About TheJacket
“Politicians should wear a jacket with all the companies and organizations that pay into them, so we can see who they really work for.”— Robin Williams
TheJacket is a nonpartisan civic transparency project built for Cook County voters heading into the March 17, 2026 Illinois primary. Every candidate. Every donor. Every red flag. No spin.
Mission
Campaign finance data exists — it's just scattered, dense, and designed for lawyers, not voters. TheJacket pulls that data into one place and makes it legible: who funds each candidate, what industry money they take, and what their public record looks like.
The Transparency Score isn't a grade on policy. It's a grade on what's publicly verifiable — dark money, ethics findings, criminal record, corporate PAC concentration. Higher score = cleaner record. Lower = more flags. Every deduction is sourced.
Data Sources
Federal campaign finance for U.S. Senate and U.S. House races
State and county campaign disclosure data
Official candidate filing and ballot references
Candidate field verification and election context
Voting records and bill sponsorship for federal incumbents
Methodology
- —Only public-record sources are used. No anonymous tips, no unverified claims.
- —Unknown dollar values are left null — we don't estimate or guess.
- —Any unconfirmed claim is marked as alleged. Confirmed: false means it hasn't been independently verified.
- —Federal and state/local finance data are tracked separately — FEC handles federal races, ILSBE handles state and county.
- —Scores are deduction-based from a baseline of 100. Every point deducted links to a specific finding.
Built By
TheJacket is an independent civic project. Not affiliated with any campaign, party, or PAC. Built in Chicago. Launched March 2026.