GOP Candidate for Illinois Governor Donates $500,000 — to Himself

Bruce Rauner, the multimillionaire equity investor seeking the GOP nomination in next year's Illinois gubernatorial race, has injected $500,000 of his own money into his campaign war chest.

The move now allows Rauner's Republican rivals as well as Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn to raise unlimited amounts from contributors, because of a provision in state law, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Rauner 's cash will be used, in part, to fund an ambitious TV ad campaign that kicks off Friday and zeroes in on Quinn's record.

With this new infusion, Rauner has donated a total of $749,000 to his campaign, bringing his war chest to near $4 million.

His rivals for the 2014 GOP nomination are state Sens. Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard, and state Treasurer Dan Rutherford.

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