SPRINGFIELD – Business owners spending $5 million against retention of Tom Kilbride in the Supreme Court’s Third District started spending against election of Fifth District candidate Judy Cates on Oct. 15.
Their Citizens for Judicial Fairness committee paid $240,762 to Arena Consulting of Salt Lake City for three mailings against Cates in nine days.
Cates and David Overstreet, judges of the Fifth District appellate court, seek the seat of retiring Justice Lloyd Karmeier.
The district includes Madison County, St. Clair County, and 35 other counties from Cairo up to Shelbyville.
Kilbride’s district runs from Rock Island down to Peoria and up to Joliet.
He loaned his campaign $110,000 in September and filed notice of self funding.
That let him lift the lid on the $11,600 contribution limit, and in the process he lifted the lid for any opponents who might organize.
Citizens for Judicial Fairness organized, preserving an option to decide which candidate or candidates it would support or oppose.
Citadel hedge fund manager Kenneth Griffin of Chicago contributed $4.5 million.
Richard Uihlein of Lake Forest, owner of shipping supplier Uline and descendant of Schlitz brewery owners, contributed $500,000.
Republican State Leadership Committee contributed $275,000, Illinois Opportunity Project contributed $250,000, and other sources contributed $48,500.
The committee bought more than $1 million in television time through Matchstick Media of Dublin, Ohio as of Oct. 23.
It paid Storytellers of Gallatin, Tennessee more than $800,000 for mailing.
Kilbride’s supporters gave him $2.62 million from Oct. 1 to 21.
Illinois Democratic Party transferred $550,000 to him.
Lawyers in Chicago and St. Louis areas contributed $436,906.
Tom Keefe’s firm in Swansea, John Simmons’s firm in Alton, and the Gori firm in Edwardsville each gave $30,000.
So did Chicago firms Cooney and Conway, Power Rogers, and Salvi Schostok.
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association transferred $100,000.
Unions transferred and contributed through local, state and national offices.
Electrical workers gave $250,000 and laborers gave $233,800.
State, county, and municipal employees gave $175,000.
The teacher association gave $100,000 and the teacher federation gave $75,000.
Service employees and pipe trades each gave $125,000.
Carpenters and operating engineers each gave $100,000.
The rush of cash into the Third District leaves little for Cates and Overstreet.
Together they received $354,236 from Oct. 1 to Oct. 21.
Cates received $214,360, and 95 percent came from lawyers.
Keefe’s firm, Power Rogers, Salvi Schostok, and the Smith Lacien firm of Chicago each contributed $11,600.
Stephen Tillery of St. Louis contributed $5,800, Bruce Shevlin of Swansea contributed $4,000, and John Kujawski of O’Fallon contributed $2,500.
Tor Herman of Edwardsville and the Bonifield and Rosenstengel firm of Belleville each contributed $2,000.
Overstreet received $139,876.
The biggest share, $44,000, came by transfer from Illinois Chamber.
State Rep. Patrick Windhorst of Metropolis transferred $7,500.
Jeffrey Diederich and Margaret Diederich of Marion each contributed $3,500.
Kent Lawrence of Oregon contributed $5,800.
State Rep. Sue Rezin of Morris, Community Banc, and Jefferson County Republicans each transferred $5,000.
Randy Patchett’s firm in Marion and attorney Don Tracy of Springfield each contributed $5,000, and attorney Jeff Hebrank of Highland contributed $4,800.
Illinois Republican Party contributed $23,475.95 in kind by paying Adlexx of Springfield for a mailing.
As candidates, Kilbride, Overstreet and Cates don’t report big expenses promptly as independent committees must do.