Libertarian gets union cash in governor's race

The Libertarian candidate for Illinois governor is receiving financial help from an unexpected source - one of the unions campaigning against Republican Bruce Rauner because of the Winnetka businessman's views on organized labor.

Chad Grimm, a Lake Zurich High School alumnus, is a fiscal conservative who believes in minimal government. But he has received a $30,000 boost from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 even though it endorsed Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.

Most of the state's other labor unions have spent millions of dollars supporting Quinn. They are seeking to defeat Rauner, who made fighting "government union bosses" a focus of his primary campaign.

Grimm could siphon conservative votes away from Rauner.

Rauner campaign spokesman Mike Schrimpf says Illinoisans "understand a vote for Grimm is the same as voting for Pat Quinn."