[I took this story down earlier this morning so I could check on some questions raised in comments, but I’m reposting it now with some additional information which confirms its authenticity.]

* While the biggest mayoral story by far yesterday was Karen Lewis taking herself out of the race (which we’ll discuss later), a completely unnoticed press release from a little-known gadfly had almost as much of an impact. From William Kelly…

Today, I am donating $100,000 to my mayoral campaign against Mayor Rahm Emanuel. I am taking this step because we have a historic opportunity to reclaim the City of Chicago from the clutches of Mayor Rahm Emanuel - the most unpopular mayor in Chicago’s storied history.

I will not stand idly by while Rahm continues his march to destroy our city from within.

But I need YOUR HELP. Will you match my donation with your most generous contribution of $25, $50, $100, $250 or whatever amount you can afford now and help me raise $100,000 to defeat Rahm?

* Kelly did, indeed, contribute $100,000 to his own campaign…

In addition to that contribution, Kelly kicked in $7,441.48 back in July. So, that new contribution means he has busted the contributions cap. From the Illinois State Board of Elections…

A candidate or public official is considered “self-funding” if, during the 12 months prior to an election, the candidate or public official or their immediate family contributes, loans, or makes independent expenditures in support of or opposition to the candidate, in aggregate, totaling more than $250,000 (for statewide offices) or $100,000 (for all other elective offices) to the candidate or public official’s political committee or to other political committees that transfer funds to the candidate’s committee.

Unreal. Kelly just opened the Rahm floodgates.

* A friend reacts…

Every donor in Chicago hates William Kelly right now

True.

Maybe the mayor will be magnanimous and stay within the caps regardless. I mean, with Lewis out, it’s not like he’ll need to rai… Oh, who am I kidding?

       

