Raoul gets Bluhm boost
Thursday, Oct 12, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This will definitely help. Via the great Shia Kapos…
Billionaire philanthropist Neil Bluhm is backing Kwame Raoul, the Democratic state senator who’s running for Illinois attorney general.
Bluhm is a longtime campaign donor to Democrats. He raised $200,000 for former President Barack Obama’s 2008 bid and $500,000 for the 2012 race.
No word yet on how much Bluhm will donate to Raoul, who was appointed to the state Senate in 2004 to fill the vacancy left by then-state Sen. Obama after he won a U.S. Senate race.
Bluhm will serve as finance chair for the campaign. With an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion, it will be interesting to see if his backing scares off other Democrats from running against Raoul.
- LakeEffect - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 5:06 pm:
So an attorney general candidate is in the pocket of a casino magnate ? Yikes
- DarkHorse - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 5:19 pm:
Revealing sign of the times: not only do you apparently need to be a billionaire to get a major party nomination for governor; but it looks like you need the financial backing of a billionaire to get a major party nomination for AG.
- Anon0091 - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 5:28 pm:
LakeEffect,
I believe Kwame has been very very supportive of Bluhm’s initiatives in Springfield. Not a surprise.
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 5:32 pm:
That Kwame. A real reformer.
- LakeEffect - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 5:39 pm:
I guess gambling is better optically then having the tobacco magnate Don Levin being the finance chair. He funneled 50k through 5 different LLCs to Kwame in 2013 when Kwame was gearing up four years too early.
- A guy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 5:56 pm:
The wheel just keeps turning. At least I like Kwame.
- Real - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 6:29 pm:
How you like that Rauner!!
- DuPage Saint - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 6:31 pm:
The whole election/primary thing really is becoming a joke. I am at the point that I think it would be better for the voters to get a slice of the pie. No campaign “contributions ” cut out the middle man and just buy the voter
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 12, 17 @ 6:55 pm:
===Bluhm will serve as finance chair for the campaign. With an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion, it will be interesting to see if his backing scares off other Democrats from running against Raoul.===
… and supported Obama when it mattered, in Obama’s home state.
Won’t scare too many away, but if they don’t take pause, that might be where the mistake will be made.
- South Side Sam - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 6:12 am:
Our not so proud tradition of pay to play continues.
- Anonymous - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 7:14 am:
So I guess Kwame won’t be an “independent” Attorney General.
- lake county democrat - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 7:58 am:
Gee, too bad there isn’t an independent, reform-minded candidate running.
- VanillaMan - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 8:26 am:
If you are a candidate, and if you’re contacted by a billionaire who’d like to fund you, why would you say no?
Congratulations on your new friend, Raoul.
- Rocky Rosi - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 8:45 am:
This puts him in the driver seat if he can keep his cool.
- wordslinger - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 8:52 am:
Nevada hotel/casino interests were instrumental in launching Reagan’s political career in California, and supported him all the way to the White House.
Lined up Teamsters support for him, too.
Prior to that, they and their Hollywood friends had found Reagan work when he was down on his luck (but still head of the Screen Actors Guild) and helped establish his financial security.
A lot of those fellas were originally from Chicago and maintained business interests there.
See Gus Russo’s biography on the ultimate fixer, Sidney Korshak, or any bio on Lew Wasserman.