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All’s well that ends well, I suppose

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Illinois

The record-breaking bid Gov. Bruce Rauner made for a prize-winning steer at last year’s Illinois State Fair charity auction has finally been collected — with a little help from Chicago Inc.

A year to the day after Rauner made the winning offer of $104,000 for the 1,324-pound animal, his donor, Chicago financier R.J. D’Orazio, on Wednesday wired the $20,000 share of the price he’d long ago promised to pay.

This column on Tuesday reported that D’Orazio held out on honoring the governor’s debt because he felt he had not received “recognition” for his generosity.

But the publicity seems to have spurred D’Orazio into action: He sent the $20,000 plus an additional $20,000 donation as a goodwill gesture to charities including the Illinois 4-H Club on Wednesday morning. D’Orazio told Inc. he was doubling the donation “as a result of the delay” in paying up.

“We berated this guy for months,” said the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s general counsel, Craig Sondgeroth, who was delighted to confirm the state received $40,000 from D’Orazio later Wednesday. The department organizes the charity auction. “This was really sad because the money was for children.”

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Aug 18, 17 @ 2:18 pm

Comments

“We berated this guy for months…This was really sad because the money was for children.”

I have a feeling human service providers across the state can empathize.

Comment by Earnest Friday, Aug 18, 17 @ 2:28 pm
Years ago, my grandmother told me about the various levels of charitable giving:

• Giving to such a degree that the receiver no longer needs to rely upon others.
• Giving anonymously to an unknown recipient through persons who are trustworthy, wise, and can perform acts of charity with your money in a most impeccable fashion.
• Giving anonymously to a known recipient.
• Giving publicly to an unknown recipient.
• Giving before being asked.
• Giving adequately after being asked.
• Giving willingly, but inadequately.
• Giving grudgingly.

It has served me well.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Friday, Aug 18, 17 @ 2:39 pm
So the Governor played bigshot with OPM, didn’t cover or follow through, and but nobody’s supposed to blame his management, because his own agency never notified him of an issue?

Comment by crazybleedingheart Friday, Aug 18, 17 @ 3:05 pm