Special Interest Super PACs Underperform in Illinois

The votes are in for Illinois’ Democratic primaries, and they paint a dismal picture about the influence of money in politics. An absurd $92 million was spent on four open-seat House races and an open Senate race, a corruption of democracy that is relatively unprecedented in modern elections.

That money did not fully dictate election results. AIPAC-backed candidates, for example, won only two of the four Chicago-area House races where the organization spent upwards of $21 million, including...