Republican Businessman Heidner Launching Gubernatorial Campaign
Gaming company owner Rick Heidner waits to speak before the Illinois Gaming Board in 2019. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
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Suburban Republican businessman Rick Heidner has formally filed campaign finance paperwork with the Illinois State Board of Elections to run for Governor.
Heidner, who lives in Barrington Hills, owns a major commercial real estate development company and a video gaming company, Gold Rush Amusements or Gold Rush Gaming.
According to a petition sheet obtained by The Illinoize, Heidner has chosen Homer Glen Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike as his running mate.
Heidner did not return an e-mail to his company address Monday and a phone number associated to him was disconnected. Neitzke-Troike did not return a message.
Heidner also loaned his campaign $1 million Tuesday.
Heidner’s Gold Rush Gaming company has come under scrutiny from state regulators in the past, including a recommendation by the Illinois Gaming Board in 2019 his gaming license be suspended after he allegedly gave a $5 million “illegal inducement” to the owner of a chain of gambling parlors. The recommendation was eventually dropped.
He was also involved in a proposed racino in south suburban Tinley Park that Gov. JB Pritzker halted in 2019 due to potential mob conflicts. The proposal would have profited Heidner $2.5 million.
He was separately hit with a $5 million IRS lien for unpaid income taxes in 2023.
But, what some Republicans believe may be the most challenging issue for Heidner in a Republican primary isn’t ethics questions or policy, but who he has given money to in the past.
Mostly through his real estate and gaming businesses, Heidner has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates, PAC’s, and party operations in recent years. Many of those contributions have been to Democrats.
His real estate company donated $25,000 to progressive Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson shortly after Johnson took office in 2023.
Heidner’s gaming company gave at least $98,000 to committees controlled by former House Speaker Michael Madigan, including the House Democratic campaign arm and the Democratic Party of Illinois, which Madigan controlled at the time. Madigan is currently serving a 7 1/2 year prison sentence after being found guilty of federal corruption charges.
He has donated tens of thousands to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, including during Preckwinkle’s run for Mayor in 2019.
Heidner’s companies made multiple donations to Senate President Don Harmon and his predecessor, former Senate President John Cullerton.
The list includes a $2,500 contribution to former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
Heidner’s businesses gave contributions to former Sen. Martin Sandoval and former Rep. Luis Arroyo. Sandoval pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges and Arroyo pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges.
Contributions to former Crestwood Mayor Lou Presta, who spent time in prison after a bribery conviction.
He also gave $25,000 to failed 2022 GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin.
“These are going to be disqualifying to a lot of voters,” said one top Republican insider Monday. “This campaign is going to be over before it gets off the ground.”
The other major hurdle potentially preventing a Heidner campaign from getting on the ballot is petition circulation. Petition filing begins next Monday, October 27 and runs through Monday, November 3. Candidates need a minimum of 5,000 valid signatures to get on the March ballot, and most campaigns want to double that amount to safely overcome any petition challenges.
“That’s pretty tough to get off the ground in less than two weeks,” one GOP operative said.
It isn’t clear when Heidner will officially announce his entry into the race.
