FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2002

CONTACT:
Cindi Canary, ICPR
312-335-1767
Kent Redfield, Sunshine Project
217-206-6572

CAREER PATRON PROFILES DEMONSTRATE NEED
FOR CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LIMITS IN ILLINOIS

The primary benefactors of the candidates for governor account for nearly $9 million in contributions to the political careers of these six politicians.

"Because Illinois has virtually no restrictions on campaign contributions, some very wealthy individuals and organizations are about to become even more powerful players in state government," said Cindi Canary, Director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR). "No matter how you slice this pie, a miniscule percentage of Illinois voters will be the major contributors to the political career of the next governor."

ICPR and the Sunshine Project have researched more than two decades of campaign contributions and have compiled profiles of the top 20 patrons in the political careers of the three Democratic gubernatorial candidates - Rod Blagojevich, Roland Burris and Paul Vallas - and the three Republican candidates - Patrick O'Malley, Jim Ryan and Corinne Wood.

"Labor unions, business associations and professional associations are major influences in the State Capitol, and it is no surprise to find them high on the lists of career patrons," said Kent Redfield, the Director of the Sunshine Project and a professor of political studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield. "But peppered throughout these lists are corporations, law firms, state contractors and the names of the candidates' families and friends. Some are long time players in Illinois politics, but others are companies and individuals who have never contributed to any other campaigns but are now giving five figures and more."

Background information about each of the career patrons and the amount of their contributions can be found at ICPR's web site (www.ilcampaign.org).

"Campaign finance regulations in Illinois are little more than bookkeeping rules," Canary said. "This wide open state has one simple requirement - the sources of large campaign donations must be disclosed to the public. In other words, candidates are free to collect as much as they can from anyone who will give them cash or write a check."

The career patrons lists identify, in most cases, the top 20 who have given the most during the career of each candidate.

As a sampling, here is the top career patron for each of the candidates:

Rod Blagojevich - The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee contributed $900,000 to Blagojevich's state campaign committee. Blagojevich, who chose not to run for reelection to Congress, gave the DCCC $632,000 that his federal campaign committee raised as "hard money," and the DCCC now is free to spend it directly on federal candidates. The $900,000 from the DCCC to Blagojevich's state committee was "soft money." The "soft money" is collected without amount limits, but the DCCC would have been restricted to using it for party-building and issue advertisement. Because Illinois does not have such limitations, Blagojevich is free to spend the entire amount as he pleases.

Roland Burris - The Jovon Broadcasting Corporation of Tinley Park has contributed $286,170 to the Burris campaign fund. Joseph Stroud, president and founder of Jovon Broadcasting, also has loaned the Burris campaign $800,000 through Stroud's Telephone USA Investments. In addition, the web site reveals that many of the Burris career patrons have not contributed since he was attorney general in 1994.

Paul Vallas - Comar Industries, based in Oakbrook Terrace, and its president, Constantine Danos, have contributed a combined total of $55,000 to the campaign of Paul Vallas. Unlike the other candidates, Vallas is running for office for the first time.

Patrick O'Malley - A state senator since 1993, O'Malley has received $504,161 during his career from the Illinois Republican State Senate Campaign Committee for his state Senate campaigns; however, the GOP committee has not contributed to his gubernatorial campaign. His second largest contributor with $377,000 is businessman John "Jack" Roeser and his conservative grassroots organization, the Family Taxpayers Network.

Jim Ryan - Ryan's number one career patron continues to be the Molex Corporation and its co-chairmen, Frederick A. Krehbiel and John H. Krehbiel, Jr. In the most recent reporting period (July 1 through Dec. 31, 2001), Frederick A. Krehbiel contributed $48,000, and John H. Krehbiel, Jr., gave $10,000.The career total given to Jim Ryan from Molex and the Krehbiel brothers is $734,248.

Corinne Wood - The principles and associates of the venture capital firm Madison Dearborn Partners continues as her number one career patron with a combined total of $270,960. Paul R. Wood, husband of Corinne Wood, is a managing partner of the firm. During the last six months, Paul R. Wood also loaned $1,277,340 to his wife's campaign committee. Loan amounts are noted but not included in the career patron totals.

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