March 24--Illinois politicians have come a long way since October 1970 when investigators found $744,000 hidden in the hotel room closet of the deceased secretary of state, Paul Powell.
Or have they?
Lawmakers might not be stashing cash bribes in shoe boxes these days, but they have managed to shimmy around ethics laws meant to limit the influence of money in politics. The donations politicians collect to run their campaigns are supposed to be spent for that purpose -- campaign-related activities.
A 1999 ethics law limited how the money could be spent. Money raised after 1998 could no longer be converted for personal use. The law also prohibited lawmakers from holding fundraisers near the Capitol. They could only accept gifts from lobbyists of "nominal" value. Later, the legislature clarified the language to say that gifts were limited to $100 and meals to $75 or less.
But the law also included more than 20 exceptions on how campaign money could be spent and which gifts from lobbyists might be accepted. A fresh report shows how routinely lawmakers take advantage of those loopholes. The Springfield-based Illinois Times news magazine has itemized some of the questionable expenses Illinois lawmakers listed on their campaign fund disclosure forms:
Car leases for luxury automobiles. Vacations to extravagant resorts (for educational purposes!). Checks written to themselves -- yes, for campaign work. And one of our personal favorites: $1,106 spent from campaign funds for maintenance on a four-wheeler owned by state Rep. Brandon Phelps, Democrat from Harrisburg. No worries, folks. He uses the utility vehicle to ride in parades.
Illinois Times found that state Rep. Luis Arroyo of Chicago spent $183 in campaign money several years ago at a men's store in Springfield. Even though the 1999 law said money cannot be spent for personal use, new clothes could be justified because legislators need nice threads to carry out their official duties, according to one interpretation of the law.
It all makes sense now.
Arroyo, along with Sen. Kimberly Lightford and Reps. Mattie Hunter, Daniel Burke, Jerry Costello II and even House Speaker Michael Madigan, have used their campaign funds to pay for trips to places such as the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, China, Turkey and other exotic locations.
