A year ago, Miguel del Valle was running for mayor. His resume was outstanding. He’d risen from blue-collar roots on Chicago’s near-northwest side to the state senate, where he was a leading liberal voice for 20 years. Five years as city clerk after that had schooled him on the workings of Chicago government. He was widely regarded as smart, industrious, and honest. His chances of winning were zero.
The who’s who of big donors to Emanuel also included Steve Jobs and his wife ($50,000 each), and Donald Trump ($50,000). Emanuel got 65 contributions of $50,000 or more. (Del Valle got none that large.) In Chicago, the big gifts to Emanuel came from the usual suspects: money managers, lawyers, and real estate and construction companies, some who had business with the city. His campaign raised more than $14 million in all—44 times what del Valle took in.
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The runoffs for the last 14 seats on the City Council were less than a month away when NCC was formed. NCC quickly raised $390,000 from contributors, which it spent mainly to help nine of the runoff candidates Emanuel favored. Seven of them won.
NCC has its sights set now on the Democratic primary next March. The PAC staged a fund-raiser in Lincoln Park last month, featuring cocktails and the mayor, and raised another $126,000. NCC currently has more than $168,000 on hand for the March elections, and could raise more before them. (“Our plans are fluid right now,” Bowen says about the possibility of additional fund-raising.)
Del Valle now chairs a statewide school council and serves on several other education boards and commissions, work he’s enjoying. “I’m focusing on what I care most about—the quality of public education in Illinois.”
And just last week the mayor created an “Ethics Reform Task Force,” charged with revamping the city’s ethics law, and named four highly regarded reformers to it. Among other things, the ethics law regulates campaign contributions.
Why would a person or business give not only to help Emanuel win office, but also to help him decide who else gets elected? It’s all about reform, Bowen says. NCC “supports candidates and organizations that believe in the reforms Mayor Emanuel promised during the campaign and is delivering on in office”—and contributors want to participate in that reform effort, he says.
