With no primary challenger in the open 11th Congressional District race and the withdrawal of the Republican nominee, state Sen. Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, aggressively courted donors during the first quarter, her latest campaign disclosure shows.

From Jan. 17 through the end of March, Halvorson raised a net $432,970 and ended the period with cash reserves of $673,023.

Halvorson is likely to face concrete company president Martin Ozinga III, the odds-on favorite to be slated for the race by county Republican chairmen on Wednesday, April 30. The February primary winner, New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann, withdrew from the race, leaving the ballot open for county chairmen to fill.

Also running is Green Party nominee Jason Wallace of Normal, who reported $513 raised for the campaign overall and $1,854 in cash on hand. The seat is up for grabs this year due to the retirement of seven-term Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Morris.

Ozinga, of Homer Glen, this week filed a statement of campaign organization with the Federal Election Commission, signifying he has raised or spent at least $5,000. The other potential Republican challenger, Monical's Pizza owner Harry Bond of Bourbonnais, has made no filing and has downplayed his chances of becoming the nominee.

Campaign manager Andy Sere said Ozinga has been seeking donations from family and friends, but he declined to say how much had been raised or whether Ozinga had either donated or lent money to his campaign. On his statement of candidacy to the FEC, Ozinga indicated he does not plan to exceed the $350,000 "Millionaires Amendment" threshold under which opposing candidates, if they are lagging in campaign cash, can raise increased amounts from individuals and accept more party support.

Sere said the campaign plans fundraisers Wednesday and Thursday, which he described as smaller events.

Halvorson's report showed overall net campaign fundraising of $860,344 since she launched her campaign last year. Of that total, individuals gave Halvorson $456,642, or about 53 percent, with special interest political action committees giving the remainder. Among individual contributions made since January 17, $63,722 came from donors who gave through EMILY's List, an abortion-rights group that seeks to elect female Democratic candidates.

Another $9,316 came via individual donations made through the Democratic National Campaign Committee, the elections wing of the House Democratic Caucus.

In a statement issued this week, the Halvorson campaign noted she has attracted donations from more than 1,300 individuals and said the campaign has won "remarkable" and "strong grassroots" support based on her campaign themes of job creation, health care and college affordability.

Sere, for Ozinga, cast the numbers in a critical light by trying to link Halvorson, the state Senate majority leader, to deep-pocket special interests.

"The special interests in Washington see her as someone who has a record of being beholden to special interests in Illinois," he said.

Ozinga's first fundraising numbers won't be due until Tuesday, July 15, for the second quarter, which ends Monday, June 30. Asked if Ozinga will limit contributions from PACs or lobbyists, Sere said only "you'll find his donor base is more consistent with the values of the district."

Weller suspended fundraising when he announced his retirement last fall. He reported $59,049 in cash reserves.

In the 15th Congressional District, Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana, reported net contributions for the period of $48,345 and cash reserves of $106,759. His Democratic challenger, retired State Department employee Steve Cox of Urbana, had not filed a statement of candidacy nor a March 31 report as of Thursday.