McHenry County Blog

A press release from Congressman Joe Walsh:

Duckworth Violates FEC Laws – Fails to Disclose by Transparency Deadline

As of the October 15 filing deadline, Tammy Duckworth had not fully disclosed her fundraising for the July through September fundraising period.

The Federal Election Commission requires all candidates’ committees disclose their fundraising activities each quarter. The Duckworth campaign instead only released their September totals without July’s and August’s activities at the deadline.

Congressman Walsh stated, “This looks to be another instance where Tammy Duckworth thinks the rules don’t apply to her.

“Whether she’s

• unlawfully taking two homestead exemptions in Illinois while living in DC or
• attempting to terminate whistleblowers at the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs,

Ms. Duckworth has displayed a pattern of ducking the rules.”

“When Ms. Duckworth has spent so much time campaigning against Super PACs because they lack transparency in campaign finance,” Walsh continued, “it is her campaign that was the source of mystery at the filing deadline.

“Does she believe federal election laws do not apply to her?”

Walsh concluded, “This looks like just one more of her many ‘oversights’. At the Illinois DVA, she was citied multiple times for misreporting funds by the Illinois Auditor General, including a misreporting of $4 million in grant money. Either way, Ms. Duckworth, since becoming a Blagojevich Bureaucrat, has displayed a repeated pattern of ‘misreporting’ or blatantly breaking rules.”

A shot of the FEC screen showing Duckworth did not file on time.  Click to enlarge.

This morning, the Walsh for Congress campaign filed a formal complaint with the FEC to look into the matter. A copy of the complaint can be viewed here.

The end of year financial disclosures filed by Congressmen Don Manzullo and Adam Kinzinger are not as easy to find as I would have wished, but having found them, I conclude that the two are evenly matched as far as available funds go.

Don Manzullo's campaign fund raising and spending during the last three months of 2011

Don Manzullo

Adam Kinzinger

Manzullo reports $522,864 at the end of December, while Kinzinger had $651,089.

That gives Kinzinger a $128,000 lead, but they both appear to have enough money to make significant TV buys in the Downstate markets that cover their ring-around-the-collar counties congressional district that Illinois Democrats drew.

Manzullo raised $160,000 during the three months, while Kinzinger took in $201,000.

Kinzinger spent more than Manzullo.  The totals were $201,000 for Kinzinger to Manzullo’s $118,000.

Here's a summary of what Congressman Adam Kinzinger raised and spent during October, November and December.

Melissa Bean

Joe Walsh

The Daily Herald did the research on which 8th Congressional District candidate raised how much in the first quarter of this year.

Unsurprisingly, incumbent Melissa Bean, darling of the insurance and banking industries, far outdistanced the survivor of the Republican primary election, Joe Walsh.

Bean had over a million dollars left, while Walsh reported $46,299 available. Walsh owes more than $75,000 to himself and others, the Daily Herald says.

Now the the United States Supreme Court has ruled that corporations and unions can use non-PAC funds out of their general treasuries to support or oppose Federal candidates for office, the question in my head is whether corporations will start contributing to one of Congressman Mark Kirk’s opponents.

Maybe the low limits applicable to individuals would apply to “natural persons,” as dissenter Justice John Paul Stevens wrote.

If so, no potential problem for Kirk.

If not…there might be a lot more ads on television.

I see from this article that there are now no limits on corporate contributions in Federal elections.

“‘It is a sweeping decision. In one opinion, the Court struck down all bans on corporate independent spending,’ said Marc Elias, a leading Dem election lawyer at Perkins Coie,” the article in Hotline on call says.

Robert Kelner, a GOP election lawyer at Covington & Burling, thinks most money will flow through trade associations, although individual companies may buy ads themselves.

Under current Illinois law corporations and unions can contribute unlimited amounts to political campaigns.

A limit of $5,000 is set to go into effect next election cycle, but it does not pertain to independent expenditures.

Whether that limit for corporation contributions to Political Action Committee’s will be challenged remains to be seen.

The Federal Election Commission announced Wednesday a finding (MUR 5568) that “the Empower Illinois Media Fund (EIMF) violated the Federal Election Campaign by failing to register with the FEC as a political committee and file disclosure reports.”

The committee supported Alan Keyes in his U.S. Senatorial campaign against Barack Obama.

According the decision’s summary, “The FEC determined that EIMF’s fundraising communications made clear to potential donors that any funds received would be used to influence the 2004 Senate race in Illinois by conducting a media campaign targeting Barack Obama. EIMF spent about $83,000 during the 2004 election cycle, with more than $75,000 devoted to production and placement of radio and television ads opposing Obama’s candidacy.

“The Federal Election Campaign Act states that an organization that makes expenditures, or receives contributions,in excess of $1,000 must register with the Commission as a political committee and file regular financial disclosure reports. The Act prohibits political committees from receiving contributions from corporations or labor organizations and limits contributions from individuals to no more than $5,000 per year.

