Liberty Principles PAC was a conservative, Illinois-based super PAC (political action committee). The PAC supported political candidates for state and local offices in Illinois who "are committed to the economic liberty policy agenda." The PAC is an independent expenditure PAC, which means that it cannot coordinate with candidates that supported.

About

The chairman and treasurer was

Dan Proft Daniel K. Proft (born April 29, 1972) is an American political commentator and activist. A member of the Republican Party, he is a talk radio host for Chicago radio station WIND and was a candidate for Governor of Illinois in 2010. He voices a p ...

. The idea behind Liberty Principles PAC, according to Proft, was to "improve the quality of policy thinking" and "change the balance of power in the Illinois General Assembly."

Political activity

According to the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'', the PAC "has become a chief conduit for allies of Rauner to influence legislative races across the state." Donors include shipping magnate Richard Uihlein and Governor

Bruce Rauner Bruce Vincent Rauner (; born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. Prior to his election, he was the chairman of R8 Capital Partners and cha ...

. Uihlein is the PAC's largest contributor. Chairman Proft and Richard Uihlein are associated with the

Illinois Policy Institute The Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) is a libertarian nonprofit think tank with offices in Chicago and Springfield. Founded in 2002, it is active in the areas of education policy, pension policy, and state budget issues. IPI advocates for smalle ...

, an economic

conservative think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental or ...

. The think tank released a documentary in 2016 that criticized the policies of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. It also passed funds to the PAC. In addition to funding candidates in 2016 (the "Economic Liberty Candidates), Liberty Principles PAC was also active in the 2012 and 2014 election cycles. The Uihleins provided over $17 million in funding to the PAC between 2012 and 2020, with more than half of that coming in 2018. During the 2019 primaries, four of the five candidates the PAC opposed survived their primaries. After the PAC was unable to account for $39,000 in expenses and was out of money, it shut down in 2020.

References

{{Reflist United States political action committees Organizations based in Illinois Conservative political advocacy groups in the United States