* The Daily Herald has Catalina Lauf’s burn rate…

The Catalina for Congress committee started the quarter with about $255,976 saved. It reported collecting about $156,144 during the period.

Nearly all of Lauf’s cash came from individual donors. Only two reported donations came from political action committees: $2,200 from a former Republican candidate for a county office in Ohio; and $2,000 from Republican congressional candidate Joe Kent in Washington state.

Team Lauf spent about $263,879 on consultants’ fees, printing, travel and more during the quarter, roughly 169% of the total that came in.

She appears to be paying through the nose for fundraising expenses and consultants, but not a lot of actual voter contact.

* The opposite is happening with the so-called Ken Griffin slate, so the Democratic Party of Illinois has questions…

How Is It Possible To Run a Statewide Campaign on $37?

Griffin Slate Candidates Run on Transparency While Hiding Campaign Spending

According to the Chicago Tribune, Griffin slate candidates Steve Kim (Attorney General), Shannon Teresi (Comptroller), and John Milhiser (Secretary of State) all had one thing in common — they barely spent any money.

- Kim reported just $37.87 in expenditures

- Teresi reported just $164.02 in expenditures

- Milhiser reported just $467.23 in expenditures

How could it be possible for candidates to run for statewide office for months, especially as part of a $20 million coordinated slate, and spend so little money on their campaigns?

Kim, Teresi, and Milhiser have all put transparency and good government at the center of their campaigns. It’s time for them to be transparent with reporters and voters — and explain exactly what they’re hiding from the public.

When asked by the Tribune, an Irvin campaign employee claimed “to the extent that any cost is presented to the campaigns, it will be paid and disclosed properly.”

What about the costs around preparing, circulating, and filing petitions? Who is running these candidates’ communications programs? Was anyone paid for these campaign websites or social media videos? What about legal and compliance fees? Are these costs being hidden from the public?

Are we supposed to believe these campaigns, which have been active for more than two months, simply haven’t incurred any costs? It’s time for these candidates to come clean about what’s really going on inside their campaigns.

* Back to the Daily Herald in the same GOP primary race to take on Bill Foster…

[Cassandra] Tanner Miller’s campaign started fundraising last quarter and ended the period deep under water financially, her report showed. It collected $2,525 in donations, spent less than $600 and reported $48,302 in debts to vendors and consultants.

Oof.

* Politico…

Donald Trump is hosting a fundraiser for Republican Rep. Mary Miller on Wednesday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach — and the former president is expected to sit down with GOP governor candidate Darren Bailey, too.

Bailey bought a ticket to the fundraiser. And Bailey isn’t the only Republican gubernatorial candidate hoping for Trump’s nod. Gary Rabine seems to think he has a shot.

* Also Politico…

Five of the six top Republican candidates for governor appeared at a Washington, Ill., forum last night to address a range of issues, including the economy and Second Amendment. Darren Bailey, Gary Rabine, Paul Schimpf, Jesse Sullivan, and Max Solomon all attended.

The biggest applause came toward the end of the event when Bailey walked across the stage and pointed to an empty chair where Richard Irvin would have been seated. “I want to talk about this empty seat,” Bailey said, pausing for the audience to cheer for a while. Bailey then accused Irvin of “grossly” lying while on the campaign trail. Bailey said Irvin may talk about cutting taxes, “but he raised taxes in Aurora.” And Irvin’s running mate, Avery Bourne, once told Bailey to put on his mask while he was fighting the mask mandate in the General Assembly. “Friends, enough is enough,” Bailey said.

Bailey raised taxes when he was on the school board.

* Subscribers know more, but here’s Politico…

Becky Levin, a gun-violence prevention advocate, has dropped out of the race for the 13th state rep seat that’s now held by Democratic Majority Leader Greg Harris.. That leaves Eileen Dordek as the only woman in the race with four men. Dordek has $200,000 cash on hand, while her four opponents have a combined $90,000 or so. Yesterday, Dordek was endorsed by Sen. Dick Durbin, the AFLCIO, and Personnel PAC, the abortion rights group.

That story originally claimed that Levin was a gun rights advocate. We all make mistakes, I suppose. Also, it’s Personal PAC. Oops. And, while the group has not yet posted its endorsements, Dordek is likely a lock because she is the organization’s former board chair.