The first time businessman Gary Rabine met Charlie Kirk, the then-18-year-old conservative activist showed up for a fundraiser at a far northwest suburban golf club to network and expand what seemed at the time to Rabine like a “little cause.”

Rabine, who had founded a Schaumburg-based paving company and later went on to run an unsuccessful GOP primary campaign for governor in 2022, told the Tribune he had reservations but agreed to sit down for a quick chat with Kirk about four hours later, which was well past midnight.

“He explained to me and my late wife about his goals and his dreams,” Rabine said. “He said, ‘I want to build an organization that educates kids everywhere, on college campuses all over America, on why God is great and why America is great.’ He really hooked me on that

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