“EIMF accepted approximately $70,000 in contributions in amounts exceeding $5,000 per individual. EIMF signed a conciliation agreement and agreed to pay a civil penalty of $3,000.”

The FEC reports the respondents in the case were

1. Empower Illinois
2. Empower Illinois Media Fund
3. Jeffrey D. Davis
4. Alan L. Keyes
5. Keyes 2004, Inc. and Eugene T. Carter in his official capacity as treasurer
6. Jack Roeser

Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington was the complainant.

I couldn’t find anything else on the FEC web site, but Politico had this on the 527 group.

Noted in the August 17th article is the following:

”Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, MoveOn.org and the League of Conservation Voters late last year agreed to pay nearly $630,000 to settle charges they skirted campaign finance rules during the 2004 elections.”

There was this additional information. It identified Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics as

“a left-leaning watchdog group, (which) complained to the FEC that Empower Illinois was skirting campaign finance rules, partly by coordinating its attacks with the Keyes campaign through Davis and Jack Roeser, a wealthy donor.

”Roeser, an Illinois high-tech business owner who pledged to raise $1 million for Keyes’ campaign, contributed $40,000 to Empower Illinois and a related group and also met with Keyes to discuss his campaign.

“But the FEC said he wasn’t complicit in Empower Illinois violations.”

The Federal Election Commission announced Wednesday a finding (MUR 5568) that “the Empower Illinois Media Fund (EIMF) violated the Federal Election Campaign by failing to register with the FEC as a political committee and file disclosure reports.”

The committee supported Alan Keyes in his U.S. Senatorial campaign against Barack Obama.

According the decision’s summary, “The FEC determined that EIMF’s fundraising communications made clear to potential donors that any funds received would be used to influence the 2004 Senate race in Illinois by conducting a media campaign targeting Barack Obama. EIMF spent about $83,000 during the 2004 election cycle, with more than $75,000 devoted to production and placement of radio and television ads opposing Obama’s candidacy.

“The Federal Election Campaign Act states that an organization that makes expenditures, or receives contributions,in excess of $1,000 must register with the Commission as a political committee and file regular financial disclosure reports. The Act prohibits political committees from receiving contributions from corporations or labor organizations and limits contributions from individuals to no more than $5,000 per year.

“EIMF accepted approximately $70,000 in contributions in amounts exceeding $5,000 per individual. EIMF signed a conciliation agreement and agreed to pay a civil penalty of $3,000.”

The FEC reports the respondents in the case were

1. Empower Illinois
2. Empower Illinois Media Fund
3. Jeffrey D. Davis
4. Alan L. Keyes
5. Keyes 2004, Inc. and Eugene T. Carter in his official capacity as treasurer
6. Jack Roeser

Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington was the complainant.

I couldn’t find anything else on the FEC web site, but Politico had this on the 527 group.

Noted in the August 17th article is the following:

”Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, MoveOn.org and the League of Conservation Voters late last year agreed to pay nearly $630,000 to settle charges they skirted campaign finance rules during the 2004 elections.”

There was this additional information. It identified Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics as

“a left-leaning watchdog group, (which) complained to the FEC that Empower Illinois was skirting campaign finance rules, partly by coordinating its attacks with the Keyes campaign through Davis and Jack Roeser, a wealthy donor.

”Roeser, an Illinois high-tech business owner who pledged to raise $1 million for Keyes’ campaign, contributed $40,000 to Empower Illinois and a related group and also met with Keyes to discuss his campaign.

“But the FEC said he wasn’t complicit in Empower Illinois violations.”

McHenry County Blog had the story about the $21,000 fine imposed on Jim Oberweis by the Federal Election Commission on January 24h.

I went to the source and found out from Oberweis himself. He told me that his decision was made from a cost-benefit point of view. It was cheaper to pay the proposed fine than the lawyers.

The Chicago Tribune’s Rich Pearson ran the story July 27th, more than six months after McHenry County Blog.

Here’s what the FEC said about Oberweis yesterday:

Oberweis Dairy, Inc. (Oberweis Dairy) is a family-owned business serving Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. James D. Oberweis, the Chairman of Oberweis Dairy, was a Senate candidate in Illinois in 2004. According to the complaint, Oberweis Dairy made, and Oberweis for U.S. Senate 2004 (the Committee) received, prohibited corporate in-kind contributions. The complaint alleged Oberweis Dairy ran coordinated television advertisements featuring James D. Oberweis that were targeted to Illinois voters within 120 days of the Illinois Primary election held on March 16, 2004. The complaint also alleged the Committee utilized Oberweis Dairy employees and facilities to arrange fundraising events and organize a “meet and greet” sweepstakes.

In the summer of 2003, Oberweis Dairy began its first television advertisement campaign, broadcasting the “Sunny Side Up” ad featuring James Oberweis on Chicago area local and cable television shows from December 2003 to January 2004. Oberweis Dairy spent approximately $6,224 on production costs for the ad and an additional $37,630 for airtime costs.

