U.S. Rep. Bill Foster to donate salary during shutdown
Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville on Friday announced he’ll donate the congressional pay he receives during the federal government shutdown to the Northern Illinois Food Bank.
Foster, who represents the 11th District, took the same action during government shutdowns in 2013 and 2019.
Members of Congress are paid $174,000 annually, dished out as $14,500 per month. Foster intends to cut a check to the food bank once the shutdown ends, a spokesperson said.
The nonprofit, Geneva-based food bank provides 250,000 meals a day to people in 13 counties. It has distribution centers in Geneva, Lake Forest, Rockford and Joliet.
Foster used his announcement to take swipes at Republican lawmakers.
“It is unacceptable that federal employees are going without a paycheck, health insurance costs are skyrocketing, and families are seeing SNAP benefits threatened, while House Republicans stay out on vacation and refuse to come back to Washington and negotiate a bipartisan funding bill,” Foster said in the news release.
The 11th District encompasses portions of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, DeKalb and Boone counties.
Schneider outraising Coghill in 10th
In his campaign to unseat veteran U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider of Highland Park in next March’s 10th District Democratic primary, Mundelein’s Morgan Coghill continues to significantly trail the incumbent when it comes to fundraising.
Schneider’s campaign committee reported $446,695 in contributions during the year’s third quarter — more than 19 times the $23,366 Coghill’s campaign raised during the same three months, Federal Election Commission records show.
Congressional candidates must regularly submit financial reports once their campaigns collect or spend at least $5,000. Reports covering transactions made between July 1 and Sept. 30 were due Wednesday and can be viewed at fec.gov.
The Schneider for Congress committee started July with nearly $1.5 million in the bank. Over the next three months, it raised about $286,726 from hundreds of individuals and $159,750 from political action committees representing dozens of corporations, labor groups and other special interest groups.
That latter sum included $3,500 from Exelon, ComEd’s parent company; $2,500 from Morgan Stanley; $3,000 from the Federation of American Hospitals and $2,500 from FedEx Corp., records show.
The Schneider campaign spent nearly $401,880 during the quarter, including donations to Democratic organizations, nonprofit groups and other candidates. Beneficiaries included the campaigns of state Sen. Adriane Johnson of Buffalo Grove, Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg and Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega; the Libertyville Township Democratic Organization; and the Chicago Federation of Labor.
Team Schneider finished the quarter with more than $1.5 million saved and no debts.
The Coghill for Congress committee started the quarter with $7,344 in the bank. It subsequently raised $23,366, which consisted of $18,819 from individual donors and a $4,547 loan from the candidate.
After spending $25,083 during the quarter, Team Coghill ended September with $5,627 saved for the race ahead — less than 1% of the Schneider campaign’s war chest — and $14,164 in debts.
No Republican candidate for the 10th District seat has surfaced. Campaign expert Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois Springfield, has called Schneider “a safe incumbent in a safe Democratic district.”
The 10th District includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties. The primary election is March 17.
• Political Roundabout is an occasional column on campaign, legislative and political news with a suburban focus.