Today, the Illinois AFL-CIO endorsed John Fritchey in the 5th Congressional District race.  Their adjoining press release included this explanation:

Rep. Fritchey has a 97 percent lifetime voting record with the Illinois AFL-CIO, supporting important legislation like the minimum wage increases, the Equal Pay Act, employee misclassification regulations, Prevailing Wage Act enforcement, mine safety measures, health care expansion, Workers’ Compensation improvements, corporate accountability, whistleblower protections, day laborer protections, pay day loan reform, the freedom to picket during work disputes and card check recognition for public employees.

The announcement -- coming on the heels of endorsements from AFSCME and the Illinois Federation of Teachers -- has some scratching their heads.  After all, as blogger Jesse Greenberg remarked the other day, "John Fritchey is not the most 'labor-friendly' candidate in the race." 

Moreover, he's the only lobbyist in the running and his roster of clients over the past eight years should raise some eyebrows in the labor community.  Using the Chicago Board of Ethics database, we compiled that list, which you can peruse below:

In relation to some of the issues we've covered over the past year, a few names immediately pop out. 

First of all, Fritchey was registered as a lobbyist for Bank of America in November 2006.  This is the same bank that the Republic Windows workers had to fight tooth-and-nail for the pay they were owed.  It's also the same financial institution that took $25 billion in federal bailout funds and then held a conference call with conservative activists to coordinate opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act.

Second, the Illinois Bankers Association appears on the list in July 2005.  This organization has recently been campaigning against Sen. Dick Durbin's proposal to allow homeowners facing foreclosure to renegotiate the terms of their mortgages in bankruptcy court.  As we've noted, the banking lobby has obstructed this important legislation again and again.

Third, Cash America International -- a pawn shop and payday loan operator -- has been a Fritchey client from November 2006 through his last filing in December 2008.  When this issue has been broached in the past, he's responded by detailing his work for the company.  For instance, here's an entry from the comments section of a Capitol Fax post last April:

Last year, I represented Cash America in an application for a special use in order to establish a pawn shop in the Little Village neighborhood in Chicago. The application was before the Zoning Board of Appeals, which is comprised of private citizens, not Alderman, and had the support of the community.

Pursuant to my representation, as required by City ordinance, I filed a lobbyist registration form with the Chicago Board of Ethics, which not only set forth who my client was, but also included the actual retainer letter for the engagement. My representation could not have been more transparent.

But while the Cash America in Little Village is indeed a pawn shop and not a payday lender, the corporation's website offers payday loans with crushing interest rates.  Which begs the question: If Fritchey is an opponent of predatory lending, why is he assisting this company's expansion?

And more broadly, if Fritchey is really a champion of working families, why he is lobbying for companies that clearly don't have their interests at heart?