* Crain’s headline on a Bloomberg story…
Three key reasons Ken Griffin picked Irvin for governor: Location, location, location
* From the story…
You’d never guess that wealth and power in America converge here, at the intersection of Diehl and Eola roads, off Interstate 88, west of Chicago.
But not everything is as it seems in Aurora, Illinois. […]
The Citadel chief’s pick for Illinois: none other than Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin. So far, Griffin has pledged $20 million to Irvin’s campaign, the rough equivalent of half the money he’s sunk into the midterm elections.
Griffin, 53, is a major donor to Republicans nationwide and has begun to hint at political ambitions of his own. But Aurora has a special meaning to Citadel and other financial firms because the city is home to a massive exchange.
While the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is headquartered more than 30 miles away, virtually all the trading happens between computers here in a data center on Diehl Road. Dish antennas attached to towers are crucial to making this work and enabling firms to keep pace with rivals. That’s because the antennas beam buy and sell orders to other financial markets in Chicago, the U.S. East Coast and elsewhere around the globe.
There’s a whole lot more to this, including a Griffin spokesperson claiming this is all a “conspiracy theory,” so go read the rest.
* Democratic Party of Illinois…
A new report today from Bloomberg builds on reporting from WTTW about the deep pay-to-play connections between Richard Irvin, Ken Griffin, Aurora telecommunications firm Scientel Solutions, and Griffin’s hedge fund, Citadel.
According to Bloomberg, Irvin helped clear the way for Scientel to build a communications tower close to a Chicago Mercantile Exchange data center in Aurora over the objections of the city council. The tower was widely believed to be constructed to support Citadel’s wireless network, and its location would give Citadel an advantage over its competitors in its trading activity.
Irvin has raked in at least $135,000 in Scientel-related campaign cash and even traveled on a private plane to Mexico with Scientel’s leadership. Scientel has in turn received millions of dollars’ worth of contracts from the city of Aurora under Irvin’s watch. Meanwhile, Citadel’s hedge fund and market making operations have exploded in value, adding billions to Griffin’s net worth.
Now, Irvin is trying to take this pay-to-play gameplan from the mayor’s office the governor’s office, as he has collected $20 million from Griffin in the first few months of his gubernatorial campaign.
Griffin claims he only became aware of Irvin “months ago,” but reporting demonstrates Citadel had a longstanding interest in Irvin and his actions in Aurora. And while questions swirl, Irvin continues to hide from reporters and both Irvin’s campaign and Citadel refuse to answer basic questions about the history between Griffin and Irvin as well as the Scientel Solutions tower.
But as Griffin-funded Irvin ads blanket the airwaves and innundate mailboxes, the voters of Illinois deserve immediate answers from both Richard Irvin and Ken Griffin.
* DGA…
New reporting from Bloomberg exposes Richard Irvin for yet another pay-to-play scandal — and this time, Irvin’s biggest fan and megadonor Ken Griffin is at the center of the corruption.
In a February interview, Griffin said Irvin “understands the joint prosperity that comes with a successful business community,” but new reporting shows that “joint prosperity” isn’t for all the people of Illinois — just Irvin and Griffin themselves.
The city of Aurora is a key financial trading point, making Mayor Irvin a “gatekeeper for high-speed traders” like Griffin’s company Citadel.
Irvin and Griffin both have close ties to one stakeholder company called Scientel Solutions, which donated over a hundred thousand dollars to Irvin’s campaign and committees connected to him and, in return, received millions in city contracts and permission to build a high frequency trading tower that officials warned would interfere with fair access.
“From what I understood, [Irvin] and his team were reaching out directly to the aldermen to sway their opinion,” said one alderman. “I didn’t like anything about it.”
After they won the vote, the CEO of Scientel sent out pictures celebrating with Irvin at a Mexican restaurant near City Hall. Scientel only connected their antenna to one firm inside the data center: Griffin’s.
“Richard Irvin and Ken Griffin may claim they’re for honest government, but in reality, both only do what fills their own pockets and campaign coffers,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “Now, Griffin is leaning in even more by backing Irvin in hopes that Irvin will sway things to his company’s benefit. Irvin and Griffin’s corruption is getting harder to hide.”
*** UPDATE *** From Citadel…
Citadel Securities has not had any engagement with Richard Irvin on any aspect of its business.
It is a matter of public record that Citadel Securities does not use the Scientel tower in Aurora.
- Arsenal - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 2:29 pm:
Seems like one of those “the real crime is what’s legal” situations.
- G'Kar - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 2:29 pm:
For me, interesting timing. I’m from central Illinois, but drove by this place yesterday (Diehl and Eola) and was wondering what the heck it was. Now I know.
- Rudy’s teeth - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 2:36 pm:
What’s annoying about the Irvin commercials is not only the tone and tenor but the “talking down” aspect of the spot.
At least there’s a mute button on the remote.
- Ainsley Hayes - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 2:47 pm:
No fan of Irvin am I, but the Scientel story is a big ol’ nothing burger. And while “connections” are there, money runs deep. If the connections are as tenuous as they seem then conspiracy theory this is. Richard Irvin aint “nobody that nobody sent,” by any means, but the pay-to-play allegations are cheap. It smacks of “Pritzker makes money off COVID mandates” type stuff.
- PublicServant - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 2:50 pm:
=== At least there’s a mute button on the remote. ===
For Irvin and all the ambulance chasers…it gets heavy use in my household.
