By Illinois Review
As the Republican primary for Illinois governor takes shape, billionaire mega-donor Richard Uihlein’s name is once again circulating in political circles.
In recent weeks, advisers connected to Ted Dabrowski’s campaign have spread rumors that Uihlein is backing the Wirepoints president’s bid to unseat Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, suggesting a significant contribution was forthcoming.
But multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter say those claims are completely false.
Sources told this publication that just weeks after the 2022 governor’s election, members of Richard Uihlein’s inner circle – including his wife, Elizabeth – were left ‘mortified’ by the outcome, having spent $52 million on the governor’s race only to lose by double digits.
During the 2023 school board races, local parental rights organizations were told by the same advisers spreading rumors connected to the Dabrowski campaign that Uihlein would make a substantial contribution to Dan Proft’s People Who Play By The Rules PAC to support conservative school board candidates – but the funding never materialized. In reality, those promises were entirely false.
In April 2023, this publication revealed that the Richard Uihlein-funded People Who Play By The Rules PAC, in quarterly disclosures, paid three political consultants $142,000 while spending just $3,700 to support a small cluster of conservative school board candidates during the April elections.
Unfortunately, the candidates lost, but the real winners were the consultants who paid themselves generously.
The founder, president and treasurer of the PAC – Naples’ Dan Proft – received the majority of the consulting fees, totaling $75,000 while the rest went to two other consulting firms closely aligned with Proft.
The Illinois State Board of Elections website also revealed in 2023 – long after the elections – that Proft continued to pay himself a $25,000-a-month consulting fee using leftover PAC funds from Uihlein’s donations.
In the last week, this publication has revealed that since 2020, Wirepoints has seen a steep decline in revenue. The organization reported $1.12 million at its peak that year, but by 2022, revenue had fallen to $709,000, dropping further to just $294,175 in 2023.
With expenses totaling $688,601 that year, Wirepoints faced a deficit of $394,426.
Despite bringing in only $294,175 in 2023, the fiscally conservative nonprofit spent $200,000 on executive salaries – $100,000 to President Ted Dabrowski and $100,000 to the vice president. An additional $295,252 went to other staff, bringing total salaries for the year to $495,252.
For years, Dabrowski has warned about the state’s chronic overspending – what he calls the “corrupt practice of deficit spending” – arguing that Springfield politicians consistently spend more than they take in.
However, his organization mirrors the state’s spending habits, raising only $294,175 in 2023 while incurring $688,601 in operating expenses, resulting in a deficit that he cites as evidence of the problems in Illinois government.
At this time, Wirepoints has not filed any disclosures with the IRS for fiscal year 2024.
Dabrowski will face DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick in the Republican primary for governor, with additional candidates expected to enter the race in the coming months.
The primary is scheduled for March 17, 2026.
