Real estate and video gambling tycoon Rick Heidner spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars to get the petition signatures needed to put him on the ballot as a Republican candidate for governor in the March 17 primary, campaign finance reports filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections show.
Heidner, a controversial Barrington Hills business executive who put $1 million into his own campaign and who has a new digital ad in which he labels himself as a “Trump Republican for Governor,” also reported receiving $181,000 from a recently funded political action committee led by executives of a construction firm that partners on many of his real estate projects.
The campaign finance report, covering the final three months of 2025, showed Heidner with $1.16 million in cash on hand to start the year, narrowly behind the nearly $1.25 million that conservative activist Ted Dabrowski reported.
Heidner, Dabrowski, DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick and unsuccessful 2022 GOP governor nominee Darren Bailey make up the main primary field for the right to challenge two-term Democratic incumbent Gov. JB Pritzker in November.
Heidner, a political newcomer, reported spending $239,800 on costs associated with filing more than 16,000 signatures with the State Board of Elections in November to gain ballot access. In addition, Heidner spent $54,700 on polling, among the nearly $270,000 he reported spending before the end of the year, the campaign report shows.
Heidner also benefited from a $181,000 donation from AL-PAC Illinois, a political action committee made up of executives of the Leopardo construction firm. The PAC was formed in April 2025 but reported no contributions until mid-December, not long after Heidner entered the race.
Dabrowski, who formerly headed the conservative activist organization Wirepoints, began October with $1.5 million but raised only $100,000 in the last three months of the year, the reports showed. At the same time, he spent nearly $350,000, including more than $102,000 on consulting. Of the consulting expenditures, $75,000 was paid to Starfish Consulting, affiliated with right-wing radio host and political operative Dan Proft of Naples, Florida, the records showed.
Bailey, a former state senator from downstate Xenia who has sought to capitalize on name recognition from his 2022 run for governor, began the final quarter of the year with $23,100, raised more than $151,000 but spent nearly $140,000, leaving him with just $35,054 to start the year.
Bailey’s campaign reported an in-kind contribution of more than $40,000 from the Save Illinois PAC, largely associated with expenditures tied to Bailey’s kickoff announcement. The PAC is chaired by Brett Corrigan, a former Bailey aide who has since aligned himself with Heidner.
Bailey’s chief donor for the period was suburban businessman Gary Rabine, a 2022 rival for the GOP nomination for governor, who gave $30,000. Rabine’s running mate four years ago, Aaron Del Mar, is Bailey’s current running mate.
Mendrick reported having nearly $61,000 at the start of October and raised almost $34,000. But he spent nearly $62,000 in the final three months of the year, leaving him with $33,169. The campaign reports showed Mendrick spent $25,000 on campaign salaries, including paying $600 to Robert Renteria, his running mate.
On the Democratic side, Pritzker, a billionaire entrepreneur, gave $25.5 million to his campaign in November and spent $2.9 million in the three-month reporting period. The heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune has spent an estimated $350 million on his previous two victories and ended the year with $23.3 million in his campaign fund.
In the open-seat Democratic primary race for comptroller, state Rep. Margaret Croke nearly doubled the cash she had to start October, raising more than $520,000 on top of the $510,000 she previously had on hand. After spending almost $200,000, Croke of Chicago had $833,210 to begin 2026.
State Sen. Karina Villa of West Chicago began the three-month reporting period with $215,000 in cash on hand and raised another $278,000. Villa spent nearly $189,000, leaving her with $304,214 to start the year.
Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim began October with more than $197,000 and raised $163,502 while spending nearly $120,000. That left her with almost $241,000,
State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Aurora reported raising $151,320 to add to the $92,471 she had on hand at the start of October. But she spent more than $144,000 during the three-month period and had just less than $100,000 to begin the year.
The comptroller’s seat is being vacated with the decision by incumbent Democrat Susana Mendoza to not seek reelection. Mendoza is a potential 2027 Chicago mayoral aspirant and has $1.6 million in her campaign fund to begin the year. Another potential mayoral candidate, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, is a voracious fundraiser. Giannoulias, who is seeking reelection, raised more than $900,000 and had $6.3 million to start 2026.
