THE ILLINOIZE: Our campaign finance and ethics laws are broken...Bears to Arlington bill emerges...The House is back full strength...Meet Rep. Harry Benton
February 7, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
Just a reminder, visitation for Laurence Msall is this afternoon in the Galewood neighbernood on the far west side. Visitation is 4-8 pm at Salerno's Galewood Chapel, 1857 North Harlem Ave., Chicago. Mass will be held tomorrow at 10 am at St. Giles Church, 1045 Columbian Ave, Oak Park.
The House and Senate are in at noon. Governor Pritzker is in Peoria this morning speaking at the mobilization ceremony for the 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion of the 106th Aviation Regiment. He’ll also announce improvements to the Bob Michel Bridge over the Illinois River.
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Let’s get to it.
OUR BROKEN CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS ON DISPLAY
OPINION
A story this weekend highlighting how a Democratic group blew off campaign finance reporting laws to hide their expenditures in heavily contested Supreme Court races shows the glaring holes in our finance and ethics laws.
Per the great Rick Pearson and Ray Long at the Tribune (and why re-write the same facts that they already write better than me?), the All for Justice PAC, run by a close associate and lawyer for Senate President Don Harmon failed to report their major expenses in two contested Supreme Court races in a seeming attempt to hide their strategic decisions.
From the Trib:
The failure of All for Justice to follow the disclosure guidelines mandated by state election law obscured its pro-Democratic spending in the critical months preceding the November races in which the partisan balance of the Illinois Supreme Court was up for grabs.
By not following the disclosure rules, the spending by All for Justice — which represented a quarter of the more than $23 million spent overall on the two Supreme Court races and nearly 40% of the money behind the Democratic candidates — went undisclosed until months after the election.
All for Justice was formed in August 2022 as an independent expenditure political action committee, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose candidates but cannot coordinate its spending with the contenders it backs.
Because it began spending money on Sept. 29, within 60 days of the Nov. 8 election, All for Justice was required to file detailed public reports within two days for each expenditure of $1,000 or more that it made on behalf of Rochford and O’Brien or against Republican opponents Mark Curran and Michael Burke. Instead, they filed nothing.
Here’s the rub: they knew exactly what they were doing.
A spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections says the Board has the ability to fine a committee $3,000 per offense for multiple offenses. Even 20 missed reports would coast the committee somewhere in the range of $60,000. That’s easily replaced by one check from a big Democratic donor.
It's also worth mentioning the guy who blew off the reporting, Luke Casson, is a former in house lawyer for Harmon, but has also been defending Harmon in multiple ongoing legal matters. The left hand knows what the far left hand is doing.
Democrats wrote the laws and sure as heck know how to take advantage of them.
Why face any real consequences? You had better believe if a Republican PAC had pulled the stunt in November, the law would have been changed already.
“They’re getting away with what should be criminal fraud,” said one top Republican. “Our campaign finance laws are a joke.”
The Board of Elections is relatively toothless in the scenario and Democrats in control know it. Campaign finance laws should allow the state to revoke a committee’s ability to operate. And, if there is seriously shady repeat offender, there should be criminal consequences.
A spokesman for the board won’t way if members want to crack down on abuse to campaign finance laws.
But for now, there’s no incentive to play by the rules if all you have to do is pay a small fine.
That doesn’t help anyone.
BEARS STADIUM BILL EMERGES
The first legislative foray into drawing the Chicago Bears to suburban Arlington Heights has been filed in Springfield. From the Chicago Tribune:
Legislation was filed in Springfield on Monday that could help the Chicago Bears finance their proposed development in Arlington Heights by freezing the property tax assessment on the former Arlington International Racecourse property for up to 40 years.
The plan, which would require the Bears to invest at least $500 million in converting the 326-acre site to a stadium and surrounding mixed-use development, has been floated for weeks and is being met with some skepticism, even from the state lawmaker who filed the legislation.
“I’ve expressed my doubts about whether this is an approach ... we really want to open the door to,” state Sen. Ann Gillespie said Monday.