The Commission found reason to believe respondents violated the Act because the “Sunny Side Up” ad met the requirements of the Commission’s coordinated communication regulation and therefore constituted an in-kind contribution from Oberweis Dairy to Oberweis for U.S. Senate 2004. Respondents contended they acted in good faith and on the advice of counsel and agreed to pay a $21,000 civil penalty to avoid protracted litigation.

FEC Commissioner Hans A. von Spakovsky disagreed with the decision and defended Oberweis in an eight-page memo.

He argued that the Oberweis decision is based on a misreading of a FEC advisory opinion says that “a candidate’s appearance in a communication would be sufficient to conclude that the candidate was materially involved in decisions regarding the communication. The dissenter argues that ”content control” must be proven as well as the candidate’s appearance in an ad. He also points out that Oberweis Dairy consulted “an attorney at a well-known law firm” who is “now an adjunct profession at a very well- respected law school” before cutting the ad.

McHenry County Blog observed that this summer’s Oberweis Dairy television ads, while containing Jim Oberweis, are much less blatant than previous ones.

There was also this about State Senator Chris Lauzen:

In MUR 5722, the Commission found no reason to believe Illinois State Senator Chris Lauzen violated the Act’s registration and reporting requirements for Federal candidates. The Commission also dismissed with admonishments allegations against Mr. Lauzen and his State campaign committee regarding the use of nonfederal funds to conduct polling activities to determine whether to run for U.S. Congress.

Both Lauzen and Oberweis are planning to run for Congress if U.S. Representative Denny Hastert decides to retire.

= = = = =
Jim Oberweis is seen dipping up ice cream last summer on Paul Caprio’s Family PAC cruise. Want to bet that he’ll be on board doing the same thing on the night of August 9th?

For more McHenry County Blog, click here.

McHenry County Blog had the story about the $21,000 fine imposed on Jim Oberweis by the Federal Election Commission on January 24h.

I went to the source and found out from Oberweis himself. He told me that his decision was made from a cost-benefit point of view. It was cheaper to pay the proposed fine than the lawyers.

The Chicago Tribune’s Rich Pearson ran the story July 27th, more than six months after McHenry County Blog.

Here’s what the FEC said about Oberweis yesterday:

Oberweis Dairy, Inc. (Oberweis Dairy) is a family-owned business serving Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. James D. Oberweis, the Chairman of Oberweis Dairy, was a Senate candidate in Illinois in 2004. According to the complaint, Oberweis Dairy made, and Oberweis for U.S. Senate 2004 (the Committee) received, prohibited corporate in-kind contributions. The complaint alleged Oberweis Dairy ran coordinated television advertisements featuring James D. Oberweis that were targeted to Illinois voters within 120 days of the Illinois Primary election held on March 16, 2004. The complaint also alleged the Committee utilized Oberweis Dairy employees and facilities to arrange fundraising events and organize a “meet and greet” sweepstakes.

In the summer of 2003, Oberweis Dairy began its first television advertisement campaign, broadcasting the “Sunny Side Up” ad featuring James Oberweis on Chicago area local and cable television shows from December 2003 to January 2004. Oberweis Dairy spent approximately $6,224 on production costs for the ad and an additional $37,630 for airtime costs.

The Commission found reason to believe respondents violated the Act because the “Sunny Side Up” ad met the requirements of the Commission’s coordinated communication regulation and therefore constituted an in-kind contribution from Oberweis Dairy to Oberweis for U.S. Senate 2004. Respondents contended they acted in good faith and on the advice of counsel and agreed to pay a $21,000 civil penalty to avoid protracted litigation.

FEC Commissioner Hans A. von Spakovsky disagreed with the decision and defended Oberweis in an eight-page memo.

He argued that the Oberweis decision is based on a misreading of a FEC advisory opinion says that “a candidate’s appearance in a communication would be sufficient to conclude that the candidate was materially involved in decisions regarding the communication. The dissenter argues that ”content control” must be proven as well as the candidate’s appearance in an ad. He also points out that Oberweis Dairy consulted “an attorney at a well-known law firm” who is “now an adjunct profession at a very well- respected law school” before cutting the ad.

McHenry County Blog observed that this summer’s Oberweis Dairy television ads, while containing Jim Oberweis, are much less blatant than previous ones.

There was also this about State Senator Chris Lauzen:

In MUR 5722, the Commission found no reason to believe Illinois State Senator Chris Lauzen violated the Act’s registration and reporting requirements for Federal candidates. The Commission also dismissed with admonishments allegations against Mr. Lauzen and his State campaign committee regarding the use of nonfederal funds to conduct polling activities to determine whether to run for U.S. Congress.

Both Lauzen and Oberweis are planning to run for Congress if U.S. Representative Denny Hastert decides to retire.

= = = = =
Jim Oberweis is seen dipping up ice cream last summer on Paul Caprio’s Family PAC cruise. Want to bet that he’ll be on board doing the same thing on the night of August 9th?

For more McHenry County Blog, click here.