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Governor
Blagojevich holds a commanding lead over Treasurer Topinka in
fundraising reports filed last week show. In
the first six months of 2006, Blagojevich took in over $6
million compared to Topinka's $3.2 million. During the same time,
Topinka had a bruising GOP primary battle and spent $3 million
leaving her with over $1.5 million at the end of June. Blagojevich spent over
$9 million, mostly on negative TV bashing Topinka and was left
with over $12 million at the end of
June.
Blagojevich's
rapacious fundraising skills have not be balanced, however, by
an upswing in his poll numbers. In the latest state
wide polling, Blagojevich is stuck in the mid-forties and has
been since the March primaries. Topinka is currently
polling in the mid to upper thirties after weeks of negative
TV from Blagojevich.
Topinka has yet to go up on TV preferring to raise and
save money for the fall campaign. |
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The race for
Illinois' 6th
Congressional District is one of the top campaigns in the
state this year, and the Illinois Chamber is teaming up with
two local organizations to co-sponsor a debate between
candidates Tammy Duckworth and State Senator Peter Roskam.
Local chambers and
chamber members interested in attending the debate should RSVP
to the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce at 630-834-6060. The debate will
coincide with the Elmhurst Kiwanis Club's weekly luncheon
meeting at Angelo's Ristorante on August 15 from 11:30 AM to
2:00 PM. Cost to
attend the luncheon and debate is $20. John Quigley,
President of the Elmhurst Chamber, will serve as moderator and
ask 12 to 15 questions submitted by audience members on index
cards.
State Senator
Peter Roskam (R-Wheaton) has served in the Illinois General
Assembly for several years, earning the distinction of
Illinois Chamber "Champion of Free Enterprise" for his voting
record on business issues.
Tammy Duckworth is
a former employee of Rotary International and a veteran of the
Illinois National Guard. |
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The following
races are considered the most competitive, closely watched
Illinois Senate races in the state. Last week, all
candidates and political committees had to file their campaign
finance reports for the first 6 months of the year. PI provides a
brief analysis for each race:
22nd
Senate - Elgin
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Billie Diane
Roth- Republican
Raised-
$39,712
Spent-
$29,246
In-Kind-
$9,342
On-Hand-
$81,622 |
Mike Noland-
Democrat
Raised-
$19,650
Spent-
$7,309
In-Kind-
$40
On-Hand-
$16,651 |
PI Campaign
Note:: Noland's
disclosures show no in-kind help from Senate Democrats so far,
despite word that he was promised several hundred thousand
dollars in campaign support.
33rd
Senate - Des
Plaines
|
Sen. Cheryl
Axley- Republican
Raised-
$95,945
Spent-
$40,299
In-Kind-
$7,838
On-Hand-
$87,214 |
Dan
Kotowski- Democrat
Raised-
$159,157
Spent-
$197,846
In-Kind-
$12,287
On-Hand-
$56,969 |
PI Campaign Note: Kotowski spent
nearly $200,000 to win his primary race in the spring.
49th
Senate - Carlinville
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Sen. Deanna
Demuzio- Democrat
Raised-
$79,827
Spent-
$85,053
In-Kind-
$2,450
On-Hand-
$102,374
Investments-
$363,961 |
Jeff Richey-
Republican
Raised-
$26,485
Spent-
$15,027
In-Kind-
$5,640
On-Hand-
$23,634 |
PI Campaign
Note:
Deanna Demuzio has
a sizeable campaign account, but nearly $500,000 of that was
left to her campaign fund after the death of her husband, the
late Senator Vince Demuzio.
52nd
Senate - Urbana
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Judy Myers-
Republican
Raised-
$61,186
Spent-
$60,240
In-Kind-
$15,657
On-Hand-
$65,790 |
Mike
Frerichs- Democrat
Raised-
$101,868
Spent-
$14,522
In-Kind-
$8,009
On-Hand-
$113,242 |
PI Campaign
Note:
Approximately 42%
of Myers' funds were raised within the district while only
about 12% of Frerichs' funds were raised from individuals or
entities within his district. |
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The Blagojevich
administration provided $3 million in taxpayer money to a
wealthy contributor to assist with his dream of bringing a
minor league baseball team to Marion. Metro East trial
lawyer John Simmons has contributed more than $1 million to
mostly Democratic politicians with over $24,000 going to
Blagojevich. At
the announcement ceremony last week, Blagojevich brought an
extra gift to Mr. Simmons. On the spur of the
moment, Blagojevich announced that he would add $1 million in
state money for the project. The move left many
questions. "There
are a host of questions that this raises. One, it certainly
smells of 'pay-to-play," said House Republican leader Tom
Cross of Oswego. "You give contributions to the governor's
office and you get a million dollars to fund a baseball
stadium. How can you justify that? It's frankly
unbelievable."
At
the same time that the Governor is writing $1 million checks
as well as finding $5 million for stem cell research, numerous
other programs and services are going unfunded. Illinois' medical community
complains the state is horrendously late in paying medical
bills. School
districts have delayed projects because they are told state
money is not available.
The school district in Johnston City, just north of Marion,
has been waiting for four years to receive $528,000 in
promised state money to assist in a library and classroom
construction project.
Superintendent Gary Schurz said when asked his reaction
to Blagojevich's last minute donation to the baseball stadium,
"It's not printable." |
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"A fundamental
rule of Illinois politics is, "Don't
back no losers."
Business
seems to be heeding that adage when it comes to supporting
Republican gubernatorial nominee Judy Baar Topinka. So far,
the business community hasn't come across with the campaign
contributions she'll need to make a respectable race against
incumbent Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the November election." Read
the whole thing... |
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