“The Republican party isn’t a scary place for Black folks,” said Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin to a gathering under the auspices of the Black Republican Mayor’s Association, an organization he founded and chairs.

A federal lawsuit awaiting a judge’s ruling says city of Aurora terms for Revv Aviation illegally disadvantage one of their competitors at the Aurora Municipal Airport. Revv’s owners have donated to Mayor Richard Irvin’s campaign fund and hosted a fundraiser for him. 

A company with ties to Mayor Richard Irvin and a high-level city official is interested in developing three city-owned properties in west suburban Aurora, information obtained by WTTW News shows.

Two former employees of Laura Ayala-Clarke, the girlfriend of Mayor Richard Irvin of west suburban Aurora, claim she failed to pay them for several weeks of work and isn’t running her business on the up-and-up. She recently was approved for a city grant. 

A review of the grant application for Laura’s Furniture shows the company misrepresented whether it had previously received COVID-related government funding.

The owners of two Aurora companies — a furniture store and an office building — are in personal relationships with top city officials, WTTW News has found. An analysis of campaign finance records also uncovered that a majority of recent donations to Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin’s campaign fund are from people doing business with or getting incentives from the city.

Fresh off an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, downstate farmer and state Sen. Darren Bailey appears to have coasted to a win the six-way Republican contest for Illinois governor. We take a look at the statewide election results and what they mean for November. 

In the Republican race for governor in Illinois, Darren Bailey, a farmer endorsed by former President Donald Trump, wants to end the state’s right to abortion except for instances in which the mother’s life is in danger. He doesn’t support exceptions for rape or incest. His opponent, Richard Irvin, has said he would allow abortions in instances of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is at risk.

GOP gubernatorial candidate and Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin has carefully attempted to veer away from any conversation about controversial former President Donald Trump. But text messages written by Irvin in 2018 appear to show he has very strong feelings about Trump, and they are not positive.

Aurora Mayor and Republican gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin slammed Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s handling of a COVID-19 outbreak at a state-run veterans’ home during a Monday press conference – and repeatedly avoided questions about whether he voted for Donald Trump and his stance on Roe v. Wade potentially being overturned.

Aurora Mayor and GOP gubernatorial hopeful Richard Irvin supported a successful 2018 effort to shutter the Aurora Election Commission – a move that gives him a role in deciding whether certain candidates stay on city ballots.

WTTW News previously reported that communications company Scientel Solutions and its employees have given more than $135,000 to Richard Irvin’s mayoral campaign, a PAC run by his mayoral campaign manager, and his former private practice law partner Brittany Pedersen’s judicial campaign.

The ex-wife of Aurora Mayor and GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin works with a development team that stands to receive up to $15 million in Aurora city incentives, with the potential for millions more to redevelop the former Copley Hospital site.

A WTTW News review of public records has also found that Aurora taxpayers are on the hook for tens of millions in tax incentives to two other development companies that have donated thousands to Richard Irvin and political funds connected to him.

A review of state campaign filings and Aurora public records shows that a company that donated more than $135,000 to political funds connected to Richard Irvin also received millions in city contracts. That same company was also the beneficiary of legislation pushed by Irvin that could prove lucrative.

Anyone in line to file their petitions by the time election authorities opened their doors has a chance to be listed first on the ballot for their race, a position that could make a difference by attracting voters’ eyeballs in a close contest.