| ILLINOIS SCHOOL SYSTEM AUDITPaul Butler · Ray Kroc · McDonald's · McKenna DynastyThe Complete Oak Brook Power Network — Butler Land, Kroc Empire, McKenna Machine |
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| 1892Paul Butler born Hinsdale IL — his family's land becomes Oak Brook | 1955Ray Kroc opens first McDonald's franchise in Des Plaines IL | 1971McDonald's HQ moves onto Paul Butler's former land in Oak Brook | 25 yearsAndrew McKenna Sr. on McDonald's board — son ran Illinois Republican Party |
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866-312-6456 | auditor@illinoisschooldistrictaudit.com | IllinoisSchoolDistrictAudit.com | May 2026
PART I: PAUL BUTLER — FATHER OF OAK BROOK, FOUNDER OF THE POWER NETWORK
| Everything in Oak Brook Descends from Paul ButlerPaul Butler (June 23, 1892 – June 24, 1981) did not just build a suburb. He built the physical and institutional infrastructure for one of the wealthiest, most politically connected municipalities in Illinois. Oak Brook has no industry, no residential property tax pressure, and depends on Oakbrook Center mall — the commercial hub he designed — for its entire tax base. Butler's land became McDonald's world headquarters. His polo club became the Western Open venue. His Christ Church of Oak Brook became the Huizenga family church. The Huizenga family ran Waste Management from Oak Brook. JMB Realty bought Oakbrook Center. Every major Illinois corporate dynasty has at least one thread running through Oak Brook — the 8.29 square miles that Paul Butler designed. |
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Paul Butler — Complete Profile
| Item | Detail |
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| Born/Died | June 23, 1892 – June 24, 1981 (died one day after his 89th birthday, struck by car in front of home) |
| Family | Son of Frank Butler; grandfather Julius Wales Butler and great uncle Oliver Morris Butler founded J.W. Butler Paper Company (one of largest family-owned paper companies in U.S.); Paul sold Butler Paper in 1960 |
| Military | Lieutenant, 106th Cavalry 'Black Horse Troop'; WWI; later Captain and pilot |
| Polo | Registered Oak Brook Polo Club with USPA in 1922 (4th oldest club in U.S.); hosted USPA Open 23 of 25 years 1954-1978; by 1956 had 14 polo fields, stabling for 400 horses, 36 miles of tree-lined trails; known as 'polo capital of the United States' |
| Oak Brook | Incorporated 1958 due to Butler's efforts; his 5,800 acres became the village; designed with NO industry — entirely dependent on commercial development (Oakbrook Center) for tax base |
| Butler National Golf Club | Private men-only club founded 1972; designed by George Fazio; hosted Western Open (PGA Tour, later BMW Championship) 1974-1990; 7,550 yards par 71; course rating 78.4 slope 155; 'one of the most formidable tests in American golf' |
| Corporate anchor | Butler's polo headquarters and stabling area — 80+ acres — became McDonald's Plaza when Ray Kroc moved HQ from Chicago Loop to Oak Brook in 1971 |
| Religion | Founded Christ Church of Oak Brook — 'a large church that would welcome all who came to Oak Brook'; became institutional center for Huizenga family (Peter Huizenga memorial held there) and Oak Brook corporate elite |
| Del E. Webb | In 1964, Butler entered joint venture with Del E. Webb Corporation (Phoenix AZ) to develop Oak Brook; Webb's construction company built dozens of Oak Brook buildings commercial and residential into late 1970s |
| Death | Struck by car crossing road near his home at 1000 Oak Brook Road while taking photos of night sky; sons Frank and Michael Butler were present |
| Legacy | Butler Nature Area (forest preserve adjacent to Fullersburg Woods); Paul Butler Drive; Butler School District 53 (Brook Forest Elementary, Butler Junior High) |
PART II: RAY KROC — DES PLAINES TO OAK BROOK TO GLOBAL EMPIRE
| Ray Kroc Was Born in Illinois and Built His Empire HereRaymond Albert Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was born in Oak Park, Illinois. His first McDonald's franchise opened April 15, 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinois. The original Des Plaines McDonald's now operates as a museum. McDonald's moved its world headquarters to Paul Butler's former land in Oak Brook in 1971. For 47 years — 1971 to 2018 — McDonald's Plaza at 2111 McDonald's Drive, Oak Brook IL was the command center of the world's largest fast food company. When McDonald's left Oak Brook for Chicago's West Loop in 2018, the 80-acre campus sold for $40 million to Paul Mitchell co-founder John Paul DeJoria. |
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Ray Kroc — Illinois Timeline
