Raised
N/AWho funds Kwame Raoul?
DATA PENDING
Source: https://illinoissunshine.org/committees/raoul-for-illinois-18261/
| Donor | Category | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| JB for Governor | candidate-committee | $3,958,509 | confirmed |
| Democratic Party of Illinois | party | $1,947,813 | confirmed |
| Friends of Michael J Madigan | candidate-committee | $1,000,000 | confirmed |
| Chicago Land Operators Joint Labor-Management PAC | labor-pac | $444,800 | confirmed |
| Michael Sacks | individual | $406,900 | confirmed |
| LiUNA Chicago Laborers' District Council PAC | labor-pac | $397,700 | confirmed |
| Illinois Federation of Teachers COPE | labor-pac | $395,578 | confirmed |
| Illinois Political Action Committee for Education (IPACE) | labor-pac | $387,750 | confirmed |
| Laborers' Political League | labor-pac | $340,300 | confirmed |
| Illinois Laborers' Legislative Committee | labor-pac | $295,200 | confirmed |
| SEIU Illinois Council PAC Fund | labor-pac | $285,200 | confirmed |
| Illinois Pipe Trades PAC | labor-pac | $257,700 | confirmed |
| UFCW Local 881 PAC | labor-pac | $238,250 | confirmed |
| Construction and General Laborers (Chicago District Council) | labor-pac | $203,800 | confirmed |
| Illinois Trial Lawyers Association PAC | industry-pac | $197,000 | confirmed |
| SEIU Healthcare IL/IN | labor-pac | $194,700 | confirmed |
| Laborers' Political League Great Lakes Region | labor-pac | $188,400 | confirmed |
| Carpentry Advancement PAC | labor-pac | $169,800 | confirmed |
| Personal PAC | advocacy-pac | $166,818 | confirmed |
| Stephen Schuler | individual | $150,000 | confirmed |
| Illinois Federation of Teachers | labor-pac | $143,350 | confirmed |
| Friends of Don Harmon | candidate-committee | $137,500 | confirmed |
| AFSCME Council 31 | labor-pac | $132,000 | confirmed |
| Pipe Fitters Association Local Union 597 | labor-pac | $115,400 | confirmed |
| IUOE Local 399 Political Education Fund | labor-pac | $114,400 | confirmed |
By February 2025, Raoul acknowledged joining at least four multistate Trump lawsuits within three weeks of the second inauguration, openly telling Capitol News Illinois the volume 'is stretching the resources of his office' and that he wanted to add attorneys but declined to request emergency legislative funding citing the state's $3B+ deficit. Critics note this signals a potential capacity gap in non-federal enforcement work.
Raoul was among candidates Gov. Rod Blagojevich considered for Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat in 2008. Raoul withdrew his name, citing concern about entering a quid pro quo with the governor. Blagojevich was later convicted of attempting to sell the appointment. No wrongdoing by Raoul was alleged or found.
Raoul publicly defended the SAFE-T Act (which eliminated cash bail in Illinois), which generated significant backlash from law enforcement groups and state's attorneys who argued it endangered public safety. Raoul's office filed legal defenses of the law while critics noted it complicated relationships with local prosecutors his office relies on for enforcement cooperation.
Raoul's campaign highlights suing to revoke the license of a single 'rogue gun manufacturer' (unnamed in public releases) as his main enforcement action against gun makers. Critics and gun-control advocates note this is a narrow action relative to the scale of illegal gun trafficking in Chicago, and that no major manufacturer has faced state enforcement action.
FnAround.com, a FOIA transparency watchdog, documented in July 2025 that Raoul's AG office uses an online-only FOIA portal that obstructs access, with no original email correspondence available. The AG's office is the designated FOIA enforcement agency in Illinois, creating a conflict-of-interest dynamic when his own office is accused of FOIA obstruction.
Source: → https://www.fnaround.com/activefoia/illinois-ag-kwame-raoul
Kwame Raoul (born September 30, 1964 in Chicago) is the 42nd Attorney General of Illinois, serving since January 14, 2019. The son of Haitian immigrant parents, he grew up in the Hyde Park/Kenwood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, earning a B.A. in political science from DePaul University (1987) and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Institute of Technology (1993). He served 14 years in the Illinois State Senate (2004–2019), representing the 13th district after being appointed to fill Barack Obama's vacated seat. As AG, Raoul has led multistate coalitions against the Trump administration, secured approximately $1.4 billion in Illinois opioid settlement funds, won a $120 million settlement from Monsanto over PCB contamination, and defended Illinois' assault weapons ban in federal court. He is running for a third term in 2026 against Republican challenger Robert Fioretti.
Prior office: Illinois State Senator, 13th District (2004–2019)
Raoul was the primary Senate sponsor of legislation abolishing the death penalty in Illinois. Gov. Pat Quinn signed it March 9, 2011. Illinois became the 16th state to abolish capital punishment. Raoul cited wrongful conviction rates: 'Only Florida has had more people sent to death row for crimes they did not commit.'
As Chairman of the Senate Redistricting Committee, Raoul introduced and passed legislation creating the Illinois Voting Rights Act to protect racial and language minorities in the legislative redistricting process.
As state senator, Raoul championed and passed legislation requiring background checks for private firearm transfers in Illinois — one of the first such state-level universal background check laws.
Raoul championed legislation creating the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission to investigate allegations of torture-induced confessions by Chicago Police, particularly those linked to former Cmdr. Jon Burge's interrogations.
In his first year in the legislature (2005), Raoul passed legislation expanding access to early voting in Illinois.