FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mary Kate Zander
President & CEO
Illinois Right to Life
Phone: 312-422-3900
Email: marykate@illinoisrighttolife.org
October 26, 2026
Illinois Right to Life Calls on Cardinal Cupich to Withdraw Honor for $1.1M Donor to Abortion Causes at Seminary Fundraiser
Michael Sacks helped recruit Governor J.B. Pritzker, whose record on abortion and LGBTQ issues is prominent as he gains national political attention
CHICAGO, IL — Illinois Right to Life is calling on Cardinal Blase Cupich and University of Saint Mary of the Lake Rector Fr. John Kartje to withdraw a planned honor for billionaire businessman and Democratic political donor Michael Sacks at an October 29 fundraiser supporting the formation of future Catholic priests.
The organization cites Sacks' reported $1.1 million in abortion-related giving, his leadership in Illinois' campaign to legalize same-sex marriage, and his extensive political relationships with Illinois Democratic leaders, including Governor J.B. Pritzker, whom Sacks helped recruit to run for office.
Sacks, chairman and CEO of GCM Grosvenor, is scheduled to receive the Nostra Aetate Award at the annual Seminary Salutes Rerum Novarum fundraiser.
Public foundation grant records identify $500,000 in contributions from the Sacks Family Foundation to Planned Parenthood of Illinois between 2020 and 2022. A September 2026 report by Crain's Chicago Business has also been cited as identifying an additional $600,000 contribution by Sacks to an abortion initiative benefiting organizations including Planned Parenthood of Illinois and Chicago Abortion Fund.
Together, these contributions represent approximately $1.1 million in documented and reported support for abortion-related causes since 2020.
Sacks has also publicly pledged continued support for Personal PAC, an Illinois political organization that works to elect candidates who support abortion.
His advocacy extends beyond the abortion issue.
In 2013, Sacks worked alongside then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to recruit business leaders in support of legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in Illinois. He was among the early signatories of a business-community letter supporting the legislation and helped mobilize corporate backing for its passage.
Equality Illinois presented Sacks and GCM Grosvenor with its 2015 Business Leadership Award, recognizing their role in mobilizing business support for legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in Illinois. Equality Illinois also advocates for access to sex-change treatments for minors.
But Sacks' influence extends beyond philanthropy and advocacy into the highest levels of Illinois politics.
According to an October 16, 2026, investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ, Sacks helped recruit J.B. Pritzker to run for governor of Illinois.
Since taking office, Pritzker has made abortion and LGBTQ issues defining priorities of his administration. He has signed legislation expanding abortion, strengthening protections for individuals traveling to Illinois for abortion and sex-change treatments, and positioning Illinois as a national leader on these issues.
As Pritzker has emerged as a potential Democratic presidential contender, his record on abortion and LGBTQ issues has attracted national attention.
According to the same October 2026 investigation, Michael and Cari Sacks have contributed approximately $9.2 million to Illinois Democratic candidates and causes this election cycle. Of that $9.2 million, nearly $1.2 million was distributed amongst 28 candidates for state office, all of whom were left-leaning. Another $1.25 million was given to Common Ground Collective IEC, a political organization forwarding progressive causes. Cari Sacks gave a personal donation of $50,000 to Personal PAC.
Cardinal Cupich has maintained publicly documented relationships with these same political leaders, particularly Governor Pritzker. In 2022, the Chicago Sun-Times published private communications documenting frequent contact and expressions of mutual support between the Cardinal and the governor.
Sacks' connections to Chicago's Catholic leadership also extend back at least a decade.
In November 2016, Sacks traveled to Rome with Mayor Emanuel's delegation during the ceremonies surrounding Cupich's elevation to the College of Cardinals. Contemporary reporting placed Sacks at a private dinner hosted by Emanuel during the visit, which Cupich also attended.
"The Archdiocese of Chicago cannot credibly proclaim the sanctity of human life while publicly honoring a man whose wealth has helped support abortion providers and organizations working to expand abortion in Chicago," said Mary Kate Zander, President of Illinois Right to Life. "Michael Sacks helped recruit J.B. Pritzker, whose administration has made abortion and LGBTQ issues defining priorities and whose ambitions to forward those causes at the federal level are apparent. Now Cardinal Cupich intends to honor Sacks at an event dedicated to forming future Catholic priests. Catholics deserve an explanation for that decision."
The controversy also comes amid substantial financial relationships between Illinois state government and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Catholic Charities operates with finances separate from the Archdiocese's corporate operations, and the awards fund public services rather than unrestricted Archdiocesan activities.
Illinois Right to Life believes the convergence of significant government funding, the Cardinal's longstanding relationships with Democratic political leaders, and the decision to honor one of the party's most influential benefactors warrants public scrutiny.
"The relationships between Cardinal Cupich, Illinois' Democratic political establishment, and Michael Sacks raise serious questions about the independence of Catholic leadership in Illinois," Zander continued. "When Catholic institutions maintain close relationships with political leaders who champion policies contrary to Catholic teaching, the faithful should expect Church leadership to demonstrate that its moral commitments remain uncompromised."
The planned recognition also raises questions under the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2004 statement Catholics in Political Life, which says Catholic institutions should not give awards, honors, or platforms that would suggest support for actions contrary to fundamental moral principles.
About Illinois Right to Life
Illinois Right to Life is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting human life from conception until natural death through education, advocacy, and direct assistance to women and families.
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