SE Illinois News

Running as a write-in candidate in the 102nd House District, Republican Jim Acklin has received more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from teachers' unions - a level of support normally reserved for Democrat candidates. 

Acklin, a former teacher, school superintendent and current acting mayor of Ogden, is challenging two-term Republican incumbent Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich), who's also running as a write-in candidate following the Illinois State Board of Elections' decision in January to remove him from the ballot. The Board found that Niemerg failed to properly notarize campaign paperwork.

The district represented by Niemerg, who has worked as a senior insurance claims adjuster for Country Financial, includes all or portions of Clay, Edwards, Effingham, Jasper, Lawrence, Richland, Wabash Wayne and White Counties.

After his name was removed from the ballot, Niemerg said it was his conservative principles that paid the price for "Democrat opponents using a clerical mistake on the filing of his petitions to exclude him from the primary ballot."

He touts the support he has from all of the Republican county chairmen in his district, as well as other local officials, totaling nearly 100 endorsements. 

The Illinois PAC for Education (IPACE), which is the politcal action committee for the National Education Association, has so far given Acklin $68,500 and the Illinois Federation of Teachers COPE, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), has given him $35,000. 

The NEA 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.

The AFT is headed by Randi Weingarten, who collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control to keep schools closed during the pandemic. 

Acklin also has received $10,000 from the Illinois Laborers' Legislative Committee, and an individual contribution of  $1,500 from Gareld Bilyew. 

The over-sized teacher union contributions to Acklin are double those given to Republican Matt Hall, who is seeking to unseat incumbent Blaine Wilhour (R-Louisville) in the 110th House district. 

To date, Hall has received $35,000 from COPE and $23,114 from IPACE. Hall has taken in more than $150,000 in contributions - primarily from labor groups, including the teachers' unions.