Is Illinois Exporting Corruption Into Missouri?

Across America, taxpayers are concerned about politicians rigging the system. In many cases this looks like a “friends and family plan” in which the close associates of politicians get special favors and perks. A prime example is the campaign fund of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. During the 2015 mayor’s race, our team at OpenTheBooks.com found 600 Emanuel donors who contributed $7 million in campaign cash (2011-2014) while their affiliated companies received $2 billion in city payments (since 2002).
Emanuel was hardly the first Illinois politician to engage in “pay to play” politics. In 2008, the Chicago Tribune found that 235 individuals made donations of exactly $25,000 to then-Governor Rod Blagojevich’s campaign and discovered that “3 of 4 donations came from companies or interest groups who got something.”
If Missouri Sen. Kurt Schaefer’s (R-Columbia) campaign for Attorney General is any guide, it looks like the “Show Me” state may be following in Illinois’ footsteps.
Our investigators at OpenTheBooks.com have discovered that, since 2008, Schaefer raised $720,000 in campaign cash from 271 individual donors and their affiliated companies that also received $3.1 billion in state payments.
Read More http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2016/07/06/is-illinois-exporting-corruption-into-missouri/#72a020ef6162