Note from John Lopez: With the expected announcement on MLK Day tomorrow of Aurora Mayor Richard C. Irvin seeking the Republican nomination for governor in the primary, moving this article, originally published on December 18, for readers to learn more about Irvin.
“But the [Aurora Mayor Richard] Irvin issue that should truly frost your cookies is his propensity to put former girlfriends in cushy City jobs. That list amounts to four with one making $132,000 a year in an utterly unnecessary position created just for her.
“It gets better, too! In what has to be the worst-kept ‘secret’ in Kane County, Irvin had twins with long-term former girlfriend and attorney, Brittany Pedersen.“ — Jeff Ward, “The First Ward Report – It’s time to elect a new Mayor, Aurora”, The First Ward, September 30, 2020
From the desk of John Lopez: I know it’s a week before Christmas, and most people are not thinking about politics or the 2022 elections right now, in spite of the flurry of activity which took place surrounding the Illinois governor’s race for 2022, including:
- Leaked private conversations Democrat Governor JB Pritzker has presidential ambitions for possibly as soon as 2024
- State Senator and Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Darren Bailey announced former radio show host Stephanie Trussell will be his lieutenant governor running mate next year
- Ken Griffin, the richest man in Illinois, and/or his consultants leaked, after Bailey’s announcement he is recruiting a slate of candidates for next year’s election including the possibility of Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin as his choice for governor
The timing of the Griffin team’s leak of his own recruitment efforts for statewide candidates next year, with the metaphor of the “Henry F. Potter” character from It’s a Wonderful Life scheming with his money to make a different “Bailey” character’s life miserable within two weeks before Christmas resonates irony, McHenry County Blog began its own vetting of the 2-term mayor of Aurora, plus noting Irvin served as an at-large alderman on the Aurora City Council for 10 years prior to his mayoral election.
Since fellow blogger Jeff Ward of Geneva, who knows Kane County politics better than most in part through his 16 years as a reporter and columnist for the old Aurora Beacon-News in its pre-Chicago Tribune days has documented more about Irvin’s record as mayor, it’s time to be the good conservative and appropriately re-use the work Ward researched, and published especially since Ward served as a general consultant for Irvin during the 2017 elections.
Continuing the excerpt cited above from Ward’s September 30, 2020, article opining for a successful challenge to Mayor Irvin in the 2021 elections, that Ward himself predicted in the same article would fail:
“To be fair, Richard is a part of their [illegitimate twins’] lives and he pays a reasonable amount of non-court ordered child support. But guess who’s paying at least a portion of that trios’ insurance bill?
“That’s right! They’re insured through the City which puts the fine citizens of Aurora squarely on the hook.“To be clear, Richard’s love life is none of my or anyone else’s business until and unless he starts using taxpayer money to placate his ever-growing harem.
“Now [fall of 2020] Irvin’s promoting and helping Pedersen run for Kane County judge when her comportment and general track record clearly indicate she shouldn’t judge a third-grade science fair. We need more judges like her opponent, Elizabeth Flood, not fewer of them.”
The election Ward alludes to was for 16th Circuit Judge elected county wide between Republican Appointed Circuit Judge Elizabeth Flood and Brittany Pedersen, with the following result:
| Candidate | Votes | % of Vote |
| Republican Elizabeth Flood | 115,330 | 52 |
| Democrat Brittany Michelle Pedersen | 108,432 | 48 |
Given the countywide Republican races wipeout (circuit court clerk, auditor incumbents lost; open seats for county board chairman and state’s attorney flipped) in Kane County in 2020, Judge Flood escaped the carnage with a victory of just under 7,000 votes over the mother of Irvin’s illegitimate twins.
Those five races in Kane County last fall verified running countywide last year was a “year of the woman”.
So when it comes to “womanizing”, clearly what Irvin did with his involvement with Ms. Pedersen and other women Ward alluded to in his article last year, the younger Millennials and adult Gen Z readers may not be familiar with what “womanizing” really means. Merriam-Webster definition can be viewed here under the “intransitive verb” definition.
If Irvin does run for governor next year, expect the adjective of that term to be used frequently during the campaign given it’s involved taxpayer funds, per Ward’s research.
Jeff Ward’s full article on his The First Ward blog, a very informative read can be viewed here.
What about Irwin’s transgender date?
