Jan. 16--Mayor Rahm Emanuel had about $6.5 million left in his campaign fund to start the stretch run of his re-election bid, records showed Thursday.
The mayor, who is seeking a second term, entered October with nearly $8.7 million in campaign contributions, then raised $2.5 million the last three months of the year to push his total take to $11.25 million.
But Emanuel also spent nearly $4.8 million from October to December as he started airing TV ads to try to rehab his image with voters ahead of the Feb. 24 election.
Businessman Willie Wilson reported raising $163,000 in the last month of the year, but has reported collecting $1.39 million since then -- all but $5,000 of that out of his own pocket. Wilson was a supporter of Republican Bruce Rauner during the governor's race and served on his transition team.
Challengers Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, a Cook County commissioner; Robert Fioretti, 2nd Ward alderman; and activist William "Dock" Walls had not filed their fourth-quarter campaign disclosures late Thursday, the deadline for candidates to do so.
