Ten Legislative Races Pass $1M Mark

More than 60% of Funds Come from Legislative Leaders

CHICAGO, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) reported Friday that leader contributions in the top 20 targeted legislative races account for $12,750,525 or 63% of all receipts in those campaigns.  As we enter the final full week of the election, that percentage is expected to rise.

Of Democratic candidates, the Democratic Party of Illinois accounts for $4.48 million; the Senate Democratic Victory Fund has contributed $3.32 million; and $230,693 has gone into targeted campaigns from Friends of Michael J Madigan.        

On the Republican side, the Illinois Republican Party is the top supporter of targeted contests at $1.271 million.  The House Republican Organization has also contributed $1.27 million and the Republican State Senate Campaign Committee has given $1.17 million.  An additional $822,000 comes from Citizen's to Elect Tom Cross, plus $176,000 from Citizens for Christine Radogno.

"Once again the larger than life role of the legislative leaders is evident in their dominance over campaign resources," said Cynthia Canary, Director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.  "Legislative candidates in targeted districts rely far more heavily on their leaders for financial support, than they do on area voters."      

With election day now only 10 days away, races for the state legislature are shaping up to be among the most expensive in state history.  Five Senate races and five House races have passed the million-dollar mark, with several others poised to do so as early as next week.

Top 20 Legislative Races as of October 21, 2010

ICPR has posted the top 20 contributors to legislative races and to legislative leaders and Illinois political parties at www.ilcampaign.org.  To search legislative races, go here: http://ilcampaign.org/sunshine/SunshineInitialState.php.

The Sunshine Database at www.ILcampaign.org is the only Illinois website that with information standardized by donor name.  Political campaign reports to the state often include variations and misspellings of donor names and addresses, making it impossible to get an accurate picture of contribution activity from the campaign committee reports alone.  The Sunshine Database also has coded the information by interest group.

ICPR's website also allows visitors to search by candidate name or by district number to find more detailed information about contributors to those candidates and search by a contributor name to see what campaign committees received contributions from that contributor.

About the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest organization conducting research and advocating reforms to promote public participation in government, address the role of money in politics and encourage integrity, accountability and transparency in government. The late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon founded ICPR in 1997.

CONTACT: Cindi Canary, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, 312 335-1767

SOURCE Illinois Campaign for Political Reform