Firms linked to 2 men convicted of public corruption have gotten campaign business from JB Pritzker and the CTU
This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. Two political campaign firms with close ties to men with public corruption convictions have gotten business in recent years in Chicago and statewide political races, including the current, hotly contested race for Chicago School Board president and more than $1.5 million from Gov. JB Pritzker in his gubernatorial campaigns,…
Two political campaign firms with ties to men convicted of public corruption have secured business from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) in recent years, records show. One firm, formed by former Illinois Department of Children and Family Services deputy director Bamani Obadele, received over $1.2 million from Pritzker's gubernatorial campaigns and more than $420,000 for the CTU's school board race.
Another firm, linked to former Chicago City Council member Isaac "Ike" Carothers, received nearly $1 million from Pritzker's 2022 campaign. The CTU also spent over $36,000 with firms connected to Obadele, Carothers, and Karina Escobar-Perez, a campaign worker convicted of signature forgery. Obadele, Carothers, and Escobar-Perez were all convicted in 2010 for various corruption-related offenses.
Despite the allegations, all three men maintain they have paid their debt to society and continue to provide employment opportunities.
Written by urgent.news from Chalkbeat's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
