Political experts anticipate the Illinois gubernatorial candidates could spend more than 100 million dollars in the next eight months.
University of Illinois Springfield political science Professor Kent Redfield says Republican nominee Bruce Rauner and incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn should attract big money from donors both in- and out of Illinois.
"It’s both a contest between these two people and the interests of the state of Illinois but it’s also drawing a national conflict involving labor and big business," he said.
Redfield says both Democrats and Republicans see Illinois as an important battleground because it is President Barack Obama’s home state.
Rauner has likened himself to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ... And Redfield says many of the conservative groups that supported Walker will spend money in Illinois.
Meanwhile he says Pat Quinn will lean on support from labor groups who fear a Rauner administration.
