Using data from the Federal Election Commission, the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ analyzed the money from Illinois pumped — directly and indirectly — into the 2024 race for the White House.
Though Illinois‘ primary on Tuesday won’t factor into the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have already clinched — Illinois money directly and indirectly boosted the two remaining White House contenders.
Using data from the Federal Election Commission, the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ analyzed the money from Illinois pumped into the race for the White House.
The major super PAC bolstering the Biden bid is the FF PAC, established by Future Forward USA Action, with four contributors from Chicago, including Fred Eychaner the top executive of Newsweb Corp. and the chairman and president of the Alphawood Foundation.
Eychaner is a major philanthropist and arts advocate, and has been for years a mega-contributor to Democratic causes.
In November, Eychaner donated $2 million to FF PAC. In March 2023, Biden honored him with a National Medal of Arts, saying at the ceremony, “Supporting the arts is a calling. For decades, he’s been a top patron of dance companies, art museums, historic preservation — especially in his beloved Chicago.”
Contributors have choices when they want to help a presidential candidate. They can contribute directly to the campaign committee of a candidate, or they can send the money to a super PAC supporting the bid.
A super PAC can accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions and other political action committees. So a super PAC supporting a presidential candidate often becomes a powerful and influential force.
