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Chris Kennedy, nephew of JFK, is running for governor in Illinois

Written by
Jonathan Samples
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Chris Kennedy, the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, announced on Wednesday that he would run for Illinois governor in 2018. In a video released by the campaign, the Chicago businessman and former chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees cited a failing state government and threw more than a little shade on Republican Governor Bruce Rauner, despite not mentioning his name.

“We need change; not incremental change but fundamental change,” he said in the message. “I’m running for governor because the state is heading in the wrong direction.” Kennedy is the second Democrat in the state to announce a gubernatorial bid.

Last month, Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar became the first Democrat to announce he would challenge Rauner in 2018. In seeking their party’s nomination, Kennedy and Pawar will likely be joined by a number of other Democratic challengers, including billionaire J.B. Pritzker and U.S. Representative Robin Kelley.

Kennedy’s past experience includes serving as the former chairman of the Merchandise Mart. In 2012, he founded the Chicago-based nonprofit Top Box Foods with his wife, Sheila. Kennedy currently serves as the chairman of Top Box Foods and the Kennedy family’s investment firm, Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises Inc. He is the nephew of former president John F. Kennedy.

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