Billionaire hedge fund man Ken Griffin who is supposedly considering financially backing Mayor Irvin in the Republican gubernatorial primary is getting WRECKED by bloggers Jeff Ward and John Lopez.
LOL
Now Darren Bailey is asking Ken Griffin to throw his support behind Bailey.
It’s pathetic that Bailey is asking for that hedge fund money.
Go to 2:56 – 3:47 Bailey calls Griffin smart, has common sense, and is a hard worker.
Hedge fund: “hard work.”
Even considering a Democrat in a Republican primary: “common sense.”
Bailey’s butt-kissing of hedge fund man Ken Griffin is yucky.
https://www.facebook.com/BaileyforIllinois/videos/608297160390840
What does Bailey think Jesus would say about rich people trying to buy elections or thinking about supporting Irvin?
Is Griffin really not familiar with Irvin’s problems?
He certainly has enough money for oppo research.
Wouldn’t he have vetted Irvin? Griffin either knew about Irvin’s problems and put the rumor of him backing Irvin out there anyway or he wasn’t “smart” or had enough “common sense” to vet Irvin.
I know this won’t make Bailey’s supporters not support Bailey, but it makes some undecided people less likely to vote for him. It doesn’t show that he is principled or clean.
Also, Griffin is aware Bailey is running.
He hasn’t supported Bailey for a reason.
Take a hint, guy.
Griffin has known Bailey is running for governor since February.
Griffin doesn’t like you, Bailey, and you’re asking him for money!?
He thinks you can’t win, and even though Griffin might be a shady guy I agree with him on that.
Any person who does not live in a Republican echo chamber knows that.
Maybe Republicans should revisit whether Pritzker is profiting off the pandemic through his hotel chain.
Ah, yes, the party of Trump goes after Irvin for “womanizing.” LOL.
So, the heart of this story is that Irvin has had girlfriends? And that his kids are covered by the city’s insurance? Ward talks about 4 (ex?) girlfriends on the city payroll, but doesn’t name them. And you focus on Irvin’s “illegitimate” children and girlfriends?
Look – I think it is hilarious that Griffin may be pushing a pro-choice, pro-sanctuary city Democrat to run in the Republican Gubernatorial primary.
But going after Irvin for his sex life is is pretty unnecessary.
There are plenty of legitimate issues to hit Irvin on.
So, Irvin is really a DEMOCRAT. Got it, thanks JL.
Shake, playing Trump card, or the Rauner card as DGA press release did on Friday, won’t work in 2022 as Trump is long out of the White House, and even a couple of his pre-primary endorsed candidates have run into trouble, like Sean Parnell, who had to drop out of his U.S. Senate primary bid in Pennsylvania.
Inflation is real, and now-President Biden and the Democratic controlled Congress can’t get anything substantial done outside of ARPA.
Their “Build Back Better” legislation has now been pushed into 2022, and the current continuing resolution funding the government will expire by mid February. At least President Trump in his last two years of office, didn’t have to fund the government by continuing resolution into a new calendar year in his last two years of his presidency with Democrats in charge of the House, though it’s still unacceptable continuing resolutions are even needed nearly 3 months after the start of the fiscal year.
And now, FY2022 will be at least 4 1/2 months gone before Democrats in Congress can fund the government.
The point, and I said this in my previous article when Irvin went after men seeking help in a faith-based ministry in downtown Aurora (Wayside Cross Ministries) and the Aurora-based Hesed House, is Irvin has a plethora of issues in his record.
Ward covered them, documented them, and they’re all online, and Ward was Irvin’s general consult in the 2017 mayoral election.
Read Ward’s piece, and he explains why Irvin would be reelected, given the main challenger was too much of a buffoon.
The same article talking about womanizing, and the two illegitimate children resulting from them and the fact taxpayers now paying for their health insurance, is in addition to Irvin’s stance on BLM, and his letting Aurora be burned during last summer’s riots.
Dan Proft, on AM560 Friday morning, talked at length about Irvin’s BLM riots stance, and the fact he has no credibility to run for governor as a Republican given he let Aurora burn in 2020, instead of preemptive police/National Guard presence in Aurora to STOP any damage.
HonestAbe1, the documenting of the Democrat voting history, from the Kane County clerk, was part of my previous article, as it’s public record from the Kane County clerk.
The point is ALL of this oppo research is easy to find on Irvin, and McHenry County Blog showing Republican primary voters where and how to discern Irvin in light of the facts of his record, including womanizing and covering it through jobs and insurance within the City of Aurora.
