The Democratic Party's base is Chicago's upper-class white people, while the Republican Party's base is Chicago's middle class.
Reeves has a larger base. Mexicans, African Americans, Hispanics, lower-class rednecks, and even homeless people in Chicago can all become his voters.
Although these lower-class people are numerous, they are divided into small ethnic groups and have not formed a unified force, so they have no advantage in the election.
But now with Reebok, these people have a united goal. Therefore, in the polls, Reebok's support rate quickly far exceeded the other two.
For Monroe, the Democratic candidate, he naturally regarded Reeves as his biggest opponent.
On this day, a black extended Lincoln stopped in front of the Daley family's estate on the outskirts of Chicago.
This 50-acre estate is surrounded by vast lawns and cast iron fences, with a huge castle built in the early 19th century in the center.
Monroe, wearing a gray-blue haute couture suit, slowly walked into the castle, led by two maids.
In the castle's living room, the two brothers, Daley Hertz and Daley Sanderson, were sitting in front of the fireplace drinking and chatting.
Playing cards and Cuban cigar ashes were scattered on the table, and a yellowed clipping of the front page of the Chicago Tribune lay at the bottom of the whiskey glass.
"Monroe, sit down."
After Monroe sat down, the maid beside him poured him a glass of whiskey.
Dalyhertz asked, "What's wrong, Monroe? Is there something wrong with the congressman's election?"
"No big deal," Monroe replied. "Reeves is using those poor people at the bottom of society to gain support. Maybe we need to use some tricks."
"It's ridiculous that a gang boss can gain support from the grassroots people," said Daley Sanderson.
Monroe swirled his wine glass, the cold blue veins unique to white people faintly visible on his wrist. "This Reeves is very smart. He sends food and daily necessities to those poor people every week - using these cheap things to buy people's hearts."
Daly Helz wheeled his wheelchair over to the fireplace, the flames dancing in his cloudy eyes. "Remember how the FBI brought down Martin Luther King in the 1960s? They stuffed prostitutes into his hotel, took those 'immoral' photos... In the end, they just found a racist and killed him."
"Those lower-class people are the easiest to deal with." Sanderson tapped the Persian carpet with his ivory cane. "We just need to get a few media outlets to publish some negative information about Reeves. That would be enough to bring him down."
"Well, I agree with this approach." Dalyherz looked at the fire and agreed without turning his head.
Monroe immediately expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Mr. Daly, for your help."
"You don't need to thank us," Dalyhearts replied. "Just remember one thing: everything you have is given by our Daly family."
"I'll remember that, sir," Monroe replied respectfully.
"Okay, if you have nothing else to say, please go back. We two brothers don't have much time left and we need to go to bed."
After Dalyherz finished speaking, two maids came forward and pushed the two brothers out of the reception room together.
On the other side, Ribs did not relax at all.
Every day he brings his team to give speeches in various districts of Chicago, and anyone who comes can receive various small gifts.
Tens of thousands of red hats with the slogan "Make Chicago Great Again" were distributed.
When promoting himself to the outside world, he naturally could not reveal his gangster identity, so Reeves always faced the public as a successful businessman.
Sometimes, Reeves would bring Kezia along on stage to give speeches, promoting his happy family life. This was a trick he learned from veteran politicians: having their families appear publicly was also a way to gain the trust of voters.
With Ribs' unremitting efforts, he gained good popularity throughout Chicago.
On the streets and in the subway, you can often see supporters of Reebok wearing red hats.
Polls showed that Reeves' support rate was close to 50%. To achieve this result in his first run for parliament, he was definitely a dark horse that year.
At this time, the "Ribbs Charitable Foundation" that Frank had been organizing was also successfully established.
On that day, Frank personally invited Reeves to come and report on the situation of the foundation.
In a high-end office building in Chicago's Loop district, the Ribbs Charitable Foundation occupies an entire floor.
Frank was dressed in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses, looking like a successful businessman.
He stood at the door of his brand new office, pointed at the large, gold-plated letters on the doorplate that read "Black Rabbit Charity Foundation," and said, "Boss! Look, how impressive!"
Libus's face darkened. "What boss? Be careful with your words in public from now on."
"Oh! Boss, boss!" Frank quickly changed his words.
Reeves then smiled and walked into the office, where several lawyers and accountants had been waiting for a long time.
Frank cleared his throat, pulled out a pile of information, and explained to Reeves, "First, the foundation is registered as a non-profit organization and enjoys federal tax exemption."
"Second, we will establish three major programs: 'community assistance,' 'education support,' and 'medical assistance.' The accounts must be kept clean, and every expenditure will have 'reasonable' invoices and receipts."
"Third, the profits from the Black Rabbit Casino, the Black Rabbit Gang, and the recently acquired waste recycling business all flow into the foundation as 'donations' and are then operated through 'charitable projects'."
"Of course, the owner of the foundation is you, the boss. You can pay any expenses you need through the foundation."
"Okay! Well done!" Ribs looked through the accounts handed over by Frank and nodded repeatedly.
Where the foundation manages its assets, Reeves saw a number: $5.3 million.
It's a bit unreasonable for a foundation to only manage such a small amount of money...
Compared with those American foundations with assets of tens of billions, his foundation is simply the weakest among the weak.
However, these assets need to be accumulated slowly. Whether it is the Black Rabbit Gang, the casino, or the garbage recycling business, they are all just starting out and it is not time to make big money yet!
After reviewing the accounts, Reeves asked with some concern, "Frank, will such a large-scale 'donation' attract the attention of the IRS (Internal Revenue Service)?"
Frank grinned, revealing his yellow teeth. "Don't worry, we're a 'charitable foundation'! The IRS won't investigate charities unless they want to be labeled a 'cold-blooded bureaucrat' by the media."
The foundation's lawyer standing nearby added, "Furthermore, we can exploit a loophole in 'political donations'—our foundation can 'legally' sponsor your campaign, laundering money and canvassing for votes at the same time—killing two birds with one stone."
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