Among the signatories are Google, which announced this year it was moving its Motorola Mobility unit downtown; Morningstar founder Joe Mansueto; PrivateBancorp Inc. Chairman Norman Bobins; and online daily deal pioneer Groupon.
Over the weekend, President Barack Obama signaled his support, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his top corporate adviser, Michael Sacks, are among those asking CEOs to sign the letter. Emanuel said he also will be speaking with legislators.
"I've called anywhere from nine to a dozen (CEOs)," Emanuel said in an interview. "And everybody is a personal 'yes.' Some are a 'yes,' and don't worry about it. Others are a 'yes,' but they have to go check (the letter), and run it up and down their boards because they work for publicly traded companies. ... They have some internal work to do to get to a 'yes.'"
The most important corporate backer may be Fred Eychaner, the Chicago media mogul and arts champion who, according to a source, is the primary funder for the public relations campaign, which is managed by ASGK Public Strategies.
Eychaner appears to be the largest Democratic donor in the 2012 election cycle, giving $14 million, The New York Times reported this month. He is openly gay. According to another source, another funder of the gay marriage effort is Laura Ricketts, a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, who set a goal of raising $1 million for Obama this election cycle. She also is openly gay.
"While the president does not weigh in on every measure being considered by state legislatures, he believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect," White House spokesman Shin Inouye told the Chicago Sun-Times, which first reported the President's comments. "As he has said, his personal view is that it's wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships, and want to marry, from doing so. Were the President still in the Illinois State Legislature, he would support this measure that would treat all Illinois couples equally."
David Horwich, a spokesman for Eychaner, declined to comment. ASGK declined to release a copy of the letter from corporate supporters, but a draft obtained by the Tribune argues that gay marriage is the "pro-jobs, pro-growth thing to do."
"Since human capital drives innovation and growth, a state must foster an environment where people want to live," the letter reads. "To be competitive, a state must create an equitable, fair and respectful environment for all its citizens." It also notes that it would increase sales and hotel tax receipts and revenue for the wedding industry.
State Sen. Heather Steans and State Rep. Greg Harris are preparing to introduce legislation during the coming lame-duck session, a short window before newly elected lawmakers are sworn inJan. 9. Steans said they would not call for a vote unless they had lined up enough support for it to pass.
The letter's release would mark at least the third press event in ASGK's carefully orchestrated media campaign, which included the Dec. 23 release of another endorsement letter signed by more than 250 Illinois clergy.
Equality Illinois, the ACLU and Lambda Legal officially release the letters under the banner Illinois Unites for Marriage. The three groups also led the successful 2010-2011 campaign to recognize civil unions in the state.
But ASGK's behind-the-scenes role is new, and the trio of nonprofits is not paying what must be a significant sum for ASGK's services. (David Axelrod co-founded ASGK and then sold his stake in 2009 after becoming a top White House adviser to Obama. Eric Sedler is managing partner.)
Eric Herman, a managing director of ASGK, declined to reveal the identity of the client funding the public relations effort.
"There are many active funders of LGBT causes," Herman wrote. "Beyond that, we have to respect client confidentiality."
Mitchell Locin, a media liaison for Equality Illinois, said discussions among coalition members began after the November elections when voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington legalized gay marriage. Minnesota voters also struck down a constitutional amendment that would have banned it.
Locin said corporate support was key in New York, which legalized gay marriage in 2011, and subsequently in Washington state, where Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife donated $2.5 million to the referendum.
"Corporate support provides both financial support and also moral support -- because you can make a business case" for gay marriage, Locin said.
Mansueto, who also owns Fast Company and Inc. magazines, said Steans emailed him asking for his signature. Their daughters attend the same school.
"It struck me as the right thing to do," Mansueto said in an interview. "My view is that if two people want to commit to each other, gender is not relevant. ... Having more families and households in society is a good thing."
As a self-made billionaire, Mansueto, however, has far greater freedom than other corporate leaders who have been approached.
"Sometimes they definitely do have to go to their boards," Steans said. "So time works against us. And if they have obvious competitors in the same industry group -- and if they're not also (supporting same-sex marriage) at the same time -- it can be more of a challenge. Businesses are always looking around at what their competitors are doing."
(c)2012 Chicago Tribune
