Illinois Governor Spends Big in Fight With Legislative Democrats
via the Wall Street Journal
CHICAGO—Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is dropping thousands of dollars into the campaign accounts of every GOP lawmaker in Illinois as the state’s fiscal crisis grows and deadlines near.
The $400,000 dispersed in recent weeks appears to be just a start for the former private-equity executive. Since the November election, Mr. Rauner and a few prominent donors—including hedge-fund chief executive Kenneth Griffin of Citadel LLC and real-estate investor Sam Zell—have poured more than $25 million into political committees that are expected to help the governor in his growing battle with Democrats, who control the state legislature.
The stakes only got higher when the Illinois Supreme Court this month rejected a plan to save tens of billions of dollars by reducing pension benefits for state workers and retirees. The ruling is helping to fuel a growing fiscal crisis for the state and its largest city, withMoody’s Investors Service recently downgrading Chicago’s debt to junk.
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