"All of the individual transactions are legal, but the pattern is troubling."
Adam Andrzejewski, founder OpenTheBooks.com
"Yes it is..."
John Stossel, Host John Stossel Show
Chicago: The Next Detroit
John Stossel Special Chicago Corruption
FOX News | Sunday, March 22, 2015
Is Pay-to-Play Still Legal in Chicago?
Adam Andrzejewski, Founder OpenTheBooks.com
Last night on FOX News, Founder of OpenTheBooks.com Adam Andrzejewski describes The Chicago Way - a city that pioneered corrupt practices. In 2010, Rahm Emanuel pledged to clean up city hall and end pay-to-play culture.
How did Rahm do? Not too well. Greed is still compromising ethics. Emanuel's 2011 executive order to stop pay-to-play was a sound bite. Chicago is like an old fisherman, it continues to stink.
At the request of Stossel producers, our teams worked hard to mash up Emanuel's campaign cash since 2010 with the city checkbook since 2002. Our results are stunning...
HERE'S WHAT WE FOUND:
600 city vendors gave Emanuel $7 million in campaign cash during the past four years, but received $2 billion in city payments since 2002. From a universe of 1,500 companies or their affiliated employees funding Rahm Emmanuel's campaign since 2010, we matched those company names with payments from the City of Chicago vendor checkbook.
It shows two things: 1. Emanuel is firmly in control of the corrupt Daley political machine; 2. and pay-to-play is still legal in the city.
AMONGST OUR FINDINGS:
- United and American airline executives bundled large amounts of campaign donations - even though both companies have current city contracts. Ten American execs gave the same amount ($5,300) on the same day (March 28, 2014) from Texas, Arizona, and Washington DC. 42 United execs gave $73,000 on the same day (September 30, 2014).
- Law firms 'gaming the system.' Without a "city contract" the law firms and employees are donating tens of thousands of dollars to Rahm's campaign fund. How? Learn about the voucher- direct payment scheme in city hall.
- Investment firms 'gaming the system.' Using a middle man to contract with the city pension plans, some of the mayor's largest donors then manage city pension money by contracting with the middle man. It's called "fund-of-funds" to skirt the rules.
- How much does the Illinois culture of corruption cost taxpayers? We name names.
- How does the legalized money laundering system in Chicago work? Andrzejewski cites specific examples.
Stay tuned: over the next few days, we will release our report, The Confluence of Chicago Campaign Cash and Contractor Payments.
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Matthew Tyrmand, Deputy Director
Adam Andrzejewski, Chairman