Illinois Justice and Public Safety PAC is a PAC formed in 2016 that pays for advertisements supporting Democratic candidate Kim Foxx‘s campaigns for State’s Attorney in Cook County, Illinois. The PAC was highly active in the 2016 and 2020 election cycles, buying ads in support of Foxx and attacking her primary election challengers. The PAC is funded by Democracy PAC, which receives funding from left-leaning billionaire George Soros, and has connections to the similarly named Justice and Public Safety PAC, another PAC which has received funding directly from Soros. ¹

Political Activities

According to the organization’s FEC disclosures, in 2020 the organization spent $798,650 on communications criticizing former President Donald Trump. ² At the same time, the organization also reported to the Illinois State Board of Elections that it had spent an identical amount with a receipt marked for the same day on television ads opposing Bill Conway, a Democratic primary challenger to Kim Foxx, not President Trump. ³

Illinois State Board of Elections records show that Illinois Justice & Public Safety spent roughly $1.1 million on ads attacking Democrat Bill Conway in the months leading up to the Cook County State’s Attorney Democratic Primary. ⁴ Foxx also reportedly received support from Illinois Justice & Public Safety in her 2016 campaign totaling $333,000. ⁵

Funding

According to FEC records, in February 2020 Illinois Justice & Public Safety received $2 million from Democracy PAC. The organization does not report receiving any other funding during that year. ⁶

Leadership

The PAC is directed by its treasurer, Whitney Tymas, who also oversees the Justice and Public Safety PAC and served on the board of the Civic Participation Action Fund (CPAF).

1. Hinton, Rachel. “Another Billionaire Weighs in on State’s Attorney’s Race: George Soros Gives $2M to Group Backing Foxx.” Times. Chicago Sun-Times, February 20, 2020. https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2020/2/20/21146269/george-soros-kim-foxx-bill-conway-states-attorney.
2. “Federal Candidate List for Schedule 9-B (F94).” FEC. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C30002984/1403571/f94/F93.000001.
3. Expenditure Search By All Expenditures. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/ExpenditureSearchByAllExpenditures.aspx?ddlExpenditureType=e%2FlvAv%2BfH4iNmieiJUsUR9rq0gl3wE%2FO&ddlState=l7SKwo%2BUA9w%3D&ddlReceivedDateTime=l7SKwo%2BUA9w%3D&ddlReceivedDateTimeThru=l7SKwo%2BUA9w%3D&txtLastOnlyName=lTR8MRx3BT8hDvbs%2FhxXeNbPwM2%2FQtAyjcDTd%2BaJFqw%3D&ddlLastOnlyNameSearchType=V5P%2F54NEDt%2BTbkcWYWNapxjg5vQJMsfL&radSupportingOpposing=l7SKwo%2BUA9w%3D.
4. Expenditure Search By All Expenditures. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/ExpenditureSearchByAllExpenditures.aspx?ddlExpenditureType=e%2FlvAv%2BfH4iNmieiJUsUR9rq0gl3wE%2FO&ddlState=l7SKwo%2BUA9w%3D&ddlReceivedDateTime=l7SKwo%2BUA9w%3D&ddlReceivedDateTimeThru=l7SKwo%2BUA9w%3D&txtLastOnlyName=lTR8MRx3BT8hDvbs%2FhxXeNbPwM2%2FQtAyjcDTd%2BaJFqw%3D&ddlLastOnlyNameSearchType=V5P%2F54NEDt%2BTbkcWYWNapxjg5vQJMsfL&radSupportingOpposing=l7SKwo%2BUA9w%3D.
5. “George Soros/Political Activity.” Ballotpedia. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://ballotpedia.org/George_Soros/Political_activity.
6. “SCHEDULE 9-A.” FEC. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C30002984/1403571/f92.