Trailing his opponents in fundraising, incumbent County Board President Todd Stroger has brought in about $140,000 in campaign contributions in the last week.
After raising only $14,000 for the last half of 2009, the campaign was helped last week by a $100,000 donation from longtime Stroger backer and former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones.
Subsequently, the campaign received an additional $40,000 in donations. That’s still far behind what Alderman Toni Preckwinkle and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Terrence O’Brien have raked in, but it’s a positive development for Stroger.
Two $10,000 contributions were helpful. One came from Cheryl Blackmond, a community activist and who previously ran for 16th Ward alderman.
The other was from Elkay Enterprises, a Chicago company linked to powerhouse developer Elzie Higginbottom.
Companies connected to Higginbottom also gave $10,000 to the campaign of Toni Preckwinkle and $1,000 to Dorothy Brown. Both are running against Stroger.