Pritzkers Silver Spoon dictates how he thinks

Published 2026-08-18

The race for Illinois governor shows the big spending democrat candidate, J.B. Pritzker adding $65 million to his campaign personally Republican Darren Bailey is working hard with what he has while not having a silver spoon to tap.

With Pritzker adding the $65 million he now has about he has about $68.1 million. Illinois campaign law does not allow all contributors this leverage. From search.brave.com:

Illinois campaign contribution limits are adjusted for inflation every odd-numbered year; as of the 2025 election cycle, individual contributions to candidates are capped at $7,300 per election, while corporations and labor organizations are limited to $14,600. Political Action Committees (PACs) may contribute up to $72,800 per election to candidate committees, whereas Political Party Committees and affiliated federal party committees may contribute unlimited amounts to gubernatorial and legislative candidates.

Self-funding and independent expenditure thresholds trigger the removal of contribution limits for all candidates in a specific race. If a candidate, their immediate family, or an independent expenditure committee spends more than $250,000 (statewide offices) or $100,000 (all other offices) in support of or opposition to a candidate, all candidates for that office may then accept unlimited contributions. Additionally, judicial candidates have a specific cap, with independent expenditure committees restricted to accepting no more than $500,000 from any single person per election cycle.

Disclosure and reporting obligations require any individual or group to register as a political committee if they receive or make contributions/expenditures exceeding $5,000 in a 12-month period. Contributions exceeding $500 must be itemized with the contributor's name, address, and employer/occupation, while those exceeding $1,000 require additional Schedule A-1 filings. Anonymous contributions are strictly prohibited and must be escalated to the State of Illinois, and prohibited sources, such as lobbyists or vendors with significant county contracts, face lower specific limits (e.g., $1,500 annually for Cook County offices).

Darren Bailey has been relying on smaller donations as this election cycle he does not have a major donor. Bailey is not a man of family wealth as Pritzker. This could explain why his message is not about spending other people’s money and looking to make Illinois government cost contained.

Pritzker’s message has been how to spend other people’s money. Why not, that is what he is relying on, but not the average person, but the family fortune. It is easy to spend someone else’s money especially if it can keep coming in.

What Pritzker does not realize is Illinois is tapped out. The taxes and fees are getting more ridiculous by the legislative session.

I know from experience one of my past jobs it is easier to spend other people’s money. I did some purchasing of computer equipment for the Minnesota Department of Revenue thirty plus years ago. Instead of buying third party equipment we stuck with IBM for the micro computers which cost significantly more. Not long after that I had a night job where the computers used were the third party equipment.

Between the two candidates it is easier to see that Bailey would have a better grasp on handling money in a stressed situation. Pritzker will just go to the next available pot, the taxpayer, and confiscate more.