New Force in Illinois Quickly Pushes State Toward School Reform

In short order, Stand for Children tapped into a network of the city's rich and powerful — including billionaires with names like Pritzker, Crown and Zell — to raise millions of dollars. The stockpile of money is geared toward influencing elections and paying an all-star lineup of lobbyists across the political spectrum to prod lawmakers to act on issues that previously failed or were thought to be undoable. Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, June 11, 2011