CHICAGO - In recent Illinois State Board of Elections filings, Illinois Review noticed a newly-formed political action committee named "We Mean Business," which has raised $142,000 since its formation in December 2011. The secretary of the new PAC is a Patrick Brady. (IL GOP's Jon Blessing says it is not the IL GOP chairman.)
Most of the donors listed on PAC's filings maxed out at $10,000 and are from some of Chicago's wealthiest families - the Crowns, the Pritzkers, etc.
Crain's Business Greg Hinz found that the pac is the brainchild of former IL attorney general Ty Fahner, and its purpose is to get something done in the IL legislature with pension reform in the upcoming session, which is stirring up furor among the public pension devotees.
The only donation we've found so far is to the GOP opponent of State Rep. Roger Eddy (R-Hutsonville), who is Minority Leader Tom Cross' floor spokeman. The PAC wrote a check for $20,000 to Brad Halbrook, who's evidently being seen as a viable threat to Eddy in a GOP primary. Eddy has received $60,000 in the past two months from IPACE - the teachers' union PAC.
Translation: It's going to bankroll candidates who are willing to cross labor unions and vote to reduce pension benefits and/or require workers to pay more for them.
Insiders say the goal is to emulate what school reform forces did in the last election — putting hundreds of thousands of dollars behind legislative candidates who promised to be independent of the teachers union. That strategy worked when the unions came to the table and agreed to things such as a longer school day and year.
Mr. Fahner doesn't want to give any details, and suggests the new PAC is "not prepared to play ball" in a fundraising derby with the unions. Previously, Civic Committee forces have jawboned a lot but limited their spending to generic pro-reform TV and newspaper ads.
And here's what the AFSCME Local 31 thinks about "We Mean Business" ...
Read more: Chicago Business
