Even though Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner won the election and is set to take the oath of office in just days, he isn’t finished with fundraising. His campaign fund was boosted by another $20 million during the last week of the year, with a $10 million contribution from Rauner himself and another $10 million from two other donors.

Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, who previously had contributed $4.9 million, gave another $8 million on Dec. 30. Richard Uihlein, CEO of Uline Corporation and a major donor to Republican candidates, added $2 million on the same day. He previously had contributed $605,300 in four separate donations, according to Illinois State Board of Elections filings. Uihlein is ranked the ninth-highest political donor in the country by Politico.

Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the money will be used to help Republican Rauner push through his own plans for the state while dealing with a veto-proof Democratic-majority General Assembly. Rauner will use the money to drum up public and legislative support for his proposed policies.

From Crain’s:

Some of the money may be donated directly to legislators’ campaign committees and other funds spent on their behalf. TV ads, polling and other activity on behalf of Rauner policies also is expected, the insider said. And the war chest only is “the first in a series,” part of a “multipronged effort” in which other funding vehicles will be formed, the source said. “This is the tip of the iceberg.”

The Chicago Tribune examined the strategy of these post-election donations. The newspaper points out that for any of Rauner’s ideas for the state to make even a small dent on lawmaking, he’ll need the support of at least some Democrats in the General Assembly.

From the Tribune:

The willingness of Rauner and his allies to use their wealth to push an agenda could give the incoming governor added leverage with GOP lawmakers not used to taking difficult votes while Democrats have held one-party control of Springfield for the last dozen years…

Rauner will need Democrats, who retain strong majorities in the House and Senate, to advance any of his agenda items. But it’s unclear whether he would use his money to back Democrats if they vote his way.

Chip Englander, Rauner’s campaign manager, told the Tribune that this money would be useful for the new governor when dealing with political stalemates and disagreements.

From the Tribune:

“In order to [improve the state], he recognizes that he has to amass the resources to support reformers and compete with the special interest protectors of the status quo in multiple forums over multiple years,” he said.

David Yepsen, of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, said this to the Tribune about Rauner’s possible plans for the money:

“I think it can also be a shot across the bow that he’s not someone to be trifled with. He’s got the formal powers of governor, the informal powers of persuasion and he can shove money into a primary if a legislator doesn’t behave,” he said.

Crain’s says that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also followed a similar strategy in both giving mega bucks to his own election campaign and then donating again in support of his politics after elected.

This most recent donation brings up Rauner’s self-donation total to more than $37.5 million over 23 instances since March 2013, which is unprecedented in Illinois politics.

This chart, from Illinois State Board of Elections information, shows all of Rauner’s personal donations to his Citizens for Rauner committee:

rauner donations

Also during the last two days of December, Rauner’s committee received smaller contributions from the Republican Governor’s Association ($39,000) and investment manager Stuart Alexander ($10,000).

Editor’s note: Anne Dias Griffin is the founding investor of Reboot Illinois. Ken Griffin is not affiliated with Reboot Illinois.

 NEXT ARTICLE: Shaw: Getting creative to combat the campaign finance fundraising orgy

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