Having already contributed $145 million to his reelection campaign, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker -- the wealthiest sitting politician in America -- shared his considerable personal fortune with other Democratic candidates and groups in the weeks before November's election.
Not surprisingly, Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy has a different take on Pritzker's donations. Pritzker tried to influence the GOP primary in Bailey's favor by giving millions to a group called the Democratic Governors Association that, in turn, made TV ads critical of the early front-runner, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, and painted Bailey as the more conservative candidate. The strategy helped build GOP support for Bailey, who didn't respond to interview requests for this story.
Where the cash went By October, Pritzker apparently was confident enough he'd be victorious that he didn't give JB for Governor any more cash. Instead, he contributed to other campaigns and groups, including: Recipients included Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough's campaign, which got $10,000; a fund for Democratic state Senate candidates, which got $1 million; and the Democratic Party of Illinois, which got $7 million.
Is reform needed? When interviewed for a recent story about the Republican Uihlein's multimillion-dollar campaign donations, some high-profile suburban Democrats complained about wealthy donors using their money to sway elections and called for campaign finance reform.