SPRINGFIELD — Former Republican strategist Collin Corbett says he is hoping to bring a more balanced voice to the Illinois governor’s race after filing petitions to run for governor as an independent on Tuesday.
Corbett, of Palatine, is the founder of the political consulting firm Cor Strategies, which has helped Republican candidates run for office. He left the firm following the primary after expressing concerns the party supports violent immigration raids and no longer welcomes opposing opinions. He also ended his “Smoke-Filled Room” podcast.
“What I want to show is that there is a path for solutions — not the bickering, not the fighting,” Corbett told reporters after filing 37,000 signatures at the State Board of Elections. “People really want to see solutions that make their lives better. They’re fed up with all the hatred and the infighting. And so if we can show that, I’m going to take that as a big win.”
Cor Strategies has most recently helped the campaigns of Republican Bryan Drew for comptroller, Sen. Darby Hills, R-Barrington Hills, and Republican Don Tracy for U.S. Senate, according to state and federal campaign records.
Corbett said he’s looking for more “balance” from the state’s leaders and criticized both President Donald Trump and Gov. JB Pritzker.
“I will stand up and oppose the president when he’s wrong,” Corbett said. “I’ve done it, even when I was a member of the Republican Party, I did it repeatedly. So I’ve proven that I’ll do that, but you also need somebody in office who isn’t there just to pick political fights with the president because they want to be president.”
Issues, challenges
On specific Statehouse issues, Corbett praised bipartisan bills to reform the state’s biometric privacy laws and recent push to pass legislation designed to keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois.
On abortion, which is often a top litmus test for voters, Corbett said “government shouldn’t be getting involved in women’s medical decisions.”
Corbett has enlisted Carolyn Schofield of Crystal Lake to be his running mate. Schofield is a former Republican McHenry County Board member who ran for lieutenant governor in 2022 alongside former Republican State Sen. Paul Schimpf. She also recently left her job as a staff assistant for the Illinois Senate Republican caucus.
Corbett said he picked her because of her policy-focused role as vice chair of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.
Independents face hurdles just to get on the ballot in addition to a lack of support from a major party. Statewide independents and third-party candidates must file 25,000 valid signatures, while Democrats and Republicans need 5,000. Corbett says his internal polling shows he can do better than many third-party candidates who get just a few percentage points of the vote.