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2 Investigators: Tower Developers Donate Thousands To Emanuel's Campaign Fund

(CBS) – As developers for Chicago's next big skyscraper are anxiously awaiting city permits to break ground, they're also funneling big bucks into Mayor Emanuel's campaign coffers.

Should that money be returned? CBS 2's Brad Edwards reports.

Today it is a hole that promises to be a Samson of enterprise. The much ballyhooed, nearly billion-dollar Vista Tower, a hotel and condominium, would be Chicago's third largest building.

Its developers are busy writing checks. On June 27, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections, someone named Renee cut a check for $1,500. So did Sean; Brian also cut a check for $1,500, as did Laura. James cut a check for $5,400.

All of the money went to Rahm Emanuel's campaign fund.

The contributors are employed by Chicago's Magellan Development Group, working with Beijing's Wanda Group to build the proposed 95-story colossus.

"This money needs to be returned," says former Chicago alderman Dick Simpson, a political science professor at University of Illinois-Chicago.

"There are a lot of other people who stand to make millions of dollars based on city government decisions, and they shouldn't be able to buy those decisions by campaign contributions or even have the appearance of doing so."

The timing of the Magellan money -- tens of thousands of dollars in June alone -- came as the city is considering final proposals for permits to break ground and start laying the building's foundation.

Recently, Emanuel returned $26,500 to Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz  and Wirtz entities out of "an abundance of transparency," said a campaign spokesperson, after Wirtz sealed the deal on a piece of city property for a new Blackhawks practice facility.

That was a good step, says Simpson.

In contrast, he questions all of the political contributions with a link to the Vista Tower project.

Employees and family members were penning checks to the Emanuel fund totaling $39,900 in June alone. In the past two years, their tally has been more than $200,000, according to state election records.

"That's a lot of money in real-people terms," Simpson says.

Magellan executives did not return phone messages seeking comment for this story.

Emanuel's spokesperson says the Vista-related contributions didn't break any rules or ordinances and followed the mayor's own policies.  The spokesperson also says the project was treated like any other development and went through the regular approval process.

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