How much did your representative get from special interests before the last election?
Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider collected more campaign cash from special interest groups during the last election cycle than any other representative serving the North, West or Northwest suburbs, records show.
Schneider, a Highland Park resident whose 10th District includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties, got roughly $1.4 million from such organizations.
On the opposite end of the spectrum was U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez of Chicago, whose 3rd District includes parts of Cook and DuPage counties. She reported $339,546 in donations from special interest groups, the lowest total of the eight lawmakers serving this area.
End-of-year financial reports were due to the Federal Election Commission last week. They're viewable at fec.gov.
Schneider
Between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2022, the Schneider for Congress campaign collected donations from political action committees representing corporations, industry groups, labor unions and other organizations.
Such donors included American Express, AT&T, the Transport Workers Union of America and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee - each of which gave Team Schneider the maximum allowable $10,000.
Special interest donations constituted about 37% of the roughly $3.8 million Schneider received in his race against Lake Forest Republican Joe Severino. The balance came from individuals.
Foster
Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville reported the second-largest haul from special interest groups.
The Bill Foster for Congress committee raked in about $1.3 million from such organizations in his 11th District showdown against Woodstock Republican Catalina Lauf.
Donors who gave $10,000 included Bank of America, BMO Financial Group, the Service Employees International Union and the International Association of Firefighters.
Special interest cash represented about 36% of the roughly $3.6 million in total contributions Foster reported for the cycle. The rest came from individuals and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, records show.
The 11th District encompasses parts of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, DeKalb and Boone counties.
Casten
Downers Grove Democrat Sean Casten collected more than $1.1 million from special interests en route to defeating Republican challenger Keith Pekau of Orland Park.
Groups giving the maximum $10,000 to Casten for Congress included the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, Home Depot and the National Education Association Fund for Children and Public Education.
Cash from political action committees represented about 20% of the roughly $5.5 million in total contributions Casten reported for the cycle. The rest came from individuals, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and other sources.
The 6th District includes parts of Cook and DuPage counties.
Krishnamoorthi
Schaumburg Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi collected nearly $1.1 million from special interest groups during the race for his 8th District seat. He defeated Republican Chris Dargis of Palatine.
Donors that gave the maximum $10,000 to Friends of Raja for Congress included Capitol One Financial Corp., Employees of Northrop Grumman Corp., the Indian American Impact Fund and the United Auto Workers.
Krishnamoorthi's donations from political action committees represented about 13% of the roughly $8.4 million in total contributions he reported. Nearly all the rest came from individuals; the candidate donated a small sum, too, records show.
The 8th District includes parts of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties.
Underwood
Naperville Democrat Lauren Underwood received about $873,606 in donations from special interests during her successful campaign against Republican challenger Scott Gryder of Oswego in the 14th District.
Groups that gave the maximum $10,000 to the Lauren Underwood for Congress committee included the International Association of Firefighters, a group called Elect Democratic Women, and the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology.
Cash from political action committees represented about 13% of the roughly $6.6 million in total contributions Underwood reported for the cycle. Most of the rest came from individuals and the DCCC; the candidate also donated a small sum.
The 14th District includes parts of Kane, Will, DeKalb, Kendall, LaSalle, Bureau and Putnam counties.
Quigley
Democrat Mike Quigley of Chicago received about $751,250 from special interest groups in his successful reelection campaign against Chicago Republican Tommy Hanson in the 5th District.
Donors giving the maximum $10,000 to Quigley for Congress included the American Council of Engineering Companies, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Anheuser-Busch Companies and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
Cash from political action committees represented about 68% of the nearly $1.1 million in total contributions Quigley reported for the cycle; the rest came from individuals.
The 5th District includes parts of Cook and Lake counties.
Schakowsky
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston received about $473,515 from special interest groups in her reelection campaign against Chicago Republican Max Rice in the 9th District.
Donors giving the maximum $10,000 to Schakowsky for Congress included the American Federation of Teachers, the Communications Workers of America, Home Depot and the United Auto Workers.
Cash from political action committees represented about 30% of the nearly $1.6 million in total contributions Schakowsky reported for the cycle; the rest came from individuals and the Winnetka-based New Trier Democratic Organization.
The district includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.
Ramirez
And finally there's Ramirez, the delegation's newest member. She defeated Winfield Republican Justin Burau to win the open 3rd District seat.
Donors giving the maximum $10,000 to United With Delia for Congress included the Credit Union National Association, Elect Democratic Women and Local 881 of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
The $339,546 Ramirez collected from special interests constituted about 35% of the $979,452 she collected during the campaign. Ramirez started fundraising in October 2021, months later than the other candidates, records show.