- Norseman - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 2:50 pm:
As a Rowan and Martin character used to say, “very interesting?”
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 2:58 pm:
Griffin has his guy.
I can leave it like that.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 3:06 pm:
What a strange coincidence.
Nothing to see here folks. Move along. I’m sure Griffin first me Irvin at the club or somewhere. They look like they belong in the same social circles. I don’t think it’s likely that they got to know each other while they were mixing business with influence peddling or anything like that.
C’mon, this is Illinois. I’m sure this is all above board.
- jim - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 3:09 pm:
they went to a Mexican restaurant - obviously, drug cartels are involved in this conspiracy so large that it’s beyond the ability of mankind to contemplate.
- Lakefront - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 3:09 pm:
Conspiracy Theory.
But it is a little along the lines of “business as usual”
- Donnie Elgin - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 3:14 pm:
“That’s because the antennas beam buy and sell orders to other financial markets in Chicago, the U.S. East Coast and elsewhere around the globe”
Glad that this technology is being developed and used locally
- Bob Meter - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 3:15 pm:
Suddenly it all makes sense.
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 3:15 pm:
It’s not just Griffin. Irvin has a history of taking donations from those getting contracts and tax breaks. There goes his anti-corruption angle.
- Almost the Weekend - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 3:16 pm:
I think Valencia’s husband would like a meeting with Griffin and Scientel Solutions.
- Jimmy Conners - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 3:20 pm:
Big Nothing burger
- New Day - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 3:25 pm:
What people don’t seem to understand is that in high speed trading, nanoseconds matter. While I would normally dismiss something like this as a conspiracy theory, I’ve worked with enough people in the trading industry to know that they look for even the tiniest advantage to get their trades in first. This makes a ton of sense.
- New Day - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 3:25 pm:
What people don’t seem to understand is that in high speed trading, nanoseconds matter. While I would normally dismiss something like this as a conspiracy theory, I’ve worked with enough people in the trading industry to know that they look for even the tiniest advantage to get their trades in first. This makes a ton of sense.
- New Day - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 3:25 pm:
Sorry for the double post. Rich, please feel free to delete the second one.
- JS Mill - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 3:31 pm:
=Glad that this technology is being developed and used locally=
The tin foil hat people see this as a nothing burger because george soros…
- Fav Human - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 4:20 pm:
Anything that BEAMS anything is subject to FCC approval. They specifically check for no interference with other spectrum users.
So, he got a huge facility that pays lots of taxes, puts no burden on the locals, and likely created some nice construction jobs to boot.
I surely don’t want THAT for the state!!
And of course, it NEVER happens in Chicago that people with city contracts donate to mayors or alderman.
That totally and completely NEVER happens
- JS Mill - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 4:57 pm:
Corporations never lie so Citadel’s statement can be taken as cannon.
- TheInvisibleMan - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 4:59 pm:
== Citadel Securities has not had any engagement with Richard Irvin on any aspect of its business. ==
*Citadel Securities* is merely a subsidiary of Citadel LLC which handles the financial side of the enterprise. Citadel Technologies is another subsidiary, which handles the technology side of the enterprise.
Is the answer the same for the parent company, as well as the other subsidiary company?
Something about the way the statement was worded in the updated response makes me wonder.
- allknowingmasterofraccoondom - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 5:50 pm:
“From what I understood, [Irvin] and his team were reaching out directly to the aldermen to sway their opinion,” said one alderman. “I didn’t like anything about it.”
This is literally what a mayor does, literally. But since he is an R, it is now corruption.
A total laugher. A laugher burger. With nothing on the side.
- JS Mill - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 6:26 pm:
=And of course, it NEVER happens in Chicago that people with city contracts donate to mayors or alderman.
That totally and completely NEVER happens
=
So it is ok when it does happen? Interesting moral relativism.
“Mom, all my friends get drunk and drive so I can too.”
“Republicans break the law (see the loing list) so it was ok if Mike Madigan did too”
Barf.
Does not matter who does it (breaking the law), it isn’t ok in my book. And I only speak for me.
- Anonymous - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 9:32 pm:
Its ridiculous to imply that the biggest market making firm in the world uses 1980’s technology like satellite dishes for their high speed trading. No one uses anything other than fiber.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 9:56 pm:
I think that whole Chicago Mercantile Exchange relocation/subsidy issue was big right around when I started reading this blog. I would be shocked, shocked if it somehow came up again no matter the outcome of the Governor’s race.
- Microwaves - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 2:18 am:
@Anonymous —Its ridiculous to imply that the biggest market making firm in the world uses 1980’s technology like satellite dishes for their high speed trading. No one uses anything other than fiber.—
HFTs use microwave networks like the one in aurora. Air has a refractive index of 1.0003, while fibre optic cable is about 1.5 or so. Need line of sight but that’s what makes Midwest great, it’s flat.
- TheInvisibleMan - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 8:05 am:
== 1980’s technology like satellite dishes ==
gotta use that 1950s fiber optic technology instead?
Obviously, you are a subject matter expert.
- Juice - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 9:43 am:
FWIW, in Chicago, city contractors, the owners and the owners’ spouses are prohibited from making campaign donations to the Mayor. So actually it doesn’t happen in Chicago.
- Scott - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:38 am:
On Jon Stewart’s new show, a recent show dug into the stock market and talked quite a bit about how the Robinhood app partners with Ken’s Citadel companies. It’s tangentially related to this and interesting, if you get a chance to watch it.