Before he was governor, Bruce Rauner was a private equity investor. He became rich by keeping a sharp eye on his investments.
But Rauner says he is not taking the same approach to politics.
This election, he's given the Illinois Republican Party roughly $16 million. It's being spent on state legislative races.
But despite that substantial investment, Rauner has repeatedly denied any involvement in the campaigns.
"I'm encouraging everybody who might be a public servant to get involved, I'm doing that," Rauner said. "but I'm not involved in races per se -- predicting races or advising races. I'm not involved in that."
More than a dozen seats could be in play in the Illinois House. There also are a handful of competitive Senate races.
Illinois Democrats currently hold large enough majorities that they've been able to block Rauner's attempts to significantly weaken labor unions.
Rauner and his aides have been active in filling seats vacated by Republican legislators, and Rauner actively campaigned against a pro-union Republican in the primary.