These heavy hitters got between 15 minutes and—gasp!—more than an hour with Mayor Rahm Emanuel (either by phone or in person) in June, July, and August. Some of them happen to have contributed to his campaign as well—anywhere between a grand and half a mil:
Jeff Aronin
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CEO of Paragon, a pharmaceutical company. Donated $25,000 to Emanuel’s mayoral campaign. Appointed by Emanuel to the board of World Business Chicago, a city economic development organization. June 28, 15 minutes.
Lawrence Bender
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Hollywood movie producer, including most of Quentin Tarantino’s films. Early supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential bid. July 19, 30 minutes.
Bob Clark
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Chairman and CEO of Clayco, a real estate and construction firm. Clark gave $50,000 to Emanuel’s mayoral campaign. June 15, 45 minutes.
Bob Clifford
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Chicago-based trial lawyer. Gave $25,000 to Emanuel’s campaign. August 12, 15 minutes.
John Coli
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President of Teamsters Joint Council 25. The Teamsters contributed about $45,000 to Emanuel’s campaign. Coli served on Emanuel’s inauguration team. June 1, 45 minutes.
Luol Deng
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$12-million-a-year forward for the Chicago Bulls. August 3, 45 minutes.
William Downe
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President and CEO of BMO financial group, formerly known as the Bank of Montreal. Made more than $10 million last year. July 18, 50 minutes.
Mark Furlong
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President and CEO of Harris Bank. Made $24 million last year. Donor to Republican Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. July 18, 50 minutes.
Larry Fink
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Chairman and CEO of BlackRock, a money-management firm that oversees an estimated $12 trillion in assets worldwide. Fink earned about $24 million in 2010 and donated $25,000 of it to Emanuel’s mayoral bid. June 9, 30 minutes.
Howard Gottlieb
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A retired partner at the Glen Eagle Partners investment firm, Gottlieb serves on President Barack Obama’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. He kicked in $100,000 to Emanuel’s mayoral campaign. June 13, 30 minutes.
Hermene Hartman
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President and CEO of Hartman Publishing Group, which produces the weekly newspaper N’Digo. She was one of the most prominent black business leaders to endorse Emanuel. June 22, 15 minutes.
David Heller
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President of Advisory Research Inc., an investment adviser. Heller and his wife, Diane, each gave Emanuel’s mayoral campaign $100,000. June 22, 30 minutes.
Larry Huggins
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CEO of Riteway-Huggins Construction, which has received millions of dollars in city contracts. Acting chairman of the Metra board of directors. July 29, 30 minutes.
Marc Lasry
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Billionaire CEO of Avenue Capital Group, a hedge fund. He and his wife, Cathy, each gave Emanuel’s campaign $50,000. June 30, 15 minutes.
Andrew Liveris
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CEO of the Dow Chemical Company. Earned more than $21 million last year. July 14, one hour.
Andrew Mason
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Founder and CEO of Groupon. August 12, 45 minutes.
Tim Mullen
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Private investor. Big fan of Chicago mayors: gave $100,000 to Richard M. Daley in 2006 and $105,000 to Emanuel in late 2010 and early 2011. Served on Emanuel’s inauguration committee. June 6, one hour.
Jorge Ramirez
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President of the Chicago Federation of Labor, which includes most major unions in the area. The CFL made no endorsements in the mayoral election. Ramirez has been in negotiations with city officials about city work rules, layoffs, and privatized recycling pickup. Two meetings: June 2, 30 minutes; June 28, 45 minutes.
Bruce Rauner
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Principal and chairman of GTCR, a private equity firm. In 2001 Emanuel worked with Rauner on a deal with SBC Communications, then led by William Daley, an Emanuel friend and brother of then mayor Richard M. Daley. Rauner helped fund the creation of four Chicago charter schools. His wife, Diana, served on Emanuel’s education transition team. Rauner is reportedly mulling a run for governor as a Republican. Two meetings: June 22, 30 minutes; July 19, 45 minutes.
Jerry Reinsdorf
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Owner of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox. Donated $5,000 to Emanuel’s mayoral campaign. August 15, 45 minutes.
Stephen Ross
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CEO and founder of the Related Companies, a New York-based real estate development company. Owner of the Miami Dolphins. Not a fan of unions. “The unions have kind of exceeded their bounds,” he told the Palm Beach Post earlier this year. “Every single industry that is union dominated, those companies are in trouble.” June 30, 15 minutes.
Haim Saban
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Movie producer—he was behind the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers—and major supporter of Israel. He and his wife, Cheryl, gave a combined $521,000 to Emanuel’s campaign for mayor. July 12, 30 minutes (by phone).
Michael Sacks
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CEO of Grosvenor Capital Management, a hedge fund firm. Sacks is Emanuel’s handpicked vice-chairman of World Business Chicago, a city economic development organization. Grosvenor employees and family members donated at least $500,000 to Emanuel’s mayoral bid. June 9, 30 minutes.
Mike Scimo
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Managing director of the Chicago office of Accenture, a consulting firm specializing in outsourcing. Scimo donated $1,000 to Emanuel’s campaign. On August 18, the mayor announced that he had hired the company to help the city review its contracting procedures. Earlier this month the company announced it was adding 500 jobs in Chicago. August 9, one hour.
Tom Villanova
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President of the Chicago and Cook County Building and Construction Trades Council. Villanova served on the mayor’s transition team and has come under fire for collecting a $108,000-a-year city pension on top of his $198,000 annual salary as a union boss. June 28, 45 minutes.