SPRINGFIELD - When you give money to a politician, there's no telling where your dollars might wind up.

You might like a candidate for his or her stance on a particular issue. But once your money gets into Illinois' campaign finance system, it could be funneled to a candidate who believes exactly the opposite.

Under Illinois election law, candidates can take your dollars, pool them with others and transfer them to another candidate.

There is no limit on how much they can give - a fact worth noting after the 2006 election saw legislative leaders transfer more than $8 million into a select few races.

The following is a hypothetical look at how one campaign contribution might flow through the system.

Cutting the check: Mr. and Mrs. Donor attend church with Joe Lawmaker, a member of the Illinois House. They like him and they like the fact that he is a hunter and supports a plan to allow people to carry concealed weapons. Several months before he's up for re-election, they write him a check for $200.

The transfer: As it turns out, no one decides to run against Joe Lawmaker, meaning he has little need to spend his campaign money.

But his party is in a dogfight for control of the House. So, Joe Lawmaker transfers money from his campaign fund to his party's leadership fund.

The money Mr. and Mrs. Donor contributed to Joe Lawmaker is now in the hands of the party leader.

The fight for control The party leader surveys the tight races across the state and decides to use money from Joe Lawmaker and his colleagues to help the candidates who need financial assistance. If the candidates in those tight races win, the party leader could become the House Speaker, giving him a seat at the bargaining table when issues are decided and tax money is divvied up.

The money flows: The party leader cuts a check and Mr. and Mrs. Donor's money heads across the state to a candidate in suburban Chicago who is from the same party as Joe Lawmaker. The candidate uses Mr. and Mrs. Donor's money and thousands more from other unsuspecting donors to purchase television ads, conduct polls and send out targeted mailers to voters.

In his ads, the candidate touts his firm stance against allowing Illinoisans to carry concealed weapons.