SE Illinois News

A Republican challenger to conservative GOP incumbent Blaine Wilhour has raised more funds in two months than the last Democratic candidate in this southeast Illinois House district did in two previous campaign cycles.

And a big source of funds into Republican Matt Hall's campaign coffers - labor organizations - historically and predominantly favor Democrats and left-wing causes.

Hall, who works for the Illinois Department of Corrections and serves as Fayette County Republican Central Committee, announced last December that he would run against Wilhour, who was first elected to the House in 2018.

Wilhour is a corn and soybean farmer in Fayette, Effingham and Shelby counties. He is vice chair of the Illinois Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction of GOP lawmakers, and is an antagonist of teachers' unions.

According to records at the Illinois State Board of Elections, Hall has so far received $114,114.54 in funding, of which $20,614.54 has come from the National Education Association's (NEA) political action committee, IPACE (Illinois Political Action Committee for Education).

In Illinois, the NEA endorsed JB Pritzker for governor as well as helped write the state's highly controversial sex education standards involving gender identity, sexual orientation, hormone blockers and gender "expression." The group also supported mask mandates during the COVID pandemic.

According to a report in Illinois Review, from the start of the pandemic the NEA's Illinois Political Action Committee has spent more than $1.5 million on Republican House and Senate candidates.

Hall also has received $20,000 from Illinois Federation of Teachers' (IFT) Committee on Political Education (COPE). The IFT is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, which is helmed by Randi Weingarten.

Weingarten collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control to keep schools closed during the pandemic. 

Wilhour ran unopposed in 2022. He faced opposition in 2018 and 2020 from Democrat Dave Seiler, who had raised a total of roughly $55,000 in both election cycles - half of what Hall has so far raised in approximately six weeks.

Seiler did not receive any funds from the IPACE in 2018 and 2020, however he received a total of $11,000 from Illinois Federation of Teachers COPE - which is $9,000 less than Republican Hall has received. 

The Republican primary election on March 19 will determine the outcome of the race, as no Democrat has filed to compete in the 110th District.