Frequently Asked Questions

SEARCHING CONTRIBUTIONS
SEARCHING CANDIDATES AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS
CHICAGO DATABASE FAQ

How do I find a particular donor?

If you know the name of the donor, type their name in the "last name" field. Do not include their first name in the last name field; if you know the first name, you might enter that in the first name field, but leaving the first name field blank will return all donors with that last name. If the donor is a company, a union, or an association, put their name in the "last name" field. Note that the field is not case-sensitive, and that the database will return any contributions whose names include what you enter. Typing "smith" in a field will return giving by people named Smith, or Smithson, or Blacksmith; it will also return giving by companies, unions, and association whose name includes the phrase "smith".

The Illinois Education Association is the largest PAC donor in the state; why can't I find them in the database?

The Sunshine Database standardizes the names of the largest donors to make it easier to find all of their contributions. But if you don't search under the name as it has been standardized, you won't find it. In general, don't search for the word "Illinois", or any of its abbreviations. The Illinois Education Association is listed as the IL Education Assn.

I found some contributions on your site that I could not find through the Illinois State Board of Elections' website. Why is that?

The Sunshine Database is based on the semi-annual reports filed with the State Board of Elections, which keeps the official records of campaign disclosure. If you find a contribution listed here but cannot find it through the State Board of Elections' website, there could be several explanations:

The Sunshine Database standardizes the names of donors, so that even though a candidate might report a contribution from the IEA or I.E.A. or IPACE or the Illinois Education Association, the Sunshine Database will list the contribution as from the IL Education Assn. To verify a contribution through the State Board of Elections website, we recommend searching the State Board's reports by committee, date of receipt, and amount.
The Sunshine Database is updated twice a year. It is possible that a political committee filed an amended disclosure report changing the date, amount, or donor's name related to a contribution. In that instance, the Sunshine Database would not reflect the more up-to-date information on the State Board of Elections' website.

How can I find out more about a particular donor?

Profiles of many donors are available through the Sunshine Database. Click here for a complete list.

SEARCHING CANDIDATES AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS

Who is included in the Sunshine Database?

The Sunshine Database includes incumbents and candidates for state legislative, statewide executive, and appellate judicial offices.

How do I find profiles of particular officials?

The Sunshine Database has campaign finance profiles of every sitting member of the General Assembly, all of the statewide Constitutional Officers, and recently-elected Appellate and Supreme Court justices. For sitting public officials, including incumbents not seeking re-election or whose terms have not expired, go to the list that includes their office; for example, state representatives are included in the list titled Illinois House. For candidates, click on candidate search.

Why can't I find profiles of sitting Supreme Court justices?

The Sunshine Database draws upon campaign finance reports. Rule 67 of the Supreme Court forbids sitting judges to raise political money personally, or to authorize others to raise money on their behalf, except during a period beginning a year before an election and ending 90 days after the election. The only time a sitting Supreme Court justice would raise or spend political funds is if they were appointed to the bench to fill a vacancy and are also seeking a term in their own right. Consequently, it is rare indeed that sitting jurists have active campaign committees. Appellate Court justices and judges of the Circuit Court may authorize committees to raise and spend political funds on their behalf when seeking higher office. Note that incumbent jurists, including those of the Supreme Court, may have political funds in the bank, though by and large they may not raise additional funds, nor spend funds they already have.

How do I find information for previous elections?

The candidate search feature includes options for the 2001-2002 election cycle. Also, searches for Illinois House and Illinois Senate allow searches for candidates and incumbents during the 2001-2002 election cycle.

How do I find former statewide officials?

Former public officials are best found through the candidate search. Search through the 2001-2002 database for the incumbent office holder in any of the more than 180 offices available in the database.

A candidate in my district isn't listed in the database. I know they're on the ballot; why aren't they in the database?

There could be two reasons why your candidate isn't listed here. Candidates are required to form political committees only after they have raised or spent $3,000. If your candidate has not formed a political committee, they will not be listed in the Sunshine Database, which focuses on campaign finance. It is also possible that the candidate has formed a committee, but did so after the last semi-annual reporting period. If that is the case, they will not be listed in the Sunshine Database until after the next semi-annual disclosure period.

CHICAGO DATABASE FAQ

What's in the Chicago Sunshine Database?

Campaign records on 185 sitting or recent Aldermen, or candidates for Aldermen in all of Chicago/s 50 wards, together with data on the citywide candidates, and the most active ward organizations. Over 70,000 receipts and expenditures between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2006, coded by interest to better explain who's giving to candidates and how they're spending their war chests.

Why do some candidates show no receipts or expenditures?

The database draws on disclosure reports filed by candidates as of December 31, 2006. Some candidates had not yet formed campaign funds by then. To learn what's happened since the first of the year, visit the State Board of Elections website. It's completely up to date, but they don't code donors and vendors by interest or standardize names.

Why do some incumbent Aldermen show no receipts or expenditures?

Some Aldermen haven't formed committees. Some of them are also Ward Committeemen, and apparently use their ward organization to support their aldermanic campaigns. In those few instances, the ward organization is listed as the candidate's campaign fund

How does the Chicago Sunshine Database relate to the other database?

Both track all receipts and expenditures of candidates, and by standardizing the names and coding donors and vendors, we hope to make the data easier to understand than the raw reports filed with the State Board of Elections. If you want to see if a donor to a Chicago candidate also gave to a state candidate, you should ask both databases separately.