The Brady couple's 2008 and 2009 returns showed they paid no federal income taxes for the past two years.
Slightly more than a dozen reporters had three hours to read six years of Bill and Nancy Brady's tax returns. And they had to do in a conference room at the Brady headquarters in Springfield. No copies were allowed to be t. Three hours, and that was it.
"That's just the decision that we made with both the candidate. This is how we decided to do it," said Jerry Clark, Brady campaign manager
Governor Quinn, who handed out copies of his returns earlier this week, was not impressed.
"This peek-a-boo approach of Senator Brady is not full disclosure. He's really selling the people of Illinois short," Quinn said.
The Brady family owns a residential home construction and real estate business. They reported losses of over $116,000 in 2008. While their income recovered to nearly $120,000 last year, they still paid no federal because they carried over the previous year's losses.
"Senator Brady's business interests have been hurt in the last few years, and as the economy has been struggling, so has he," said Jason Barickman, Brady's attorney.
Despite the lean years, the Brady family's gross income since 2004 is more than $1.7 million, on which the couple paid $380,000 in state and federal taxes or about 22 percent of their income.
The return listed at least a dozen businesses and income properties from them.
ABC7 was the only Chicago television station go to Springfield to view the taxes. According to Brady's attorney, the three hours the campaign allowed Friday was a one-shot opportunity to do so.
