Where big spending won – and lost – in the Illinois primary

Washington (AP) — It turns out it takes about $125 million to reshape a congressional delegation.

On Tuesday night, Illinois Democrats ushered in a new generation of lawmakers, picking five new nominees for Congress in open seats that are favored to remain in Democratic hands this fall.

But it came at the end of a messy, expensive primary season, with around $70 million in spending from outside groups and $54 million in campaign spending across five competitive races for open U.S.