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House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, D-Hillside, reported
raising $14 million in the third quarter alone, with $6 million
of that coming from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Billionaire businessman
Dick Uihlein has spent millions as well supporting GOP candidate
for governor Darren Bailey and opposing the proposed Amendment
One.
Now, several candidates running for the Illinois General
Assembly are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on
television ads.
“The Democrats do have huge fundraising advantages over
Republicans in many races and overall, especially in statehouse
races,” said Alisa Kaplan, executive director of the advocacy
organization Reform for Illinois.
Kaplan said the governor and Welch have used campaign finance
loopholes to bring in huge donations and distribute funds to
state races.
One particular state Senate race has garnered a sizable
financial attention.
Republican state Rep. Sandy Hamilton and Democratic state Sen.
Doris Turner are facing off in a big money Illinois 48th Senate
District race. Nearly $5 million in collective campaign funds
have been reported in the race, according to Reform for
Illinois.
In the Illinois Senate District 31 race between Republican Adam
Solano and Democrat Mary Edly-Allen, Allen recently received
more than $1 million from the Democratic Majority fund,
according to IllinoisSunshine.org.
The amount of money raised for governor races this cycle
nationwide is expected to approach $1.8 billion, and Illinois is
the largest chunk of that. The most expensive race in the
country is in the Land of Lincoln. Candidates have raised over
$215 million. Much of that has come from Pritzker, who has
self-financed over $132 million.
A large portion of the money is being spent on TV ads. Axios
Chicago examined TV contracts at one Chicago television station
from Oct. 26 to Nov. 6. Pritzker bought 324 spots for over
$274,000 through this week. Bailey purchased 159 spots for
roughly $134,000 through next week.
Kaplan said when it comes to money, ordinary voters have a very
small role in influencing races, even smaller races for state
representative.
“We’re seeing races that are dominated by people and
organizations with very, very deep pockets, and we’re all just
listening to what they think we should hear, so it's very
concerning,” she said.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in
Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of
experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.
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