Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Heavy Money Muscles in on Mayor-Elect Rahm Emanuel



  The big money boys are all over Chicago's Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel doing what they do best, buying access. From real estate developers, to investment advisers, to private equity firms to lawyers specializing in eminent domain, they are all sending Emanuel bundles of money.

Emanuel's political machine--the "New Chicago Committee" --collected another $95,000, from nine donors--- including five top executives of Madison Dearborn, the Chicago private equity firm, reports the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet.

Those donations, says Sweet, are on top of the original $40,000 from four founding contributors to Emanuel's warchest created earlier this month to send money to alderman candidates Emanuel supports in the April 5 runoffs.

Emanuel had about $2.1 million cash on hand after the Feb. 22 mayoral primary Emanuel won outright, but laws prevent transferring money from his "Chicago for Rahm Emanuel" warchest to his "New Chicago" political action committee.

The nine big money donors in the Monday report filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections are:


From Madison Dearborn

Nicholas W. Alexos $10,000.00

Paul Finnegan, $10,000

Samuel Mencoff, $10,000

James Perry, $5,000

Timothy Sullivan, $10,000

Others

Clayco, Inc.,  St. Louis-based real estate development firm, $20,000.00

Isaac Goldman of the investment advisory firm Front Barnett, $10,000

Roger Kile,y an attorney who specializes in eminent domain $10,000

Lewis Manilow, $10,000, a Democratic activist and major Democratic donor and real estate developer
The founding donors of the New Chicago Committee are:

$10,000 from Newsweb's Fred Eychaner, who is one of the biggest Democratic donors in the nation, according to Sweet. He gave $100,000 to Emanuel's mayoral campaign.

$20,000 ($10,000 each) from investment advisor, Advisory Research's David Heller and wife Diane. The couple put down $200,000 for Emanuel's mayoral bid.
$10,000 from New World Ventures Jay R. Pritzker, known as J.B.

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