From the State Journal-Register
Oct. 14, 2004


Political parties pour cash into battle for state Senate seats

By DOUG FINKE
STATE CAPITOL BUREAU
Both of the major political parties are pouring money into west-central Illinois in an attempt to win the 47th District Senate seat held by Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville.
In just the past week, more than $170,000 worth of cash and services have come into the district where Sullivan is opposed by Tom Ernst of Quincy. Almost all of that money came from campaign funds controlled either by Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, or Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson of Greenville.
"We believe it is a race where we can be very competitive," said Watson spokeswoman Patty Schuh.
"There's been a lot of mudslinging from the Republicans," said Jones spokeswoman Cindy Davidsmeyer. "We're staying competitive and countering those attacks."
In the month leading up to the Nov. 2 election, state law requires candidates to report contributions of $500 or more within 48 hours. Sullivan and Ernst have cited more than $170,000 in those contributions so far this month.
Ernst reported about $83,000 in contributions in the last week, $80,000 of it in two cash contributions from a fund controlled by Watson.
Sullivan, meanwhile, collected nearly $92,000 in cash and services in the past week. More than $70,500 of that was from a campaign fund controlled by Jones. That includes $60,000 in cash and $10,500 as in-kind services for production of advertising. Sullivan also collected $10,000 from the Laborers' union.
In addition, Jones and Watson are committing large amounts of money to the 59th District race between Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, and Republican Ron Summers of Thompsonville.
In the past week, Forby raised more than $157,000 in large contributions and services. More than $105,000 of that came from Jones, including $75,000 in cash, $7,000 to pay for polling and $23,000 for advertising. Forby also collected $10,000 in cash from the Laborers' union, while the Illinois Federation of Teachers paid for $25,000 in TV advertising.
Summers collected about $45,000 in the last week, of which $40,000 came from campaign funds controlled by Watson.
It's common for legislative leaders to devote large amounts of campaign cash to races of rank-and-file lawmakers, especially those contests that are expected to be close.
Since both leaders are putting significant money into the race, neither candidate can make an issue of outsiders financing the campaigns, said Kent Redfield, a political scientist at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
"Usually, it becomes the pot calling the kettle black," Redfield said. "Usually, both (candidates) have money coming in from outside. These become a contest between Emil Jones and Frank Watson. They have statewide importance because there are very few opportunities for Senate Republicans to gain seats."
Republicans hold 26 of the 59 seats in the Senate. They would have to gain four seats to win control of the chamber from the Democrats.
However, most of the 20 Senate seats up for election this year are viewed as safely in the hands of one party or the other. For example, neither Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, nor Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, has an opponent, even though both are up for election.
Watson earlier identified six Democrats he thought might be defeated. Besides Sullivan and Forby, the list included Sen. Pat Welch of Peru, Sen. William Haine of Alton, Sen. Susan Garrett of Lake Forest and Sen. Deanna Demuzio of Carlinville.
However, Republicans never found a candidate to run against Demuzio, and campaign records show Watson has not made large contributions to GOP candidates in the other districts.
"If they have not started to make a serious move in that direction by now, it's unlikely that they will," Redfield said.
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Doug Finke can be reached at 788-1527 or doug.finke@sj-r.com.