Daily Herald Analysis of Franks-O’Neill Finances Wrong in the Extreme

The headline says that Democrat State Rep. Jack Franks is leading Republican John O’Neill 100-1.

Complete rubbish.

Talk about a misleading headline.

Outright wrong!

Off by a factor of five.

As would be expected, the millionaire Franks is way ahead.

But the ratio is a bit over 17-1, not 100-1.

I reported what Franks was doing concerning his campaign finances here on July 21st.

That was after my story on O’Neill’s small fund raising the day before.

But, if you read Jameel Naqvi’s reporting of the Franks-O’Neil campaign on August 9, 2010, you might actually think Franks “received more than $480,000 during the first six months of 2010.”

Most of us interpret “received” money as meaning actually having gotten the money.

If you transfer some money from your wallet or purse into your pants pocket, do you say you “received” the money?

Jack Franks' McHenry County Fair tent was closed by early Friday evening, perhaps giving an opposite signal to his campaiging in John O'Neill's precinct twice this year.

That’s what Franks did.

I figure he was returning or getting ready to return the huge contributions family and friends pumped into his campaign fund in June. 2009, when Franks was trying to look like a viable gubernatorial candidate.

If you want to create a story line about Franks receiving and outspending O’Neil 100 to 1 then apparently you can look at a $420,000 internal transfer of money (what Franks did) and call it “received.”

Make it look like new money.

But, the $420,000 was already in Franks’ campaign coffers.

It wasn’t new money.

Naqvi includes in “spending” a $ 250,000 certificate of deposit maturing and the money’s being placed in the general campaign account.

Also included in the article’s spending figure is a loan repayment of $150,000 that Franks made to himself.

Only technically (under the State Board of Elections reporting format) it is an expense.

But would most people assume an internal transfer of $250,000 to be campaign spending?

There’s no doubt Franks raked in money from the teachers union and trial lawyers.

But Franks really didn’t “spent more than $488,000,” as the Daily Herald printed.

Unless you believe real spending includes a certificate of deposit maturing.

The Daily Herald could have reported that Franks’ campaign listed $488,024.61 of total expenditures.

That would have been literally accurate, if completely misleading.

Such internal transfers get classified as an “expense” as part of campaign accounting by the Illinois State Board of Elections.

If a political campaign took a million dollars and transferred it back and forth ten times internal to the campaign without spending a dime, it would be inaccurate to report that the campaign spent $10 million dollars.

But the headline of the Daily Herald story was this interpretation of reality:

State Rep. Jack Franks outspending challenger 100-1

Franks clearly didn’t receive enormous amounts of money or spend the same during the first six months of this year.

Franks raised $66,000 during the first half of 2010.

More than the $3,790 raised by O’Neill.

That’s over 17 times as much, not 100 times as much.

By the way, the biggest laugh in Naqvi’s article is the quote from Franks:

“I don’t worry about politics too much.”

This from a man who sends press releases to USA Today.

I keep thinking there should be a difference between what a journalist writes and what a publicist for a politician would want you to print.

Not mentioned in the article was that Franks

  • wanted Blagojevich elected twice and
  • asked Blagojevich in writing for ten patronage jobs for his family and friends.

The Middletown, NY, High School I attended for freshman and sophomore years. It's now called Twin Spires Middle School.

Instead, Daily Herald editors apparently approved this:

“Franks, though, said he was able to raise more than his opponent because of the attention he gets for challenging the reigning political culture in Springfield – including members of his own party, like former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.”

Sounds like it was right from a press release, doesn’t it?

I seem to recall newspaper reporters willing to challenge lots of statements I made when running for public office.

One even called the high school I attended in Middletown, New York, before our family moved to Crystal Lake in 1958 to confirm I had attended.

I don’t think she ever did figure out how I could get into high school without graduating from either grade school or junior high, even though I explained it to her.

Maybe there are different standards for liberals and conservatives.

= = = = =
Too bad the Chicago Journalism Review is no longer with us. This would certainly have made it.


Comments

Daily Herald Analysis of Franks-O’Neill Finances Wrong in the Extreme — 2 Comments

  1. You use the phrase, “Millionaire Franks,” as if it were a pejorative. I think it’s great that the Franks family is contributing to his campaign–that way he is not beholden to anyone!

  2. Kathy, respectfully, perhaps the ‘flip side’ question could be, Who WAS “Beholden” to “THEM?” The “Franks.” But didn’t “Pay Up” or “Pan Out?”

    Just asking???

    Franks, Herbert
    P. O. Box 5
    Marengo, IL 60152
    Occupation: Attorney
    Employer: Franks Gerkin & McKenna P.C. $5,000.00
    11/30/2001 Individual Contribution
    Friends of Blagojevich

    Franks, Herbert
    P. O. Box 5
    Marengo, IL 60152
    Occupation: Attorney
    Employer: Franks Gerkin & McKenna P.C. $100.00
    1/13/2002 Individual Contribution
    Friends of Blagojevich

    Franks, Herbert
    P. O. Box 5
    Marengo, IL 60152
    Occupation: Attorney
    Employer: Franks Gerkin & McKenna P.C. $500.00
    6/10/2002 Individual Contribution
    Friends of Blagojevich

    Franks, Herbert
    P. O. Box 5
    Marengo, IL 60152
    Occupation: Attorney
    Employer: Franks Gerkin & McKenna P.C. $5,000.00
    6/25/2002 Individual Contribution
    Friends of Blagojevich

    Franks, Herbert
    P. O. Box 5
    Marengo, IL 60152
    Occupation: Attorney
    Employer: Franks Gerkin & McKenna P.C. $2,000.00
    10/10/2002 In-Kind Contribution
    Friends of Blagojevich Rent Franks, Herbert P. O. Box 5
    Marengo, IL 60152

    Another question I have is: On Jack Franks mothers contribution, which is rather ‘large’ to put it mildly, Jack lists her occupation as “Retired” if my memory serves me correctly.

    “WHY” does Jack Franks D-2 Campaign Disclosure forms then show his mothers address listing as the same Law Firm and address listed above?

    Oh, I could copy and paste that too, but then, that would be highly “Perjorative” of me now wouldn’t it?

    Thank you.

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