* Hmm…

Illinois attorney general candidate Sharon Fairley, a former federal prosecutor, is pumping $100,000 into her candidacy today, her campaign tells us. That places Fairley, who left her post overseeing a Chicago police oversight group to run for attorney general, in a competitive position financially. It’s a competition for Dem dollars among the many candidates running in the Democratic primary. Last week, Rod Blagojevich attorney Aaron Goldstein contributed $50,000 to his campaign fund. Sen. Kwame Raoul reported having about $400,000 in his account.

Unless Fairley has lots more money where that came from, Nancy Rotering is the woman candidate who is doing the best fundraising job so far. She’s raised about the same amount as Fairley, $174K since October 3rd, but Rotering’s largest contributions were at the $5600 cap.

The bottom line, though, is that Fairley’s contribution to herself will help her scale up her campaign. Let’s see what the first-time candidate does with the cash.

* Meanwhile…

Quinn benefits from high name recognition and a record of involvement in consumer and environmental protection, said Bradley.

However, he said, “His drawback is the most recent thing people will remember is his time as governor.”

Jackson said Quinn has to be considered a front-runner at this point, although “he’s got baggage” and the most recent poll he saw put Quinn’s support at only 28 percent.

“It all depends on the campaign he runs,” said Jackson. “He’s never been a great fundraiser.”

Quinn raised a bunch of money in 2014. And a former governor polling at 28 percent is not good at all, and was probably a significant reason why the Cook County Democrats weren’t all that concerned about slating Sen. Raoul over Quinn.

* From that poll…

Quinn claims the statewide phone poll of 1,047 likely Democratic voters conducted this month by Public Policy Polling shows him leading six contenders vying to become the state’s top legal eagle, netting him an overall lead with 28 percent of the vote. […]

According to Quinn, the poll included several announced or potential candidates for Illinois attorney general. State Sen. Kwame Raoul came in second with 12 percent, State Rep. Scott Drury with 4 percent, former Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability chief administrator Sharon Fairley with 2 percent, Water Reclamation Board President Mariyana Spyropoulos with 2 percent, Chicago Park District Board President Jesse Ruiz with 5 percent and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering with 3 percent. […]

He also claims he led among all racial groups, with Raoul coming in with 23 percent to Quinn’s 25 percent among African-Americans. For Hispanic voters polled, Ruiz came in with 31 percent to Quinn’s 32 percent.

“Amongst white voters, I led with 30 percent” said Quinn.

Not great.

* Related…

* Hinz: My take on the army of Illinois attorney general candidates