The Arlington Heights Democrat said she is sponsoring the proposal in part because she wants to see the concept, which she said mirrors a proposal from the Bears and other business interests, incorporated into a broader conversation about reforming a separate form of tax assistance for development known as tax increment financing. TIFs are a frequently used economic development tool that she contends often results in homeowners and small businesses paying higher real estate taxes.
The measure filed Monday, which also could be used for other mega projects, would require companies such as the Bears making such agreements to negotiate an annual payment to local taxing bodies on top of property tax payments based on the frozen assessment. The idea is to create an incentive for larger developments that would not occur without the assistance, according to supporters.
The Bears declined to comment, and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, which has been a vocal supporter of such a proposal, did not respond to a request for comment.
The legislation has yet to be assigned to a committee for consideration, and it’s likely to face pushback from Chicago lawmakers who don’t want to make it any easier for the NFL’s charter franchise to leave its namesake city.
Anyone who follows these things knows big bills like this are never enacted in their initial form. If a deal takes shape, I’m sure it will look a lot different and we won’t see it until May.
MEET THE FRESHMEN: REP. HARRY BENTON (D-PLAINFIELD)
We probably won’t be able to get to everyone, but with so many new members this spring, we thought we should take some time to introduce you to some of the new faces in Springfield.
With the possible exception of the handful of farmers in the Illinois General Assembly, there’s probably no lawmaker who gets his hands dirty more than Rep. Harry Benton (D-Plainfield).
Benton, 35, is a union ironworker who was working on a bridge project Monday and heads to Springfield this morning attempt to build political bridges. Benton believes that blue collar background will be a benefit.
“I come from a union. I believe in unions,” Benton said. “I believe in blue collar ethics and values and wages and benefits. That’s very representative of my new district.”
Benton ran for the House in 2020, failing to unseat then-Rep. Mark Batinick, but Democrats drew a safer district in 2022 allowing Benton to win the take the seat from the GOP. The district includes the southern tips Naperville and Aurora, most of Plainfield, and runs south to Shorewood in Will County. It also includes a portion of Oswego in Kendall County.
“Being a moderate, there are a lot of things we can agree on,” Benton said. “This is about helping people, making people’s day-to-day lives better.
Benton says he wants to prioritize access to affordable child care and educational opportunities for trade and vocational education, property tax relief, prescription drug affordability, and investing in infrastructure improvements.
“Good government should be like a good marriage,” he said. “If you aren’t willing to compromise, it’s never going to work.”
Benton grew up in Crest Hill and has spent 12 years in Plainfield. He and his wife have a 4-year-old and 2-year-old.
NEW GOP REPS WITH SAME GOAL: “GETTING THINGS DONE”
Two new Republicans in the Illinois House come from vastly different backgrounds representing vastly different districts, but each shares a common idea: getting things done.
Rep. Jason Bunting replaces Tom Bennett in the 106th House District which stretches from the Indiana line to Grundy, LaSalle, and McLean Counties. Bunting, 46, is a farmer who lives just outside of the Livingston County community of Emington. Emington has a population of 101.
He has long been heavily involved in the Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Corn Growers Association, and wants to use his farm just off of Interstate 55 as a way to talk to his Chicago-area colleagues about agriculture in the state.
“We will have an open door policy on our farm,” Bunting said. “Any of my colleagues [are welcome.] I think that’s a way we can bridge the gap between production agriculture and the urban lifestyle.”
But Bunting knows accomplishing anything of substance will require Democratic cooperation.
“With a 40 to 78 seat [minority], we have to work together,” Bunting said. “We need to start coming together on some common goals.
Lemont Mayor John Egofske also filled a seat Saturday belonging to outgoing House GOP Leader Durking. Egofske, 55, was elected Mayor of Lemont in 2017 and re-elected in 2021. He took on the role after leaving a corporate role as Chief Financial Officer.
Egofske, along with Rep. Brad Stephens (R-Rosemont) are the only two remaining Republicans to represent any of Cook County.
“I’m all about getting stuff done,” Egofske said.
Both come to Springfield today for their first day in the House.
“I’m just going to try to find my parking spot,” Egofske laughed.
They’ll have a lot to learn.
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