Big Money Power Brokers in the 2018 Illinois Primary

Who were the individuals and special interests behind some of Illinois’ most expensive local and statewide elections this year? We know that JB Pritzker self-funded his campaign to the tune of $70 million, and Governor Rauner dropped $50 million into his campaign account before the election cycle even started. Still, there were some big donors and PACs exerting considerable influence on the election while staying under the radar of most voters. These lesser-known donors have the potential to make a real impact on the outcome of local elections. Illinois is the only state in the country with a provision to remove campaign contribution limits (set in place by Illinois law) when a Super PAC or self-funding candidate pours more than $250,000 into a statewide race, or $100,000 into a local race. Once limits are removed, money from mega-donors is allowed to flow into campaigns, resulting in extremely expensive elections. Contribution limits were removed in the recent Gubernatorial Primary, and the race subsequently saw 23 donors contributing over $100,000 to individual candidates. Now that the results are in, we can better understand the groups and individuals that had the greatest impact on the 2018 Illinois Primary. In our list of big-money power brokers, ICPR included the individuals, PACs, and Super PACs that were independent of Illinois’ political parties. We did not include not self-funding candidates on our list.

3. Fight Back for a Better Tomorrow:  $1.6 Million
The Democratic Primary race for Attorney General witnessed a surge in 11th hour funding, totaling $2.7 million, from two sources: Fight Back for a Better Tomorrow and Steven Miller (see #4). Fight Back for a Better Tomorrow is a Super PAC run by Chicago union leader James Sweeney, and funded with money from the Fight Back Fund, a group that served as the primary financial backer for the Safe Roads Amendment in 2016.

Fight Back for a Better Tomorrow helped ensure Senator Kwame Raoul’s victory in the Democratic Primary for Attorney General over both Representative Scott Drury and former Governor Pat Quinn by spending $1.6 million, or 13% of all money in that race, on advertisements opposing the two losing candidates.

4. Steven Miller:  $1.2 Million
In response to Fight Back for a Better Tomorrow, Steven Miller set himself apart from the pack of mega-donors this election cycle by contributing $1.1 million to Scott Drury’s AG campaign in March, and $125,000 earlier in the election cycle. In a crowded field of Democratic candidates, Drury made a name for himself by being staunchly opposed to the continuing leadership of Michael Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.

Miller previously backed Jason Gonzales, who ran a campaign to oust Madigan from his General Assembly seat in 2016. In that race, Miller’s contributions came through Illinois United for Change, a Super PAC organized by Miller and former Congressional candidate Blair Hull. Although Steven Miller’s money could not bring Drury to victory, he distinguished himself as an ardent anti-Madigan Democrat with the resources to bring significant money into anti-establishment campaigns.

5. Democratic Gubernatorial Mega-Donors:  $2.8 Million Total
JB Pritzker’s $69.5 million in self-funding made big money donations more important than ever for fellow Democratic gubernatorial candidates Daniel Biss and Chris Kennedy. While neither Biss nor Kennedy was able to secure the Democratic nomination, they collectively received over $2.8 million from donors giving more than $100,000, highlighting the increasing role of mega-donors in statewide races.

These donors included well-known names like Jonathan Soros and Bill Daley, as well as lesser-known individuals like Stephen Schuler, Charles Ashby Lewis, and John Burke. Overall, this group of individuals, while unsuccessful in preventing JB Pritzker from becoming the Democratic nominee, solidified the era of big money in Illinois politics by expanding the large donor base for statewide elections.

Honorable Mentions:  $22.5 Million and $763k
Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin’s $22.5 million supporting Gov. Rauner in 2017 appeared to reinforce his influence over the Republican Gubernatorial Primary by boosting the governor’s fundraising lead over any potential challengers. However, Jeanne Ives’ strong performance on Election Day calls into question how much influence that $22.5 million really had in the Primary.

The JOBS PAC, a Super PAC backing anti-soda tax commissioners in Cook County, spent $763,000 in four Cook County races in the 2018 Primary. However, the majority of that money, $525,000, went into the group’s unsuccessful attempts to boost Commissioners Richard Boykin and John Fritchey to re-election.