Interesting post at kos about the shenanigans of DeVos...

[livvy]

I ran into this while doing searches for the Election Reform thread.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/1/11/234443/202

DeVos’s All Children Matter resembles Howie Rich’s ALG
by sandlapper
Thu Jan 11, 2007 at 08:47:12 PM PST

Last night, as I reported here http://www.dailykos.com/... the Center for Public Integrity pulled back the curtain on Howie Rich’s Americans for Limited Government to reveal that 99 percent of ALG’s funding in 2005 came from only three major donors. A reporter covering CPI’s announcement noted that this fact refuted the well-documented stream of ALG propaganda claiming that "thousands" of supporters across the nation funded Rich’s committee. Of course, I’ve read and written a good deal about how that (and more) funding was used in 2006, bouncing from ALG in New York to handful of paper organizations in the states, to pay for petition circulators and campaigns for Rich’s ballot initiatives. And it hit me –again – that I’ve read about the exact same thing happening in Wisconsin: money from anonymous donors funneled back and forth between states and paper organizations to be used in politics. Only this time, the organization is called All Children Matter.

* sandlapper's diary :: ::
*

Now, I’m not as familiar with ACM as I’ve become with ALG – I’ve been Googling the latter for a few months now – but I mentioned this Wisconsin business first here http://www.dailykos.com/... and Google has already helped out a good bit since then. Let’s recap the story.

Reporter Paul Sloth told us here http://www.journaltimes.com/... "A group of residents and local unions... filed a complaint with the State Elections Board claiming the Michigan-based school choice group All Children Matter violated Wisconsin state law. The complaint alleges the group broke state elections law by advocating against a candidate in a local state Senate race without properly registering with the State Elections Board. The complaint stems from a direct mail flier sent to residents in the 21st Senate District urging them to ‘vote against’ Rep. John Lehman in his campaign for the Senate seat against Racine County Executive Bill McReynolds."

So All Children Matter – ACM – is based in Michigan but sent mail to voters in Wisconsin hoping to affect the outcome of a legislative race. And apparently, because they clearly advocated for Rep. John Lehman’s defeat, they were acting as a political action committee and therefore were subject to laws governing PACs in Wisconsin. Okay, clear enough to me so far.

> more

[knitter4democracy]

1. I'm not surprised.

He's evil.

[livvy]

2. You got that right.

Phony, shifty-eyed menace to civilized society.



He gave me the creeps.

[MichiganVote]

3. DeVos's kids matter...that's about it...He looked so bad in the debates

[noonwitch]

4. Was it DeVos or Van Andel who started the children's hospital in GR?

Grand Rapids did need a children's hospital to serve the region-Detroit and Ann Arbor are too far away.

Amway owns most of the hospitals in GR, now, except the Osteopathic one and St. Mary's.

[SharonRB]

5. Do they own Spectrum Health System?

[livvy]

7. Here's the DeVos link with Spectrum...This is all I could find right now.

http://www.spectrum-health.org/cs/Satellite?c=eHA_Content_C&cid=1159374668363&pagename=Spectrum_Health_Core%2FeHA_Content_C%2FSpectrum_Press_Release_Detail_Page_Template

Capital Campaign for Helen DeVos Children's Hospital Announced
April 27, 2006

Spectrum Health leadership today announced the kickoff of the public phase of the capital campaign for the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. The quiet phase of the For Our Kids campaign has been underway since December 2005 and has raised $76,013,180 toward the $100 million goal.

“We are very grateful for the contributions given for Helen DeVos Children's Hospital and its future,” said Richard C. Breon, Spectrum Health President & CEO. “We are very fortunate to have such generous donors leading this incredible level of support. They have embraced our vision and are committed to helping us build the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital for our kids and families.”