Oh, and he ran a Democrat candidate who’s not his wife but bore twins of his to be a circuit judge last year?!?
I’m thankful the Republican appointed circuit judge was a woman, given Judge Flood and 5-term Recorder Sandy Wegman faced Democratic women in their respective election matchups and they were the only Republicans who won countywide in Kane County last year.
**Shake, playing Trump card, or the Rauner card as DGA press release did on Friday, won’t work in 2022 as Trump is long out of the White House**
Not “playing Trump card” – just calling out the hypocrisy.
I agree with you (as I already said) that Irvin has plenty of oppo.
And I will continue to state that you should focus on actual issues and not Irvin’s sex life. You focus on the marriages and personal lives of candidates you don’t like.
Yet you ignore them on candidates you support (i.e. my reference to Trump).
**covering it through jobs and insurance**
This is a trash hit.
He has his kids covered with this insurance.
That is a perfectly legitimate thing to do.
Would you rather he not insure his kids?
*** And I will continue to state that you should focus on actual issues and not Irvin’s sex life. ***
Nice try, Shake, but that’s not the record.
My first focus, in my first article on Irvin, was on Irvin’s record promoting Lauren Underwood’s lies about her SALT legislation 2 1/2 years ago, Democratic voting history in primaries, and what he tried to do with Wayside Cross Ministries and Hesed House, not to mention laying out the facts that Irvin first ran for mayor 16 years ago, which no one, outside of Dan Proft, knew/mention.
Something I didn’t dwell on, but equally important…Irvin tried to force sex offenders trying to reform their lives, under proper supervision through living at Wayside Cross Ministries (which uses the Pacific Garden Mission model to help any/all addicts, including sex addicts, recover and live productive lives in spite of limitations under the law), under the guise of a sham law (a “park” being close to Wayside Cross Ministries downtown Aurora location) for the 18-19 men into homelessness and where will they could be…MORE of a possible risk to children!
*** This is a trash hit. He has his kids covered with this insurance. That is a perfectly legitimate thing to do. Would you rather he not insure his kids? ***
Nothing trashy, just the truth and your question is rhetorical.
What Ward said were at least 4 women (through September 30, 2020) were on the Aurora payroll, one at $132K/year, and Ward was clear Irvin’s sex life, or anyone’s, is his own business, except when taxpayer money was involved.
Put another way, had Irvin helped his ex girlfriends find jobs in the private sector, then it’s not the public’s business.
The fact Irvin tried to make Ms. Pedersen a circuit judge in Kane County does disgust me.
Fortunately voters found Judge Flood better qualified.
As far as womanizing, Shake you’re old enough to remember what significantly helped torpedo John Tower’s nomination to be Defense Secretary for Bush I back in 1989 four years after leaving the U.S. Senate?
It’s when these aspiring candidates, and office holders, lie about it including minimizing/deflecting, or anything else, reveals how they will be once in office, so when it matters in the context of honesty/integrity, I will continue to bring it up.
**As far as womanizing, Shake you’re old enough to remember what significantly helped torpedo John Tower’s nomination to be Defense Secretary for Bush I back in 1989 four years after leaving the U.S. Senate?**
Seriously? 1989? You’re using an example from over 30 years ago? The world has changed a bit since then, don’t you think? But, also, you’re young enough to remember when womanizing did not tank Donald Trump’s presidential run.
Again – I think that the 4 girlfriends on city payroll could be a story, but, again, Ward didn’t name them or tell us any other context (at least in the linked post), so it is hard to know what’s actually there.
**It’s when these aspiring candidates, and office holders, lie about it including minimizing/deflecting, or anything else, reveals how they will be once in office, so when it matters in the context of honesty/integrity, I will continue to bring it up.**
Legit question – what has Irvin said about it? Where has he lied about it? Not saying he hasn’t… but I haven’t read anywhere that he’s addressed it at all.
Once again – I agree with you on some of this, including Irvin’s bs stuff around sex offenders. There are PLENTY of policy-related issues to focus on.
I strongly disagree that his sex life is an issue, and I very strongly believe that including his children on his city health insurance is 100% legitimate.
