Kanye West donates more than $70G to Chicago mayoral candidate endorsed by Chance the Rapper
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Rapper Kanye West smiles as he listens to a question from a reporter during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House with President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Rapper Kanye West donated more than $70,000 to a Chicago mayoral candidate — who now has two hip-hop artists in her corner.
West, a Chicago native, donated $73,540 to Amara Enyia’s campaign, the Chicago Tribune reported. The donation is the equivalent to the amount of fines she faced from the Illinois State Board of Election in connection with her 2015 campaign.
Enyia’s staff confirmed to the Tribune she used West’s money to pay the fines.
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Enyia, the director of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, dropped her brief bid for mayor four years after the signatures she collected to appear on the ballot were challenged, according to the Tribune.
She never closed her campaign account and was fined for not filing campaign finance reports each quarter, which is required by law. She was given until Dec. 20 to pay the fines.
“The Amara Enyia campaign thanks Chicago native, Kanye West, for his generous action,” a campaign statement read. “Amara’s campaign is energizing people around the city with bold ideas and solutions that move Chicago forward. We are excited to engage people of all walks of life as we focus our efforts on getting on the ballot.”
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The donation comes on the heels of fellow Chicago rapper Chance the Rapper endorsing Enyia. He said he endorsed her because they share the same vision on how to improve the city.