WisPolitics Budget Blog

From the Chicago Tribune

Last week one of Carlyle's founders and managing directors, David Rubenstein,appeared before the teacher fund's board of trustees to explain why his firm paid Springfield lobbyist and Republican National Committee Treasurer Robert Kjellander a $4.5 million fee.

The payment was ostensibly in exchange for work that Kjellander did to persuade the pension fund to invest $500 million with Carlyle.

While the arrangement violated no laws and was disclosed earlier by Carlyle to the teacher pension fund, it has drawn the interest of a federal grand jury in Chicago that in a different case has indicted a former teacher fund trustee, Stuart Levine, and two Chicago lawyers, Joe Cari and Steven Loren.

Federal investigators recently subpoenaed the pension fund's records of its Carlyle investments and interaction with Kjellander. Ullman said Carlyle has not been subpoenaed, but "we have reached out to the prosecutors to offer our assistance if they seek it."

Two things to be concerned with; (A) Why and how does a GOP national committeeman remain with title when he is collecting huge finders fees based on deals with a Democrat Governor? And, (B) When such obnoxious fees are claimed and paid, expect the feds to knock on doors, looking to see who might have been greased on the inside.

from the Sun Times

This, an interesting political maneuver amidst a GOP primary for governor; attack your own Party leadership.

On the upside for State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Steve Rauschenberger -- none of that $4.5 million paid to Bob Kjellander will find its way to Rauschenberger's campaign account. No need for the feds to look at Rauschenberger.

In an interview with the Sun-Times, Kjellander called Rauschenberger "holier than thou," a "hypocrite" and an "also-ran" who is "not going anywhere." But he denied he was trying to force him from the race.

"I am trying to send him a message: Quit soliciting me," Kjellander said. "He runs around the state attacking me for being a lobbyist, and yet my office gets inundated with requests from him for money. All us evil lobbyists, we're not good enough to hold office, but we're good enough to solicit money from."

Rauschenberger insisted that Kjellander is only in politics for "personal gain."