55 Comments - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:08 am: Nothing like making your opponent’s greatest asset unlimited early enough to make your $100K the most Dopey way to prove a point. William J Kelly’s hubris is only matched by his ignorance. - Meanderthal - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:08 am: Isn’t this the old trick where you play hokey pokey with the money? Put it in on Tuesday to make a splash then take it out on Wednesday while no one is looking? - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:10 am: ===Isn’t this the old trick where you play hokey pokey with the money?=== Could be, but I have to believe, once the seal is broken by getting past the $100K, the die is cast. Even more ignorant if he takes it back out and doesn’t use it. - admin - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:16 am: Hypocritical to slam Kelly for donating to his campaign especially with Rauner’s massive self-funded campaign - the ultimate in hubris - and Rahm’s bundled contributions. Or do you only root for the corrupt insiders who have wrecked this state? I suppose classism really does reign. - Under Further Review - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:21 am: Where did this guy come from? I marvel at this ability to earn a living and find radio and television outlets that will air his “Wayne’s World” quality productions. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:22 am: ===Hypocritical to slam Kelly for donating to his campaign especially with Rauner’s massive self-funded campaign - the ultimate in hubris - and Rahm’s bundled contributions.=== Can Kelly dump $17 million of his personal wealth to keep up? Nope. Thus the hubris and ignorance. When Rahm gets $250k in a weekend, is Kelly, personally, going to match. No. Plus, being Kelly’s own money to get into an arms race he personally can’t fund to win, it’s so comical, it’s as funny as when he chased down Quinnocchio. - admin - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:22 am: Upon Further Review: You sound jealous. LOL. - Wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:23 am: I smell a rat here. Something’s not right. Cui bono? - OneMan - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:30 am: Oops… On the other hand, I suspect Rahm has sent Kelly a lovely fruit basket. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:32 am: - Wordslinger -, I thought about it, but Kelly is a patsy to the the hidden hand, and it benefits Rahm more than Fioretti or Kelly combined. Is Kelly more of a patsy, or more ego-driven, doing without thinking? That is the question to be reconciled. - 47th Ward - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:32 am: ===I took this story down earlier this morning so I could check on some questions raised in comments=== I thought maybe a lawsuit was threatened over some of the comments, lol. Kelly can be a bit sensitive. And litigious. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:34 am: ==it’s as funny as when he chased down Quinnocchio== Yes sir. Everyone is laughing except for him. He got some free press, and when he fails to gather enough signatures, gets kicked off the ballot, or loses miserably he will pay back is 100K loan. - Anonymoiis - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:39 am: ==Hypocritical== Rauner is donating money to his campaign that has a chance of winning. Kelly has zero chance. Zilch. - Snucka - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:43 am: At first glance it seems to only help Rahm. That said, the unions could conceivably go all in to help Fioretti. If they do, they can now give unlimited cash directly to his campaign. With caps on, there would be very little chance that Fioretti could raise enough money to be competitive. And hey, maybe Kelly will catch fire and sweep to victory. (LOL) - Steve - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:47 am: Will Rahm Emanuel have to answer more question about Freddie Mac’S corrupt accounting? William Kelly tried to get an answer once. How about twice? http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2010/11/16/Rahm-Refuses-to-Answer-Conservative-Reporter—s-Freddie-Mac-Question - Nieva - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:53 am: So what it all comes down to is you can’t be elected to any major office without millions to spend. Then this country has come down to being run only by money be it from the left or right pocket. - admin - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:56 am: Snucka, you are correct. With the caps on none of Rahm’s opponents have a shot. Not with the money Rahm has already raised. With the caps off, there is hope to rid the city of Rahm. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 12:04 pm: ===With the caps on none of Rahm’s opponents have a shot. Not with the money Rahm has already raised. With the caps off, there is hope to rid the city of Rahm.=== So the $100K is intended to open the floodgates of all the money William Kelly is going to get? How pathetic will it be that the $100K Kelly gave himself, could very well be the largest donation Kelly gets? You don’t break the seal if you’re Kelly unless you know $1, $2, $3 million is on the sidelines for him. If Kelly did this for Fioretti, all those big checks promised to Fioretti better get there fast, Rahm is taking names, to see whose with who, and the spending will begin. If thus us to get CTU money to commit to “anyone but Rahm”, the Union is going to be pretty sure they can take Rahm out before committing seven-figures to anyone who will lose by 10 points. Amateur hour on October 14th - Chicago Cynic - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 12:06 pm: Wow - brilliant William Kelly. Demonstrating as much intelligence with his “campaign” as he does as a commenter here on the board. - Percival - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 12:07 pm: Does it count if the check bounces? - IrishPirate - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 12:15 pm: The importance of money in the mayoral race is exaggerated. The more important thing is a candidate that can be taken seriously and maybe 2 million dollars. Gotta find the first then look for the money. Rahm is a damn good unifier. He has taken virtually every group and community in this city and united them in disdain for his sparkling personality. Many of the things he’s done have been unfortunately necessary, closing schools, but he’s been such a jerk about it. Then proposing new magnet high schools on the north side and naming one after the President.. dumb. That and renaming Stony Island come off as ignorant pandering. There was a line about the first Mayor Daley. Went something like this: He gave the Poles a Street–Renamed Crawford to Pulaski. He gave the Italians a statue–Balbo. He gave the Jews a few judgeships and he kept most of the jobs for the Irish. That’s how Rahm comes off to many people. Find the serious candidate and worry about the money later. I’m unsure if Fioretti can do it. I haven’t seen enough of him to judge. - Gooner - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 12:19 pm: In all seriousness, does Bill Kelly have a real job? This is a heck of a lot of money for a person who does not appear to have much. I’m the last person to toss out conspiracy theories, but this sure seems to help Fioretti. Rahm was going to be able to raise big money regardless of caps. Fioretti is going to have to find a few big donors. It just seems that something is up between those two. It will be curious to see if Kelly even gets on the ballot. - mail guy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 12:26 pm: So his donation is at least 1/4 of the value of his condo. Unless he rents in his building. hmm - LincolnLounger - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 12:30 pm: So the guy who couldn’t get elected GOP Committeeman in his ward thinks he can be mayor? Right. - Knome Sane - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 12:36 pm: OK, we now know that William Kelly has set the amount of $100,000 as the price he will pay to get people to tlak about him. Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not post any more to this or any thread about him. It’s what he wants. Don’t feed the egomaniac! - The Captain - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 12:54 pm: It’s line “3A” that means it’s a loan. He could legally spend all of it and forgive the loan but more likely it’s just a fundraising ploy and none of that money ever gets spent. - anon - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 12:56 pm: Gooner, I would say Kelly probably has a job more real than Joe Walsh or Dan Proft who have had their radio contracts paid for by Dick Uihlein. At least Kelly works for it. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 12:59 pm: ===I would say Kelly probably has a job more real than Joe Walsh or Dan Proft who have had their radio contracts paid for by Dick Uihlein. At least Kelly works for it.=== Then I look forward to tax returns… - Angry Chicagoan - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:02 pm: Well, that’s the election effectively over with. But it has been a long time since Illinois Republicans, either the organization ones or the rebels or the gadflies or the just plain loopy ones, have distinguished themselves with an appreciation for how politics and governing actually work. Quinn re-elected and Emanuel with a free pass. Who’d have thunk it six months ago? But it increasingly looks likely. In their own way, Kelly and Rauner are the heirs to the legislative leadership in 1995 that gave the Chicago mayor control over CPS and abolished partisan elections in the city. That moved looked pretty good — in a cursory textbook chapter on “good governance.” In reality, they effectively dismantled any base for GOP organizing, or possibly even any real anti-organization organizing, in Chicago, and the GOP has been at an institutionalized disadvantage in Illinois ever since. - Leprechaun - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:03 pm: The check either bounces or he shook somebody down. This guy hasn’t had a real job in years. - Anonymoiis - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:13 pm: ==OK, we now know that William Kelly has set the amount of $100,000 as the price he will pay to get people to tlak about him.== I’m more interested in the price for people to not talk about him - anon - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:16 pm: Oswego Willy - you mean Joe Walsh’s, Dan Proft’s, John Tillman’s or Dick Uihlein’s? Yeah, that makes two of us. - Cheswick - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:16 pm: Why do I suddenly feel like William J. Kelly, with all his little quippy quips on these pages over the last year, give or take, is a plant. - anon - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:18 pm: Cheswick, probably because you are a plant. LOL - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:18 pm: - anon. -, none of those three will be running for Mayor. William J. Kelly will be. I look forward to finding out Kelly’s taxes… Aren’t you personally interested? - Chicago Cynic - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:20 pm: Unless you have access to somebody’s bank accounts, you don’t really know what they have…or their family. - OneMan - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:26 pm: If you ‘blow the caps’ and end up not on the ballot are the caps blown? Do you just have to create a committee to ‘blow the caps’ in a race? - A guy... - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:39 pm: The real story here might be who needs to be repaid most or all of that $100K. But that’s just me being cynical. - A guy... - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:40 pm: And he may be hoping this is enough of an “ante” to get into televised debates. - anon - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:45 pm: Oswego, I don’t think Kelly has any regard for the Chicago media now. I certainly don’t. If I were him, I wouldn’t give a hoot about the bias on capfax or in the media. - Soccermom - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:47 pm: One Man, I like the way you think… - Gooner - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:53 pm: Anon 12:56, If he’s making money, he sure doesn’t seem to be spending it on housing. That building is OK based on location (assuming a south view) but overall it is far from the nicer buildings in the area. It has seen better days. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:59 pm: ===Oswego, I don’t think Kelly has any regard for the Chicago media now. I certainly don’t. If I were him, I wouldn’t give a hoot about the bias on capfax or in the media.=== I asked… === I look forward to finding out Kelly’s taxes… Aren’t you personally interested?=== William J. Kelly was here before, he can speak for himself, what do you think, interested in Kelly’s taxes? - ZC - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 2:03 pm: Agreed with those who argue this does -not- on net help Rahm. Fioretti’s only hope is a liberal angel swoops in and makes a massive cash infusion on his behalf. Sure Rahm will raise a ton more but he was always going to do that. The only way anyone is going to be slightly competitive with him is if he / she gets a George Soros style patron. - Century Club - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 2:18 pm: My first reaction was similar to others here, but let’s remember, Rahm was always too good to not have the resources he needed for his campaign. There are just too many ways around the caps, and he had an $8 million head start. Didn’t the independent expenditure PAC supporting him pull down $1 million in a week? It will make it easier for him, but I don’t think it fundamentally changes the dynamic. - ritab - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 3:11 pm: Got it! Thanks for the update. - anon - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 3:22 pm: ZC and Century Club have it right. Finally someone’s saying it. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 5:30 pm: - anon -, I can’t wait to see William J Kelly’s tax returns, how about you? I put the over/under of checks over $100K to Kelly’s campaign at “1 1/2″ So, either Fioretti has to sell this idea he can make it a race, one-on-run with Rahm, or Kelly utterly destroyed his and Fioretti’s chances, either as a Patsy or unwittingly. Either way the hubris and ignorance is of the high order. - TT - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 5:56 pm: Did any think he may have done this because he knew everyone would be talking about it and he would get free publicity out of it? - Under Further Review - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 7:37 pm: Mayor Ed Kelly (who served from 1933-1947) renamed Crawford Avenue as Pulaski Road. To double down, Chicago also designated a stretch of Pulaski Road as an honorary street named for “Casimir Pulaski.” - anon - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 7:50 pm: Oswego you seem to be living in a state of intense hatred for Kelly. Why so personal? Why not direct that hatred towards Illinois politicians who have injured the people so thoroughly? - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 8:06 pm: - anon -, Kelly is the only person who can get me to vote for Rauner. Says it all right there. Are you as excited to see his tax returns? - Michael Westen - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 8:46 pm: You are right OW. It does say it all. Sad on you. Sad on you. Your last statement displays a state of ignorance only matched by it’s hubris (see what I did there). Very unbecoming of you. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 9:28 pm: - Michael Westen - If I’m judged by that belief, I can live with that. lol - anon - Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 11:41 pm: Two words: koch brothers…. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.