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transparency
Northwestern University’s Guide to Quashing Community Dissent in 3 Acts
From a professed desire for transparency surrounding a new stadium project, Northwestern has moved all the way to a surreptitious assault on free speech.
Jul 31, 2023
The problem began as a vanity project for one of the school’s largest donors. Along with his family, billionaire and Aon founder Patrick G. Ryan pledged $480 million to the university—provided that a big chunk went toward a new $800-million football stadium.
But the site’s main purpose had nothing to do with football. It would be a for-profit, open-air outdoor performance venue competing with the Chicago area’s largest, including the United Center (seating capacity 23,500; home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks). The arena would seat 28,500 concertgoers and replace the existing stadium in the midst of a residential community with schools, parks, playgrounds, churches, a fire station, and a hospital with a Level 1 trauma center.
In the past, Northwestern University (NU) has tried and failed to get zoning changes and special use permits for large concerts at the current stadium. The city of Evanston would have none of it.
Northwestern wanted this time to be different.
Act I
First, the university tried to co-opt potential voices of dissent. While developing plans for the stadium, it formed a working group consisting of four NU representatives with key leadership roles in the project, four residents from the neighborhood surrounding the stadium, and the Evanston city council member representing the district where the current stadium is located. A resident member later described Northwestern’s promises to that working group:
At our first meeting, it was agreed that this would be an informal and transparent way for Northwestern to listen and solicit input from the surrounding community regarding the stadium rebuild project.
The university described the group as a “key stakeholder” and “expressed its hopes that this forum would be the beginning of an effort to rebuild trust with community residents.”
From March through June 2022, residents in the working group canvassed neighbors and reported concerns. Among the most important: Neighbors did not want the use of the stadium expanded.
Residents thought Northwestern was listening to them—until the university announced that it had completed a single stadium design concept that contemplated pop/rock concerts. The residents in the working group didn’t see it until September 28, 2022, when Northwestern announced the plan to the world.
Act II
The working group died, but it had served a useful purpose for the university. The canvassing had revealed residents’ widespread concerns about expanding the stadium, so Northwestern tried to obfuscate them.
In early January 2023, the university hired a consultant to conduct a telephone poll of 500 registered Evanston voters. A slight majority—56%—answered yes to this loaded question:
As you may know, Northwestern has proposed a plan to replace the existing Ryan Field with a new stadium with significantly less seating and that is environmentally sustainable and accessible. Do you support or oppose removing Ryan Field and replacing it with a new stadium in the same location?
Without providing any information about the challenges that rock concerts pose—dangerous sound transmission, traffic congestion, transportation complexities or parking problems—phone interviewers asked the 500 respondents what the “right number of concerts per year” would be. This time, unlike the exhaustive canvassing that the working group had performed, Northwestern got the answer it wanted: numbers greater than zero.
Mission Accomplished. Northwestern now had its disingenuous talking point on the biggest obstacle facing the plan.
But it didn’t stick. Facts about the project and doubts about Northwestern’s false assurances became clearer. Grassroots opposition grew. Voices of dissent got louder.
Act III
So the next scene in this saga took a bizarre twist. Under a 19-year-old consent decree that settled a case Northwestern had brought against the city, the parties had established a “town-gown” committee to discuss the university’s plans for certain areas of the campus, including one of the Ryan Field parking lots.
But the public committee hearings had now become a forum for residents to register their complaints about the new stadium. More importantly, the media—even Northwestern’s student newspaper—was covering them.
So unbeknownst to residents and Evanston city council members who opposed the plan, the city asked a federal judge to modify the decree to protect Northwestern. Remarkably, it wanted to ban residents from discussing the proposed arena in the town-gown committee hearings.
Stunning as it seemed, even before the first zoning commission hearing on the university’s unprecedented request to amend the ordinance, Evanston had aligned itself with Northwestern—in secret.
On June 29, 2023, Northwestern and the city filed a joint brief supporting the ban.Stunning as it seemed, even before the first zoning commission hearing on the university’s unprecedented request to amend the ordinance, Evanston had aligned itself with Northwestern—in secret.
The Reckoning
The scandal came to light in response to an Evanston resident’s FOIA request. Facing criticism for his failure to notify Evanston’s city council of the action, the city’s corporation counsel later said that his department had determined that he did not need its approval.
So who approved it? All lawyers act at the direction of their clients. The corporation counsel reports to the city manager. Did the city manager authorize the filing? The city manager reports to Evanston’s mayor and city council. What did they know, and when did they know it?
On July 23, the Chicago Tribune broke the story: “Evanston residents angry about legal move by city to bypass public discussion on Northwestern stadium project.” The following morning, it appeared on the front page of the newspaper’s print edition.
On July 25, Northwestern and the city of Evanston lost in court.
“I have crystal clear contractual language, and you all are asking me to read in this limitation,” U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Maldonado said while denying the motion. “No one put this in there, no one limited the discussion of the committee…”
From a professed desire for transparency, Northwestern has moved all the way to a surreptitious assault on free speech. Apparently, it has allies in Evanston’s city government willing to do its bidding.
The scandals at the university—and now Evanston’s city government—aren’t over. Not by a long shot.
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"Voters have a right to know when wealthy special interests are spending money to influence elections and rig the political system in their favor," said Saurav Ghosh of the Campaign Legal Center.
