(The Center Square) – Illinois Democrats and government union dues are flowing from the Land of Lincoln into presidential battleground states.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker traveled to Arizona last weekend to campaign for the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Arizona is very close. I mean, it is razor thin there. It is truly a battleground state, and if Democrats win in Arizona, from my perspective, there’s almost no way that Republicans can win the presidency,” Pritzker said.
Then Pritzker traveled to New York on Tuesday for the vice-presidential debate between Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Walz.
“Everybody should ignore the national polls, because they don’t mean anything. We elect presidents state by state. The electoral college is what counts here, whether you like that or not. That’s how it works,” Pritzker said.
Mailee Smith, senior director of labor policy and staff attorney at the Illinois Policy Institute, said Illinois Democrats promised to invest in swing states.
“The problem with that, is that some of that Democrat money was taken from union member dues,” Smith told The Center Square.
Smith said the biggest labor unions in Illinois have given more than $17 million to Democrat committees since 2010.
“Some of that is diverted union dues. So there’s this pipeline of money: union dues go to union PACs, which then go to Democratic political committees, and then it can go wherever those Democratic committees want,” Smith said.
Committees that have received government union funds include the Democratic Party of Illinois, Democrats for the Illinois House, the Illinois Senate Democratic Fund, and committees for Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch, and former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.
Madigan’s trial on racketeering and bribery charges is scheduled to begin next Tuesday, Oct. 8.
“It’s a myth that unions only use dues for politics when it’s approved by an individual member. Government unions in Illinois can take union dues and use those dues for political purposes,” Smith said.
Smith said 40% to 45% of Illinois union members supported the Republican candidate in the last two presidential elections.
“Their money is being used against their own political preferences in states that could make a difference in this upcoming election,” Smith said.
