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GOVERNOR QUINN STRENGTHENS HUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS LAW

CHICAGO – Governor Pat Quinn today took action to protect animals across Illinois by
fighting puppy mills. The Governor today signed a new law that was proposed by three
dedicated third-graders from Arlington Heights and increases penalties for violations of
the Animal Welfare Act. Today’s action, taken at a Pets Are Worth Saving (PAWS) event
in Chicago, is part of Governor Quinn’s agenda to ensure that all animals are treated
humanely in Illinois.

“Our pets are a part of the family, and we must always treat them with care and
respect,” Governor Quinn said. “Three students from Arlington Heights created this new
law because they wanted to make a difference and protect animals across Illinois.”
House Bill 4410, sponsored by State Representative David Harris (R-Arlington Heights)
and State Senator Pamela Althoff (R-McHenry), increases fines on anyone that violates
the state’s Animal Welfare Act, which makes it a crime to mistreat animals. A first
violation is more than doubled from $200 to $500; a second violation is doubled from
$500 to $1,000; and a third violation will result in a $2,500 fine in addition to a
probationary status for the violator. The law is effective immediately.

This bipartisan measure was conceived by Claire Hackmann, Brooke Martin and Maddie
O’Dell, third grade students from Patton Elementary School in Arlington Heights. Claire,
Brooke and Maddie read a book about two students that rescued a puppy from a puppy
mill, which led them to research puppy mills and contact Representative Harris about
ways to limit these operations. Their lobbying efforts included a presentation at an all school
assembly to members of Patton Elementary School faculty, gathering signatures
from students and concerned citizens and even testifying before the House Agriculture
and Conservation Committee.

“It is great to see the Animal Welfare Act updated by House Bill 4410 for the protection
of all animals, and it is wonderful that the initiative for the bill was started by three third
graders from Patton School,” Representative Harris said. “I am proud to have been able
to help them, and I applaud their dedication in pushing the bill."

“This legislation was an initiative of a class at Patton School in Arlington Heights to
ensure that pet stores, dog dealers and those that board cats and dogs properly comply
with the Animal Welfare Act,” Senator Althoff said. “Most dealers and kennel operators
are professionals who take their responsibilities seriously, but unfortunately, there are
always exceptions and under current law, the penalties being enforced for those who
violate the Animal Welfare Act were too minimal to deter irresponsible breeders and
dealers from mistreating or abusing animals in their care. Increasing the administrative
fines for those who violate the Act will offer greater protection for animal welfare and
ensure that violators are held accountable.”

"We applaud the state of Illinois and Governor Quinn for working to deter the abuse and
neglect of animals by increasing fines for violators of the Animal Welfare Act,” PAWS
Chicago Founder Paula Fasseas said. “Animals are defenseless living beings and we must
be their voice and protectors."

In addition to signing House Bill 4410, the Governor today also issued an executive order
creating the Illinois Pet Advocacy Task Force. The Task Force will study issues of animal
cruelty, neglect and abuse and make recommendations that will ensure proper treatment
and care of Illinois pets. The Task Force will issue a report to the Governor and the
General Assembly within 12 months

The legislation was signed at PAWS Chicago, Chicago’s largest no-kill shelter. PAWS is
focused on solutions to end the killing of homeless pets. Since the organization’s
founding in 1997, the number of homeless pets killed in the city has been reduced by
nearly 70 percent, from 42,561 to fewer than 14,000 last year. The animal rescue spares
animals from this fate and provides them with a forever home. For more information
about PAWS Chicago and pet adoption, visit http://www.pawschicago.org.

Governor Quinn is the proud owner of a rescue dog named Rosie, a Yorkshire Terrier mix
whom he adopted from PAWS. The Governor has long been a pet lover and advocate for
the humane treatment of animals. Last year he signed the “Puppy Lemon Law” to give
buyers protection for pet purchases and to help reduce the possibility of emotional
trauma that comes from losing a pet. He also signed new laws to help ensure that all
dogs in Illinois are treated humanely when tethered outside and to provide humane
options for stray farm animals such as adoption or placement in a sanctuary.

CONGRATS TO PAULA AND BONNIE - TWO TREMENDOUS WOMEN AND HUGE PAWS PUSHERS - TCW's 100 WOMEN OF INSPIRATION

GOVERNOR QUINN AND COMPTROLLER TOPINKA AT PAWS CHICAGO TO PROMOTE PET RESCUES AND NO-KILL PROGRAMS

PAULA AND PAWS MAKE A BIG SPLASH (COVER) FOR THE FUR BALL

Party animals headed to the Paws Chicago Fur Ball

By Lisa Bertagnoli November 11, 2013

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Paula Fasseas holds Minnie Mouse; Dicie is on a leash. Both need homes.