.snip

At the kickoff event today, gifts of $12.5 million from each second generation DeVos family — Dick and Betsy DeVos, Dan and Pam DeVos, Bob and Cheri VanderWeide, and Doug and Maria DeVos — for a total of $50 million was announced. It is the largest collective gift ever from one family to Spectrum Health. This contribution marks a transition of philanthropy to the second generation of the DeVos family — demonstrating their continued commitment to the legacy their parents, Rich and Helen DeVos, have established through their generous giving.

The second generation DeVos family members each commented at the event:

* “As a campaign co-chair, I couldn't be more pleased with the generosity of the lead donors and the campaign progress to date,” said Dan DeVos. “My family is proud to be part of this exciting project. In tribute to our parents and the community, the children of Rich and Helen DeVos are making a commitment to this campaign and the future of our community.”
* “We especially appreciate that this new hospital will be named in honor of our mother, Helen DeVos, and that we have an opportunity to present a gift this morning to pay tribute to her,” said Cheri VanderWeide. “It's a pleasure for us to honor our parents and the example they've set for us to share our blessings with others.”
* “The impact of this hospital will be deep and wide for countless children and in building our reputation beyond West Michigan as a caring community,” said Doug DeVos. “We want to ensure that these services are available for all children needing care throughout Michigan.”
* “Our parents taught us by example the importance and joy of giving,” said Dick DeVos. “Our community has taught all of us the value of working together to achieve goals beyond our own needs. We are contributing to more than a building — we're contributing to a caring environment of hope and healing.”


A team of six co-chairs are leading the For Our Kids campaign:

* Richard L. Antonini
* Daniel G. DeVos
* Donnalee Holton
* Ethelyn Haworth
* Wilbur A. Lettinga
* Joan Secchia
>more about the event

[SharonRB]

8. Thanks!

That answers my question -- there is a definite link.

[noonwitch]

9. OMG, I actually know the Antonini family

Or did, in high school. They are the Foremost Insurance people, and the Antoninis built the hockey arena at my school (East Kentwood HS). I graduated before they built the arena, but one of their kids was in the grade below me.

Although I don't know Joan Secchia, I have met Peter at least once at a Close-Up event. My dad knew him back before he (dad) retired and moved to Florida. My dad sold janitor supplies to (Sc)AMWAY and their restaurants-when they first opened the Grand Plaza, old man DeVos and Van Andel didn't want to own the liquor license, due to their religious beliefs, so Secchia owned all the restaurants and got the liquor licenses.

[livvy]

6. Here's the story...

About Helen DeVos Children's Hospital


On September 1, 1993, Helen DeVos Children's Hospital opened its doors as the first children's hospital in West Michigan. But the story of how Grand Rapids became the home for the children's hospital began 20 years earlier. In 1973, Dr. John Wilson, who had been the pediatrician for the Gerber children, approached The Gerber Baby Foods Fund for support. Dr. Wilson's vision was to have a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Butterworth Hospital. Dr. Wilson's compassionate plea resulted in a $100,000 gift to establish the NICU and the following year Dr. Leonard Radecki was hired as the first neonatologist.

By the late 1980s, the NICU was having so much success that there was a growing demand for other pediatric subspecialist care and additional space. A concerned group of pediatricians began articulating their vision for a children's hospital, so families wouldn't be forced to travel across the state for specialized care. In the fall of 1990, Richard and Helen DeVos announced their intentions of making a $5 million gift to raise the bar for pediatric health care services in West Michigan. That gift led to a physical structure for the children's hospital as well as the recruitment of pediatric subspecialists in critical care, hematology/oncology, cardiovascular surgery, endocrinology and pulmonology.

Today, more than 100 physicians in 40 pediatric specialties care for more than 7,000 inpatients and more than 100,000 outpatients every year at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.

http://www.devoschildrens.org/?s=8&hospID=36D00930453745378A180CE81B08FB00

[indigonation]

10. DeVos and his gazillions are not going away

Best to keep an eye on him, as he did not rule out a future run. He will always continue to fund far right fringe groups, political candidates, and think tanks.

Thank goodness the people of Michigan had the sense to see right through the beady-eyed rich bastard.