Until McHenryLeaks launched last month, the public was uninformed that Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) had been quietly assisting McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi for over three years.
Early assistance was provided by two contracted media consulting companies: Curry Public Strategies starting October 2007, which morphed into Reverse Spin starting January 2008 -- both from Wheaton and both managed by Dan Curry, which morphed into Delos Communications in 2015.
Despite devoting extensive attention on Bianchi for months, no reference of the ILSAAP media consultant/spokesperson can be located in the McHenry County mainstream news until a few weeks ago. The local media was unaware of Curry's state contract; instead, they described him as "a political consultant", a "friend of Bianchi's", and "the guy in the back of the room with a Blackberry".
Media references of the ILSAAP spokesperson beyond the McHenry County border, however, have been floating on-line several years for: Winnebago County, Sangamon County/Cass County, Morgan County, the state, etc. Yet, these projects received comparatively little dedication than Bianchi, according to activity reports.
Bianchi may be among Reverse Spin's clients who have requested confidentiality. The firm's website states that "many of the clients" have requested not to be disclosed -- so many in fact, that none are found under "our client list" at the time of this publication.
Nevertheless, a testimonial was supplied to ILSAAP for consideration of a contract renewal in 2008: My thanks to you (Norb Goetten) and the appellate prosecutors for hiring Dan Curry as a media consultant. I want you to know that he has been an immense assistance to me in our office. - Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State's Attorney.
The discussion of contracting Curry Public Strategies first came up in a a special board meeting of the ILSAAP Board of Governors held in Springfield on Aug. 30, 2007; the PR firm received the contract in the regular Board meeting held three weeks later, according to Board minutes. The first project for the company was to work one-on-one with Bianchi starting Oct. 1, 2007. ILSAAP's media consulting for Bianchi ended June 1, 2009 -- the same day Bianchi released a statement on Amy Dalby's plea bargain.
The ILSAAP contract expired several years ago, but apparently not the media consultant's involvement with Bianchi. Curry has reportedly been conducting public relations for the state's attorney's defense with attorney Terry Ekl. According to public records available on-line, Curry has worked with Ekl's firm and James Sotos & Assoc. on other cases. Sotos has defended McHenry County on several high-profile law enforcement cases.
Reverse Spin -- Game Changers
At the time of publication, Reverse Spin's website offers this description: Some public relations challenges defy traditional solutions. When your reputation or the reputation of your corporation, organization or political group is threatened by overwhelming force, you need *game changers*. (Website emphasis on "game changers") Here is the website for Delos Communications.
Curry's Twitter site defines Reverse Spin as: an Illinois political and public affairs company that helps rid the planet of corruption, faulty logic and misguided philosophy.
The company's slogan sums it up: Reverse Spin, Control the News.
Reverse Spin of Wheaton is co-owned by Curry and attorney John Pearman. The two men were executive staffers for former IL Attorney General Jim Ryan; Curry was spokesperson and Pearman was the chief of policy and legislative affairs. They labeled themselves "top operatives with the Jim Ryan campaign for governor".
After Ryan's gubernatorial campaign in 2002, Curry served as director of communications for U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) for several years. Since then, his website bio includes that he has provided strategic communication advice to corporations, law enforcement officials and high-profile citizens.
Pearman imparts that he is "a longtime top political operative" and has "had more than 20 years' experience providing legal and reputation management advice to leading companies, individuals and political officials". He is also the former chief of staff at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
For the past four years, Curry Public Strategies and Reverse Spin have been contracted as media consultants/spokespersons for the DuPage County Election Commission for $3,000 per month, according to the DuPage County Auditor's on-line checkbook. There is no mention of working for this government entity in the firms' proposals presented to ILSAAP, nor in the Board minutes.
McHenryLeaks asks:
Why does any government entity, including the McHenry County State's Attorney's office, require the services of game changers?
Why does Terry Ekl require the services of a game changer?
What success stories can Reverse Spin disclose in its quest to rid the planet of corruption, faulty logic and misguided philosophy? (After all, tax payers have paid this firm and its predecessor roughly $200,000 in contracts for two government entities alone. We demand results!)
Will ILSAAP and Bianchi share Reverse Spin's work product with tax payers?
Why did Reverse Spin rename itself Delos Communications?
Why did Reverse Spin rename itself Delos Communications?
Following are proposals of Curry Public Strategies and Reverse Spin presented to ILSAAP in 2007 and 2008, along with contracts which followed. McHenryLeaks has concealed personal information. To enlarge, click or double-click the image:
