LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL CONTESTS ATTRACTING BIG DOLLARS

Democrats have Money Advantage in Statewide Races

[CHICAGO] As the 2006 election season heads into its final two weeks, campaign fundraising by legislative and judicial candidates appears to be hotter than ever. Statewide Democrats enjoy significant financial advantages over their opponents, while Republican donors seem to be focusing on a small handful of contests in the House, Senate, and Appellate Court where they see heightened chances for victory.

Gov. Blagojevich enjoys a three-to-one fundraising advantage over Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka. Secretary of State Jesse White has raised just under three times what Republican Dan Rutherford reports. And these two are the closest of all the statewide races, financially speaking. Attorney General Lisa Madigan has raised more than $37 dollars for every $1 raised by her opponent; Comptroller Dan Hynes has raised almost $8 for every $1 his opponent has reported, and Alexi Giannoulias shows $3.40 for every $1 raised by Sen. Christine Radogno. Only among Lt. Governor candidates, who run paired with the gubernatorial candidates, does the Republican report more fundraising

Most of the money raised by statewide candidates has come in very large increments from donors who gave more than $10,000. Contributions of this size are banned in most other states and for federal candidates. Because Illinois law places no restrictions on giving, candidates have become reliant on a tiny number of very large donors.

Legislative races are hotter than usual, and have heated up earlier than usual. Only three House races in 2004 saw combined spending of $1 million or more. So far this year, three House races report total fundraising in excess of $1 million, and several more are poised to break that barrier in the next two weeks.

While some of these races are liable to break records, most are dominated by a single candidate who will far outspend any opponent while not coming close to the $1 million mark. Almost half of all House races are uncontested, meaning that voters have no choice when they arrive at the polling booth. Many of those that are contested are not seriously challenged, as Illinois’ legislative map, drawn by a partisan Commission, discourages competition. Despite all the spending in a small number of races, the vast majority of incumbent legislators will be returned to office with little or no opposition.

What all of these expensive legislative races have in common is gigantic transfers from the legislative leaders. Over two-thirds of the money raised by Sen. Judy Myers, for instance, comes from the Republican State Senate Campaign Committee; likewise, her main opponent, Michael Frerichs, gets almost three-fourths of his funds from the Illinois Senate Democratic Fund. These hotly contested legislative seats do not reflect local disputes as much as a decision by state leaders to localize their battles in a particular area.

Half of the four Appellate Court races are uncontested. Indeed, one of the candidates in Cook County, where both uncontested seats are located, has already thanked his supporters for helping to elect him. The other two seats are contested, and the race in far southern Illinois looks to be a replay of the 2004 Supreme Court race: a proxy war between personal injury plaintiffs on the one side and personal injury defendants on the other. The Fifth District race, stretching from the Metro East area to the Indiana border, already appears to have broken the record for spending in a state Appellate Court contest. Democrat Bruce Stewart draws on personal injury lawyers and labor unions for his financial support, while Republican Stephen McGlynn derives most of his funds from state and national tort reform organizations.

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) 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.

The Sunshine Project is based at the University of Illinois at Springfield and is funded by the Joyce Foundation. Its goal is to increase public awareness and understanding of the role of money in Illinois politics.

# # #