investigating Pritzker's financial dealings shortly before before the longtime Democratic fundraiser confirmed he would be skipping the CBS affiliate's debate.

One report focused on how Pritzker unloaded more than $220 million in stock when it looked like Hilary Clinton might not appoint him to a cabinet position. He had donated more than $15 million to the main Clinton-aligned Super PAC, which was run by his current campaign manager.

In a subsequent story showing how Pritzker directed maximum corporate contributions to Illinois Speaker Mike Madigan's political campaign and the state party though a shell company, the Hyatt heir told WCIA it had all been part of a "planned transaction" that had "nothing to do with any of what you have suggested in your article."

Pritzker's campaign did not answer questions about why or when he decided not to attend the debate nor the suggestion that WCIA's reporting influenced the campaign's decision not to participate in the station's televised debate.

Instead, his press secretary, Jordan Abudayyeh, said more debates have already been scheduled for this year than in past primaries.

"J.B. will continue focusing on traveling across the state to have individual conversations with voters and make sure that he is sharing his vision of thinking big to get real results for Illinois families and communities,” she wrote in an email Thursday.

» Biss Leaps Over Kennedy In 2nd Place, Pritzker's Lead Slips: Poll