No fewer than six bills were introduced in Congress during the six year run-up to 2004 attempting to resolve land claims alleged by the Bay Mills Indian Community as leverage for congressional approval of a Port Huron casino. All six have met with little success.Nevertheless, the authors of the congressional bills received the benefits of $234,000 in political contributions from the family of Mike & Marian Ilitch and Michael Malik, their casino syndication partner, during the last two election cycles. Most had not previously been supported by the Ilitch Family or Malik.
Since 1999, there have been at least six different bills introduced in Congress attempting to bring closure to the ongoing land claims of the Bay Mills Indian community and facilitate trading of land in Charlotte Beach, MI, for a lucrative casino site in Port Huron or elsewhere; but despite the six efforts and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent, none of the bills have made much progress.
It should be noted that in 1996 the Bay Mills Tribe filed official claims in State and Federal Court which were subsequently tossed out for administrative reasons at that time. The "claims" have never been adjudicated or otherwise validated raising questions about the need for any settlement agreement or recognition of a settlement agreement by Congress.
- 1999-2001 Rep. Stupak introduces three bills
The first three bills were authored by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) between 1999 and 2001 (H.R. 3412, 1634 and 2495) – he was unable to enlist any co-authors on to those bills. From September 2002 through June 2006, Ilitch Family members and Malik contributed $9,000 to Stupak’s campaign committee.
- 2002 Reps Bonoir & Young intro H.R. 5459
In 2002, Rep. David Bonoir (D-MI) authored a bill (H.R. 5459) and Rep Don Young (R-AK) signed onto the bill which sat in committee. Nothing significant was contributed to either Bonoir or Young at this point.
- 2002 Sen. Stabenow introduces S.2986
Also in 2002 Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced S. 2986 in the Senate without any co-authors. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) was a formidable force for Stabenow considering rank, power and constituency backing his opposition to Stabenow’s bill. The struggle between Reid and Stabenow (both Democrats) was chronicled and questioned in the media.
Stabenow was first elected to the Senate representing Michigan in 2000 without any financial support from Detroit’s Ilitch Family or Michael Malik. That changed between 2003 & 2006 when Ilitch Family members and Michael Malik effectively contributed more than $113,000 toward Stabenow’s ’06 re-election.
In 2003, the Ilitch Family and Malik made 17 contributions totaling $32,000 to “Stabenow for U.S. Senate;” all but four of the contributions were logged on December 16, 2003. On December 8, 2005, Michael Malik and Marian Ilitch contributed $54,400 ($26,700 each) to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) earmarked for Michigan and Stabenow’s ’06 re-election effort.
A little more than six months later, on June 30, 2006, Mr. and Mrs. Ilitch gave another $26,700 ($13,350 each) to the DSCC. In effect the Ilitch Family and Michael Malik contributed at least $113,000 to Stabenow’s re-election campaign.
In July 2004, Mike & Marian Ilitch and Michael Malik made contributions totaling $20,000 split between Senator Harry Reid’s campaign committee “Friends for Harry Reid” and his leadership PAC “Searchlight Leadership Fund.” Malik had made one previous contribution to Senator Reid’s campaign committee in June 2003 bringing the total directed to Sen. Reid to $22,000. No further contributions were directed toward Senator Reid in the ’06 Election Cycle. Reid's Searchlight Leadership Fund transferred $10,000 to Stabenow in February 2005, six months after Ilitch/Malik contributed $12,000 to Searchlight.
- 2003 Rep. Candice Miller introduces H.R.831
Then, on February 13, 2003 Candice Miller (R-MI) introduced H.R. 831 which was co-authored by Don Young (R-AK), the second time he signed on to a Bay Mills land claims resolution bill. On May 23, 2005, the Ilitch Family and Malik made a total of 8 contributions totaling $16,000 to Alaskans for Don Young, Inc. There are no records of previous or subsequent contributions to Young.
From March 2003 to June 2005, Ilitch Family members Michael Malik and one Ilitch Holdings, Inc. employee (executive assistant David Agius ) made a total of 20 contributions to Rep. Miller’s campaign committee or “leadership committee” totaling $74,000 -- $14,000 to the campaign ($13,000 of that delivered on March 11, 2003) and $60,000 to her CANDICE (Conservative American Network Delivering Increased Congressional Excellence) PAC with most of those contributions logged on April 2, 2004 and June 30, 2005.
Michael Malik was the first-ever donor to CANDICE PAC on March 19, 2003 (one week after Malik/Ilitches gave $13,000 to Miller's candidate committtee). Mark Valente III, the committee’s treasurer (a former Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan City Councilman turned D.C. PAC treasurer/lobbyist who is a lightning rod for controversy in the Abramoff era), filed a Statement of Organization with the Federal Election Commission establishing CANDICE PAC on February 13, 2003. On June 28, 2006 amidst numerous investigations (see Center for Public Integrity's "PAC-men Lobbyists" & "Summary of Findings") looking closely at these “leadership PACs,” Valente terminated CANDICE PAC. From inception to termination at least 48% of all funds received by CANDICE PAC came from the Ilitch Family/Malik and one other Ilitch employee, an administrative assistant.
Disclosure documents note that Mr. David Agius, an executive assistant to Christopher Ilitch at Ilitch Holdings who also serves as president of Ililtch Children's Chairities (Ilitch family's charitable fund), made a $5000 contribution to CANDICE PAC on June 30, 2005. That same day, Michael Malik, Mike & Marian Ilitch and Christopher Ilitch, CEO of Ilitch Holdings, Inc., each gave $5000 to CANDICE PAC too. However, unlike the other four, Agius had no record of giving to federal candidates before June 30, 2005; nor after.
Conclusion
Since 1999, at least six bills have been introduced in Congress specifically to bring resolution to the Bay Mills Indian Community’s federal land claims assertions. In addition to more than $2.5 million in lobbying fees paid by “Team Ilitch,” its affiliates and agents during this period, individual members of the Ilitch Family and Michael Malik contributed more than $234,000 to those in Congress who were willing to author and introduce the six bills on behalf of the Bay Mills Indian Community, Brimley, MI.
When Detroit's Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick raised questions about potential conflicts of Marian promoting a casino just an hour away from Detroit, Marian Ilitch's publicist replied, with a sarcastic question, “how could she have a financial stake in a Port Huron Casino when one doesn’t exist?” When probed further, especially after reports she’d aggressively lobbied Lansing lawmakers during 1998 Compact negotiations for four tribes, her effort was described as simply “opening a few doors” for her friends from Brimley, MI.
And then, in November 2006, at a Port Huron Council meeting, Michael Malik and a surrogate, Dick Cummings spoke on the Bay Mills casino matter. Cummings suggested Malik and Marian Ilitch had spent $10 million in legal fees managing the Bay Mills drive for a third casino, off-reservation, during the last decade.
Those are some awfully pricey doors. One doesn’t throw around that kind of money without some sort of expectation implied or otherwise guaranteed.
SOURCES: PoliticalMoneyLine for Congressional Quarterly; Center for Responsive Politics, opensecrets.org; Federal Election Commission; The Library of Congress, THOMAS.
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