Justin Dart, the megamillionaire plastics king, a financial backer of Ronald Reagan, once observed that “a dialogue with politicians is a fine thing, but with a little money, they hear you better.” With a lot of money. they may hear even if you whisper.
Some big-money contributors truly believe that Daley can best achieve the goals that almost everyone shares: better schools, safer streets, a more vital economy. In addition, however, a great many have very special concerns for themselves, their firms, or their industries: more business, lower taxes, less demanding city bargaining over new development projects. Most also share a class interest: they look at the city from the privileged vantage point of corporations and business executives; they want a mayor who will share that viewpoint and listen to them when big decisions have to be made.
The relationship between money and the machine has changed over the decades. “It was a more direct corruption in early periods of machine history,” observes former alderman Dick Simpson, now a professor of political science at the University of Illinois. “You would simply bribe officials, and they would spend what they needed on campaigns. Even in the 60s there was a standard amount for zoning changes.” Simpson points out that since the 70s, 13 aldermen have gone to jail, “so the practice is not dead.”
In 1979 Jane Byrne upset the machine on a shoestring budget and a snowstorm, but after reconciling herself with the “evil cabal” she’d attacked during the campaign–Burke, Vrdolyak, et al–she ushered in a new era of fund-raising. She began exacting contributions of up to $80,000 from contractors who did business with the city, ostentatiously escalating the prior practice of the machine. Over the course of four years, she raised more than $10 million. Byrne launched a massive television campaign to remake her image, but she also continued the old machine tactics, such as handing out “gifts” to CHA residents. “Take the hams, take the turkeys, take the cheese,” Harold Washington told public-housing residents in his ’83 campaign against Byrne–“but vote for Harold.” Rich Daley, also a mayoral candidate in ’83, proposed limiting campaign contributions to $1,000 for individuals and $5,000 for corporations.
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As a former U.S. attorney–head of the office where many promising young lawyers get their experience–Thompson had close ties to law firms. And law firms have become increasingly important both in handling the work of government and in lobbying for businesses. Sometimes firms that receive work from the state are expected to do more than simply contribute. According to one attorney at a major firm that does bond work, “Oftentimes you even have to hire someone as a partner or an associate who the politician directs that you hire.” That costs more than the truck driver the old machine might have wanted, but it pays off better.
Gary Snyderman, managing director of Common Cause in Illinois, is alarmed not only by the total expenditures but also by “the truly huge contributions coming into the Daley campaign. Even in the governor’s race we’ve seen only a couple of contributions in that range, and here’s a municipal race that has exceeded those contributions. They are so far out of line with what the average citizen could give that it instantly becomes a question of influence.”
