High-profile races lead to big money spent on campaigns

By Mike Riopell and Kerry Lester
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SPRINGFIELD – Those mailers aren't flooding your mailbox, and the radio and TV commercials have mercifully stopped.

For both parties, the appetite for wins and seats in the Illinois General Assembly cost millions of dollars.

The four legislative leaders and their parties doled out millions to candidates:

Democrats ,859,000

Republicans ,512,000

Party money accounted for 2/3 of all legislative campaign spending this election.

Source: Illinois Campaign for Political Reform

But what did all that money buy?

For Democrats in the suburbs, it was money well spent. The controlling party lost only one seat each in the House and Senate in Chicago-area races, despite the trends that delivered victories for the GOP in other Illinois locales.