O’Brien outraises Foxx in state’s attorney race
Republican challenger Pat O’Brien topped Democratic first- term Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx haul in the latest round of campaign fundraising, records show.
O’Brien’s campaign took in $401,851 compared with Foxx’s $232,786 total during the third quarter fundraising period that stretches from July 1 to Sept. 30, according to Illinois State Board of Elections. Since then, O’Brien has reported nearly $209,000 in contributions, including $75,000 he personally gave to his campaign.
O’Brien’s latest round of self-funding put him over the $100,000 mark, the threshold that effectively lifts state campaign contribution limits in the race.
O’Brien also outspent Foxx during the previous quarter — $207,679 to $73,776.
Foxx ended the quarter with $202,290 to spend, while O’Brien had $225,653 heading into the campaign’s closingweeks.
Since the end of September, O’Brien’s $208,973 in contributions outpaced Foxx’s $14,300, campaign finance records filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections show. Foxx’s campaign, however, told the Tribune that another $200,000-plus in donations will be coming in soon.
On the campaign trail and in TV ads, Foxx and O’Brien have taken aim at each other’s record in the Cook County prosecutor’s office. O’Brien, a former Cook County judge and a former prosecutor, has slammed Foxx for her office’s handling of the Jussie Smollett case; the actorwas charged with staging a hate crime against himself in downtown Chicago last year. A special prosecutor in the case concluded that Foxx and her subordinates abused their discretion and misled the public, but their conduct did not rise to the level of criminal wrongdoing.
Meantime, Foxx has zeroed in on a high-profile 1980s murder case handled by O’Brien while he was in the prosecutor’s office, in which four men were wrongfully convicted.
In a statement, O’Brien said the fundraising is evidence that his campaign is resonating with voters and called on Foxx to reconsider holding debates; she announced in recentweeks she wouldn’t face off with O’Brien, accusing him of Trump-like bullying when the two appeared before newspaper editorial boards for endorsement sessions.
“Last quarter, my campaign raised over $400,000. Incumbent Kim Foxx raised $165,000 less than my campaign,” O’Brien said. “Cook County residents have seen firsthand howKim Foxx has failed to protect our families, victims of crime, and neighborhoods. I look forward to a spirited final stretch in this campaign. I once again implore Kim Foxx to be transparent and give Cook County residents the debates they have been asking for.”
Alex Sims with Foxx’s campaign said in an emailed statement: “We are confident in our race as we approach the final home stretch. Our donors have contributed an additional $220,000.00 in the past 24 hours because they are passionate about getting our message out. They are committed to telling Mr. O’Brien’s story of wrongful convictions and if we continue to do that, we know we will win this race.”