Thursday, August 31, 2006
Dan Proft’s Company Does Well in Political Game
8/31/6 - McHenry County Blog decided to take a look at what Dan Proft has received from Illinois politicians and guess what?
If you look up his name, you find not one dollar reported expended on his services.
Proft, you may remember is the one who helped recruit Alan Keyes to replace Jack Ryan, both of whose campaigns he worked on in 2004.
He started Illinois Leader, along with Brian Timpone, and allowed editor Fran Eaton to build it up to 500,000 hits a week and, then, killed it.
But, look up his company, Urquhart Media, and you’ll find it has been paid $316,585.65 since mid-March of 2005.
And, if you add in Starfish Consulting, Proft’s former company, there’s another $188,392.11, going back to the 2000 re-election campaign of State Rep. Beth Coulson.
Since that’s a healthy sum, I decided to look at the details for Urquhart.
Proft is, of course, orchestrating the Tony Peraica for Cook County Board President campaign.
The first payment for Urquhart (of $12,000) shows up on March 18, 2005, from Citizens for Peraica. In all, Peraica has paid the firm $86,172.95.
Since then through the end of June, Peraica has spent $256,012.25. That means Proft’s firm managed to garner fully one-third of every dollar Peraica has spent on his campaign.
Proft also worked for Steve Rauschenberger’s gubernatorial campaign. For that, his firm received $158,057.63.
Calculating what percentage was spent on his firm’s services and including only the time since Urquhart first got paid, all expenditures amount to $1,046,583.6, while Urquhart’s percentage is over 15% of the total.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron Gidwitz also paid Urquhart $35,667.94 after Rauschenberger became his running mate. $29,667.94 was paid through Ron Gidwitz for Governor, while $6,000 came through The Illinois Turnaround Team. Gidwitz paid Starfish Consulting $12,000, as well.
Urquhart also provided $20,973.50 worth of brochures for the Aurora Township Republican Team in 2005.
The Cicero committee was the final one, and the one for which Proft got the most publicity, but got paid least. Just $5,695 is listed as paid to Urquhart.
Of course, Proft is making almost $100,000 for the job of being its spokesman now.
Proft was also active in Blue Island’s 2005 municipal elections. He received $4,084 through Starfish from The Coalition Party, a.k.a,, The Progressive Party.
The Downers Grove Information Network, an pro-Home Rule group, paid him $10,018.63 this past spring and won its referendum 3-1.
And the income enumerated does not include any fees from placing advertising nor does it include anything earned for the Jack Ryan and Alan Keyes for U.S. Senate campaigns in Illinois.
= = = = =
Dan Proft has pointed out some errors, which I am happy to correct.
Proft did not work for current Wal-Mart basher Chicago Alderman Joe Moore, as I reported in the original version of this story. (You can read the original version here. )
When I searched for his consulting firm “Starfish” under campaign expenditures on the State Board of Elections web site, the earliest of the $188, 692.11 (53 entries) was from a different Starfish, which provided $300 of “community relations-picnic entertain, Moore Citizens for Joe.”
I have taken that part of the paragraph out. I shall also subtract the $300 from Starfish’s total revenue from politicians reporting to the State Board and insert its earliest reported client, which I was trying to do in the first place--the 2000 re-election campaign of State Rep. Beth Coulson.
An editing error, which Proft did not mention, resulted in Proft’s almost $100,000 job with Cicero being placed under a paragraph about Blue Island. The sentence has been moved up so it is under the Cicero sentence.
With regard to his Blue Island assistance via Starfish, Proft complained about my mentioning “The Progressive Party.”
He is apparently unaware what is on the State Board of Elections website. I shall reproduce it here. It says, “The Coalition Party, aka, The Progressive Party.” So, that was not an error. (The State Board of Elections tries to link previous campaign committees to current committees, if the same candidates are involved.)
Proft points out that the Downers Grove effort was in support of Home Rule, not in opposition and his side won 3-1. I have corrected the article.
And, he points out that I misspelled “Urquhart.” Yep, I did…twice, first, in the paragraph about Urquhart’s having gotten 15% of the money that GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Rauschenberger spent since signing him up to advise the campaign, and, second, in the paragraph about the $47,667.94 his two firms later received from Republican candidate for governor, Ron Gidwitz.
But I got it right more (5) times. (I also misspelled ”Blagojevich” until I had typed it numerous times. See previous mea culpa on spelling. I did, however, manage to spell “Urquhart” correctly for the State Board of Elections search engine.)
For more McHenry County Blog, click here.
If you look up his name, you find not one dollar reported expended on his services.
Proft, you may remember is the one who helped recruit Alan Keyes to replace Jack Ryan, both of whose campaigns he worked on in 2004.
He started Illinois Leader, along with Brian Timpone, and allowed editor Fran Eaton to build it up to 500,000 hits a week and, then, killed it. But, look up his company, Urquhart Media, and you’ll find it has been paid $316,585.65 since mid-March of 2005.
And, if you add in Starfish Consulting, Proft’s former company, there’s another $188,392.11, going back to the 2000 re-election campaign of State Rep. Beth Coulson.
Since that’s a healthy sum, I decided to look at the details for Urquhart.
Proft is, of course, orchestrating the Tony Peraica for Cook County Board President campaign.
The first payment for Urquhart (of $12,000) shows up on March 18, 2005, from Citizens for Peraica. In all, Peraica has paid the firm $86,172.95.
