Politics & Government
Who Is Giving Money to Hillary Clinton in Illinois?
The Park Ridge native has out-raised all other candidates in the Land of Lincoln, piling up $4.1 million in individual contributions.
Her dad, Hugh, was a prosperous Chicago-area businessman with a Merchandise Mart office. He manufactured and sold textiles wholesale.
He ran for Chicago City Council in 1947, the same year Hillary was born, and was thoroughly trounced by Richard J. Daley's Democratic machine. Until his dying days, her father distrusted and disliked Democrats, journalist and author Carl Bernstein explained in his 2007 book "A Woman in Charge."
He lived just long enough to see his daughter, now Hillary Rodham Clinton, become first lady. Four years after campaigning for Goldwater, she heard the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speak in Chicago. In 1968, she became a Democrat.
From first lady to U.S. senator to U.S. secretary of state, she's now on the cusp of becoming the first woman to secure the Democratic presidential nomination.
Would Hugh Rodham have donated to her presidential campaign? As Clinton's account stands today, she wouldn't need his money.
In Illinois, individual Clinton donors have ponied up more than $4.1 million in individual donations, according to Federal Election Commission records. More than 8,000 contributions were made in the last six months, with the smallest listed at $1 and $5.
Who's giving to Clinton, one of the most polarizing figures in modern politics? A lot of people. Construction workers, CPAs, CEOs, retirees, teachers, nurses, homemakers, private equity managers, doctors, lawyers, professors, realtors, musicians, clergy, artists and interns.
Her primary foe, Bernie Sanders, has raised a little more than $1 million in Illinois. None of the Republicans have crossed the million-dollar mark: Marco Rubio pulled in $833,000, and Ted Cruz raised $676,000. Donald Trump has received $47,000 in contributions, and he's leading in the latest Illinois GOP polls.
Clinton still has some close childhood friends from Park Ridge, whom she visits from time to time when she comes through the Windy City. She was in Chicago two weeks ago for three fund raisers.
Here are the public campaign donor records found on FEC.gov.
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