The story – if there is one – isn’t that he’s a “womanizer” or that he has “illegitimate twins” that are on city insurance. The story – if there is one – is if he has given city favors to ex-girlfriends. There is definitely smoke on that aspect of the story, but without any details (who are the women, are they qualified for their jobs, how did they get their jobs, etc.) there isn’t much there yet.
BTW… I notice that you continue to be silent about your silence re: Trump’s “womanizing.” You only make personal lives an issue when you don’t like the candidate (Irvin, Lombardi) and ignore when its convenient for the candidates that you support (Trump).
Trump will live forever rent free in Shake’s head.
There is a world of difference between Trump and Irvin as far as women are concerned.
Cal and Lopez. Your website is at times extremely difficult to either get into or once in to make a comment. Get some expert help to upgrade/update your platform to be current and “friendly” technology in Dec 2021.
Saul Alinski’s Rules For Radicals-How we are being taken over.
1) Healthcare – Control healthcare and you control the people
2) Poverty – Increase the Poverty level as high as possible, poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if you are providing everything for them to live.
3) Debt – Increase the debt to an unsustainable level. That way you are able to increase taxes, and this will produce more poverty.
4) Gun Control – Remove the ability to defend themselves from the Government. That way you are able to create a police state.
5) Welfare – Take control of every aspect of their lives (Food, Housing, and Income)
6) Education – Take control of what people read and listen to – take control of what children learn in school.
7) Religion – Remove the belief in the God from the Government and schools
8) Class Warfare – Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor. This will cause more discontent and it will be easier to take (Tax) the wealthy with the support of the poor.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Proven daily in the comments section on this site.
bred winner, I’ll include what you said on my letter to Santa!
It sounds a whole lot like what Willie Brown did for Kamala Harris back in the day.
I won’t bring up Nefarious’ transgendered ‘girlfriends.’
Give Irvin a tophat. Tophats to Hottentots!
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a4/ae/e9/a4aee95145c287938256e7f0fe170149–dandy-black-people.jpg
Earlier today Dan Proft said that Cason Carter who is close to Ken Griffin is blaming the Richard Irvin leak on Jesse Sullivan.
Proft went on to explain how that didn’t make any sense.
Sullivan was not close to Griffin, so either Griffin’s people are trying to find a scapegoat and chose Sullivan or they are so loose-lipped that if Sullivan knew than everybody knew and it was not a secret.
But Proft said it makes more sense that the leak about Griffin thinking about choosing Irvin probably came from Griffin’s inner circle not Sullivan.
It sounds to me like Griffin’s people are backpedaling, like they are embarrassed.
Why blame someone at all for a leak that you are thinking about supporting so and so candidate if they were any good?
Lol if the reaction would have been positive they wouldn’t be trying to blame someone for the leak.
They could stand proud.
But this guy was a flop.
He got immediately trashed and exposed for his COVID 19 and BLM stuff.
Even weirder, I guess Griffin’s team is not denying that they were in talks with Irvin — just blaming Sullivan for the leak of that information when Sullivan isn’t part of their team.
How weird is that!?
It was on the show today (12/20) somewhere a little past the hour and a half mark on YouTube if you want to check it out.
Proft trashed Irvin on Friday too, so it wasn’t just Jeff Ward.
idk if that guy will end up running now.
There are still rumors about Mancow though.
Mancow is running as an independent.
Obviously Ken Griffin doesn’t care about voters at all. When Irvin’s name was leaked, it was met poorly. Griffin doesn’t care. He’s going to run this pro-lockdown, pro-BLM guy.
Announcing on MLK Jr Day. Yeah. Because that’s what Republican voters care all about. Martin Luther King…
Griffin has zero regard for voters. He’s just flaunting his money saying your opinion doesn’t matter; I’m going to buy the election.
What Mancow says in January and what he’ll do April into July, can be two different things.
We’ll see if he really goes through with independent gov bid, and he’d have to choose an LG running mate before trying to collect 25K+ petition signatures.
kids on insurance
It’s an issue as most companies and I guess cities too, have rules about that.
1) You need to be married
2) You need to be living together and in a relationship.
So, unless they are actually living together he is doing something no other city of Aurora employee could do.
Not to mention putting ex’s on the payroll.
Those are legitimate issues.
Pat, ordinary laws, common sense, decency, etc., dont apply to most Illinois black politicians. Look at Underwood.
Mancow, please,
Maybe he’ll pick one of his old sidekicks like Turd or Freak.
Creosote, so true.
