Local firms join in throwing money around to gain access

NEW YORK -- Corporate America is bankrolling splashy parties atthe Republican National Convention, buying access to national andIllinois officials at Manhattan's most spectacular venues.

Members of Congress and local lawmakers from Illinois who controlcontracts and vote on legislation are being wined and dined at eventsfrom the Rainbow Room to the Four Seasons to the Metropolitan Museumof Art to the Times Square Studio set of ABC's "Good MorningAmerica."

The Democratic National Convention in Boston last month attractedloads of special interests entertaining. The big difference is thatthe GOP pay-to-play scene in New York is dominated by big business,with very few Democratic-leaning organized labor festivities.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) is being feted at festsrunning throughout convention week in Gotham, starting with Sunday'sbrunch at the fancy Tavern on the Green in Central Park sponsored byGeneral Motors.

Today, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway is throwing alunch honoring Hastert's wife, Jean, and other GOP House spouses at arestaurant; on Tuesday, Schaumburg-based Motorola rented one of NewYork's smaller museums for a Hastert bash; on Wednesday, it's an"Irish Lunch" paid for by the lobbying firm of Akin Gump followed bya reception hosted by Union Pacific, and Thursday, SBC pays tributeto Hastert at another lunch.

Hastert is also using the convention to stroke his best donors andto promote his new autobiography, Speaker, at a party whose sponsorsinclude lobbyists whose firms do business with the House.

Rewards for top donors

And as Democrats did in Boston, the convention will be used by GOP-allied groups and newly conceived non-party groups known as 527s toraise money or reward their best donors with VIP access to MadisonSquare Garden.

Hastert's main fund-raising arm, his Keep Our Majority PoliticalAction Committee -- known as KOMPAC -- is offering a donor packagefor contributors who give at least $5,000 a year. The perks includedaily breakfasts, help in booking rooms at the city's best hotels andwrangling scarce convention credentials.

Illinois Republicans have solicited a slew of companies withinterests in the state to help pay for parties and receptions. Unlikethe Illinois Democrats in Boston, the Illinois GOP fully disclosesupfront who is paying for what in New York.

Sunday's opening night party for the Illinois delegation at theABC studio was hosted by Chicago's five La Salle Street exchanges,Amgen, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the WaltDisney Co. and Exelon.

Other events are funded by Pfizer Inc.; Altria; ComEd; RRDonnelley; the lobbying/law firms of Holland and Knight, Ungretti andHarris and Greenberg Traurig; Caterpillar; Motorola; Target, UPS andAbbott Labs.

Send-off for Fitzgerald

On Wednesday, the law firm of Mayer Brown Rowe and Maw is runningan open buffet from 6 to 11 p.m. at the legendary Sardi's onBroadway.

Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.), who decided not to seek a secondterm, is getting a send-off dinner Wednesday night hosted by theChicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

While the main job of the convention is to nominate President Bushfor a second term and give his campaign a bounce, it is also anopportunity for special interests to use exceptions in House andSenate ethics rules to entertain their "honored" lawmakers, or forcandidates to collect campaign cash.

Here is a sampling:

*Tonight, General Motors is hosting a late-night buffet and Travis Tritt performance at a bash honoring GOP Senators LamarAlexander of Tennessee; Kit Bond and Jim Talent of Missouri; ConradBurns of Montana; Norm Coleman of Minnesota; Kay Bailey Hutchinson ofTexas and Pat Roberts of Kansas.

*Donald Trump is the main draw at a fund-raiser at Trump Tower onWednesday for Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).

*JPMorgan Chase & Co. is hosting a lunch for GOP women in Congresstoday. Taking a different approach, the Chicago Board of Trade andFannie Mae are saluting the female lawmakers at separate events atthe Exhale Mind Body Spa.

*The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the setting for aDaimlerChrysler and Union Pacific funded reception to honor House andSenate leadership.