Democratic candidates for Cook County state’s attorney ramping up fundraising

With the March 19 primary a little over two months away, Judge Eileen O’Neill Burke has nearly $250,000 ready to spend and almost $100,000 more than opponent Clayton Harris III as the Democrats vie to succeed Kim Foxx as Cook County state’s attorney.

Harris and O’Neill Burke were roughly neck-and-neck in fundraising during the final three months of 2023, with Harris raising $200,000 during the final quarter of the year — about $15,000 more than O’Neill Burke, the latest campaign finance reports released Tuesday show.

But Harris raised less money at the start of the campaign and has spent more, mostly on political consulting, campaign staffing and polling, meaning O’Neill Burke began 2024 with about $247,000 in her campaign fund compared with Harris’ roughly $155,000, campaign finance reports show.

The disclosures were among the highlights of campaign finance reports filed by politicians across Illinois that also showed Mayor Brandon Johnson returning more than $55,000 in contributions he wasn’t allowed to accept under a mayoral executive order.

In the race to succeed Foxx, the outgoing state’s attorney who chose not to run for a third term, Harris has gained an organizational upper hand. He was endorsed by the Cook County Democratic Party led by County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and many of its leaders, as well as the Chicago Teachers Union. Harris also has rolled out other endorsements from dozens of local elected officials over the past month.

O’Neill Burke also unveiled a series of endorsements in recent days, including U.S. Rep Mike Quigley of Chicago, state Reps. Margaret Croke of Chicago and Marty Moylan of Des Plaines, and Ald. Pat Dowell, who is head of the powerful Chicago City Council Finance Committee. Several trade unions, including the well-funded Operators Local 150, are also backing her.

The Chicago Federation of Labor, an umbrella organization representing area unions, announced this week it was staying neutral in the race.

Both candidates are former prosecutors in the office and are raking in contributions from local attorneys and law firms. Until last summer, Burke was a justice on Cook County’s 1st District Appellate Court, but she stepped down to run for state’s attorney.

O’Neill Burke also has garnered contributions from leaders in the business world: Richard Melman and his son R.J., who head operations for the restaurant group Lettuce Entertain You, each gave $6,900, the maximum amount allowed for individuals, as did Gerald Beeson and Matthew Simon, both of the hedge fund Citadel.

Beeson’s wife also gave O’Neill Burke $6,900, and Rich Melman’s wife, Martha, gave $2,500. Investment management firm Artisan Partners director Daniel O’Keefe also gave a maxed out contribution.

Beeson supported Paul Vallas in the Chicago mayoral election and is a frequent donor to Republican candidates on the national level. The Melman family are prolific local donors, often giving to business-friendly candidates.

Norman Bobins, former CEO of LaSalle Bank, gave O’Neill Burke $2,500. Development firms Lakewest Venture Partners and Magellan Development Group also contributed.

Larry Axelrood, a former county prosecutor, circuit court judge and now mediator, also gave $2,500. O’Neill Burke received $500 from attorney Timothy Grace, who has recently represented a Chicago police officer involved in the Capitol breach in Washington, as well as officers involved in the shooting of Anthony Alvarez and Adam Toledo. He’s also represented the local Fraternal Order of Police.

Harris has raised about $50,000 less from the start of the campaign and spent about $50,000 more than O’Neill Burke. A significant chunk of that spending — $30,000 — went back into Cook County Democratic Party coffers, which are used to help pay for countywide mailers and get-out-the-vote efforts. Harris also spent nearly $57,000 on various fundraising, finance and communications consulting.

Among those giving maxed-out $6,900 contributions to Harris are from people who also backed Foxx. That includes Fred Eychaner, a Democratic megadonor who gave Foxx $1.5 million over the years and is a longtime supporter of Preckwinkle; former state Sen. Heather Steans, who also chairs her family’s foundation; and Leo Smith, the head of policy at the violence prevention group Chicago CRED.

Harris also has his share of business leaders among his contributors, including from Loop Capital founder Jim Reynolds, Ariel Investments founder John Rogers Jr. and Invenergy CEO Michael Polsky. Former MacArthur Foundation President Julia Stasch also contributed $5,000. Brent Kent, a public policy manager at Lyft, where Harris was a lobbyist, also gave $1,000.

Among attorneys who have contributed to Harris are high-profile personal injury lawyers Antonio Romanucci, who has represented victims of sexual abuse and police shootings, and Robert Clifford, former head of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.

Johnson, meanwhile, has followed up on promises he made last year and refunded just over $55,000 in contributions from several city contractors, businesses and lobbyists, according to his latest quarterly report. Accepting those contributions was a violation of previous mayoral executive orders. The Sun-Times first identified $46,500 in contributions Johnson should not have accepted under the executive orders.

Last month, the Chicago Board of Ethics announced it had found “probable cause” that four lobbyists had improperly contributed to the mayor and could lose their ability to lobby city officials.

Johnson’s political spokesman said the mayoral campaign’s national compliance team — which campaigns hire to review contributions and decide whether to cash checks or return them — had used the wrong ethics guidelines.

In all, the Johnson campaign refunded 35 contributions totaling $55,100.

That includes $6,500 in contributions from members of the Tadin family, who run the MAT construction and leasing companies, as well as a $1,500 contribution from Sanchez Construction Services, whose owner also owned the Brighton Park site where Johnson’s administration planned to locate a base camp for migrants before the state scuttled the plans over environmental concerns. It also includes donations from those four City Hall lobbyists.

Johnson raised nearly $314,000 for the quarter that ended on New Year’s Eve and spent just over $215,000. He has just over $2 million on hand.

Among his top donors this quarter were political action committees representing construction trades or firms. The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150′s PAC contributed $68,500 to the mayor’s campaign fund, while the Illinois Road Builders PAC gave $50,000 and the Chicago Land Operators Joint Labor Management PAC gave $60,500. Leaders for Tomorrow — a PAC funded largely by GMA Construction Group and other construction firms — gave $25,000. Most of those donations landed around the holidays.

aquig@chicagotribune.com