Bill Foster — Campaign Finance Summary, 2023-2024 Election Cycle (OpenSecrets)

Summary

OpenSecrets' campaign finance summary for Representative Bill Foster (D - IL), a member of the Financial Services committee, for the 2023 - 2024 election cycle. It reports that his campaign committee raised $3,218,842, spent $2,473,392 and had $1,550,564 cash on hand with $1,017,994 in debts at the last report of 12/31/2024; his leadership PAC is Fostering Progress PAC. The top contributor is Argonne National Laboratory at $44,945, followed by Fermilab, Clifford Law Offices, JStreetPAC and the University of Chicago. Education leads the industries at $409,862, with Securities & Investment at $336,600 and Commercial Banks at $155,350, almost all of it from PACs. Large individual contributions make up 55.95% of funds and PAC contributions 35.91%, based on Federal Election Commission data released on 09/16/25 and 02/06/25.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

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Candidates & Officeholders

Congress

Bill Foster

Summary

Elections

Industries

PACs

Contributors

Geography

Demographics

Expenditures

Legislation

Other Data

Campaign Committee Fundraising

Top Contributors

Top Industries

Total Raised vs. Average Raised

Source of Funds

Bill Foster
Representative (D - IL)

Financial Services

First Election

2012

Next Election

2024

TOP INDUSTRY 2023 - 2024

Education

$409,862

TOP CONTRIBUTOR 2023 - 2024

Argonne National Laboratory

$44,945

Campaign Committee Fundraising, 2023 - 2024

Leadership PAC: Fostering Progress PAC

Raised:

$3,218,842

Spent:

$2,473,392

Cash on hand:

$1,550,564

Debts:

$1,017,994

LAST REPORT: 12/31/2024

Top Contributors, 2023 - 2024

Contributor

Total

Individuals

PACs

Argonne National Laboratory

$44,945

$44,945

$0

Fermilab

$34,098

$34,098

$0

Clifford Law Offices

$33,000

$33,000

$0

JStreetPAC

$32,280

$29,780

$2,500

University of Chicago

$30,445

$30,445

$0

Top Industries, 2023 - 2024

Industry

Total

Individuals

PACs

Education

$409,862

$409,862

$0

Securities & Investment

$336,600

$124,100

$212,500

Retired

$300,475

$300,475

$0

Lawyers/Law Firms

$250,254

$228,754

$21,500

Commercial Banks

$155,350

$350

$155,000

Total Raised vs. Average Raised

Source of Funds (Campaign Committee), 2023 - 2024

Large Individual Contributions: 55.95%

PAC Contributions*: 35.91%

Small Individual Contributions (< $200): 7.66%

Other: 0.46%

Candidate self-financing: 0.00%

Large Individual Contributions

$1,801,210

55.95%

PAC Contributions*

$1,156,151

35.91%

Small Individual Contributions (< $200)

$246,554

7.66%

Other

$14,927

0.46%

Candidate self-financing

$0

0.00%

*Includes contributions from other candidate committees.

NOTE: All the numbers on this page are for the 2023 - 2024
election cycle and based on Federal Election Commission data released
electronically on 09/16/25 for Fundraising totals,
Source of Funds and Total Raised vs Average, and on 02/06/25 for
Top Contributors and Industries.
("Help! The numbers don't add up...")

WHY DON'T THE NUMBERS ADD UP?

Sometimes it's hard to make apple-to-apple comparisons across some of the pages in a candidate's profile. Here's
why:

Summary numbers for federal officeholders - specifically "Total Raised and Spent" and "PAC/Individual Split" - are
based on summary reports filed by the candidates with the Federal Election Commission. All other numbers in these
profiles for state and federal officeholders are derived from contribution records disclosed in campaign finance
reports from the FEC or state campaign finance agencies that reach applicable itemization thresholds.

