Illinois Governor's Race Heats Up
CHICAGO (CBS) -- After a pointed and pricey campaign, it come down to three Democratic front-runners in the race for Illinois governor.
Billionaire hotel heir J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy, son of the late Robert F. Kennedy and Illinois State Senator Daniel Biss.
All three are making their final push for votes Monday.
Pritzker made a stop in Rockford to chat with union electrical workers before hitting DeKalb, Peoria and Springfield.
He plans to visit commuters at several CTA stops around Chicago Tuesday morning.
Kennedy also made the central and downstate swing today, drumming up votes in Bartonville and Cahokia.
He promised new jobs and quality education.
On the Republican side, Governor Bruce Rauner is accusing Democrats of butting into the GOP primary to try to influence the outcome.
His challenger Jeanne Ives calls the charge "an act of desperation."
CBS 2 political reporter Derrick Blakley has more.
A political ad from the Democratic Governors Association seems to critizes Ives.
But Governor Rauner claims it's really a dog whistle to Illinois conservatives, encouraging them to vote for Ives.
"They want people to be misled and have Republican primary voters vote for Ives because they know they can beat her in November," says Rauner.
But Ives seems more upset by Rauner's commercials falsely linking her to powerful Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan.
"He can't talk about his record, so he wants to bash who I am and lie about me," says Ives.
Commercials that suggest Ives is controlled by Madigan.
"We know they're having an effect. Because we're calling around the state from our call centers and people are saying 'I can't vote for her. She's tied to Madigan.'"
Still, polls suggest Ives has been surging.
Seven points behind Rauner.
With many Republicans still undecided.
"Jeanne Ives is going to be looking downstate to see if she can put a coalition of those Trump voters together that will help put her over the top," says GOP political analyst Lance Trover.
Governor Rauner will be keeping close eye on the vote-rich Chicago suburbs.
Hoping that moderate Republicans turn out for him.
