MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

Only 10 Metro-East individuals or businesses made contributions of $150 or more to Judy Baar Topinka's campaign committee between Jan. 1 and June 30, according to a financial report filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections on Monday.

While Madison-St. Clair County support for the Republican gubernatorial candidate appears anemic at $6,550-Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich enjoyed the support of 75 Metro East businesses or individuals who coughed up tens of thousands of dollars in the same period.

But noticably missing from the governor's list of contributors are the big name area plaintiff's attorneys, who four years earlier climbed on the Blago bandwagon.

Blagojevich's fan base among plaintiff's attorneys weakened in 2005, after he signed the medical malpractice caps bill into law.

By glancing at his recent campaign disclosure report, it looks as if plaintiff's attorneys may still be holding a grudge.

In 2002, however, many Metro-East powerhouse attorneys contributed mightily to Blagojevich who went on to handily defeat Republican candidate Jim Ryan.

For instance, the following firms or individuals gave at least the amount listed to Blagojevich in 2002.

Carr Korein Tillery Kunin Montroy Cates of East St. Louis--$50,000
Cook Ysursa Bartholomew Brauer & Shevlin of Belleville--$10,000
Goldenberg Miller Heller & Antognoli of Edwardsville--$7,500
Randy Bono--$5,500
Lance Callis of Granite City--$5,000
John Hopkins of Edwardsville--$5,000
Tom Lakin--$5,000

Despite the lack of Metro-East plaintiff lawyer funding, Blagojevich has a profound financial advantage over Topinka.

At a glance:

Topinka:
Total receipts: $3,196,793.04
Spent: $3,061,321.73
Available: $1,538,555.30

Blagojevich:
Total receipts: $6,580,315.34
Spent: $9,839,362.96
Available: $12,258,331.83