| Year | Event |
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| 1902 | Born Oak Park, Illinois; Czech-American parents |
| 1954 | Visits McDonald brothers in San Bernardino CA as milkshake mixer salesman for Prince Castle (Illinois-based foodservice equipment manufacturer); becomes franchise agent |
| 1955 (Apr 15) | Opens first McDonald's franchise at 400 Lee St, Des Plaines IL (9th McDonald's overall); McDonald's System Inc. incorporated; 'The Founder' |
| 1961 | Buys McDonald brothers out for $2.7 million (ended up costing $14M due to financing); Harry Sonneborn devises real estate strategy — McDonald's owns land, leases to franchisees |
| 1961 | Hamburger University opens in basement of Elk Grove Village IL McDonald's restaurant; training program for franchisees |
| 1965 | McDonald's goes public; Kroc becomes extraordinarily wealthy |
| 1968-1977 | Chairman of McDonald's board |
| 1971 | McDonald's world headquarters moves from Chicago Loop to McDonald's Plaza, Oak Brook IL — on Paul Butler's former polo headquarters and stabling ground |
| 1972 | $250,000 to Nixon re-election campaign (Republican); Kroc was conservative Republican |
| 1974 | Buys San Diego Padres baseball team |
| 1977-1984 | Senior chairman until death |
| 1984 (Jan 14) | Dies Oak Park IL; age 81; leaves estate to wife Joan Beverly Kroc |
The Real Estate Strategy — McDonald's as Land Empire
| Harry Sonneborn's insight turned McDonald's from a burger company into a $40 billion real estate empire. McDonald's owns 70% of its restaurant buildings and 45% of the underlying land — leasing both to franchisees at 40% above what McDonald's pays. The franchisee is locked in. The company generates income from both food sales AND real estate. This strategy was conceived in Illinois, implemented from Oak Brook, and makes McDonald's one of the largest commercial real estate holders on earth. Every piece of land under a McDonald's restaurant in Illinois went through Oak Brook. Every franchise lease in Illinois was executed there. The land the building sits on is owned by the corporation that was run from Paul Butler's former polo grounds.FFE8E8 |
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PART III: THE McKENNA DYNASTY — WHERE McDONALD'S MEETS ILLINOIS REPUBLICAN POLITICS
| The McDonald's Board Chairman and the Illinois Republican Party Chairman Were Father and SonAndrew J. McKenna Sr. (1929-2023) served on McDonald's Board for 25 years (1991-2016), as non-executive chairman 2004-2016. His son Andrew J. McKenna Jr. served as Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party 2005-2009. The father was the quiet kingpin of corporate Chicago — chairman of McDonald's, director of Aon (founded by Patrick Ryan), co-owner of the Chicago Bears, supplier to McDonald's through his own paper company. The son was the face of the IL GOP. Crain's called the senior McKenna 'as good as I've seen in terms of time management' — he sat on the boards of corporations worth hundreds of billions while his family supplied them paper. |
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Andrew J. McKenna Sr. — The Complete Network
| Role | Detail |
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| McDonald's | Non-executive Chairman 2004-2016; board director 1991-2023; chairman emeritus until death; led board during company's most consequential strategic decisions; succeeded by Enrique Hernandez Jr. |
| Schwarz Supply Source Inc. | Owned this Morton Grove, IL paper company — a SUPPLIER TO McDONALD'S; Crain's: 'making him something less than totally independent' as a supposedly independent McDonald's board chairman |
| Chicago Bears | Owned 19.7% of Bears with Patrick Ryan (Aon founder/chairman); bought from grandchildren of Bears founder George Halas Sr. in 1990 during family feud |
| Aon Corporation | Director 1970-2012 — that is 42 years on the same corporate board; Aon is one of the world's largest insurance brokers — same industry as the Sandner/Horton no-RFP school insurance pattern |
| Tribune Company | Director 1982-2002 — controlled Chicago Tribune and Chicago's media narrative for 20 years |
| First Chicago NBD | Director 1991-1999 — major IL bank; later became Bank One, then JPMorgan Chase |
| Dean Foods | Director 1982-2000 — major dairy company; Oak Brook area dairy/food processing connection |
| White Sox | Chairman under Bill Veeck ownership group; spearheaded investor group to buy Sox and keep team from moving to Seattle; then chairman under Reinsdorf |
| Cubs | Board chairman |
