From The Daily Herald:

Some donors hedging bets in pursuit of political clout
By Eric Krol Daily Herald Political Writer
Posted on September 01, 2002

Near-billionaire Neil Bluhm wants to put a casino in Des Plaines. And the next governor will appoint gaming board members who will have a hand in the decision of where that casino goes.

But no matter whether Democrat Rod Blagojevich or Republican Jim Ryan wins Nov. 5, Bluhm likely will at least get to argue his case with the new governor. Bluhm, who could not be reached for comment, gave $25,000 to Ryan and $25,000 to Blagojevich, albeit from two different companies that he controls.

Bluhm isn't the only one hedging his bets on the governor's race. At least 102 contributors have given campaign cash to both Rod Blagojevich and Jim Ryan in the past year, a Daily Herald analysis of contributions found.

Some of the hedgers are road builders or consultants who design the roads. Others are lobbyists or special interest groups. None of them are average voters.

What all have in common is they want the clout that campaign contributions can bring.

"Clearly, you've got people who want access. Their issues are not Democratic or Republican. They want to be able to deal with whoever is in power," said Kent Redfield, political science professor at University of Illinois-Springfield who researches campaign finance.

Who are the hedgers betting on? Forty-eight of them gave more to Ryan, 41 gave more to Blagojevich, with the other 13 giving the same amount to both candidates. But Blagojevich collected more overall from these hedgers, getting nearly $590,000 compared to Ryan's $522,000.

Among them, Ron Gidwitz, chairman of the state board of education, gave $25,000 to Ryan and $5,000 to Blagojevich through his Allicott Co. Gidwitz is the former CEO of beauty and hair giant Helene Curtis.

Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf gave $5,000 to Ryan through his JR Holdings Inc. His personal assistant, Anita Fasano, gave $5,000 to Blagojevich through her Encounters Ltd.

Coca-Cola gave $5,000 to Blagojevich and $2,500 to Ryan. Anheuser-Busch, the makers of Budweiser, gave $5,000 to each candidate. Chicago-based liquor distributors Romano Brothers Beverage Co. gave $3,000 to Ryan and $2,000 to Blagojevich.

Road builder Gallagher Asphalt gave $11,000 to Blagojevich but only $1,100 to Ryan, while the new car dealers' political action committee gave $10,000 to Ryan but only $3,500 to Blagojevich.

Chicago attorney Steven Nemerovski, who lobbies down in Springfield for Peoples Energy and others, wrote campaign contribution checks to Ryan for $6,000. His wife, Nancy, is listed as giving $4,000 to Blagojevich.

Even one of Jim Ryan's biggest donors, Downers Grove-based Servicemaster, which gave Ryan $65,500 during the past year, gave Blagojevich $10,000. And AFSCME, the government employees' union, gave $1,000 to Ryan even though most of their money - $125,000 - is on Blagojevich.