Jay Bergman is an American businessman and political donor.

Personal life and education

Jay Bergman was born in and has lived his entire life in Joliet, Illinois. He is the son of a factory employee and school secretary. Bergman attended Joliet Junior College for two years, before graduating from

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

in 1970 with a degree in business administration. Bergman is known as a generous donor to many charitable causes, usually preferring to make significant contributions without publicity or attribution. He and his wife did, however, contribute $782,000 to the Chicago-area Red Cross for construction of a blood storage center that will bear their name.

Career

Bergman's career started in land development. In 1987, Bergman acquired oil wells in Southern Indiana, beginning his career in oil. Bergman's company, Petco Petroleum, owns oil and gas fields in 20 states. In 2005, Bergman reached a $135,000 settlement with Illinois Attorney General

Lisa Madigan Lisa Murray Madigan (born July 30, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she served as Illinois Attorney General, Attorney General of the U.S. state of Illinois from 2003 t ...

over oil spills. In 2013, Madigan filed a complaint against Petco, alleging that Petco is “the worst polluter in the field of Illinois oil production.” Bergman has also invested in small banks.

Political activities

Bergman donated $1 million to Republican

Super PAC Independent expenditure-only political action committees, better known as super PACs, are a type of political action committee (PAC) in the United States. Unlike traditional PACs, super PACs are legally allowed to fundraise unlimited amounts of m ...

American Crossroads in 2012. Bergman has also contributed to the campaigns of Democratic Illinois Governors

Rod Blagojevich Rod R. Blagojevich ( ; born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nickname "Blago", is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Blagojevich previously worked ...

and Pat Quinn. Bergman is a member of the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois State University Board of Trustees. In 2016, he gave $500,000 to Future45 a

super PAC Independent expenditure-only political action committees, better known as super PACs, are a type of political action committee (PAC) in the United States. Unlike traditional PACs, super PACs are legally allowed to fundraise unlimited amounts of m ...

supporting Donald Trump.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergman, Jay Living people Year of birth missing (living people)