Republican candidate for Governor Jeanne Ives says she didn't like what she saw this week when students walked out their classrooms to lobby for gun control.
Ives says her campaign chairman -- the Chicago Republican Party chair -- filed a complaint with Chicago Public Schools. He alleges students were coerced into participating. Ives says students should've done it on private time...
"There's no reason to disrupt a school day, and to actually participate, especially in a public school setting. This is taxpayer dime, taxpayer time and those kids need to be in school and if they want to protest, they can do it afterwards."
Student organizers interviewed this week said they were motivated by their own passion for the issue -- not their teachers.
Ives says she supports a ban on bump stocks but not other gun measures. She says lawmakers should instead consider more advanced security systems for schools.
Ives is also pushing back on an ad from the Democratic Governors Association that some say is actually a thinly veiled dig at her opponent.
The ad says Ives is "just too conservative for Illinois," rattling off her positions on social issues. But it's done in way that might make her more appealing to voters who think Governor Bruce Rauner isn't conservative enough.
Ives gets the hidden meaning and isn't a fan...
"I disagree with the ad completely. I think that that people know where I stand on these these issues. They know who I am and I've never hid from it. But then we move on, right? We need to talk about economics. And there's nobody in this state that's going to lead the tax revolt that has to happen in 2018 if we're going to survive. Nobody's going to do it but me."
Ives takes on Republican incumbent Bruce Rauner in Tuesday's primary.
