CHICAGO (AP) – Democratic businessman Chris Kennedy said Wednesday he will run for Illinois governor in 2018, bringing the instant name recognition of his family’s political legacy to what will likely be a sharply contested race to unseat Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
In an email and video sent to supporters, Kennedy said he’s running because Illinois is heading “in the wrong direction.”
“I moved to Illinois thirty years ago with an enthusiasm for business and a commitment to serve. Today, I am announcing my run for Governor because I love Illinois, but we have never been in worse shape,” he said. “We don’t need incremental improvement – we need fundamental change in state government.”
Kennedy is the son of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy, who also served as attorney general, and Ethel Kennedy. He is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy.
The former chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, Kennedy founded and now leads Top Box Foods, a nonprofit organization that provides affordable, healthy food to Chicago neighborhoods.