There is also a time lag in posting the information. While summary numbers are reported almost immediately by the
FEC — and listed quickly on OpenSecrets — processing and analyzing the detailed records takes much longer. For that
reason, summary numbers are usually higher (and more current) than the numbers based on detailed records. Data for
state officeholders may be subject to longer time lags, as OpenSecrets aggregates this information from many sources
and formats.

HOW CURRENT ARE THESE FIGURES?

The figures in federal profiles are taken from databases uploaded by the FEC on the first day of every month. Those
databases are only as current as the FEC has been able to compile by that date (see the note above about lag times
for data entry).

OpenSecrets updates federal figures for "Total Raised and Spent" and for "PAC/Individual Split" a few days after
the first of the month. The remaining figures - based on detailed contribution data - are updated by OpenSecrets
after the 20th of every month. This gives us time to analyze the contributions and categorize them by industry and
interest group.

The lag times vary for state officeholder data. OpenSecrets aggregates state data from many sources and formats.

The organizations themselves did not
donate, rather the money came from the organizations' PACs,
their individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals'
immediate families. Organization totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.

Why (and How)
We Use Donors' Employer/Occupation Information

Corporations themselves cannot donate to candidates at the federal level but federal candidates can get
contributions from corporate PACs, employees and owners as well as their immediate families. At the state level,
corporations and unions can give directly to campaigns in many jurisdictions.

Under federal law, all contributions over $200 must be itemized and the donor's occupation and employer must be
requested and disclosed, if provided. State requirements related to itemization thresholds and employment
disclosures vary.

Where available, OpenSecrets uses that employer/occupation information to identify the donor's economic interest.
We do this in two ways:

First, we apply a code to the contribution, identifying the industry. Totals for industries (and larger economic
sectors) can be seen in each candidate and race profile, and in the Industry Profile section of the OpenSecrets
website.

Second, we standardize the name of the donor's employer. If enough contributions came in from people connected
with that same employer, the organization's name winds up on the Top Contributors list.

It is impossible to know either the economic interest that made each individual contribution possible or the
motivation for each individual giver. However, the patterns of contributions provide critical information for
voters, researchers and others. That is why Congress and many states have mandated that candidates, political
parties and political committees request employer information from contributors and publicly report it when the
contributor provides it.

In some cases, a cluster of contributions from people associated with the same organization may indicate a
concerted effort by that organization to "bundle" contributions to the candidate. In other cases, the reason for the
contributions may be completely unrelated to the organization.

Showing these clusters of contributions from people associated with particular organizations provides a valuable —
and unique — way of understanding where candidates are getting their financial support. Knowing those groups is also
useful after the election, as issues come before Congress, presidential administrations and state governments that
may affect those organizations or their industries.

METHODOLOGY

Corporations themselves cannot donate to candidates at the federal level but federal candidates can get
contributions from corporate PACs, employees and owners as well as their immediate families. At the state level,
corporations and unions can give directly to campaigns in many jurisdictions.

Donors who give more than $200 to any federal candidate, PAC or party committee must list their occupation and
employer. State requirements related to itemization thresholds and employment disclosures vary. Based on the
available information, the donor is given an economic code. These totals are conservative, as not all of the
individual contributions have yet been classified by OpenSecrets.

In cases where two or more people from the same family contributed, the income-earner's occupation/employer is
assigned to all non-wage earning family members. If, for instance, Henry Jones lists his employer as First National
Bank, his wife Matilda lists "Homemaker" and 12-year old Tammy shows up as "Student," OpenSecrets would identify all
their contributions as being related to the "First National Bank" since that's the source of the family's income.

Although individual contributions are generally categorized based on the donor's occupation/employer, in some cases
individuals may be classified instead as ideological donors. A contribution to a candidate may be given an
ideological code, rather than an economic code, if the contributor gives to an ideological political action
committee AND the candidate has received money from PACs representing that same ideological interest.

Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit OpenSecrets. For permission to reprint for commercial uses,
such as textbooks, contact OpenSecrets: [email protected]

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