SPRINGFIELD - Illinois State Board of Elections quarterly reports from candidates were due on Tuesday. An analysis of the reports from the 13 Senate GOP primaries provides insight into how these campaigns are doing, leading up to March 20th.
35th Senate District: Johnson vs. Syverson - Longtime State Senator Dave Syverson's (R-Rockford) primary opponent is State Senator Christine Johnson (R-Shabbona), who was appointed to fill out former State Senator Brad Burzynski's term. The Syverson-Johnson race for the 35th district is causing both Syverson and Johnson to write hefty checks to themselves. Syverson has loaned his campaign $50,000 and Johnson wrote a check to her campaign for $100,000. With $5,000 from Dan Proft's Liberty PAC, Syverson raised $98,000 in the last quarter and has $119,000 on hand. Sen. Johnson's not far behind - in the past quarter she raised $115,000 ($100,000 from herself) and ended up with $117,000 on hand.
23rd Senate District: Pankau vs. Ramey - There are several races where House members are challenging incumbent senators for their Senate seats. State Rep. Randy Ramey (R-Carol Stream) is challenging State Senator Carole Pankau (R-Itasca) in the 23rd district. After raising $13,000 in the past quarter, Pankau has on hand $23,000 compared to Ramey's $36,000.
24th Senate District: Dillard vs. Nybo - State Representative Chris Nybo (R-Elmhurst) is attempting to oust State Senator Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) from his 24th District seat. Dillard has raised a respectable $107,000 in the past quarter, and has $91,000 on hand going into the primary heat. Nybo isn't far behind, raising $84,000 and leaving $65,000 on hand.
53rd Senate District: Cultra vs. Barickman - State Representative Jason Barickman (R-Champaign) has outraised incumbent State Senator Shane Cultra (R-Onarga) 6 to 1 in the past quarter. Barickman pulled in $18k to Cultra's $3k, leaving Barickman with $91,000 to spend compared to Cultra's $74,000.
51st Senate District: Rose vs. Pliura - State Rep. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) has more cash on hand than anyone running in the Senate GOP primaries. Raising $40k in the past quarter he closed out with $187,000 on hand. His opponent for the Senate seat, physician Tom Pliura of Ellsworth, has not yet filed a campaign disclosure with the State Board.
50th Senate District: McCann vs. Dove and Noll - Incumbent State Senator Sam McCann (R-Carlinville) is facing two challengers from Sangamon County in the 50th district primary. McCann has raised $72,000 in the past quarter, but he's spent almost half of it, leaving him with $42,000 on hand. The Realtors PAC and the Illinois Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have dumped loads into challenger Steven Dove's campaign, leaving him with $80,000 on hand to spend against the right to work supporter McCann. The third candidate in the 50th, Gray Noll, has less than $6000 on hand, but $1000 of that came from McCann's Senate colleague Larry Bomke (R-Springfield).
25th Senate District: Oberweis vs. Richmond vs. Slocum - In the 25th Senate district, dairyman Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove) leads in fundraising. Oberweis has raised $82,000 in the last quarter, with $78,000 on hand. The next highest fundraiser in the three-way race is Richard Slocum, also of Sugar Grove, who has raised $17k, leaving $15k on hand. With the help of the Proft Liberty PAC, Dave Richmond of Batavia has raised $9k and has $3k on hand.
28th Senate District: Smolinski vs. O'Donnell - Roselle mayor Gayle Smolinksi hasn't kept up with her opponent Jim O'Donnell of Park Ridge in pulling in campaign contributions. She's raised $17,000 to his $35,000 in the past quarter, leaving her with $7,900 on hand compared to his $91k.
33rd Senate District: McConnaughay vs. Surges - In Kane County's 33rd District, county board chairman Karen McConnaughay (R-St. Charles) has raised $72k, leaving $71k on hand compared to her opponent Gilberts Trustee Cliff Surges, who, with the support of insurance PACs, raised $5k this past quarter. After loaning himself $15k previously, Surges ended the quarter with $30k on hand.
31st Senate District: Neal vs. Jarratt vs. Leafblad - In the four-way race to succeed State Senator Suzi Schmidt in the 31st District, Joe Neal of Wadsworth has raised the most - $6,000. No report for Lennie Jarratt (Round Lake) or Larry Leafblad's (Grayslake) Senate primary bid has been filed yet, and a fourth candidate, Michael White (Lindenhurst), reports raising $200.
49th Senate District: Peck vs. Fitzgerald vs. Giles vs. Smith - In the four-way primary in Will County's 49th Senate district, Garret Peck of Plainfield finished the quarter with $101k on hand. Gary Fitzgerald (Shorewood) reports $7k, Tony Giles (Oswego) $1k and Brian Smith (Plainfield) $6k.
52nd Senate District: Nudo vs. Bambanek - In the 52nd GOP race in Champaign, Alan Nudo has almost $50k on hand compared to John Bambanek's near $6k.
18th Senate District: Bellar vs. Fernandez - In the 18th Senate Cook County race, neither Dr. Barbara Bellar (Burr Ridge) nor Ricardo Fernandez (Orland Park) have filed ISBE reports.
