(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



From the Uihleins to Prominent Business Owners, Who Are Illinois’ Biggest Republican Donors? [1]

[]

Date: 2024-07-15

Illinois might be a solidly blue state when it comes to presidential elections, and its donors tend to put their money where their votes are. In the 2020 election, federal data shows the Biden campaign took in $25.6 million in cash from Illinoisans — compared to the $14.3 million that went to the Trump campaign.

But the Land of Lincoln still has plenty of big-money donors backing conservative candidates and causes. With the Republican National Convention upon us, here’s a look at the Illinois residents who have been spending big so far in this political cycle.

Thanks to our sponsors: View all sponsors

Trump’s Top Donors

With a combined $10 million donation to the Make America Great Again Super PAC, billionaires Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein are the second-biggest backers of Trump’s reelection bid — though their contribution has been dwarfed by the $75 million kicked in by banking heir Timothy Mellon.

The Uihleins, Lake Forest residents and owners of the shipping products company Uline, are longtime conservative political donors. Uline, which was once headquartered in Illinois, moved in 2010 to Wisconsin — also home to Schlitz Brewing, to which Richard Uihlein is an heir.

The Uihleins have long been active in Illinois politics. They supported former Gov. Bruce Rauner in his successful 2014 election bid. In 2018, they backed his unsuccessful challenger in the Republican gubernatorial primary, then-state Rep. Jeanne Ives. They’ve also supported U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Springfield), who drew widespread condemnation for approvingly quoting Adolf Hitler in a 2021 speech; failed Illinois gubernatorial and congressional candidate Darren Bailey; and U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Peoria).

Other donations have gone to two firebrands in the U.S. House: U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) and U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida). Elizabeth Uihlein also made a $3,300 gift to former Vice President Mike Pence’s presidential campaign in 2023.

Since 1998, the Uihleins and their company have made donations totaling nearly $92 million to Illinois-based candidates or committees, according to state election records.

The Uihleins have also been active donors to a variety of PACs during the current election cycle. Including their contribution to the Trump campaign, they’ve made more than $61 million in donations to candidates and committees across the country last year and this year, according to federal election records.

They’ve been most generous to two Downers Grove-based Super PACs affiliated with the conservative activist organization Restoration of America: Restoration PAC and Fair Courts America.

Restoration of America’s founder, Doug Truax, was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2014 Illinois Republican primary for U.S. Senate, losing to Jim Oberweis. In total, the Uihleins have given the two PACs nearly $20 million in 2023 and 2024.

They’re also longtime backers of the Club For Growth PAC, which has raked in nearly $16 million from the Uihleins this cycle. And while they’re now Trump mega-donors, they also contributed $3 million to Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting the failed presidential campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Other major Trump contributors, according to the campaign finance aggregator OpenSecrets, include the Hendricks Holding Company, whose board is chaired by Wisconsin-based billionaire Diane Hendricks. The firm has a slew of business interests in southern Wisconsin, and is an investor in Wilmette-based biopharmaceutical company Monopar Therapeutics. Hendricks has donated more than $5 million in support of Trump’s candidacy.

Another $5 million backer is the pipeline company Energy Transfer LP, which has stakes in multiple pipelines running to or from Illinois. The Make America Great Again PAC has also taken in $500,000 from Hinsdale entrepreneur Scott Madden and $200,000 from Chicago-based real estate investor El Gerson.

Gerson has also donated $150,000 to the Trump 47 Committee PAC. And she’s been active on the state level during the current cycle as well. Records show she’s donated $6,600 to Bailey’s congressional bid and $10,000 to a Super PAC that attacked Bailey’s Republican primary opponent, Mike Bost. Gerson has also given $3,000 to James Marter, who’s set to face U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Naperville) for Illinois’ 14th District seat in the general election. Gerson also donated $2,000 to the campaign of U.S. Rep. Mary Miller.

Illinois’ Big Spenders

The Uihleins aren’t the only Illinoisans actively backing conservative political committees during this election cycle.

Billionaire Ken Griffin — who famously railed against crime in Chicago and announced he’d move his hedge fund, Citadel, to Miami in 2022 — is still listed as an Illinois resident in some of the contributions that appear in federal election records. During the current campaign cycle, he’s pumped nearly $60 million into campaigns and committees across the country.

He has given $10 million apiece to Maryland’s Future, which is supporting former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s bid for the U.S. Senate, and Keystone Renewal PAC, which is backing Republican David McCormick’s bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania. Griffin has also donated $6 million to the American Patriots PAC, a group that backs military veteran candidates that spent heavily in a successful bid to oust U.S. Rep. Bob Good (R-Virginia), who voted to unseat former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

While Griffin hasn’t been an active donor in Illinois campaigns recently, he did give $6,600 to the successful Nebraska Senate bid of Pete Ricketts, a Republican, who is part of the family that owns the Chicago Cubs.

Craig Duchossois, whose billionaire family previously owned the Arlington Park horse racing track, has given more than $9 million to an array of candidates and committees this cycle.

According to federal records, Duchossois gave $3 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, which backs GOP House candidates; $2 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, which supports Republican Senate candidates; and $1 million to the PAC associated with the Koch Brothers-founded group Americans for Prosperity. He also gave $13,200 to Ricketts’ campaign and an associated fund.

Philanthropist Shirley Ryan — known as the namesake of the rehabilitation center the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab — donated $2.5 million last year to a pro-Nikki Haley committee. She and her husband, Patrick, the retired founder of Aon, also gave $2 million this cycle to Americans for Prosperity.

Former Abbott Labs CEO Miles White gave $4 million last year to a PAC that spent its cash opposing Biden’s reelection bid and supporting the failed GOP presidential primary bid of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Another prominent business figure, retired Waste Management founder Dean Buntrock, and his wife, Rosemarie, have given nearly $4.7 million this cycle to Americans for Prosperity and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. They’ve also donated a total of $13,200 to Jerry Evans, a Republican candidate for Illinois’ 11th Congressional District who’s set to take on incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (D-Aurora) in November.

Beyond Trump’s campaign and conservative PACs, the Republican National Committee — host of this week’s convention in Milwaukee — has benefited from some big Illinois donors.

Federal records show that during the current election cycle, the RNC has taken in $826,000 from Elizabeth Uihlein; $413,000 from Duchossois; and $250,000 from Gerson.

When it comes to individual donors, the volume of contributions from Illinoisans to Trump’s official campaign committee far outstrips Biden’s. Federal election records show 92,961 contributions from Illinois residents to Trump versus 26,015 contributions to Biden.

But raw numbers alone can be deceiving. More than 26,000 of those Illinois contributions to Trump were less than a dollar. Just 50 Illinoisans have given Trump $3,300 or more, the maximum amount under federal law per each election (primary and general). Compare that to 572 such contributions to Biden.

The average contribution to Trump was $39, whereas Biden donations averaged $221. And the overall totals reflect the disparity in Illinois’ political leaning as well. Trump has taken in $3.7 million from Illinoisans, according to the most recent data available, while Biden has taken in $5.8 million.

Contact Nick Blumberg: [email protected] | (773) 509-5434 | @ndblumberg

Thanks to our sponsors: View all sponsors

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://news.wttw.com/2024/07/15/uihleins-prominent-business-owners-who-are-illinois-biggest-republican-donors

Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/