Kendall Karmanian

Smashing Pumpkins co-founder and frontman Billy Corgan adopted his cats, Sammi and Mr. Thom, from Paws Chicago in 2003. All three are invited to Paws' annual fundraiser, the black-tie Fur Ball, Nov. 15, but only one member of the Corgan household will make the trip to the Drake Hotel. (The cats “don't travel well,” Mr. Corgan says.)

He and 750 other people will join 250 canine and feline guests, as well as 25 shelter dogs looking for permanent homes, at Fur Ball. The presence of animals and high-profile people such as Mr. Corgan and philanthropist Ann Lurie helps Fur Ball net $1.1 million, making it the most lucrative pet-related gala in the city. (By comparison, Anti-Cruelty Society's humans-only It's Raining Cats and Dogs event, held every fall, raises about $200,000). Fur Ball's seven-figure net makes it one of the most successful Chicago-area fundraisers, period.

Pets have been part of the party since Fur Ball began 12 years ago, at the Escada store, then on Michigan Avenue. “Escada approached us. They said they'd seen this done in New York, parties with animals,” says Paula Fasseas, 58, Paws' founder and volunteer CEO. Event designer Tom Kehoe, with Fur Ball since the beginning, outfitted the store with paw prints on the walls and picket fences on the floor. “It was adorable,” Ms. Fasseas says. Fur Ball outgrew the store within two years; it moved to the W Hotel and landed at the Drake six years ago.

The first Fur Ball attracted 200 people and netted $180,000. The event passed the $1 million mark last year and now accounts for about 18 percent of Paws' $6.6 million annual budget. The organization, which runs a no-kill dog and cat shelter, offers spay and neuter services to owners who can't afford them otherwise and encourages adoption rather than buying from a pet store or breeder. It is funded entirely by private donations.

Paws' mission “feels right to me—we've all been to the shelters where you want to cry,” Mr. Corgan says. “There's something beautiful about Chicagoans in their finest, at the Drake, with their animals,” he adds. “It makes you laugh—there's an absurdity about it."

Paws Chicago Fur Ball When: Nov. 15, 6 p.m. Where: Drake Hotel, 140 E. Walton Place How much: $400 and up; $100 per pet with individual ticket, free with $1,000 sponsorship ticket Dress code: Black tie Expected attendance: 750 Expected net: $1.1 million Tickets and more info: 773-843-4887 orFurBall.PawsEvents.org Social Whirl: See the slide show of this and other events at ChicagoBusiness.com/society. Submit your own event information atChicagoBusiness.com/societyevents.

Last year, Mr. Corgan donated a private concert at Madame ZuZu's, his tea house in Highland Park, to the live auction. The concert sold three times for $30,000. This year, he is offering a dinner for 10 at a North Shore estate. Curtis Duffy, chef-owner at Grace in Chicago, will cook, and Mr. Corgan will curate what he calls “Follies-like” music and entertainment. “It will be Great Gatsby meets San Simeon,” Mr. Corgan says.

Ann Lurie, best-known for underwriting a huge chunk of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, has donated $913,200 to Paws since its founding in 1997; she donated seed money for the organization's Lurie Spay/Neuter Clinic, which performed 18,130 free procedures in 2012. Ms. Fasseas, she says, “has put so much time and energy into this cause . . . . She's really done her due diligence.”

It takes some planning to include almost 300 animals at a black-tie event. Paws will tap 200 of its 5,000 volunteers to work Fur Ball. Of those, 100 will prowl the Gold Coast Room and Grand Ballroom during the gala, looking for possible dog and cat fights and overstimulated creatures. Party-weary pets will be whisked off to the “spa,” a section on the mezzanine outfitted with AstroTurf and plastic sheeting, for a nail clipping, massage or down time in a crate.

Cooks at the Drake have created a pet-friendly meal—no onion, chocolate or other substances poisonous to animals—that will be served on a buffet table and marked clearly as pet, not people, food.

The hotel will have its Christmas tree up and decorated. Paws likes the tree so much that its presence is specified in the gala contract but otherwise limits shrubbery. “They did ficus trees one year and the dogs enjoyed the trees a little too much,” says Ann O'Riordan, director of catering and events at the Drake.

The night of the event, Ms. O'Riordan keeps housekeepers on alert to clean up any messes quickly. The day after, the Fur Ball areas are given a deep clean, she says. It sounds worse than it is: “The animals are better-behaved than a lot of our New Year's Eve guests,” she says.

Contact: life@chicagobusiness.com