Since then through the end of June, Peraica has spent $256,012.25. That means Proft’s firm managed to garner fully one-third of every dollar Peraica has spent on his campaign.
Proft also worked for Steve Rauschenberger’s gubernatorial campaign. For that, his firm received $158,057.63.
Calculating what percentage was spent on his firm’s services and including only the time since Urquhart first got paid, all expenditures amount to $1,046,583.6, while Urquhart’s percentage is over 15% of the total.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron Gidwitz also paid Urquhart $35,667.94 after Rauschenberger became his running mate. $29,667.94 was paid through Ron Gidwitz for Governor, while $6,000 came through The Illinois Turnaround Team. Gidwitz paid Starfish Consulting $12,000, as well.
Urquhart also provided $20,973.50 worth of brochures for the Aurora Township Republican Team in 2005.
The Cicero committee was the final one, and the one for which Proft got the most publicity, but got paid least. Just $5,695 is listed as paid to Urquhart.
Of course, Proft is making almost $100,000 for the job of being its spokesman now.
Proft was also active in Blue Island’s 2005 municipal elections. He received $4,084 through Starfish from The Coalition Party, a.k.a,, The Progressive Party.
The Downers Grove Information Network, an pro-Home Rule group, paid him $10,018.63 this past spring and won its referendum 3-1.
And the income enumerated does not include any fees from placing advertising nor does it include anything earned for the Jack Ryan and Alan Keyes for U.S. Senate campaigns in Illinois.
= = = = =
Dan Proft has pointed out some errors, which I am happy to correct.
Proft did not work for current Wal-Mart basher Chicago Alderman Joe Moore, as I reported in the original version of this story. (You can read the original version here. )
When I searched for his consulting firm “Starfish” under campaign expenditures on the State Board of Elections web site, the earliest of the $188, 692.11 (53 entries) was from a different Starfish, which provided $300 of “community relations-picnic entertain, Moore Citizens for Joe.”
I have taken that part of the paragraph out. I shall also subtract the $300 from Starfish’s total revenue from politicians reporting to the State Board and insert its earliest reported client, which I was trying to do in the first place--the 2000 re-election campaign of State Rep. Beth Coulson.
An editing error, which Proft did not mention, resulted in Proft’s almost $100,000 job with Cicero being placed under a paragraph about Blue Island. The sentence has been moved up so it is under the Cicero sentence.
With regard to his Blue Island assistance via Starfish, Proft complained about my mentioning “The Progressive Party.”
He is apparently unaware what is on the State Board of Elections website. I shall reproduce it here. It says, “The Coalition Party, aka, The Progressive Party.” So, that was not an error. (The State Board of Elections tries to link previous campaign committees to current committees, if the same candidates are involved.)Proft points out that the Downers Grove effort was in support of Home Rule, not in opposition and his side won 3-1. I have corrected the article.
And, he points out that I misspelled “Urquhart.” Yep, I did…twice, first, in the paragraph about Urquhart’s having gotten 15% of the money that GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Rauschenberger spent since signing him up to advise the campaign, and, second, in the paragraph about the $47,667.94 his two firms later received from Republican candidate for governor, Ron Gidwitz.
But I got it right more (5) times. (I also misspelled ”Blagojevich” until I had typed it numerous times. See previous mea culpa on spelling. I did, however, manage to spell “Urquhart” correctly for the State Board of Elections search engine.)
For more McHenry County Blog, click here.
Comments:
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Cal, Cal, Cal,
This is the same problem we always had with you at the Leader...bad on facts, lazy on doing homework (and frankly, can't write).
But since you've taken such an interest in me:
Joe Moore? Sorry, never worked for Joe Moore. The sum total of my life contact with Ald. Joe Moore was a five minute interview of him I did last week when I guest hosted the Scott Thomas show.
Downers Grove Information Network? Actually, Cal, that was the pro-home rule campaign committee for whom I did work and we won the referendum to maintain home rule in Downers Grove by a 3:1 margin.
Also, you missed a bunch of other clients...you should check FEC reports too but, again, that would require thoroughness, doing one's homework, getting actual facts...all the things you clearly find so inconvenient as to dispense with them entirely.
For someone who had vicious rumors spread about them once upon a time, one would think you would be more careful with your facts. But, alas...
Anyway, yes, we at Urquhart are doing very well and happily so. Thus, thank you for the acknowledgement, even if the underlying facts are a bit off.
Regards,
Dan Proft
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This is the same problem we always had with you at the Leader...bad on facts, lazy on doing homework (and frankly, can't write).
But since you've taken such an interest in me:
Joe Moore? Sorry, never worked for Joe Moore. The sum total of my life contact with Ald. Joe Moore was a five minute interview of him I did last week when I guest hosted the Scott Thomas show.
Downers Grove Information Network? Actually, Cal, that was the pro-home rule campaign committee for whom I did work and we won the referendum to maintain home rule in Downers Grove by a 3:1 margin.
Also, you missed a bunch of other clients...you should check FEC reports too but, again, that would require thoroughness, doing one's homework, getting actual facts...all the things you clearly find so inconvenient as to dispense with them entirely.
For someone who had vicious rumors spread about them once upon a time, one would think you would be more careful with your facts. But, alas...
Anyway, yes, we at Urquhart are doing very well and happily so. Thus, thank you for the acknowledgement, even if the underlying facts are a bit off.
Regards,
Dan Proft
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