Eye On Illinois: Elections board fines too often amount to empty, toothless threats

Committees are not people.

Sure, a collection of individual people forms a committee and, especially when government and politics are involved, identifying those people isn’t especially complicated. But the committee itself is not a person.

This longstanding truth arrives now in the context of Darren Bailey, the 2022 Republican gubernatorial candidate, and Dan Proft, the radio host. Although (quite obviously) individual people, they also represent Bailey for Illinois and People Who Play By The Rules PAC.

Bailey for Illinois dates to Sept. 15, 2017, according to filings at elections.il.gov. Officers also include Cindy Bailey, Darren’s wife, as a board member, and Jose Durbin as treasurer. It listed $876.90 available on the most recent quarterly report. People Who Play By The Rules has a creation date of March 8, 2022, lists only Proft as chairman and treasurer and had $1 million on hand earlier this year.

The distinction between committee and individual is important in light of ongoing reporting about the State Board of Elections considering whether the committees were guilty of illegal coordination. One important lesson from that process, which resulted in a complaint dismissal, is a belief the relevant law is too ambiguous to be enforced, setting the stage for the General Assembly to enact clarifying language as soon as the fall veto session.

But another takeaway, which comes up frequently with elections board discipline, is a reminder that even had the board chosen to impose a penalty in this instance, it would’ve been leveled against the committees and not individual members.

As we have seen time and again, elections board fines carry little to no weight. The board’s only powerful enforcement mechanism is to keep affiliated political candidates off future ballots while fines are pending. Proft’s independent expenditure committee exists to “support candidates for statewide and local offices.” An unpaid fine would affect zero actual people.

Bailey’s committee backed his runs for state House and Senate, but his failed Congressional bid was subject only to the Federal Election Commission. Were his committee fined it would have to pay before he sought another state-level office, but that seems an unlikely direction given his career trajectory.

The committee for former state Rep. Frank Mautino earned a $5,000 fine for being unable to provide records during a questionable expenditure investigation. But the Spring Valley Democrat resigned his seat to become auditor general. The campaign committee is gone and so is the obligation to pay a fine.

The Elections Board lists more than 3,200 outstanding fines going back to September 2003, from $10 to $94,900. The Illinois GOP owes more than $30,000. If the people running these committees faced criminal penalties, they’d pay.

But they’re committees, not people, so the threats remain empty.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. Follow him on X @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.