Forces aligned with billionaire Ken Griffin are pushing the Illinois Republican Party to back his preferred slate of candidates for 2022 and are focusing on Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin as a candidate for governor, sources familiar with the planning said Thursday.

       In exchange for the Illinois GOP’s first modern-day endorsement of a slate of statewide candidates, Griffin would help underwrite the state party financially while also pumping at least $150 million into the race for governor, the sources said.

       Ken Griffin, shown in November 2014, is the founder and CEO of the Chicago-based Citadel investment firm and the state’s wealthiest person, worth $20.9 billion, according to Forbes. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tri / Chicago Tribune)

       Although much of the discussion on a candidate to challenge first-term Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker has centered on Irvin, the two-term mayor of Aurora, no final decision has been made, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

       But an announcement on Griffin’s choice for governor and in other races is expected in early January, shortly before candidates can begin circulating petitions to appear on the June 28 primary ballot.

       Besides Irvin, who was elected as Aurora’s first Black mayor in 2017, the tentative ticket also includes state Rep. Avery Bourne as lieutenant governor. Bourne, 29, a three-term lawmaker from Downstate Morrisonville, is widely viewed as a future star in the party.

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       Neither Irvin nor Bourne responded to a request for comment

       Griffin is the founder and CEO of the Chicago-based Citadel investment firm and the state’s wealthiest person, worth $20.9 billion, according to Forbes. A source close to Griffin said talk of his deciding on a slate of candidates or on any level of funding was pure speculation.

       State Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Litchfield, speaks at Republicans Day at the Illinois State Fair on Aug. 19, 2021. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

       Griffin “has not decided yet who to support for governor” because the field hasn’t been fully formed, the source said.

       In a statement Thursday in response to questions about the 2022 campaign, Griffin said, “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 is an ardent opponent of Pritzker, a billionaire first-term governor and heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune who’s worth $3.6 billion, according to Forbes.

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       Griffin spent $22.5 million helping fund one-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s losing reelection bid in 2018 against Pritzker, who spent more than $170 million of his own money in his successful run.

       Last year, Griffin spent $53.75 million to successfully defeat Pritzker’s push for a graduated-rate state income tax system. Pritzker spent $58 million to encourage its passage.

       Griffin last month vowed to go “all in” against Pritzker’s reelection but has not been satisfied with the four announced contenders for the GOP governor nomination — businessmen Gary Rabine of Bull Valley and Jesse Sullivan of Petersburg, state Sen. Darren Bailey of Xenia and former state Sen. Paul Schimpf of Waterloo.

       But some Republicans are questioning the strategy of a Griffin-backed slate being pushed through a cash-hungry state GOP.

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       “These Griffin people behind the curtain, we don’t know. Is it like the Wizard of Oz?” said one prominent Republican who asked not to be identified because he didn’t want to anger Griffin.

       “I’m not saying they don’t have any credibility, but it’s a little bold to say to the Republican State Central Committee, ‘OK boys and girls, line up. This is what we’re going to do,’“ the source said.

       Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin speaks at the Aurora Police Department in March 2018. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

       The Republican said he also didn’t see the existing candidates for governor dropping out of the race, opening the door to further divisions within the state GOP.

       Irvin, 51, grew up in Aurora public housing and was raised by a single mother. He joined the U.S. Army after graduating from East Aurora High School and served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

       After returning home, he graduated from Robert Morris University and got a law degree from Northern Illinois University.

       He previously was an assistant state’s attorney in the Cook County and Kane County state’s attorney’s offices before opening his own private practice. In 2007, Irvin became the first Black male elected to the Aurora City Council as an at-large member, and held that post until his election as mayor.

       A bid for governor would represent a change of heart. In October, he laughed off a Tribune reporter’s question about a gubernatorial run or whether he had been in talks with Griffin.

       There are also questions about Irvin’s positions on social issues that run counter to those held by the GOP base, including support for abortion and immigrant rights, and his proclaiming Aurora a sanctuary city for immigrants who lack legal status.

       Irvin also declared a day in honor of the state’s director of public health, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, who has been a driving force in Pritzker’s pandemic restrictions and in urging vaccinations — positions most of the current field of GOP governor candidates have opposed.

       In addition, Irvin cast a Democratic ballot in four of the last five primary elections, including last year, Kane County officials said.

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