Crypto, AI and Pro‑Israel Super PACs Fuel $31 Million Blitz in Chicago House Primaries
Donor identities in many cases will not be public until after Tuesday’s vote, raising sharp transparency concerns for voters heading to the polls.
Overview
- A WBEZ/Sun-Times review of federal filings shows super PACs reported more than $31.4 million in independent spending through Thursday, with $26.9 million tied to cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and pro‑Israel groups.
- AIPAC‑linked committees disclosed over $20.5 million across four races, including nearly $5 million backing Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears‑Ervin in the 7th District and roughly $4.4 million promoting state Sen. Laura Fine in the 9th along with $2.6 million in attacks on her top rivals.
- Pro‑crypto FairShake has mounted a $2.5 million negative campaign against state Rep. La Shawn Ford in the 7th and spent more than $817,000 against state Sen. Robert Peters in the 2nd; Ford’s lawyer issued a cease‑and‑desist over alleged false claims in the ads.
- Think Big, the Democratic arm of an AI‑aligned network funded by OpenAI stakeholders, has spent about $1.4 million supporting Jesse Jackson Jr. in the 2nd and $1.1 million for former Rep. Melissa Bean in the 8th.
- The outlays dwarf 2022 open‑seat contests that drew roughly $1.1 million to $1.5 million in super PAC support for top campaigns, as late ad buys and phone outreach blanket voters before the March 17 primaries.