Illinois gubernatorial candidates are making their final push ahead of Tuesday's primary in what's become an increasingly fierce - and expensive - contest.Among the leading Democrats is billionaire J.B. Pritzker, who filed paperwork late Friday showing he gave his campaign an additional $6.3 million, bringing his total investment to almost $70 million.
Democrat Chris Kennedy gave his campaign another $500,000 this week, for a total of about $2 million.
State Sen. Daniel Biss, campaigning as the "middle-class candidate," says the spending has reached "new levels of absurdity."
The Democrats are looking to unseat wealthy Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who's facing a challenge from conservative state Rep. Jeanne Ives.
BALLOT SECURITY
Meanwhile, with the Illinois primary just hours away, state election officials are beefing up cyber defenses and scanning for possible intrusions into voting systems and voter registration rolls.
They have good reason to be on guard: Two years ago, Illinois was the lone state known to have its state election system breached in a hacking effort that ultimately targeted 21 states.
Federal intelligence agencies determined that the attempted hacking of state elections systems in 2016 primarily targeted voter registration systems, not actual voting machines or vote tallying.
Cybersecurity experts say it's crucial for states to shore up vulnerabilities in those systems now, with this year's midterm elections already underway.