| University of Notre Dame | Chairman 1992-2000; Trustee emeritus; Notre Dame connection shared with Joan Kroc ($12M to Notre Dame peace institute) |
| Civic | Commercial Club of Chicago (chairman); Chicago Metropolis 2020 (founding chairman); Big Shoulders Fund; Lyric Opera; United Way Metro Chicago; Museum of Science and Industry (chairman emeritus); Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital; Ireland Economic Advisory Board |
| Death | February 7, 2023; Winnetka IL; age 93; son Andrew Jr. and son William survive him |
Andrew J. McKenna Jr. — Illinois Republican Party Chairman
| Role | Detail |
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| Illinois Republican Party | Chairman 2005-2009; succeeded Judy Baar Topinka; succeeded by Pat Brady |
| 2004 U.S. Senate primary | Lost Republican primary — 'finished a distant fourth'; 'didn't want to show his mean streak' |
| 2010 IL governor primary | Lost Republican gubernatorial primary |
| Schwarz Paper | President; son took over family paper business from father |
| Connection to current politics | Was IL GOP chairman during the Rauner/Gidwitz era of IL Republican rebuilding; Andrew McKenna Sr. donated to Republican causes; Gidwitz ran Rauner's 2014 fundraising; these networks overlap |
PART IV: PATRICK RYAN — AON AND THE INSURANCE CONNECTION
| McKenna's Co-Owner of the Chicago Bears Ran the World's Largest Insurance BrokerPatrick Ryan founded Ryan Insurance Group in 1964; merged with Combined International Corporation to form Aon in 1987. Aon became the world's largest insurance broker. Ryan was chairman/CEO of Aon. Ryan and McKenna together owned 19.7% of the Chicago Bears. McKenna sat on Aon's board for 42 years (1970-2012). Aon is the parent company operating in the same space as the no-RFP school insurance pattern documented in this audit — Sandner, Horton, and every other connected insurance broker who gets school district contracts without competitive bidding. The world's largest insurance company had its key board director (McKenna) also serving as chairman of McDonald's, which was headquartered in Oak Brook, which was built by Paul Butler, whose family ran a paper company that supplied McDonald's. |
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| Item | Detail |
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| Patrick G. Ryan | Born 1937; founder Aon Corporation; net worth $2B+; philanthropist; Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Institute for Neuroscience at Northwestern Memorial Hospital |
| Aon Corporation | World's largest insurance broker; HQ Chicago IL; 2022 revenues $12.5B; 50,000 employees worldwide; also Aon Hewitt (HR consulting, now Aon) |
| Bears co-ownership | 19.7% stake with McKenna; same investor group that kept Bears in Chicago |
| Political | Ryan Specialty Group (Ryan founded after leaving Aon CEO role); Ryan donated to George W. Bush; both Ryan and McKenna were in Republican circles |
| Northwestern University | Major donor; Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Field (Northwestern's football stadium renamed from Dyche Stadium) |
| Insurance connection to audit | Aon competes in same space as every school district insurance broker in Illinois; the pattern of no-bid insurance contracts documented at D230, D135, and other districts operates in the same market where Aon is the dominant global player |
PART V: THE OAK BROOK NETWORK — EVERY MAJOR CORPORATION CONNECTED
| Oak Brook Has No Industry and 8,163 Residents But Controls Billions in Corporate DecisionsPaul Butler designed Oak Brook to have no industry, no burden, and maximum commercial value. The formula worked beyond his wildest imagination. By the time McDonald's left in 2018, Oak Brook contained: McDonald's world HQ (1971-2018), Ace Hardware HQ, Huizenga Capital Management (Waste Management fortune), JMB Realty offices, Butler National Golf Club, Oakbrook Center mall (JMB then Macerich), Inland Real Estate Group, Hub Group, TreeHouse Foods, Portillo's corporate HQ, Federal Signal, CenterPoint Properties, Dean Foods regional offices, Duchossois Group (200,000 SF build-to-suit 2015). The school district serving Oak Brook is Butler School District 53 — named for Paul Butler. |
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The Duchossois Dynasty — One More Oak Brook Billionaire
| Person | The Network |
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| Craig Duchossois | Billionaire; chairman Duchossois Group; based in Elmhurst (adjacent to Oak Brook); major Republican donor; donated to Gary Grasso's 2018 AG campaign; $1.3B net worth; built 225,000 SF headquarters in Oak Brook 2015 |
