Sangamon Sun

Liberty Principles Political Action Committee (PAC), an independent expenditure PAC operating in Illinois since 2012, has spent $3.8 million in support of of 20 Illinois House and Senate candidates heading into the last week of the election cycle, according to data provided by the organization and compiled from the Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE).

Liberty Principles founder, Dan Proft, is a principal in Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes this newspaper.

According to ISBE, thirteen candidates had received more than $100,000 worth of support from Liberty Principles as of Oct. 26-- Brandi McGuire of Rock Island ($643,348), Heidi Holan of Glen Ellyn ($418,290), Mel Thillens of Park Ridge ($414,099), Michelle Smith of Plainfield ($395,366), Lindsay Parkhurst of Kankakee ($322,500), Dawn Abernathy of Mundelein ($284,670), Jillian Bernas of Schaumburg ($157,500), Jerry Long of Streator ($136,300), David Olsen of Downers Grove ($124,000), Dwight Kay of Glen Carbon ($112,500), Seth Lewis of Bartlett ($110,000), Dale Fowler of Harrisburg ($106,500) and Rod Drobinski of Wauconda ($105,000).

Liberty Principles has also made significant contributions to  Mike Babcock of Wood River ($96,500), Dave Severin of Benton ($71,250), Jason Kasiar of Vienna ($67,500), Mike Amrozowicz of Gurnee ($60,000), Tony McCombie of Savanna ($60,000), Steve Reick of Woodstock ($60,000) and Katherine Ruocco of Swansea ($50,000).

All twenty are Republicans. Nine are running for seats representing the Chicago suburbs, where Democrats have made significant inroads over the past decade.

Eleven of the candidates-- Holan, Parkhurst, Abernathy, Bernas, Babcock, Drobinski, McCombie, Kasiar, McCombie, Severin and Ruocco-- are challenging incumbent Democrats in the State House of Representatives, run by Chicago Democrat House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Five of them-- Thillens, Smith, Lewis, Fowler and Amrozowicz-- are challenging incumbent Democrats in the State Senate, run by Chicago Democrat Senate President John Cullerton.

Three-- McGuire, Reick and Long-- are running for open House seats, previously held by Democrats.

Kay is an incumbent Republican; Olsen was recently appointed to fill a seat held by Rep. Ron Sandack, who resigned over the summer.

According to ISBE, Madigan, Cullerton and the Democrats have spent $3.944 million on the same 20 legislative races.

Proft, who ran as a Republican for Governor in 2010, hosts a morning talk show on AM 560 in Chicago. He also is senior fellow at the Chicago-based free market think tank Illinois Policy Institute and co-founder of the non-profit Illinois Opportunity Project.