From the Sep. 8, 2007 L.A. Times article "Fresh face or old-school player?" (link, via this): Later [in 1999], [associates former Obama opponent, Yesse B. Yehudah, a Republican] pitched in an additional $5,000 to help retire Obama’s debt [from his run against Bobby Rush]. The contributions were recorded on Oct. 7, 2000, three days after the Illinois Senate, at Obama's behest, approved a $75,000 state grant to Yehudah's nonprofit [a social services organization called Fulfilling Our Responsibility Unto Mankind], state records show.