Gun-rights groups giving to Illinois Republicans in Congress
All seven members of Illinois' Republican congressional delegation have received campaign donations from gun-rights groups since the 2016 election season, campaign records show.
But one of those Republicans also received a donation from a group lobbying for stronger gun control laws, records show.
Lawmakers who have received significant campaign donations from pro-gun groups, especially the National Rifle Association, have been in the spotlight since last week's mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Representatives from Illinois were not among the top recipients nationwide.
Of Illinois' 18 representatives in Congress, only the seven Republicans received campaign donations from prominent gun-rights groups. Among them were Randy Hultgren of Plano and Peter Roskam of Wheaton, who represent parts of the Chicago suburbs.
Hultgren, of the 14th Congressional District, has received $3,000 from the NRA since the 2016, with $1,000 of that coming during the 2018 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in State Politics, nonprofits that track campaign finance data.
Roskam, who represents the 6th Congressional District, has received $2,000 from the NRA and $2,000 from the political committee for a pro-hunting group called Safari Club International, according to the campaign finance data sources. But Roskam has received funding from gun-control advocates, too.
This election cycle, his campaign has received $1,000 from a political action committee fighting against gun violence that bears the name of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat critically wounded in a shooting in 2011.
Illinois' other Republican congressional representatives also received funding from gun-rights groups:
• Michael Bost of Murphysboro, 12th Congressional District: $2,000 from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, $3,000 from the NRA, and $4,000 from Safari Club International.
• Rodney Davis of Taylorville, 13th Congressional District: $3,500 from the NRA and $8,000 from Safari Club International.
• Adam Kinzinger of Channahon, 16th Congressional District: $1,000 from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, $2,000 from the NRA, $2,500 from Safari Club International.
• Darin LaHood of Dunlap, 18th Congressional District: $1,000 from the NRA, $2,000 from Safari Club International.
• John Shimkus of Collinsville, 15th Congressional District: $2,500 from the NRA.
The Illinois Republicans' donations from gun-rights groups are dwarfed by the millions of dollars the NRA has given to other lawmakers.
As of October 2017, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona had received more than $7.7 million from the NRA alone, The New York Times reported. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida had received more than $3.3 million.
• Daily Herald staff writers Tim Broderick and Susan Sarkauskas contributed to this report.