海角大神

Rahm Emanuel鈥檚 bid to become the next mayor of Chicago is outflanking the competition by millions of dollars, most of it raised before a new Illinois law went into effect to limit contributions from donors.

According to data from the Illinois State Board of Elections, Mr. Emanuel鈥檚 campaign fund totals $11.8 million, about four times more than rival Gary Chico, who has received $2.4 million. Former US Sen. Carol Moseley Braun has $446,000 and Chicago City Clerk Miguel del Valle has about $170,000.

Emanuel鈥檚 multimillion dollar lead in fundraising is unprecedented in a Chicago mayoral race, says Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, a non-profit public interest group located in Chicago. The majority of Emanuel鈥檚 take, about $10.5 million, was earned though fundraising that took place between July and December. On Jan. 1, a new state law went into effect that limits individual contributions to $5,000, corporations and unions to $10,000, and political action committees to $50,000 per election.

Ms. Canary鈥檚 organization helped advocate for the bill鈥檚 passage in an attempt to rectify the pay-to-play politics brought up following the December 2008 arrest of impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. She says that Emanuel鈥檚 fundraising advantage has made the current race not dissimilar to previous election cycles involving incumbent Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, where the opposition could generate little financial support to make it an even fight.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone [in a Chicago mayoral race] has raised that amount of money in the time line that Rahm Emanuel did. If I were being complimentary, I would say it鈥檚 a tour de force. It was absolutely stunning,鈥� she says.

Emanuel鈥檚 donations reflect his strong ties to both the financial services and the entertainment industries. President Clinton appointed him to the board of Freddie Mac in 2000 and his brother is an agent with William Morris Endeavor, a powerful talent agency in Hollywood. According to the data, several agents at William Morris contributed up to $5,000 each, totaling $150,000. Emanuel also received money from Hollywood donors such as film director Steven Spielberg, who contributed $75,000, television writer Aaron Sorkin, who contributed $10,000, and David Geffen, who contributed $100,000.

Other contributions have come from prominent real estate development and law firms, in Chicago and elsewhere, some of which have performed work for the city in the past. Donald Trump, who opened a hotel and condo complex in downtown Chicago in 2008, contributed $50,000. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange contributed $200,000.

The Emanuel campaign says it set a voluntary cap on individual contributions at $100,000. Emanuel told the Chicago Tribune last week that his donors consist of 鈥減eople who have known me throughout my career as a congressman and also as President Obama鈥檚 chief of staff and senior adviser to President Clinton.鈥�

Emanuel鈥檚 financial leverage allows him to blanket the Chicago airwaves with media ads at the expense of participating in as many community forums as his opponents, most of whom can鈥檛 afford to afford to skip the face-to-face exposure. For instance, Emanuel spent $150,000 for an ad that ran during last Sunday鈥檚 highly watched football match between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.

鈥淗is money is the key. His connections are the second key,鈥� says William Grimshaw, a political science professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago who specializes in Chicago politics. 鈥淪o he鈥檚 reaching a lot of people, but he鈥檚 using money more than public appearances.鈥�

Mr. Chico, the candidate with the second-biggest bankroll in the race, received the majority of his donations from companies his law firm represents in lobbying City Hall, as well as the city鈥檚 leading construction companies. He too raised the majority of his donations before the Jan. 1 donation caps went into effect.

Mr. del Valle, who is polling last in the race among the four leading contenders, is using campaign finance reform as one of his primary platforms. He is refusing to accept money from businesses that have contracted with the city and says he favors spending limits more than donor caps because Emanuel would still be able to raise more money than the opposition due to his wealth of contacts across multiple industries.

Speaking by phone Friday, del Valle says the state鈥檚 tarnished reputation for pay-to-play politics will never fully vanish due to the US Supreme Court ruling last year that invalidated a part of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law that sought to limit corporate donors in political campaigns. He says he is using his campaign to highlight what he calls the 鈥渉ypocrisy鈥� between denouncing pay-to-play politics and the lack of political will to change how campaigns are funded.

鈥淚鈥檓 saying you can鈥檛 have it both ways. You can solve the problem though public financing and campaign spending limits. Once you even the playing field, then it can become a democracy again where a poor person can run against a rich person,鈥� he says.