Although that local district was targeted by both political leaders in the Illinois House, the amount of money spent was a gross example of how campaign finance is a problem in Illinois. Campaign finance has increased at an alarming rate, and these days campaign spending is spent on purchasing media and other expenses.
Money is the mother's milk of politics.
But having so much money from outside the districts invested in campaign races raises questions of candidates' accountability to their own legislative districts. It's a well-known fact that the majority of the money spent on targeted campaign races is funneled from interest groups and legislative party leaders. In fact, some candidates receive professional campaign assistance and large sums of money outside their districts. For the most part, local legislators have been diligent to work for their districts' interests. From getting funds to repair SIUC's power grid to keeping Amtrak in Carbondale, Bost and state Sen. Dave Luechtefeld, R-Okawville, have served Southern Illinois.