In announcing its endorsements in City Council races Wednesday, leaders of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce said their political efforts do not necessarily pit them against clout-heavy labor unions.
But in several wards that appear to have hotly contested races in the Feb. 22 election, the chamber endorsed candidates who are facing union-backed opponents. Among the likely battleground wards are the 2nd, 21st, 25th and 50th.
In the 2nd Ward, the chamber endorsed challenger Genita Robinson over Robert Fioretti, who has the endorsement of the Service Employees International Union. The chamber also favors three incumbents — Howard Brookins (21st), Daniel Solis (25th) and Bernard Stone (50th) — who face SEIU-endorsed opponents.
Like the other most politically active unions, the chamber declined to issue an endorsement in the race to succeed retiring Mayor Richard M. Daley, whom the chamber all but adored. Chamber CEO Jerry Roper said the group did not take a position in the mayor’s race because many of the candidates have not sufficiently detailed their plans for dealing with the city’s budgetary problems.
He said the chamber is instead focusing on the council races in hopes of creating a new “Jobs and Growth Caucus,” which will be led by Ald. Thomas Tunney (44th). Roper said the caucus would try to streamline the city’s zoning and licensing processes and phase out the $4 a month head tax that employers pay for every employee who earns at least $900 a quarter.
Roper said his group shares common ground with labor. “It’s not always about unions versus business,” he said, adding that he believes he and Chicago Federation of Labor president Jorge Ramirez are “joined at the hip.”
A spokesman for Ramirez declined comment. But Fioretti and some other aldermen who do not have the chamber’s backing said they do not believe that the business group was not targeting them because of their ties to labor.
Told of the chamber’s endorsement of Robinson, Fioretti replied, “They never interviewed me.”
Fioretti received hefty contributions from unions in 2007, when he ousted chamber ally Madeline Haithcock. That was one of several races where union-funded candidates unseated incumbents allied with Daley and the business community.
“The unions and the chambers need to work together,” Fioretti said. “If they start working together, than we would be better off. Obviously the chamber doesn’t see it that way.”
Roper said the chamber hopes to play a dominate force in all the wards where it endorsed candidates, but the chamber so far has not been able to keep up with the fund-raising of the unions. The chamber’s political action committee closed out 2010 with about $112,000 and has raised $64,265 so far this month. Roper said he hopes other business groups will pool money into the campaign coffers of chamber-backed candidates.
Roper said he does not know if the new business-friendly political action committee For A Better Chicago has sucked up some of the donations that might have otherwise gone to the chamber. Greg Goldner, who is a former campaign manager for Daley and mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel, leads For A Better Chicago, which raised more than $850,000 in 2010, according to state documents. The new group has not disclosed its donors.
“They have been really quiet about where they’re getting their money, so I really don’t know” if they are receiving money that otherwise could have gone to the chamber, Roper said. “Listen, I think there is room out there for a lot of different movements.”
Roper told the Chicago News Cooperative that Wal-Mart, which is a member of the chamber, has not given any money to the chamber’s political action committee. The chamber worked alongside its council allies to help the big-box retailer get council approval last year for new stores in the Pullman and Chatham neighborhoods.
The chamber’s City Council endorsements:
1st Ward: Joe “Proco” Moreno
2nd: Genita C. Robinson
3rd: Pat Dowell
4th: William D. “Will” Burns
5th: Leslie Hairston
6th: Freddrenna Lyle
7th: No endorsement
8th: Michelle A. Harris
9th: Anthony A. Beale
10th: John A. Pope
11th: No Endorsement
12th: George Cardenas
13th: Marty Quinn
14th: Edward M. Burke
15th: No endorsement
16th: No endorsement
17th: Latasha R. Thomas
18th: Lona Lane
19th: Matthew J. O’Shea
20th: Willie B. Cochran
21st: Howard B. Brookins, Jr.
22nd: No endorsement
23rd: Michael R. Zalewski
24th: No endorsement
25th: Daniel “Danny” Solis
26th: Roberto Maldonado
27th: Walter Burnett, Jr.
28th: Jason C. Ervin
29th: No endorsement
30th: Ariel E. Reboyras
31st: Regner “Ray” Suarez
32nd: No endorsement
33rd: Richard F. Mell
34th: Carrie M. Austin
35th: No endorsement
36th: No endorsement
37th: Emma M. Mitts
38th: No endorsement
39th: Margaret Laurino
40th: Patrick J. O’Connor
41st: No endorsement
42nd: Brendan Reilly
43rd: Tim Egan
44th: Thomas M. Tunney
45th: No endorsement
46th: Mary Anne “Molly” Phelan
47th: No endorsement
48th: Harry Osterman
49th: No endorsement
50th: Bernard L. Stone