Gubernatorial Candidates Question Pritzker
CHICAGO (CBS) -- He's fended off controversies over his property taxes and his wiretap calls with a disgraced governor.
Now J.B. Pritzker is facing new scrutiny over offshore investments just days before next Tuesday's primary.
CBS 2 political reporter Derrick Blakley says his opponents are upbeat while Pritzker feels the heat.
There's a new pep in his step as Chris Kennedy approaches the last weekend before the primary.
He believes J.B. Pritzker is on the defensive.
"He off-shores his investments to avoid paying taxes. He lies about it and refuses to answer questions, ducking reporters just a few days before the primary," says Kennedy.
After Wednesday night's televised debate, Pritzker cut off reporters' questions about his offshore trusts, which he says go back generations.
"Those entities were not created by me," says Pritzker.
But the Chicago Tribune reported Pritzker has ties to 11 offshore trusts created in the last 10 years.
"(Illinois Governor Bruce) Rauner would love to run against a billionaire with money stashed in offshore accounts, avoiding taxes, refusing to release his own tax returns," says Democratic gubernatorial candidate Daniel Biss.
Although Pritzker was campaigning downstate on Thursday, he too was talking about trust.
That's from the latest of Pritzker's TV ads, which have blanked the airwaves for months.
Still, Kennedy claims the list of Pritzker controversies, topped off by questions about murky overseas investments, makes him too flawed to lead Democrats in November.
"Who's going to turn out? What's your pitch," asks Kennedy. "He's been stealing from us but he'd make a great governor?"
After the debate, Governor Rauner's campaign issued a statement piling on Pritzker saying he failed to come clean on his offshore trusts and that he hypocritically plays by a different set of rules.