These nogs have low impulse control, low IQs, and low trainability. Negro fathers? Where are they? Mostly in jail!
Just another grifter.
I hope people have adequately vetted Irvin.
Irvin’s public voting records in primaries indicate that for years, Irvin has been working to elect Democrats…for what purpose?
On top of that, he adamantly supports Sanctuary State policies in order to protect illegals and he will not work with ICE?
I highly suspect Irvin was not adequately vetted.
Well-heeled Republicans will be responsible for re-electing Pritzker in a landslide.
Millions of campaign dollars and countless hours of Republican campaign volunteers would have been thrown away.
kids on insurance…
Most divorce decrees mandate that the parties carry medical insurance on their children, so your comment that people have to be married and living together to insure their children is WRONG.
My kids were covered by my ex-husband, through his employer, until they were emancipated.
I could have taken him to court if he canceled the coverage.
Where did you get your information from?
Irvin is just another corrupt piece of garbage that needs to be tossed in the trash bin.
I interviewed for a position with CoA where the newly Irvin appointed Chief Information Officer remarked I sounded like I was perfect for the job.
Then came the comment when I said that I get along well with my neighbor who was to soon merge under her department from APD.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, this CIO of CoA is an active BLM and defund police supporter.
She swiftly turned me down for the job when I expressed my support for law enforcement.
What she said at the very beginning of the interview was the oddest, she specifically claimed that she knew Irvin personally and that I could go far if I got to know him too.
Investigating her after the interview, I discovered she skyrocketed from entry level help desk to effectively being the director of Information Technology for the city in one day.
What is her name?
If all of you would stop arguing about this guy’s sex life
and get vaccinated this whole pandemic would be over.
Also put your masks on or stay out of the stores.
LOL Dianne is an idiot. Just look at her interpretation of the laws! You can’t make this stuff up. People are REALLY that stupid! Wow. Just wow how some people are so unbelievably dull.
I am concerned about Irvin voting in so many recent Democrat primaries except the last one.
He seems to be constantly readjusting his calculations for pure opportunism.
Not doing what Batavia did to prevent riots, when Irvin’s announcement credits him on being tough on the violence that came out of the BLM riots as opposed to Chicago, is appalling.
What makes me so uneasy in voting for him in the primary is not his “sexual life” in and of itself but that recent history has shown that men who are always on the prowl so often have more skeletons that come out later about groping or harassing underlings in the workplace for sex.
So far Irvin escapes that.
But there is so much smoke.
And so much demonstrated predilection for more conquests.
We don’t have to go back to John Tower in 1989.
Think Cuomo 2021.
And all those whose careers were canceled since 2018 as a result of using their privileged status to grope or pressure others for sex.
That type of personality disorder in a nominee for Governor is asking for sudden major trouble at any point.
Backing Pederson for judge, and if he did create a city job for another old girlfriend, are already significant warning signs that there could be more to come.
If he got away with a lot as mayor does anyone think he will restrain himself as Governor?
Could be Cuomo redux.
JT comment about Saul Alinsky is right!
As an AA myself something just doesn’t sit right with me about Irvin.
Morals, Integrity, Character is important n says a lot about you.
People change but has he?
People are sick of this free for all in Illinois.
People need to go to work n stop these handouts n stop this lawlessness.
They need to get rid of “Sanctuary City Policy “ that does nothing but draw more lawlessness.
The Southeast suburbs have looked like dumps for decades n need affordable housing especially for seniors but who cares enough to find out why?
60 year old burned out n dilapidated builds still there.
Why?
Corruption in Illinois is REAL n a lotta people need to be in jail.
I hope all who had the privilege as citizens of this great country exercised their right to vote last Tuesday.
Veterans from countless wars secured that right for us to this day.
Voting is actively making your voice heard according to the laws of this land.
We expect those who have chosen to seek elected positions to hold themselves at a higher standard of conduct and avoid citations that darken their character and make the public question their ability to lead.
I don’t believe anyone wants their hard earned taxes dollars that fund our US government to be used for a politian’s wimsey.
We have far too many welfare politian’s who are emptying our pockets now with personal use of state vehicles, claiming personal vacations as business trips, gifts to themselves and others as office expenses.
While families struggle to pay for gas to get to work and fight shortages at the store trying to put food on the table for their families.
For these reasons our vote and who we determine as worthy to receive it matters greatly!
wow he has been laid. Unbelievable