Dan Rutherford

SPRINGFIELD -- Most voters have to still get through the political overload of a presidential election in November before thinking about who's going to be Illinois' next governor.

But some possible candidates are wielding sums of money that could indicate their interest in running for the state's high office in 2010.

And with Democrats now controlling all of the state's top offices, they're also holding generally more money than their Republican counterparts.

This week, state candidates had to report their fundraising activity from the first half of the year. Included among them are some possible candidates for governor in 2010.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich had more than $3.6 million in his campaign account at the end of June to use in a bid for a third term.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan had about $2.6 million, Comptroller Dan Hynes had $2.4 million and Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias had about $1.3 million. All are Democrats.

Who exactly will run likely won't be clear until sometime next year.

On the Republican side, state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington has expressed an interest in making another run for governor but had just $67,400 in his account at the end of the month. He lost a primary bid for the top spot in 2006.

Brady said that with fellow Republicans involved in active campaigns in November, he didn't want to raise money that might compete with them. He said he'll wait until the 2010 election is closer to begin collecting campaign cash.

''We weren't going to do anything out of the ordinary,'' Brady said.

State Sen. Dan Rutherford of Chenoa had $274,000 in his account. He lost the race for Secretary of State in 2006. Rutherford has said he wants to run for a statewide office in 2010, perhaps governor.

Rutherford said he was happy with the money he raised at this early stage.

''Consistently, we have been very good at raising money from all across Illinois,'' he said.

Mike Lawrence, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, said candidates still have plenty of time to come up with money before the 2010 campaign. But having a lot on hand doesn't hurt either.

First, lots of money it lets supporters know a candidate is serious, Lawrence said. Second, having money now means a candidate doesn't have to raise as much later.

''It's a lot easier to build on a big fund than be scrambling for money during the campaign season itself,'' Lawrence said.

Other names that have been mentioned as potential gubernatorial candidates include Democratic Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who had about $97,000 at the end of June.

Republican state Sen. Christine Radogno of Lemont had about $106,000. And DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett, a GOP candidate for lieutenant governor in 2006, had $97,000.

Former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar, who has declined several invitations to consider running for a third term, still had $778,947 in his campaign fund.

(Mike Riopell can be reached at mike.riopell@lee.net or (217) 789-0865.)

It's still early, but several names have surfaced as potential candidates for governor in 2010. This week, candidates had to report their fundraising activity for the first half of the year. (The following numbers show how much was raised from Jan. 1 to June 30, then how much the candidate had left their account as of June 30.

Democrats

Gov. Rod Blagojevich: $1,923,073 raised this year, $3,611,654 left.

Comptroller Dan Hynes: $746,177 raised this year, $2,358,420 left.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan: $619,312 raised this year, $2,599,548 left

Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias: $708,112 raised this year, $1,273,741 left

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn: $104,056 raised this year, $91,072 left.

Republicans

State Sen. Bill Brady: $58,369 raised this year, $67,413 left.

State Sen. Dan Rutherford: $221,099 raised this year, $273,964 left.

DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett: $63,782 raised this year, $96,713 left.

State Sen. Christine Radogno: $113,052 raised this year, $105,770 left.

The development and hosting of Senator Rutherford's web site are not paid for with taxpayer dollars.

The phone line and internet service for Senator Rutherford's e-mails are also not paid for at taxpayer expense.