GOP gubernatorial candidate Gary Rabine runs a group of 11 companies based out of the Rabine Group headquarters in Woodstock. | Rabine for Governor
GOP gubernatorial candidate Gary Rabine runs a group of 11 companies based out of the Rabine Group headquarters in Woodstock. | Rabine for Governor
GOP candidate for governor Gary Rabine is questioning the recent campaign announcement of registered Democrat Richard Irvin.
Irvin, 51, has been the mayor of Aurora since 2017, and he was re-elected in 2021.
“I would like to welcome Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin to the governor’s race and to the Illinois Republican Party,” Rabine told Kane County Reporter. "After years of pulling Democratic primary ballots in years when Pat Quinn, Hillary and Joe Biden were top of the ticket, I am interested to hear what changed your mind on party affiliation. Equally compelling will be your explanation on supporting sanctuary cities and your effusive praise for Governor Pritzker. But I guess that’s what campaigns are all about.”
Rabine has been a fierce critic of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive orders regarding COVID-19 mandates, noting Pritzker himself has cast doubt on the legality of his orders. He's referring to Pritzker's ultimately successful move to change Illinois' Heathcare Right of Conscience Act to prevent it from being used to buck public health mandates, ABC7 reported.
Despite announcing his run as a Republican, Irvin voted in Democrat primaries in three recent election cycles, according to NPR Illinois.
He would be the state's first black governor.
“I am a life-long conservative Republican. I am pro-life, pro-gun and a fiscal hawk. I founded my now nationwide business in Illinois shortly after I graduated from high school. I have supported the Republican Party, conservative candidates, and the promotion of fundamental freedoms for decades,” Rabine said.
Rabine also noted his recent judicial activism against executive overreach in the federal government.
“Just last week, I was one of the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit that successfully stopped the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate in the United States Supreme Court. I was one of the largest donors in Illinois to the Trump campaign and I have never voted in a Democratic Primary,” Rabine said.
Rabine runs a group of 11 companies based out of the Rabine Group headquarters in Woodstock. Rabine’s holding are in pavement construction and maintenance, real estate technology, roofing maintenance and construction, snow removal, pipe televising and trucking.
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