CME Chair Gifted With Golden Toilet By Protesters

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 25, 2012 3:00PM

Hours before President Obama said everyone needed to pay their fair share in taxes during his State of the Union Address, a group of protesters railed against "corporate welfare" by delivering a golden toilet to CME Group chairman Terrence Duffy.

The gilded commode was symbolic of the recent tax break package handed to CME Group, CBOE Holdings and Sears Holdings Corp. by the Illinois General Assembly.

Since the tax breaks were signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn, CME Group has stopped handing out charitable grants through its CME Group Foundation, citing the MF Global scandal; Sears announced that it would close up to 120 stores across the country after weak holiday sales. CBOE Holdings CEO Bill Brodsky, in as tone deaf a moment as we've heard, said he was "embarrassed" to live in Illinois after Moody's downgraded the state's credit rating.

Protesters eventually left the toilet behind after their requests to gift it to Duffy personally were ignored.