* Politico…

The Democratic Party of Illinois’ third-quarter fundraising numbers aren’t remarkable for their size: The party raised a total of $286,000 during the July-through-September period. What is impressive is where the money came from.

Without sharing data (the party hadn’t yet filed with the Federal Election Commission), DPI executive director Abby Witt said “numerous donors” have given to the Democratic Party “for the very first time” and from across the state — 65 cities total.

“The party is charting a new course that includes more people, more voices and a renewed commitment to serving all Democrats across our state,” she told Playbook.

Over the three-month period, the party raised $186,00 in federal funding, Witt said. The party raised about $100,000 in local funding and in-kind donations, not a particularly remarkable number though Democrats are putting a positive spin on it given local fundraising didn’t start until halfway through the quarter.

DPI’s state report showed the party raised just $65K in cash during the quarter. The other $35K came in the form of in-kind IT services contributions from several individuals at a data company in Delaware.

* The Illinois Republican Party reported raising $75K in cash during the quarter, but reported no in-kinds. Two years ago, DPI reported raising $334K in cash and the ILGOP raised $36K.

…Adding… ILGOP spokesperson Joe Hackler points out that the Republican Party also outraised DPI on the federal level, pulling in $223K to the Democrats’ $186K. Hilarious.

Also, the state DPI committee transferred $70K to its federal committee, but I’m not sure if that was double-counted above or not.

* Back to the story…

Party chair Robin Kelly, who is not allowed to raise money personally for local races because she is a member of Congress, has established a separate fundraising committee within the party to focus on those contests. “Building Leadership, Unity, and Equity,” or BLUE, was started midway through the quarter in late August, so it’s still too early to analyze whether the fundraising mechanism is working.

Witt says BLUE is now funding support services that Democrats statewide can utilize, including data services, communications programs (that list Democratic accomplishments and talking points to counter Republicans) and helping individuals run their campaigns.

“These are the changes people wanted to see in their state party and this is just the beginning,” she said.

Thoughts?

*** UPDATE *** Heh…

After bringing in a record haul last quarter, the Illinois Republican Party will report raising more than the Democratic Party of Illinois for the second quarter in a row. The ILGOP raised a combined $297,977 between our state and federal accounts. Despite some fuzzy math, the DPI was still only able to report raising roughly $286,000 total for this quarter.

“It’s safe to say Democrats in Illinois are in complete disarray with a state party in shambles, lacking leadership and vision. It could not be more clear that momentum is on the Republican side heading into 2022. The people of Illinois are fed up with a state government ran into the ground by corrupt and incompetent Democrats. Our fundraising strength is a testament to that momentum. We can’t thank every donor enough in partnering with the ILGOP in saving Illinois.” - ILGOP Spokesman Joe Hackler