| Duchossois Group | Diversified private company: Chamberlain Group (garage door openers); Tracks (horse racing); The Duchossois Family Foundation; built AMF Bowling Products before selling; former president/CEO of Ameriquest Companies |
| Illinois politics | Craig Duchossois donated to multiple Republican candidates including Grasso; the family has been consistent major Republican donors; Duchossois Group built new Oak Brook HQ on former McDonald's adjacent land |
| Oak Brook horse racing | Duchossois family owned Arlington Park International horse racing track (Arlington Heights) until sold to Chicago Bears — same ownership ecosystem as McKenna/Ryan/Bears |
PART VI: THE COMPLETE MONEY MAP — OAK BROOK TO SPRINGFIELD
| How Oak Brook Money Flows Into Illinois Politics — The Full PictureEvery major corporate dynasty based in or connected to Oak Brook has a political donation trail into Illinois government. The question for this audit is not just who donates — it is what they get in return. McDonald's paid no property tax on 80 acres of prime DuPage County land for 47 years because Oak Brook has no school district burden on commercial property of that scale. Butler School District 53 serves Oak Brook's 8,163 residents. The Oakbrook Center mall generates sales tax that keeps the village debt-free. Every corporation headquartered in Oak Brook benefits from this unique low-tax structure that Paul Butler designed in 1958. Who maintains that structure? Who in Springfield votes to protect it? Follow the money. |
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| Family/Dynasty | Wealth Source | Political Connection |
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| Butler family | Butler Paper Company (sold 1960); Oak Brook real estate; polo; aviation | Paul Butler designed the tax-free commercial structure that all others benefit from; family connected to every major institution in Oak Brook |
| Kroc / McDonald's | McDonald's franchise empire; real estate (40,000+ locations owned or leased) | Ray Kroc: $250K to Nixon 1972 (Republican); Joan Kroc: $1M to Democratic Party; Andrew McKenna Sr. (board chair): son was IL GOP chairman; McDonald's PAC: primarily Republican at national level; $23K to IL Republican Rodney Davis 2022 |
| McKenna Sr./Jr. | Schwarz Supply Source (paper); McDonald's directorships; sports team ownership | Sr.: IL GOP kingmaker through son; 25 years McDonald's board; 42 years Aon board; Tribune board; First Chicago bank board; Jr.: IL GOP Chairman 2005-2009 during Rauner network rebuilding |
| Patrick Ryan / Aon | Aon Corporation (world's largest insurance broker); Ryan Specialty Group | Republican donor; Bears co-owner with McKenna; Northwestern philanthropist; Aon operates in same insurance market as every no-bid school district contract in IL |
| Huizenga / Waste Management | Waste Management sold for $19B 1998; Huizenga Capital Management ($several B AUM) | Primarily Republican; photos with Reagan, both Bushes, Hastert, Hyde, DeLay; gave to some Democrats ('political realist'); Peter Huizenga memorial at Christ Church of Oak Brook |
| Neil Bluhm / JMB / Rivers | JMB Realty ($15.5B peak); Rush Street Gaming ($6.4B net worth) | Exclusively Democratic; $3.5M documented IL donations; Obama birthday fundraiser; Pritzker pulled anti-Bluhm TV ads; Pritzker has Bluhm casino investment history; Bluhm owns Bulls + White Sox minority stake |
| Duchossois Group | Chamberlain Group; horse racing; Ameriquest | Republican; $2,800 to Gary Grasso 2018 AG race (Cayman Islands related companies gave Grasso same money); built 225,000 SF Oak Brook HQ 2015 |
The School District Problem — Who Does Oak Brook's Structure Hurt?
| Butler School District 53 Is Oak Brook's Only K-8 School District — With 8,163 Residents and One of the Highest Commercial Tax Bases in DuPage CountyOak Brook's commercial property tax base is enormous relative to its tiny residential population. But when TIF districts are created in adjacent municipalities like Oakbrook Terrace, Westchester, or areas adjacent to Oakbrook Center, that commercial tax base gets captured away from overlapping school districts. The bigger question: McDonald's occupied 80+ acres of prime DuPage County land for 47 years. What property taxes did Butler School District 53, the Elmhurst/Hinsdale high school districts, DuPage County, and other overlapping taxing bodies receive from McDonald's Plaza during that period? Was any of that land in a TIF district? Who negotiated those terms? This is an open FOIA question. |
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Illinois School System Audit | 866-312-6456 | auditor@illinoisschooldistrictaudit.com | May 2026