May 02, 2022
A watchdog group filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Monday accusing "mystery donors"--one of which may be millionaire businessman Bill Pulte--of using a Delaware limited liability company to funnel $500,000 into former President Donald Trump's super PAC, a violation of campaign finance laws prohibiting so-called straw donors.
The Campaign Legal Center's (CLC) complaint specifically alleges that "Pulte and/or unknown other persons" used ML Organization, LLC as a shell company to pour money into the Make America Great Again, Again! super PAC without having to disclose their identities.
"The facts indicate that this LLC is a straw donor and not the true source of this $500,000 contribution, an illegal tactic."
"There is no record of ML Organization having any activities or generating any income since it was registered as a Delaware domestic limited liability company... in April 2018," the complaint states. "ML Organization has no website, social media account, business listings or online records, or any other discernible online presence."
CLC goes on to note that ML Organization "disclosed an address in Boca Raton, Florida (located within Palm Beach County), in connection with the $500,000 contribution made in its name, but searches of public records databases indicate that the LLC does not appear to own any property in Palm Beach County, Florida, or elsewhere."
Citing public records, CLC points out that Pulte "owns the property at the address listed for ML Organization on FEC reports" and that the property "appears to be Pulte's home."
"The available information supports the conclusion that ML Organization did not have the means to contribute $500,000 to an [independent-expenditure only political committee] absent an infusion of funds provided to it for that specific purpose," the complaint reads. "Accordingly, there is reason to believe that one or more unknown person(s) (William Pulte and/or other persons) violated the prohibition on making contributions in the name of another."
Saurav Ghosh, CLC's director of federal reform, said in a statement that "voters have a right to know when wealthy special interests are spending money to influence elections and rig the political system in their favor."
"Shell companies like ML Organization, LLC are often used to funnel secret money to super PACs, concealing the true contributor's identity," Ghosh continued. "The facts indicate that this LLC is a straw donor and not the true source of this $500,000 contribution, an illegal tactic that erodes transparency."
\u201cOne of the Trump super PAC's top donors is "ML Organization LLC," which gave $500K...and may not exist? \n\nThere is an "ML Organization LLC" in DE, but no entity by that name in FL. \n\nHowever, the address on the FEC report is associated with "Twitter Philanthropist" Bill @pulte.\u201d— Brendan Fischer (@Brendan Fischer) 1643664216
Make America Great Again, Again!--which has billed itself as the "only Trump-approved super PAC"--was formed by Trump allies in 2021 for the stated purpose of supporting "Trump-endorsed candidates across the country who have proven to be fighters of the MAGA movement."
Led by former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, the super PAC brought in more than $4.3 million in donations in the final quarter of last year and had $9.5 million on hand to start 2022.
The super PAC reported receiving a $500,000 donation from ML Organization on November 1, 2021. ML Organization and the Texas-based firm Tranquil Path Investments, LTD were the super PAC's largest donors in the last three months of 2021.
In a Twitter post on Monday, Ghosh implored the FEC to "take action to enforce the federal straw donor ban and protect voters' right to know when wealthy special interests are spending money to influence elections and rig the political system in their favor!"
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Democratic lawmakers want the president to back up his rhetoric with real action
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A number of lawmakers are cleverly challenging President Donald Trump's claim this week that he is "the most transparent president" in the country's history.
Among them is Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who told the president he could display that supposed transparency with regards to a decision his administration made in 2017.
"In light of your statements," she wrote to Trump in a letter sent Thursday, "please let me know what time tomorrow I can come over and review documents related to your administration's decision to rescind Title IX guidance protecting LGBTQ students."
\u201cI just sent this letter to @realDonaldTrump - who, as you heard, is the most transparent president ever. \n\nSigned, \nJudiciary Committee member (Co-equal branch of government)\nP.S. also the proud mom of a non-binary kid. \n#CoverUps\u201d— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@Rep. Pramila Jayapal) 1558649984
\u201cOoohhhhhh!!! SNAP!\u201d— People's Action (@People's Action) 1558706206
Other Democratic lawmakers took a similar tack to hit back at Trump's "cloudy claim" Wednesday, as well as his statement, "I don't do cover-ups."
\u201cDear @POTUS\n\nSince you stated emphatically that you "don\u2019t do cover ups." Can you confirm that no more unreported migrant deaths have occurred?\n\nSincerely, \n\nVeronica, Lou, Sylvia, and Debbie.\n\n#TrumpCoverUp\u201d— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@Rep. Veronica Escobar) 1558651122
\u201cTo: AG Barr\n\nWhen can I see the documents that helped you decide to go to court to try to have the ACA declared unconstitutional?\n\n-David\n\ncc: @realDonaldTrump\u201d— David Cicilline (@David Cicilline) 1558645316
\u201cTO: The most transparent POTUS, probably in the history of this country\n\nSince you don't do #CoverUps, please let us know what time we can come by & review the unredacted #MuellerReport. Simply requesting the same access you gave to Congressman Doug Collins.\n\nFROM: Rep. Ted Lieu\u201d— Rep. Ted Lieu (@Rep. Ted Lieu) 1558566062
\u201cI just sent this letter to Attorney General Barr. \n\nI'm happy to bring a hand cart. #TrumpCoverUp\u201d— Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (@Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon) 1558634519
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