Illinois legislative races are drawing millions of dollars from parties waging a battle for power amid a historic budget standoff between ruling Democrats and a wealthy Republican governor. In one contest, the GOP has spent more than $2.6 million in television ads to re-elect a Republican in a northwest Chicago district.
According to figures from the Center for Public Integrity, that's the most spent on television ads for a statehouse race in the country.
For Democrats, the goal is to expand their supermajority in the House to override Gov. Bruce Rauner's vetoes. For Republicans, the objective is to diminish the Democrats' numbers to increase the governor's bargaining power in budget negotiations. The state has been without a budget for 16 months.
