Mark Pera Out-Raises Dan Lipinski

By Kevin Robinson in News on Oct 16, 2007 1:40PM

Of the grassroots congressional campaigns this season, Mark Pera's race to unseat 3rd District Congressman Dan Lipinski is among the more notable. According to the Pera campaign, they out-raised Congressman Dan Lipinski during the 3rd quarter, $100,000 to $75,000. Even more telling was where the money came from: Pera's nearly 850 contributions came from individual donors, while just one of Lipinski's 74 contributions was from inside the district ($100 from a single contributor in Brookfield). The rest of Lipinski's money came from Beltway PACs and clout-heavy Chicago Machine hacks, including long-time Daley pal Patrick Harbour, whose firms hold exclusive construction contracts at O’Hare International Airport, and Ardmore Associates who received exclusive contracts at O’Hare. Also on the list of contributors to Lipinski's campaign is Louisiana Republican Rep. Richard Baker's Back America's Conservatives PAC, based not in Illinois's 3rd Congressional District, but in Alexandria, Va.

Although Lipinski has more cash on hand than Pera does ($321,000 to $180,000), these figures make us wonder about the strength of the incumbent. Can a congressman who raises the bulk of his campaign funds from outside the district really claim to "work with the people in his district to help make their lives better,” as Mike Madigan said recently? At this point, it's hard to tell if Lipinski is a product of the Chicago political Machine, or just another DC flunky.