From Crain's Chicago Business:

February 19, 2003
State's teachers top political donors' list
By Kelly Quigley

The Illinois Education Assn. (IEA) donated more money to Illinois political campaigns over the last two years than any other interest group or company, according to a new report.

The Springfield-based association—which represents 111,000 teachers, higher education personnel and retired school workers—provided some $3.14 million in contributions during the 2001-2002 election cycle to push for more state funding for public education. This is the third consecutive election cycle that the IEA has topped the list of statewide donors, according to the report from the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform and Sunshine Project, two nonprofits that seek to educate the public about campaign financing.

The Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) and its largest local, the Chicago Teachers Union, together contributed more than $1.95 million during the same period, making it the second largest political contributor.

“Money is not everything, but at a minimum it gives the teachers a huge leg up in terms of pushing their agenda,” said Kent Redfield, Sunshine Project director.

Both education groups endorsed Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the most recent election, contributing a total of $1.2 million to his campaign. The governor has promised to make education a priority during his time in office.

While education groups topped the list, health care organizations closely followed. The Illinois Medical Society ranked third with $1.32 million in contributions and the Illinois Hospital Assn. was fourth on the list of top donors, giving $1.24 million.

Ranking fifth and sixth on the list were labor unions. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents tens of thousands of state workers, provided $988,000, while the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) gave $921,000.

Rounding out the top 10 campaign contributors was the Illinois Trial Lawyers Assn. with $803,000 in donations; followed by the powerful horseracing Duchossois family and its holdings with $788,000; the Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois with $778,000; and the Illinois Realtors Assn. with $700,155.

The report's data is compiled from campaign finance disclosure reports filed by political action committees with the Illinois State Board of Elections. Included are contributions to candidates for governor, state legislators, Illinois' Democrat and Republican parties, state Supreme Court justices and others.