Dave McSweeney watches as State Rep. Kent Gaffney makes a point at the McHenry County Young Republicans' Candidates Forum.

Filed Saturday with the Illinois State Board of Elections is the receipt of $17,000 by State Rep. Kent Gaffney in his effort to fend off the challenges of David McSweeney and Danielle Rowe.

Here’s where the money came from:

• $10,000 – We Mean Business, Chicago
• $5,000 – Realtors PAC, Springfield
• $1,000 – Gerald Forsythe, CEO, Indeck Energy, Wheeling
• $1,000 – Robert & Nina Stephenson, Attorney, Locklord, Barrington Hills

The We Mean Business PAC is reported by Illinois Review to be reported by Crain’s Chicago Business as being part of former Attorney General Ty Fahner’s effort to reform pensions in Illinois.

There is some irony in that the fund is heavily financed by the family of Lester Crown, who has contributed $2,500 to McSweeney.

Of further irony is that the group gave $20,000 to Brad Halbrook, the opponent of Cross ally (Floor Spokesman!) Roger Eddy (110th District).  Eddy is a double-dipper, being a school superintendent as well as a state representative.

Eddy has gotten $60,000 from the Political Action Committee of the Illinois Education Association, a thousand dollars from former Governor Jim Edgar and thousands more from other various education industry PACs.

This guy looks like a wholly-owned subsidiary of the education industry.

He’s the one who dreamed up the idea to base the annual increase allowed under the Property Tax Cap on the increase in employee salaries, public employee salaries, I think. If I remember correctly, of the five years I examined, that index was higher than the CPI, which currently limits real estate tax hikes.