Bruce Rauner, former chairman of private equity manager GTCR, won the Illinois Republican primary for governor on Tuesday.
He will face incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn in the general election on Nov. 4. Mr. Quinn spearheaded the state's pension reform bill that he signed into law in December, designed to bring the severely underfunded state-administered retirement systems to 100% funding by 2045.
The American Federation of Teachers last week added GTCR to its list of firms the union claims are allied with organizations seeking to eliminate defined benefit plans, due to Mr. Rauner's connection with the firm.
Mr. Rauner, who retired from GTCR in October 2012, defeated state Sens. Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady and state Treasurer Dan Rutherford in the primary.
