Dec. 11--Sen. Dick Durbin spent $10.8 million on his 2014 re-election, more than four times as much as his Republican challenger, new reports show.
Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, won a fourth term Nov. 4, capturing 54 percent of the votes to 43 percent for Jim Oberweis, a Republican state senator from west suburban Sugar Grove.
Oberweis spent $2.4 million on the race, according to his report to the Federal Election Commission. He lent his campaign $1 million and still had that debt on the books at the end of the reporting period Nov. 24. Additionally, he donated just over $550,000 to his campaign, records show.
Oberweis ended the period with less than $3,000 in his campaign treasury. Durbin had nearly $900,000 left.
The campaign finance figures are for the entire six-year election cycle.
kskiba@tribpub.com
Twitter @KatherineSkiba
