From the Chicago Tribune

Sheahan fund gets board's attention
State aims to talk to campaign aides over donations
By Mickey Ciokajlo and Todd Lighty
Tribune staff reporters
Published December 31, 2003
A top official with the Illinois State Board of Elections said Tuesday that
his staff plans to meet with officials from Cook County Sheriff Michael
Sheahan's campaign committee to discuss reported irregularities in its
public recording of political contributions.
Dan White, the board's executive director, said his office wants to talk to
the committee about Tribune reports that it accepted anonymous donations,
failed to report contributions, and recorded donations in the names of other
people.
"We're concerned that the filings that are on record by the committee, or
by any committee, are accurate," White said Tuesday.
White said a staff member with his office would send a letter by the end of
the week to Sheahan's campaign committee seeking the meeting.
Burt Odelson, the lawyer representing Sheahan's campaign committee, said he
spoke with Board of Elections officials regarding the issues raised by the
Tribune, and they assured him that the board would take no action.
"They don't have any jurisdiction, and there's nothing for them to do," said
Odelson, who added that the committee violated no election laws.
Odelson said the elections officials told him they lacked jurisdiction
because the incidents cited in the Tribune report were too old to fall
within the statute of limitations.
Asked whether anyone from his office assured the campaign committee that no
action would be taken, White said, "I can't imagine that happening."
White said any issues with the statute of limitations are "not what we're
concerned about at this point." White said it would be premature to address
any potential penalties the committee could face.
Under Illinois campaign finance law, anonymous donations must be turned over
to the state treasurer, all donations of more than $150 must be disclosed
publicly, and contributions may not be recorded in the names of other
people.
The Tribune reported that from 1990 through 1998, the committee failed to
report more than $50,000 worth of contributions, accepted more than $10,000
in anonymous donations, and recorded contributions in the names of other
people.
Betty Ryan, the campaign committee's treasurer, told the Tribune that she
never hid donations. She acknowledged failing to disclose some donations,
calling her actions honest, unintentional mistakes.
Odelson defended the committee's conduct, saying every penny collected by
the committee was accounted for, and he accused the newspaper of engaging in
"horrible, yellow journalism."
Some of the anonymous donations were in the form of money orders bearing the
names of Al Capone, Dr. Jack Kevorkian and others, the Tribune reported.
The committee also recorded nearly $20,000 in contributions from employees
in the names of others, the Tribune reported. Although it is not illegal to
accept political contributions from employees, Sheahan pledged not to do so
after he was elected as a reformer in 1990.
The Board of Elections oversees more than 3,300 political committees. It
focuses on making sure committees file their disclosure reports on time and
include the name, address, date and amount for each donation.