By: Nick Binotti and Ted Dabrowski
Illinois’ teachers unions are some of the nation’s most powerful. Their endorsements and donations decide races across the state. And their influence in Chicago is near complete thanks to the Chicago Teachers Union. But there are still some politicians downstate who don’t kowtow.
Two of their biggest critics in the statehouse are Republican State Reps. Blaine Wilhour (R – Louisville) and Adam Niemerg (R – Teutopolis). They both oppose the expansion of teacher union power. And they consistently push back against higher taxes and the legalized corruption Springfield is so famous for. The unions used the March primary to try and take both lawmakers out, pouring a combined $462,000 into the campaigns of two Republican primary opponents.
The unions’ money and efforts failed, spectacularly. Wilhour and Niemerg both overwhelmed their opponents. Their win was a total repudiation of big government and public sector union power by downstate Illinoisans. But while the unions lost this time, their efforts shouldn’t be ignored. Stopping the spread of public union influence is paramount if Illinois is ever going to be turned around.
Let’s follow the money.
Downstate targets
Start with Niemerg. Initially unopposed, he found himself facing a Republican challenger in the primary when he failed to properly notarize his statement of candidacy. Niemerg was forced to become a write-in candidate.
The teachers unions, smelling an opportunity, asked former school Superintendent Jim Acklin to enter the race as a write-in candidate to oppose Niemerg. They gave Acklin more than $200,000 in contributions.
The unions found another ally, Matt Hall, to run as a Republican against Blaine Wilhour. This time the donations went even further, with Hall receiving over $200,000 from teacher unions and another $100,000 from other union groups.
All-in, teachers unions directly contributed $462,000 to the two campaigns – nearly 80% of all the money received. The Illinois Education Association alone accounted for two-thirds of the contributions made.
Importantly, those amounts swamped the funding that Niemerg and Wilhour had in their own campaigns. Niermerg had just $27,000 on-hand as of December 31st and raised nearly $95,000 between then and election day. Wilhour had $48K on hand as of December 31st and raised slightly more than Niemerg. Most of their funding came from inter-party transfers from other Republicans.
The details
It’s important to understand just how all that union money came together for Acklin and Hall.
Once the Illinois Education Association hit its direct contribution limits of $68,500 to both candidates, a separate and independent expenditure committee, the Illinois Working PAC, was formed to continue supporting Acklin and Hall. Illinois Working PAC is run by Aaron Graves, who also appears to be the president of the Springfield Education Association, an affiliate of IEA.
The IEA subsequently gave $260,000 in a single contribution to the Illinois Working PAC, which then proceeded to spend that entire amount on media ads and mailers promoting either Jim Acklin or Matt Hall.
Other public unions chipped in as well. The Illinois Federation of Teachers also gave over $70,000 total to the two opposing candidates. Labor union LIUNA contributed $15,000 to each. The Operating Engineers Local 150 contributed $40,000 to Hall. And the local police unions contributed $42,500 to Hall as well.
**********
In the end, all that union money and influence flopped against Niemerg and Wilhour. The two incumbents crushed their primary challengers. Niemerg won 87% to 13%. Wilhour beat Hall 79% to 21%.
The unions failed big on this occasion. But watch out, they still have a lot of money they can use to try and get their way.
Read more from Wirepoints:
Weekly crime statistics from the Chicago Police Department: Report through 5/4/2024.
Gov. JB Pritzker calls it “ethics” reform.
It’s rare to see city leaders in Chicago take an open, unabashed stance on the collapse of literacy. To complain is deemed as too political, too racist or too anti-public schools. So it’s refreshing to see Willie Wilson, a successful businessman and leader of the black community, call for a literacy initiative “with the goal of getting 100% of Black students reading at grade level.”
While this new advisory referendum could be nothing more than a political distraction, it could also be that lawmakers are gauging Illinoisans’ appetite for another bite at a progressive income tax hike – this time with lower property taxes as a sweetener.
At $1.5 million per job, the new incentive package from the state is at least 15 times the norm. For this much money, the state could have just handed out a million bucks to 827 people, instead of creating 550 jobs.
The sad part is the money they used to try and defeat these candidates came from our taxes.
This is great news! Is there any chance Wirepoints could get an interview with them? Winning is contagious and I’m sure they have some good advice for others interested in running for office.
I am disgusted to learn that the police and firefighter’s unions contributed to this attempted further power grab by the teachers unions. The teacher’s unions have pushed our property taxes to the highest in the nation, and are trying to push groomer / dei garbage on our kids. Can’t wait the next call from the police or firefighters for a donation to their charitable causes.
In all likelihood the police unions contributed because Matt Hall is/was a corrections officer. Although Chicago FOP getting involved in a downstate race is a bit unusual. That money might be better spent on aldermanic races.