Metro East Sun

State Rep. Avery Bourne, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, took aim at Democratic incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker ahead of the June 28 primary.

On a ticket with Republican gubernatorial candidate Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, Bourne took to social media following a meeting with Illinois business owners.

"We met with business leaders across the state over the last week, and yesterday we hosted a business town hall with National SoftWash Inc., CertaPro Painters and Bart Construction in Plainfield," Bourne said on Facebook. "It's no secret that Illinois is not a business friendly state under the Pritzker Administration. Richard and I will bring businesses back and retain businesses by cutting taxes, cutting red tape, and making Illinois safe."

Bourne also spotlighted a recent visit to MacLean-Fogg in Mundelein on Facebook. Bourne said that it was a positive visit in which they discussed the campaign's plans to reduce crime and taxes, as well as offered support to keep MacLean-Fogg in the state.

The Irvin-Bourne ticket recently received some positive news in a straw poll in Lake County, topping the field of Republicans running for governor, South Central Reporter reported.

Bourne also used Facebook to criticize the Pritzker administration's 2022-2023 budget proposal, Metro East Sun reported.

"It's full of countless one-time election-year gimmicks and new spending programs in an attempt to win over voters," Bourne said on Facebook. "There's not a single permanent solution to our financial issues. Let's take our state back from this nonsense."