Progress Illinois

Illinois' own Rep. Judy Biggert has received a PAC donation from BP -- the artist formerly known as Amoco -- every cycle she's served in Congress. According to OpenSecrets, the oil giant has contributed $9,000 to her campaign fund since 1999. (That figure includes a $1,000 donation from Amoco in 1998, which is now part of BP.) Her 13th Congressional District challenger Scott Harper is calling on her to return all of that money. From a press release:

Noting the consequences the spill is having on the Gulf region, Harper said “Congresswoman Biggert’s BP money would be better spent cleaning up a coastline or compensating a shrimper who’s out of a job than it would in her campaign account.”

Harper previously demanded Biggert give back $2,000 she took from the Goldman Sachs earlier this year while the firm was under an SEC investigation for fraud, but the Republican refused. House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) also took some flak this month for pocketing a $500 BP donation, one of just two state lawmakers nationally to receive one.