No love lost between Aurora, Illinois Mayor Richard Irvin, challenger John Laesch
Next Tuesday, voters in Aurora, Illinois, will decide who will lead the state's second-largest city for the next four years.
Incumbent mayor Richard Irvin is facing City Councilman John Laesch. Aurora is known as the City of Lights, and a chat with both candidates illuminated one thing — there is no love lost between them.
Of Laesch, Irvin said, "He has no knowledge of the workings of government. Irvin added, "As far as I know, he's an unemployed carpenter."
Irvin also called Leasch a "disrupter" who "thinks that he's got to stop everything that's good about Aurora."
Of Irvin, Laesch said, "The mayor is involved in numerous pay-to-play schemes. Laesch also called Irvin "a master of deception," and said, "There's very little civility in City Hall."
The two-term incumbent Irvin — a native of Aurora, who served in the 1991 Gulf War and who ran unsuccessfully for Illinois governor as a Republican last cycle — is considered the moderate in the race.
Laesch, a former school board member, Army veteran, and union carpenter — who failed in his 2021 effort to unseat Irvin and lost in two attempts for a seat in Congress — is considered the progressive.
CBS News Chicago asked Laesch what the biggest issue facing Aurora today is.
"I would say ethics and rising property taxes," he replied.
Laesch said voters should be concerned about the recurrence of private companies funding Mayor Irvin's campaigns — then later securing public dollars for projects and investments around the city.
"The mayor is involved in numerous pay-to-play schemes that result in lucrative development deals — where a developer donates heavily to the mayor's campaign, gets a multimillion-dollar subsidy from the Aurora taxpayers," Laesch said.
Irvin dismissed these allegations.
"He says there's pay-to-play going on. He says there's all this, you know, this, this violation of that that's going on," Irvin said. "That's absolutely inappropriate."
Irvin said businesses are simply appreciative of the opportunities they receive in Aurora, and of the mayor who made those opportunities happen.
"They like they fact they create a relationship with the City of Aurora, they like the fact they create a relationship with the mayor, and of course they want to see that person that brought them to town stay in office," Irvin said, "you know, and it's their constitutional right to donate to any political campaign that they want to."
CBS News Chicago asked Irvin what voters should think about matters involving the city and businesses.
"They shouldn't think anything," Irvin said. "They should think that this gentleman is making up a whole lot of things just to give him something to run on."
Last time Irvin ran for mayor, he won. Eight months later, he ran for governor — only to lose the Republican primary to Darren Bailey.
Is Irvin planning to stay on as mayor for the next four years this time around?
"I love Aurora. I've been here my whole life, born and raised here, you know — and my priority and goal is to be the mayor for the next four years in the city of Aurora," Irvin said.
CBS News Chicago noted that this response was not a yes.
"My goal is to be the mayor of Aurora," Irvin repeated.
Irvin was asked if he was committing to staying on as mayor for four years.
"I'm committing to Aurora, which I've always committed to Aurora," Irvin said.
Irvin has served the city as mayor — and before that, councilman — and holds degrees in business and law. He said this gives him a leg up over his opponent.
"You know what? That is running to be the mayor of the second-largest city. This is a very important job," Irvin said, "and we don't just want to let anybody, you know, pretend as though they can do it. We need people that have experience."
But Laesch questioned Irvin's record and policies as mayor.
"He's also tripled the debt, and that borrowing is the headache," said Laesch. "Gone on a drinking binge, and the next mayor is going to have the hangover. I don't want the hangover, but I do want the job. We have to put our city on stable financial footing."
Irvin said the city is on the most stable financial footing in a generation — which led to an endorsement by the Chicago Tribune.
He cited improving test scores in schools, and crime stats moving in the right direction, as hallmarks of his first eight years.
"So I tell people to look at what is in front of them. Look at what you see when you walk in our downtown, you drive throughout our city and see all this development, and all the cranes in the air — which show success," Irvin said. "Look at that, and see the change from 2017 to now."
For his part, Laesch wants a greener Aurora, debt consolidation, and infrastructure improvements — from replacing lead pipes to adding curbs and sidewalks where they don't exist.
"And I think that ethical government, and a chance to inspire a government and economy that works for everybody has led towards new people voting," said Laesch, "and that's what I'm hoping people do on April 1.
Irvin and Laesch were the top two vote-getters out of five in the Feb. 25 election, with neither winning the majority of the vote.
Aurora is split between four counties — Will, Kane, Kendall, and DuPage.
Early voting has already begun.
