SPRINGFIELD – In an political strategy unprecedented in the Illinois Republican Party, thousands of dollars were transferred from the Illinois Republican Party to county organizations in the last three months leading up to the March 20th IL GOP primary.
State Board of Elections records show that 41 county GOP organizations received gifts from the IL GOP from $5000 to $25,000. Never before has the IL GOP had the resources to distribute funds in such a manner.
Where did the unprecedented party funding come from? County leaders tell Illinois Review they were asked to fill out applications, and checks were sent their ways – no requests or expectations voiced in the process.
The Illinois Republican Party has been consistently sending out press releases over the past few months promoting Governor Rauner, however. Leading up to the check distribution, only five major donations were made to the IL GOP, including nearly $5 million from Citizens for Rauner, which the Rauners fund personally. Three million of the IL GOP funding went to the House Republican Organization.
The 41 counties that benefitted from the Rauner-funded windfall were:
