Democrats build cash advantage over GOP

From The Chicago Tribune:

Democrats build cash advantage over GOP

By Rick Pearson and Ray Gibson, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Douglas Holt contributed to this report
Published August 1, 2002

Democrats are entering the fall election season with a huge financial edge over Republicans in most statewide races, the first time in nearly three decades of record keeping that the GOP finds itself at a dollar disadvantage, campaign disclosure reports filed Wednesday showed.

The reports show Democratic candidate for governor Rod Blagojevich raising more than $12 million since his finance committee was formed two years ago. The $7.6 million he has received since the first of the year is more than any previous candidate of either party raised in the same period.

Blagojevich had $3.8 million on hand at the end of June, dwarfing Republican rival Jim Ryan's $689,000. Ryan reported raising $4.9 million in the first half of the year, but he spent $6.8 million during the period, when he won a bitter three-way March primary contest. Blagojevich spent $7.4 million in the first six months of the year, winning his own three-way primary.

The campaign filings also showed that an ever-increasing chunk of dollars donated to politicians is being spent on legal fees.

The reports showed Gov. George Ryan received no donations in the first half of the year but spent more than $700,000 for legal services, for a total of $2 million since 1999. Another $1 million from his political committee, which was indicted in April on federal racketeering charges, was placed in a court-controlled escrow fund. Last month Ryan announced creation of a private trust fund that could be used to help defray legal expenses.

Cicero Town President Betty Loren-Maltese, who is on trial on federal corruption charges, reported that one of her political committees paid about $34,000 this year to her criminal defense attorney's law firm. Loren-Maltese's committee had reported paying Genson & Gillespie about $64,000 for legal bills. In addition, the committee reported paying $8,320 in legal fees to lawyer Charles Schneider, who is one of her co-defendants, and $8,175 to a third lawyer.

The disclosure reports provide a significant glimpse of the election landscape in contests that will determine whether Democrats can wrest control of the governor's mansion from Republicans after 26 years and whether the legislature will fall completely into Democratic hands for the first time in a decade.

Kent Redfield, a campaign finance expert and professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said the filings reflect the combination of a united push by Democrats to win the governor's office and the licenses-for-bribes scandal casting a shadow over Republicans.

Redfield said he expects the money gap to narrow as the election nears but said Blagojevich is now in a position to put pressure on Jim Ryan through television commercials that portray the Republican candidate negatively. If that happens, "I don't think the Ryan people can afford not to respond," Redfield said.

Blagojevich, a Northwest Side congressman, said, "The people of Illinois have grown tired of a state leadership more interested in perpetuating its own power than helping the people of our state." He said his campaign raised $1.5 million in July that is not reflected in the campaign filing.

But Jim Ryan played down the contest's money aspect.

"We have to raise enough money to get our message out," said Ryan, the state's attorney general. "We don't have to raise more money than our opponent. I've beaten a lot of opponents who have spent more money than me. I just did that in the last election, in the primary. So money matters but ... not as much as you might think."

Lisa Madigan, a state senator and daughter of House Speaker Michael Madigan, reported raising more than $3.1 million in the first half of the year but spent $3.5 million, largely to defeat John Schmidt for the Democratic nomination for attorney general. She reported $385,000 in available cash at the end of June. The finance filing for her challenger, Republican nominee Joseph Birkett, was pending Wednesday night.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White reported $1.9 million available for his re-election bid. The Democrat is opposed by Kris Cohn, the Republican chair of the Winnebago County Board who reported $365,000 in her campaign war chest.

Democratic Comptroller Daniel Hynes reported he had $1.7 million compared with Republican opponent Thomas Jefferson Ramsdell, who had $4,100.

Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka was expected to be the lone Republican running statewide to have more money in the bank than the Democratic opposition. Topinka had nearly $1.9 million available for her re-election bid against state Rep. Thomas Dart. Dart's financial report had not been filed as of Wednesday evening.

In the battle for control of the legislature, GOP Senate President James "Pate" Philip of Wood Dale had $4.6 million available to try to maintain his majority against the effects of a Democratic-drawn redistricting map. Reports of funds under Senate Democratic leader Emil Jones Jr. had not been filed as of Wednesday evening.

Madigan, the House speaker, reported his chief political committee had $1.7 million available. Funds overseen by House Republican leader Lee Daniels totaled nearly $3.2 million.

In Chicago, Mayor Richard Daley, whose term expires next year, reported his campaign coffers had $2.4 million. Daley's campaign fund raised $291,000 during the first six months of the year, reports showed.